Ball of Wax 26: A Tribute to Harry Smith and the Anthology of American Folk Music, 11/25 at the Columbia City Theater

Ball of Wax 26: A Tribute to Harry Smith and the Anthology of American Folk Music
Presented by American Standard Time, Ball of Wax, and Hearth Music
Friday, November 25th, 8:00 p.m.
The Columbia City Theater
Kevin Murphy (The Moondoggies), RedDog, Kevin Barrans and Friends, Folichon Cajun Band, Pacific Northwest Sacred Harp Singers, Jeremy Burk, Colin J Nelson, Sokai Stilhed, Norman Baker, Ben Fisher, Virgin of the Birds
Plus a Harry Smith story from John Cohen, animated by Drew Christie!
Tickets $10 advance / $15 doors
Free Ball of Wax 26 CD with entry

Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly has been experimenting with the form a bit this year (see, e.g., Songs about Books), and that trend continues with the next volume. You might remember a while back I put out an open call for submissions of new recordings of songs featured on the legendary Anthology of American Folk Music, compiled by Bellingham native Harry Smith and released in 1952, spurring the great folk revival that followed. The result is a new compilation CD featuring 20 songs from old Ball of Wax friends such as Amateur Radio Operator, Pufferfish, and The Foghorns as well as many new additions to the fold, including Ben Fisher, Cait Olds, and Rory Gannon. These renditions range from the straightforward and earnest to the experimental and bizarre, a fitting match for the legendarily eccentric Harry Smith himself.

For the release show, we collaborated with Greg Vandy’s American Standard Time and Devon Leger’s Hearth Music to assemble a diverse group of artists that should make for a perfect tribute to Harry Smith and his Anthology. Several artists featured on the CD will be performing, along with more that we just couldn’t do this show without. You’ll have rootsy, folky rock and indie pop from the likes of Kevin Murphy, Jeremy Burk, and Virgin of the Birds mixed in with Cajun tunes from Folichon Cajun Band and shape note singing from the Pacific Northwest Sacred Harp Singers – and much more besides. Oh, and Greg Vandy will introduce a short film, animated by Drew Christie, of John Cohen telling a story about Harry Smith.

I certainly can’t think of anything else more worth doing on the day after Thanksgiving, can you?