Folk music is alive and well in and around the Seattle area.

To get an idea of the scope of the scene, click HERE. The opening picture is of a gathering In Bob Nelson's back yard up in Everett (north of Seattle) one Sunday afternoon a few years ago.

Then click on "Browse by Artist" above the picture and it will take you to photos and brief bios of some of the singers in and around the Seattle area (extending as far north as Bellingham and south to I'm not sure how far), and samples of their singing.

To my knowledge, there is not a heck of a lot of activity on the east side of Lake Washington, but I could be wrong about this.

Both Bob (Deckman) Nelson and I have been singing since the early 1950s, sung in coffee houses regularly, done concerts and folk festivals, all kindsa stuff, as have many of the others. Along with getting together and singing for each other just for the joy of it.

I, personally, don't get around much anymore (stuck in a wheelchair), but I still play and sing. And I'm in the process of writing a retrospective or personal viewpoint history of the folk music "scene" in the Seattle area since the 1950s.

I'm looking forward to meeting—and hearing you—sometime, if things work out.

Don Firth