PRESS RELEASE

Folk Legend Ellen Stekert Releases Go Around
Songs, Vol. 1, Her First Album Since 1958
Minneapolis, MN – March 2025 – After a lifetime
dedicated to folk music and folklore, Dr. Elen
Stekert—an influential yet often unsung figure of
the 1960s folk revival—will release her first
independent album, Go Around Songs, Vol. 1, on
March 28th. It will be streaming on all platforms. At
89 years old, Stekert is finally bringing her archival
recordings to the public, marking a milestone
moment in folk music history.
Stekert, a contemporary of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez,
and Dave Van Ronk, eventually chose to pursue
academia instead of becoming a touring
performer. However, her influence in the folk world
was undeniable. Dylan himself references her in his
autobiography Chronicles: Volume One, calling her
a “folklorist singer” who made “authentic folk
records” that were as “scarce as hen’s teeth”. She
was also friends with folk legends Dave Van Ronk,
Paul Clayton, the Seeger family, and many others.
In fact, after attending one of her concerts in 1964,
Dylan invited her to a party—an invitation she
declined due to teaching responsibilities the next
morning.
The road to Go Around Songs began in 2020 when
Stekert, in post-retirement, started digitizing her
vast archive of recordings. “Until I started to do my
own digitizing, frankly, I didn’t think I was a good
singer”, Stekert recalls. “It was like meeting yourself
walking down the street. I do think I had a really
good voice. And I just like to use it. I love to sing; I
knew I could give something to people that way.”
The final push came in 2024 when she met 25
year-old folk musician and producer Ross Wylde
through an unexpected encounter on eBay. Wylde,
a longtime admirer of her work, was thrilled to
discover that Stekert wanted to compile an album.
Using cutting-edge AI technology, Wylde remixed      
.
Cover Art For Go Around Songs, Vol. 1

and mastered 10 songs recorded between 1954
and 1980, separating vocal and guitar stems
from mono recordings to enhance their clarity.
“Elen’s recorded work is the perfect candidate
for this technology,” Wylde explains. “For
example, some of these tracks were drowned
out by the guitar due to microphone placement,
but AI has allowed us to rebalance and elevate
them. It’s like science fiction.”
Go Around Songs will bring to life the music of
one of the few veterans of the folk revival genre,
offering a rare glimpse into an era that shaped
American music history. As Stekert puts it, “I
didn’t write songs; I gave them another kind of
life so that they would communicate with
someone else. The song will talk for itself, but I
can give it another life.”

Press Contact:
Ross Wylde
(650) 867-5830
RossWyldeMusic@gmail.com