RIP Hazel Dickens

This past weekend, we lost one of country and folk music's major musical personalities, Hazel Dickens, who died at age 75. The Appalachian singer-songwriter was a strong, unique artist who not only sang beautifully in the tradition of rural country and Appalachian folk music; her music also championed coal miners (her songs were featured in the 1976 documentary Harlan County USA), hard-working women ("Don't Put Her Down, You Helped Put Her There," "Mama's Hands"), and the rights of everyday people in general.

Hazel was an incredible writer and possessed a beautiful voice that was full of character. Every line, every note, took us back to the hills of West Virginia, where she was born in 1935. (You can read my Rough Guide to Country Music bio on her via Google book search.) She was a regular performer at San Francisco's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, and was as down to earth in person as the souls in her songs. We'll miss Hazel and her music terribly; honest music like hers is always rare, and seems even harder to find these days.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 7

Another year, another Bluegrass Fest in San Francisco, this weekend (Oct-5-7) in Golden Gate Park. Old favorites are returning, including Nick Lowe (when did he get so damn popular all the sudden? It's not like he's moving a ton of records), T-Bone Burnett (one of the fest highlights last year), Del McCoury, Gillian Welch, Mekons, Knitters, on and on. PLUS some new blood, including Jeff Tweedy (solo on Friday afternoon), Charlie Louvin, Neko Case, and, believe it or not, John Mellencamp. There's a reason they renamed the fest Hardly Strictly Bluegrass--which I have no beef with, as it opens the field to a wider range of roots/country/soul/grass type artists.

Here's a few highlights from last year's extravaganza:


Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2006

Charlie Louvin 2007

Some shots from Charlie Louvin's appearance at SXSW 2007 in Austin this year.


by wolffkurt

A slideshow:


Charlie Louvin