Folk Music Society of New York

Folk Music Society of New York
Name	Folk Music Society of New York
Formation	1957
Type	Nonprofit
Headquarters	New York City
Location	Manhattan
Region served	United States
Leader title	Director

Folk Music Society of New York

The Folk Music Society of New York was a postwar cultural organization based in Manhattan that fostered performance, preservation, and dissemination of traditional and contemporary folk repertoires. Founded amid the mid-20th-century revival movements linked to figures and institutions across the United States and Europe, the Society connected performers, collectors, scholars, and audiences through concerts, workshops, and publications. It operated at the intersection of urban arts networks such as those centered on Greenwich Village, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and institutions like Smithsonian Institution and Library of Congress folklife programs.

History

The Society emerged in 1957 during a period shaped by events and movements including the folk revivals associated with artists like Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, and venues such as Gerde's Folk City and Cafe Wha?. Early meetings attracted collectors and scholars who engaged with methodologies promoted by Alan Lomax, Zora Neale Hurston, Bess Lomax Hawes, and organizations such as the American Folklife Center and Vermont Folklife Center. The Society staged concerts and archives activities that paralleled projects at Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives, drew attention from media outlets like The New York Times, and intersected with academic programs at Columbia University and New York University.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s the Society adapted to shifts provoked by performers such as Bob Dylan and groups like The Weavers while maintaining ties to collectors associated with Alan Lomax and ethnomusicological debates occurring at institutions including Indiana University and Harvard University. Political and cultural currents involving figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and movements such as the Civil Rights Movement influenced programming, as did international exchanges with artists connected to BBC Radio broadcasts and tours involving ensembles from Ireland, Scotland, and Klezmer revivals.

Mission and Activities

The Society articulated goals similar to those of established bodies like the American Folklore Society: documentation, performance, education, and archive stewardship. It promoted comparative study referencing collections at Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, New York Public Library, and academic centers including UCLA and Brown University. Educational outreach involved collaborations with community organizations such as Settlement houses and cultural institutions like Museum of Modern Art and Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Regular activities included curating concerts that featured repertoires associated with regions like Appalachia, Scandinavia, Ireland, Puerto Rico, and Africa; producing programs in partnership with broadcasters including WNYC and WFUV; and supporting fieldwork inspired by collectors like Harry Smith and scholars such as Barry Tunick.

Notable Members and Leadership

Leadership roles were held by professionals drawn from performance and scholarship, often connected to prominent figures and institutions. Membership lists over time included performers and mentors who collaborated with or paralleled careers of Pete Seeger, Odetta, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Doc Watson, and The Kingston Trio. Advisory or participant networks encompassed folklorists and ethnomusicologists associated with Alan Lomax, D. K. Wilgus, Norm Cohen, Titon Susan, and curators from Smithsonian Institution Folkways.

Board members and guest directors often had ties to venues and festivals such as Newport Folk Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival, MerleFest, and media figures from National Public Radio and documentary producers linked to Ken Burns-style projects. Partnerships included collaborations with record labels such as Folkways Records, Columbia Records, RCA Victor, and independent presses connected to Rounder Records and Elektra Records.

Programs and Events

The Society presented concert series, lecture-demonstrations, and participatory workshops that featured styles including bluegrass, blues, gospel, sea shanty traditions, Klezmer, and Cajun music. Regular events were held in Manhattan venues related to Town Hall (New York City), The Village Gate, and neighborhood cultural centers in Harlem and Lower East Side. Annual or periodic showcases often mirrored programming at festivals like Cambridge Folk Festival and invited artists who had performed at international showcases such as Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Educational programming included children’s workshops, masterclasses led by artists affiliated with Old Crow Medicine Show-style revivals, and symposiums that convened researchers from Smithsonian Folkways and university departments in Ethnomusicology at institutions including University of Washington and Indiana University Bloomington.

Recordings and Publications

The Society issued newsletters, program notes, and occasional recordings that documented concerts and field sessions, drawing inspiration from archival practices at Smithsonian Folkways and collectors’ releases like the Alan Lomax Collection. Published materials included bibliographies and discographies referencing works issued by Folkways Records, scholarly articles in journals comparable to Western Folklore and Journal of American Folklore, and liner notes reminiscent of releases from Rounder Records.

Select archival tapes and printed ephemera were deposited in repositories including New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Library of Congress, and university special collections at Columbia University and Cornell University.

Influence and Legacy

The Society contributed to sustaining networks that helped launch or support careers of artists tied to Greenwich Village and the broader American folk circuit, influenced archival standards later adopted by Smithsonian Institution programs, and shaped public-facing scholarship akin to projects by Alan Lomax and publications from University of Illinois Press. Its legacy persists in contemporary organizations and festivals such as American Folklore Society initiatives, local folk clubs in New York City, and academic courses at institutions like Barnard College and City University of New York that study performance and preservation practices.

Category:Music organizations based in New York City