Voices: changes

Country star Kathy Mattea has done some thinking about the people who listen to her music. They range across the spectrum of age, race, nationality, and lifestyle, she finds, but they have one thing in common. "They are people who think about music, rather than just taking what the latest radio hit is that's fed out," she says. "They are people who look for inspiration from their music."

Ideas, insights, and stories from Mattea and other artists who make music for those sorts of listeners have been the focus here at Voices over the last two years. Some, such as Paul Gambill of Orchestra Nashville, come from the classical world, while artists such as Mattea, Marty Stuart, Emmylou Harris, and Patty Loveless call the country charts home. Jon Vezner and Gretchen Peters are top songwriters who also have unique recordings of their own out; Julie Fowlis brings the music of the Western Isles of Scotland to the world. Mary Black is an Irish superstar known for her thoughtful song choices. Cathie Ryan honors her experiences as a first generation Irish American in her own writing and the contemporary and traditional songs she chooses to sing. Christine Albert and Chris Gage are grounded in Americana music spiced by an Austin flavor and a nod to Albert’s French Swiss heritage. Carrie Newcomer looks at love, laughter, loss, and change through the perspective of her Indiana roots and her Quaker faith. And there are many others. I'd like to thank all the artists for being willing to speak with me for the Gather community.

During the two years I’ve been writing Voices, I’ve occasionally taken a break from speaking with artists to offer ideas for Christmas and winter holiday music, not so usual Irish music for Saint Patrick's Day, music for kids and their parents, songs for the road, and ideas on photographing music as well excursions to the Boston Celtic Music Festival and Celtic Connections in Scotland.

However, Gather is trimming its correspondent program, and the Voices column is one which has been cut. Some of  the articles will remain in place, at least for a time, so I’d encourage you to go browse the back issues, so to speak. I’ve spotlighted a few of my favorites in my profile. And speaking of festivals, if you enjoy the range of music mentioned above, the Savannah Music Festival is coming up in March. Even if you don’t live anywhere near Georgia, you might want to check out the festival’s web site for information about a range of interesting musicians. Here, too, is a listing of other festivals throughout the the year.

As for me, I’m not yet sure what my continued participation in the Gather community will be. The challenging economic times which led to Gather’s decisions are affecting my other work in writing and music as well, so I’ll be working on rebuilding there. If you would like to keep up with my work, I invite you to check out out my blog, Music Road, and also to visit Jessie V’s great site Wandering Educators, where I write a monthly column on world music, and where you will find lots of fascinating and engaging content, especially if your interests run to learning about different places and cultures. Thanks, Jessie! I’d also encourage you to look into two of my favorite (okay, I write for them too) print magazines, the instrument focused magazine Strings and the folk and world music magazine Dirty Linen, both of which you may find at your nearest Borders and B&N.

Thanks for reading Voices these last years. I hope you’ll keep on exploring and enjoying the music.

Kerry Dexter writes about music, education and the humanities . Her work has appeared in the folk music magazine Dirty Linen, Strings, The Encyclopedia of Ireland and the Americas, and The MusicHound Guides among others, and she’s the former folk music editor at VH1.com. She also writes about the arts and creative practice at Music Road and contributes to Fred Bals' site about music video, Series of Tubes.