LIVE RECORDING FROM THE MIDWEST FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL, 2006, 2009 and 2012

In the late summer of 2006, 2009 and 2012, the historic community of Bishop Hill, Illinois, hosted the Midwest Folklife Festival.  In the idyllic setting of the town square, traditional folk and ethnic musicians from Illinois, Iowa Wisconsin and Minnesota presented an extraordinary range of styles reflecting the melting pot that is Middle America. A live festival always includes a few surprises. Despite having to move T-Roma’s set (2012) in to the one room schoolhouse due to rain, the performance was magical!  The droning cicadas that populated the town in 2009 show up on several of the tracks.  Yet through it all, the music and performances shine.  The resulting recordings provide a beautiful documentation of the abundant and diverse musical traditions of Illinois and the Midwest.