Amos Perrine

While West Virginia flies under the radar for most people for most things, it is known around the world for its traditional roots music. This week’s column highlights Gerry Milnes, the 2026 recipient of the National Endowment of the Arts Bess Lomax Hawes National Heritage Fellowship. Established in 2000,

The venerable Newport Folk Festival, first held in 1959, returned with another triumphant weekend of roots music, tradition and rebellion at Fort Adams Park in Newport, Rhode Island (July 24-26, 2026). Newport Folk was both the result of the folk and blues revival of the 1950s and instrumental in

This week’s column features a double dose of the blues: the Briggs Farm Blues Festival, Briggsville, Pennsylvania (July 9-11, 2026) and the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival, Winthrop, Washington (July 17-19, 2026). These two fests have become staples for the column. While ND photographer Jim Gavenus was

It’s time to take a break from festival coverage — as exciting as that has been — to catch up on what’s been going on elsewhere in the live roots music scene with the ND photographers.  In total, 37  photos by 13 photographers are featured in the gallery below. From

This week’s column presents five roots music fests that, for a variety of reasons, slipped through the cracks during past few months. Together, they represent the many different aspects of roots music, from their line-ups to their respective locales.  In chronological order those festivals are: 1) Blue Mountains