Folk Music

F is for Folk Music. I have always loved folk music. As a young kid in the 60's I grew up listening to Peter, Paul and Mary, The Kingston Trio, Trini Lopez, Judy Collins, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan and Arlo Guthrie. Some of the earliest records that I owned were by The Wedgwood who were a Christian folk group. I still love to listen to their music. It takes me back to my childhood.


For those of you who have never heard The Wedgwood; here is the song, There's A Light, from their Country Church LP.



For the last few years, my favorite folk music group has been 3 Penny Acre. Their name comes from the fact that the price of the Louisiana Purchase was three cents an acre. 3 Penny Acre is Bayard Blain, Bernice Hembree, and Bryan Hembree. They are all wonderful musicians, vocalists and songwriters. Their sound is acoustic, and has been labled as Folk, Bluegrass, Roots and Americana.


I first heard 3 Penny Acre when they came to Mena, Arkansas and gave a concert at The Ouachita Little Theater. I was curious about them because Bernice Hembree grew up here in Mena. I was blown away by how talented they were. Since then I have tried to attend as many of their concerts as I can.

Recently 3 Penny Acre played the Shreveport House Concert series at Fairfield Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana.  They were touring with The Honey Dewdrops.  Shreveport House Concerts put on small intimate concerts.  It is my favorite place to hear music.

My grand daughter and I sat on the front row where I was able to take photos and get some video.  A highlight of the evening for me was when 3 Penny Acre along with The Honey Dewdrops performed a song that they had written together only two days before. The song is "Back Room" and I was able to video the performance.



Here are some photos from the concert.

Recently 3 Penny Acre released a new album titled Rag and Bone. Like their two previous albums, this album plays to the group’s strengths: the blend of three distinct voices, strongly melodic songs, and their distinctly Ozark musical roots. Trout Fishing in America’s Ezra Idlet helped out in production of the album and provided percussion on many of the tracks.

Here is the title track of the new album as performed at the Shreveport concert.

As the evening came to a close, 3 Penny Acre was joined by The Honey Dewdrops for a performance of the old blues number "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning".  The crowd really enjoyed the collaboration.




The ABC Wednesday Meme is a fun way to see some great blogs.

3 Penny Acre CD Release Concert

 

Sunday we attended the 3 Penny Acre CD Release Concert for their new album, Rag and Bone.  3 Penny Acre is an awesome Folk Americana band from Fayetteville, Arkansas.  Over the last few years, they have been my favorite band. Their name comes from the fact that the price of the Louisiana Purchase was three cents an acre. 3 Penny Acre is Bayard Blain, Bernice Hembree, and Bryan Hembree. They are all wonderful musicians, vocalists and songwriters.

Rag and Bone is their third album following the self titled 2008 release and Highway 71 released in 2010.  Highway 71 debuted on the folk radio charts at #3, including the title track “Highway 71” as the #1 song, and held that position for two months. Highway 71 runs through Mena, and my shop is located on the highway. When we first moved to Arkansas in 1981, Highway 71 still had one lane bridges and there was a popular bumper sticker that stated, Please pray for me; I drive Highway 71.

I first heard 3 Penny Acre when they came to Mena, Arkansas and gave a concert at The Ouachita Little Theater. I was curious about them because Bernice Hembree grew up here in Mena. I was blown away by how talented they were. I attend their concerts whenever it is possible. The CD Release Concert was something really special. They not only played the songs off of the new album but lots of old favorites. As the music flowed, it was obvious to the audience that the band was having a great time.

Here is a video I recorded at the concert of Bayard Blain singing his song, "Cowbird".  As someone who enjoys birdwatching, I got a kick out of the song.  

At the concert I took a series of sepia toned photos.  Here are some of the better shots.

After the concert we enjoyed visiting with Bernice and Bryan. We also visited some people from Mena who made the trip to Fayetteville for the concert.  On the long drive back home to Mena we listened to the new album until it felt like an old friend.

If you enjoy Folk or Americana music and appreciate insightful songwiting be sure to check out 3 Penny Acre.