Michigan-I-O - presented by the Audio Museum of American Song
In the 19th century, while the lumber and mining trades prospered in Michigan, so did the folk tradition. That’s owed mainly to the workers themselves, who, after a hard winter spent felling trees, or a dangerous voyage in a freighter filled with far too much iron ore, turned that pain and adventure into music. These very songs -- and many songs like them -- were sung throughout the Great Lakes region for decades, yet, in spite of their popularity, were rarely written down. They might have been lost for good, but for the work of a young song collector by the name of Alan Lomax. In 1938 the Library of Congress sent Lomax through Michigan and Wisconsin for the sole purpose of documenting the folk tradition there. The trip yielded impressive results: after three months of travel, interviews, and recording sessions, Lomax returned home with hundreds of vinyl field recordings, photographs, and even a few black-and-white video clips. All together, they compose the largest single collection of the folk music and storytelling tradition from Michigan's early statehood. The Library of Congress recently published a large portion of this collection at loc.gov, so you can go see for yourself what all the fuss is about. Now, more than eighty years after Alan Lomax’s trip, we here at the Audio Museum of American Song are proud to present this album as a tribute to the era, and a contribution to Michigan’s great folk tradition.
Produced by Audio Museum of American Song
Original art by Kipp Normand
Graphic design by Blake Johnson
Engineered and Mixed by Drew Elliot
Mastered by Third Man Records
This is a great collection of settings for the Psalms. It's diverse in it's music as well as in the poetry. Some has a Reformation/Puritan feel, others are much more modern retellings. Garrett Lee
Raised in Iowa and Kentucky, Bathgate makes epic, indie-tinged folk tunes inspired by travels, and recalling the great and wild outdoors. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 5, 2016
The whole album is a great idea with lots of good execution. The track "Arise, Shine, for Your Light has Come" is a stunning standout. Our church used it four services in a row! Kent Reeder