A select few of you may recall the Delmarva Folk Festival of 2006... it seems so long ago. It wasn't one of our better attended festivals, unless you count the raindrops - they were present in force. And speaking of force, the wind was pretty unbelievably strong too - actually the storm was a Nor'Easter, which caused other area events to be cancelled that weekend, but we're tough... we're folkies... we persevered. Friday night was just a rainy, muddy mess, but Saturday was a real treat for those who ignored the forecast and came out anyway.

Even though it was windy, the rain stopped around the time the music started, and those who stuck with us got to hear the likes of Liz Carlisle, Beaucoup Blue, Jake Armerding, Red Molly, Last Train Home, and the featured act for this month's coffeehouse, Dead Men's Hollow. (You knew there was a point in there somewhere, right?).

Dead Men's Hollow is a delightful sextet that plays a blend of bluegrass and old-time music, which they like to describe as "Acoustic Americana", with additional influences of country, blues and gospel. Their unique sound starts with three part female harmonies, backed by fiddle, upright bass and guitar.

The band started in 2001, and has already been nominated for ten awards from the Washington Area Music Association (Wammie Awards), and won three, including Best Bluegrass Group and Best Bluegrass Album of the Year.

They have played festivals, roadhouses, and churches, and even played at the Kennedy Center, bringing their selections from America's musical history, as well as newly minted original tunes. We're thrilled to be welcoming them to the Coffeehouse on April 19th.

To open the show, we present the 2007 Delmarva Folk Hero, a gentleman who is very familiar with old-time music himself - Bad Wheel Jonny. Jonny's selections of old-time music tend more toward old-time acoustic blues - the kind Skip James or Robert Johnson would output in their time. Bad Wheel also does a nice job at blending old traditional tunes with original songs that emulate that old, earthy style.

It all starts at 7:30 pm, April 19, in the Wesley College Chapel, corner of Division and N. Bradford, in Dover. Admission will be $5 for members and $7 for non-members. We’ll have plenty of hot coffee, cool drinks, and sweet snacks. Come out on an early spring night, bring a friend, and see it happen.

-- Beth Fizell, DEFF Board Chair

The Delaware Friends of Folk is a membership, all-volunteer organization. That means we have no paid staff, but rather a lot of dedicated people who work really hard because they love music, and think it would be a crying shame if we didn't have it in our lives.

The Friends of Folk is also a membership organization - anyone can join, and it's a bargain - typically just $10 for an individual or $15 for a family gets you a year's worth of discounts to all of our events. It also gives you the satisfaction of knowing you're a part of our mission to keep real live music alive in this area, even when forces beyond our control seem to want to replace it with karaoke machines and DJs.

Some folks go above and beyond to support the organization. We have membership levels defined which let people donate to the organization while they're updating their membership for the year. We'd like to acknowledge and thank the following for their generosity:

Bronze Level ($100)
- Dan Beck

Friend of Friends of Folk ($50)
- Jim McGiffin & Kathy Doyle
- Paul Esposito

As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, we can provide you with a tax deduction receipt for your donation. You can make donations by going to the bottom of this page and sending them in through Paypal.

Have you updated your membership yet for the year? You can do so at this link. Look at it this way - with the price of gas, you can't afford to go very far to hear great music, so you might as well join so you can save money when you attend the wonderful events we're working hard to bring to Dover all year long.

The weather is starting to get warm and that means it’s time to start festival preparations. It takes so much work to get ready for our big event. I’d like to highlight the work our building and facilities crew (that’s about six people right now) must accomplish this summer. In addition to raking, mowing and general clean-up around the site, we have quite a list of new projects. We have dirt and gravel to spread on the road, we have perimeter lights to check and hang, we have camping areas to rake and mark, we’d like to install electricity for the vendors, and we’d like to install traffic lights at each end of the roadway to help with traffic flow. In the days just before the festival we have trash cans to distribute, canopies and tents to erect, tables and chairs to place, traffic cones to move, porta-sans and a dumpster to locate, and lots of decorating to do. It would sure be nice if we could get some more help for this committee. Can you help?

Delmarva Folk Festival meetings take place on the first Wednesday of each month at Sheridan’s in downtown Smyrna beginning at 6:30 p.m. Anyone with an interest in the Festival is welcome to attend. We are still looking for a chairperson for the Security/Parking committee. If you are interested in helping in any way, come to the meeting or contact Kae Mason at (302) 736-5585 after 5:00 p.m. By helping the Delaware Friends of Folk, you will ensure the tradition stays alive.

The Festival offers a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the best music Delmarva has to offer in a truly beautiful setting. This festival is a well respected and much appreciated part of Kent County culture. We will have food and craft vendors and plenty of activities for children in addition to 15 hours of music over two days. Everyone who volunteers to work for five or more hours during the festival is admitted free. Additionally, those who help the facilities committee during the summer will be admitted to the Festival free.

If you have questions or what more information, call Kae Mason at (302) 736-5585 or e-mail her at kaejohnson1@comcast.net.

The Friends of Folk Community music calendar has a whole new look! We decided to use new features available within Google Calendar to be able to post events without having to maintain a web page. You can see the new calendar here:
http://www.delfolk.org/calendar.html

Some additional advantages:

• dates in the past will automatically scroll off
• anyone, not just me (your webmistress) can post events
• Area bands and venues can send us their schedule (in a specified, easy to create form), so we can more easily post lots of events to let folks know what's going on in the area.

HINT HINT - we're looking for a volunteer to help with this. All you have to do is receive an email and then sign into Google Calendar and post them. A little bit of spreadsheet and browser savvy would be good.

Check the calendar - you’ll see there’s a lot of music out there. Take advantage of it, support local restaurants and other venues that offer live music by talented individuals. Without your patronage, you could be opening the door to more karaoke!

-- Beth Fizell, Board Chair & Web Mistress

The woodlands and grassy fields of Killens Pond State Park in Felton, DE will once again come alive with the sound of music on May 10, 2008 . The jazz blues & bbq festival will kick off at 11:30 am and continue throughout the day. It will be the highlight of a Mother’s Day weekend full of musical events.

Natural and recreational opportunities abound at Killens Pond State Park, centrally located in the heart of Kent County Delaware. The park is about an 1½ hour drive from either the northern or southern boundary of the State With a setting among the grassy knolls, the musicians, artisans and food vendors, who have been carefully selected to appear this year, will attempt to create an event that is as special as the one held in 2007.

Headlining this year will be jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut, who draws from both modern and traditional jazz, while also flirting with R&B and gospel. Joining him will be Bryan Lee, a bona fide New Orleans blues guitar hero and longtime staple on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. Bryan Lee is a natural born houserocker with a whole lot of soul. Complimenting these two performers will be Delaware’s own Bro. Joe Baione and his sextet who will be
performing tunes from his brand new CD, OH YEAH! and the incredible guitar work of Clarence Spady. Add to this mix the professional talent of Nothin’ But Trouble, the amazing Delaware State Jazz Band, and the newly created Delaware All Star Student and Faculty Band and this day promises to be extraordinary. For a full description, go to the website at www.dejazzbluesfest.com

New to the entertainment possibilities this year is the addition of a dance stage area as well as the ongoing music at the Main Stage.
Festival goers will have the opportunity to learn how to Swing dance through the instruction given by two professional dancers from the Philadelphia area, Paul Salter and Jennifer Scricco. These dancers are proud to be the driving force behind vintage swing dancing in Philadelphia. Joining these instructors will be the six piece Swing and Dixieland sounds of the Barbone Street Jazz Band. And if this isn’t enough to keep the little folks entertained, the Park Rangers will be hosting some fun events for the younger attendees throughout the day.

In addition to the events scheduled for Festival Day, a brand new kick-off party and celebration will occur on Friday, May 9 near the Lobby Bar at the beautiful Dover Downs Hotel. There will be no charge for this event which will also include complimentary food, a cash bar and the appearance of a true bluesman, Sonny Rhodes. Guitarist, lap steel player, singer and song writer, Sonny Rhodes is an international legend . He has been performing for well over 40 years world-wide and has written over 250 songs on such labels as Kingsnake and Alligator Records. He performs at an average of 25+ Festivals a year. Among his many awards, Sonny has received the Smithsonian Institute Lifetime Achievement Award at the Monterey Blues Festival and has also also received Congressional Honors from the United States House of Representatives.

On Sunday, May 11 (Mothers Day) the Sheraton Hotel will present a gospel/jazz brunch featuring the music of progressive gospel/jazz saxophonist, Tyrone Birkett. The sound is progressive by using contemporary gospel as a springboard and extending it through jazz & soul music. The music is unique in that various influences have been assimilated to produce something new but still familiar. All of the music selections are anchored by the attentive musicianship of New York’s best up and coming jazz and gospel talent and are joined by vocalist Paula Ralph-Birkett. Reservations for the Brunch (11 and 2 PM ) may be made by calling the Sheraton Dover Hotel directly.

Tickets for the Festival at Killens Pond are on sale now and may be purchased through the website at www.dejazzbluesfest.com or by calling
302-672-7022. Advance sale pricing is in effect until April 10, 2008. Don’t delay. Secure your tickets now.

We're currently looking for artwork for the cover of the Delmarva Folk Festival Program. If you've got some artistic creativity and would like to submit artwork for consideration, please contact Jan Crumpley at (302) 465-0805 for further details.

The selected artist will receive free admission to the Festival, a Festival T-shirt, will be credited with a bio in the festival program, and will get our eternal gratitude for sharing their talents.

The guidelines for submissions are:

• Autumn Theme
• Music Theme
• Black & White
• Must be received by August 1, electronically or via mail to P.O. Box 1006, Dover DE 19903-1006
• Must not be offensive or political
• Should capture the spirit of the event

Optional elements:

• Delmarva Folk Festival Logo (can be obtained from our web site)
• Preference given to Friends of Folk Members (why not join today?)
• If "Delaware Friends of Folk" text appears, it should be in Arnold Bocklin font