https://folkways.si.edu/the-village-out-west


Hey ho! "Indian Neck Folk Festival's " (now, Circle of Friends Festival) own Alan Oakes kept some mighty fine stereo recordings from the '60s hidden from the public!

We’re thrilled to announce ‘The Village Out West: The Lost Tapes of Alan Oakes,’ a remarkable new collection of music that offers listeners a ringside seat at the early and enthusiastic days of musical discovery in California, out Sept. 24 and available for pre-order today!
(Produced by Deborah Robins, Henry H. Sapoznik and Jeff Place )This compilation challenges the historical preconception that New York’s Greenwich Village was the sole epicenter of folk music in the 1960s,and brings to life the equally vibrant contemporaneous scene that emerged in the San Francisco Bay Area. It includes never-before-heard live performances by Doc Watson, Fred McDowell, Rev. Gary Davis, the New Lost City Ramblers, and Kilby Snow, as well as unsung heroes of the local California communities that turned the region into fertile ground for American music.

All the recordings—from fabled festivals like the Berkeley Folk Music Festival and the Jabberwock, clubs like The Cabale and the Blind Lemon, and innumerable house concerts, workshops, and impromptu interviews—were lovingly and expertly recorded on over 60 open reel tapes by forgotten autodidact documentarian Alan Oakes between 1960 and 1975.
Take a listen to our sampler, which shares a snapshot of the album’s expansive repertoire! These four tracks feature the country blues of Mississippi Fred McDowell, the heavenly harmonies of Kathy & Carol, an old-time, breakdown fiddle tune by Hank Bradley and Rick Shubb with Doc Watson, and the traditional folk duo Larry Hanks and Roger Perkins.