This month we go back to the archives for a panel discussion recorded at the 21st Annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference on November 14, 2015 at the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, New York.  Sonny and her co-host Meg Griffin converse with radio icon Vin Scelsa, veteran singer-songwriter Eric Andersen,  and Lowell Levinger -“Banana”, a founding member of the 60s band the Youngbloods.

Eric Andersen is an American singer-songwriter renowned for his contributions to the folk and rock music scenes of the 1960s and 1970s. With a distinctive voice and poetic lyrics, he has crafted influential songs that have been covered by artists such as Linda Ronstadt and the Grateful Dead. Andersen's career, marked by both critical acclaim and a devoted fan base, continues to reflect his enduring impact on contemporary music.

Lowell Levinger, also known as "Banana," is a musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the influential 1960s rock band The Youngbloods. His innovative guitar work and harmonious vocals contributed to the band's hit songs, including the iconic "Get Together." Levinger's enduring career has spanned various musical projects and collaborations, reflecting his versatility and impact on American rock and folk music.

Vin Scelsa was a pioneering radio personality known for his influential work on New York City’s WNEW-FM and WFUV, where he championed alternative and eclectic music. His unique broadcasting style, characterized by deep, thoughtful commentary and an extensive knowledge of music, earned him a dedicated following and significant respect in the industry. Scelsa's career, spanning over four decades, left a lasting impact on radio broadcasting and the music community.

This month’s Wisdom of the Elder’s Podcast features three distinguished artists - Deidre McCalla, Dan Navarro (Lowen & Navarro), and Rex Fowler (Aztec Two-Step).  Hosted by series creator Sonny Ochs with co-host Ron Olesko, the discussion centers around changes in the music industry and adapting to the challenges to marketing music in our current environment. 

DAN NAVARRO - Dan Navarro’s eclectic 40-year career as a songwriter, artist, singer and voice actor,includes 17 acclaimed albums, thousands of concerts, Oscar-winning films “Coco” and “Happy Feet”, television, videogames, commercials, and writing hits like Pat Benatar’s Grammy-nominated “We Belong”. In early 2019, after 20+ years with Lowen & Navarro, he released his first studio-recorded solo album, “Shed My Skin”, to rave reviews. 

DEIRDRE McCALLA -  Black woman, mother, lesbian, feminist - has long been in the forefront of Black musicians expanding the understanding of how Black folk can do folk. Deidre is riding high on her current release ENDLESS GRACE which dominated the June 2022 Folk Radio Charts as the #1 Album with the #1 Song - Shoulder To The Wheel and the #3 Song - I Do Not Walk This Path Alone, and finished for the year as the #13 Top Album on FAI Folk Radio. In 2023 Deidre’s song Shoulder To The Wheel won the 19th Annual International Acoustic Music Award for Best Folk/Americana/Roots song.

REX FOWLER -  Originating from a chance meeting in 1971 at an “open mic night” in Boston, Rex Fowler & Neal Schulman went on to form Aztec Two-Step, recording four albums on Elektra and RCA Records that helped usher the music of the 60’s into the 1970’s and beyond, leaving an indelible mark on the musical genre. Since Neal retired in 2018, Rex and his wife Dodie Pettit are now the heart and soul of Aztec Two-Step 2.0, expanding and exploring the band’s musical legacy with fan favorites, forgotten gems and outstanding new original compositions.

This month’s Wisdom of the Elder’s Podcast will be a  Rounder Roundtable”, a discussion on the history of Rounder Records  II was recorded in May of 2015 at SERFA (Southeast Regional Folk Alliance) and featured a panel that includeds Rounder Records founders Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton Levy and Bill Nowlin.  They were joined by two artists who recorded for Rounder - folk singer Alice Gerrard; and songwriter, author, and activist Si Kahn.  The panel iwas moderated by Art Menius.writer, music festival and concert presenter, non-profit and trade association executive, and radio host. 
Recorded on Saturday May 16, 2015 at the South East Folk Alliance Conference at the Montreat Retreat Center in Black Mountain North Carolina.

February 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Bottom Line in New York City, the legendary club that shut it’s doors in 2004 after 4 decades serving as the epicenter for great music in the metro area.   This month’s panel was recorded in 2021 for the virtual NERFA Conference of the same year and features the co-founder of the The Bottom Line as well as two artists who performed numerous times at the club. 

Hosted by series creator Sonny Ochs and co-host Ron Olesko

FREEBO - Freebo is no stranger to NERFA - a singer-songwriter, and producer noted primarily for his work with Bonnie Raitt, he is also a session musician who has recorded and performed with Ringo Starr, John Mayall, John Hall, Aaron Neville, Dr. John, Willy DeVille, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Maria Muldaur, Kate & Anna McGarrigle and many others.  Freebo has also produced recordings and is currently working with Alice Howe.

CHRISTINE LAVIN: Christine Lavin has become an icon of the folk community.  She worked at Caffe Lena in Saratoga, New York until Dave Van Ronk convinced her to move to New York City and make a career as a singer-songwriter.  Since then she has released numerous solo albums and as a former member of the Four Bitchin Babes as well as producing compilation album.  Christine is a tireless supporter of the folk 

ALAN PEPPER: Alan first worked in the Village booking shows at Folk City before opening the Bottom Line. For 30 years, the Bottom Line was the epicenter for the finest music performances - from Bruce Springsteen's historic "Born to Run" showcase shows, Harry Chapin's 2000th performance, to artists including Eric Clapton, João Gilberto, Carl Perkins, Linda Ronstadt, Patti Smith, The Police, Adrian Belew, Prince,  Miles Davis, Laura Nyro, Emmylou Harris, Neil Young, Leo Kottke, Doc Watson and thousands of others.

Created by Sonny Ochs at NERFA in 2010, “Wisdom of the Elders” brings together three respected members of the folk community to share their experience and perspectives.  This month we go back to the archives for a panel discussion centered around the New England folk scene, recorded on November 9, 2013 at the 19th Annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference, held at the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, New York.Guests:

Bob Jones - From starting as a volunteer in the early 1960s at the Newport Folk Festival, to being hired by George Wein in 1965, to helping convince Wein to resurrect Newport in 1985 and becoming it’s producer, Bob Jones helped shape both the folk and jazz communities by presenting both stars and giving a stage to unknowns.   He passed away in August of 2023. 

Betsy Siggins - A key figure of the New England folk scene of the 1960s, Betsy was a founding staff member of the legendary Club 47, and after the club closed in 1968 she worked for several non-profit organizations  including the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife.  She was lured back to Club 47s successor, Passim, and from 1997 to 2009 she served as the clubs Executive Director. She founded FOLK New England in 2009 to present and present the ongoing cultural legacy of the New England folk scene.

Jim Rooney - a pioneer in the the genre that has become know as American, Jim was a fixture on the Boston folk scene and served as a director and talent coordinator of he Newport Folk Festival.  As a musician, Jim has released a number of solo albums over the years and has produced albums for artists such as John Price, Iris Dement, Hal Ketchum, and Nanci Griffith’s “Other Voices, Other Rooms” which earned Jim a Grammy Award for production.

The discussion was hosted by series creator Sonny Ochs along with the late Scott Alarik, an author, journalist, folksinger, radio programmer, activist, and folksinger. Scott passed away in December 2021.   

Host and series creator Sonny Ochs and co-host Ron Olesko engage in conversation with three beloved "elders" from the folk community.  This month's conversation features three international artists who have used their musical talents to make social impacts in their native countries.

Martyn Joseph -  2023 is Martyn’s 41st year in the business, and started with him being part of BBC Radio 2’s “21st Century Folk “ project, with his song “Albert’s Place”.  In his career, he has recorded 33 albums, over a half a million record sales and thousands of live performances.  His critically acclaimed 2021 record, “1960” was made Folk Album of The Month in Mojo and awarded 4 starts by Uncut, and remained in the UK Official Folk charts for much of 2022. In April 2019 he won a “Wales Folk Award” for “Here Come the Young”, and in 2023 he was nominated for Best Solo Artist.  Martyn is also founder, along with his wife Justine, of the “Let Yourself Trust”.  LYT works alongside Martyn’s music to help give profile to and fund Grassroots organizations across the globe. They have given away over half a million pounds to 14 different projects in the last 8 years.

Sharon Katz - Singer, songwriter, activist.  Sharon grew up in apartheid South Africa where she had to sneak out to illegally enter “black only” townships to experience the music and culture which would influence her career as an artist and activist.  She made history by breaking through Apartheid's barriers to form a 500-voice multi-cultural choir and took the group and her band on tour aboard the Peace Train to promote Nelson Mandela's vision of a non-racial South Africa.   In addition to her work as a musician, Sharon works in schools and shelters across the border region of California and Mexico to assist migrant children and women rescued from trafficking rings.

Maurie Mulheron - For over 40 years, Maurie has been performing traditional and contemporary Australian folk songs in folk clubs, festivals, theatre shows and concerts in Australia and overseas. Maurie created a two-hour musical biography of Pete Seeger, “One Word…WE!", that played to packed theatres and folk festivals across Australia. Maurie is also teacher and principal with 34 years of experience teaching in public high schools in rural, regional and metropolitan New South Wales (NSW), Australia.  From 2012-2020, he served as President of the NSW Teachers Federation.

In the latest episode of Wisdom of the Elders, recorded at NERFA 2016, host Sonny Ochs and co-host Susan Forbes Hansen gather a panel featuring Tom Paxton, Nora Guthrie, and Noel Paul Stookey.

The discussion covers Paxton's career and songwriting journey, his views on the term 'legend,' and reflections on the movie 'Inside Llewyn Davis.' They explore Woody Guthrie's legacy, Nora Guthrie's preservation efforts, and the opening of the Woody Guthrie Center. Throughout our panelists emphasize the role of folk music in self-expression, addressing social issues, and fostering a sense of community. The speakers share personal experiences in the New York music scene, discuss the impact of musicians like Peter, Paul, and Mary, and highlight the contributions of figures such as Len Chandler, John Brent, and Luke Askew. Throughout, the episode explores the essence of folk music as a celebration of singing for the love of it.

Host and series creator Sonny Ochs and co-host RonOlesko engage in a conversation with three beloved "elders" of our folk community -  actor, singer-songwriter and storyteller Ronny Cox; singer, songwriter, and record producer Wendy Waldman; and singer-songwriter and guitarist Jack Williams.   (All three artists are NERFA alumni!)

Wisdom of the Elders, is a monthly series where our host, Sonny Ochs, along with co-host, Ron Olesko, invite distinguished members of the Folk community to share stories, advice and the occasional song. This month, we go back to the very first Wisdom of the Elders panel! Recorded at NERFA in 2010,  This panel features (in order of appearance) - David Amram, Theodore Bikel, and Oscar Brand. Hosted by Sonny Ochs with John Platt from WFUV in New York.

Wisdom of the Elders, is a monthly series where our host and series creator, Sonny Ochs, along with co-host, Ron Olesko, invite distinguished members of the Folk community to share stories, advice and the occasional song.  

This month's show features three acclaimed artists who have combined social activism with their lives as performing songwriters.

CHARLIE KING - Charlie King is a musical storyteller and political satirist. He sings and writes passionately about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. His songs have been recorded and sung by other performers such as Pete Seeger, Holly Near, Ronnie Gilbert, John McCutcheon, Arlo Guthrie, Peggy Seeger, Chad Mitchell and Judy Small. (www.charlieking.org)

JOHN FLYNN - A singer-songwriter and activist known for his powerful music that moved legendary folk DJ Gene Shay to call  John "the most quintessential folk singer in my life". John is also the Executive Director of New Beginnings- Next Step, a peer-support group for returning citizens as they transition from incarceration to freedom. (www.johnflynn.net)

JOHN McCUTCHEON -  For fifty years now “Folk Music’s Rustic Renaissance Man” (Washington Post) John McCutcheon has been everywhere in the folk music scene. A breath-taking multi instrumentalist, a traditional music archivist, one of the primary revivalists of the hammer dulcimer, a pioneering children’s and family artist, a prolific and wide ranging songwriter, and the very definition of the touring Road Warrior. (www.folkmusic.com)