Young Folkies?

Subject: Young Folkies?
From: *Laura*
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 05:16 PM

I wondered if there are any 'Catters out there - or if any of you know anyone, who might be around my age! (I'm sixteen) I'm trying to persuade two of my non-folkie, Justin Timberlake-liking friends to come to Towersey with me. I think I'll get there eventually. But it made me realise that I have... well NO friends my own age into folk at all!

I know I'll probably meet more people as I get a bit older and go to uni and stuff, but I wondered if theres anyone my age who felt like chatting!

The poeple closest to my age are my brothers friends, and they're all in their early twenties. Not that theres anything wrong with older folkies, far from it, but it would be nice to talk about this stuff with a fellow-teen. A novel experiance in fact!

So if you know of anyone.....

cheers

Laura xxx

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Catherine Jayne
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 05:21 PM

Hi Laura.....were abouts are you??....It might help to give an idea so you can meet up with others in your area. Im 23 and will be in the Barn at Towersey...come and say Hi!

Khatt

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: *Laura*
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 05:35 PM

Near Yeovil in Somerset.
Yeah I will. Cheers

laura xx

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 05:39 PM

Laura

I was about your age when a friend a couple of years older introduced me to folk music, and I was just blown away by it, and have stayed with it. But no-one else in my family has ever been a folkie....

One of the great things is that you do get people of all ages singing and playing and talking together, and sharing tunes and songs.

I hope you make it to Towersey and have a great time. (If I'm not too shattered after getting home from Whitby, I'll try to get to one of the lunchtime sessions in the Three Horseshoes.)

Kitty

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 05:42 PM

Oh, and I met people from near Yeovil at my first Sidmouth, when I was 17 (who are probably friends of your grandparents or similar...)

Kitty

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Turlough
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 06:01 PM

Wow, that hurts, Laura! I'm 27, and I always thought I belonged to the "young folkie" category as well... And then you come and tell me that I'm not young anymore! Sniff... Well, at least I'm BY FAR the youngest member of my folk club. Most of the people there have grey beards... Most of the men, that is :-)

T.

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Joe_F
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 06:39 PM

When I have been to a sing or jam, I tend to note in my journal the presence of a token beardless youth.

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 11:57 PM

When I was a young folky at sixteen or seventeen I also had trouble finding people my age that were moved the same way I was. I would drag them over to the house and play what I thought was the greatest music in the world and get indifferent responses. Eventually you do meet like minded folks. At least I hope you do. I'm pushing 50 these days and would just say, be true to what you like.

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: fiddler
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 03:22 AM

I'll tell Lil Wobble about your thread, she will be at Towersey, just coming up 17 (mid september) occassionally comes in to mudchat - to find me amongst other things (DAD!!!!)

Hope you make it I spend a great deal of time in the barn usually.

Go for it!

Andy

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: GUEST,Jon Brenner
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 03:51 AM

Hi Laura,

I reckon the best advice is get them (and yourself) along to some of the Shooting Roots stuff for a start. It's how many of us first met a lot of our folkie mates, and what's more it's a great laugh.

Shooting Roots (SR) is the part of the festival run by and for 13 to 25 yr olds. It's great.

The SR singing and SR mumming (street theatre) workshops don't really require any previous folk interest and are great fun.

Also, if you/they can be persuaded, often the SR morris workshops have people who haven't done it before, but are really up for having new experiences and making new friends.

Other than SR, get yourself along to the ceilidhs and evening Arts Centre "bops/global dance nights/etc". That's where most of us are, then just natter to people.

Hope this helps, see you at Towersey.

Cheers

Jon

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: GUEST,Claire
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 05:12 AM

Oh Laura, I do sympathise!

I know what it is like being at school and no one liking folk music - it feels like something you have to keep secret. I am 25 and have always had a problem meeting people my age who are into the same music. Its partly my fault though for going to a 'London' university where everyone likes RnB! - unfortunately we were far enough outside London that to go to sessions in London I had to stay there for the night - so it only happened occasionally.

I think its great if you can meet up with some of the above said people. Wish there had been good old Mudcat to help out when I was your age. By the way some universities have folk societies.

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 05:51 AM

I know what you mean Laura... I'm 20 and very few people I know (of my age) are into folk. It does get a little better at uni though - and folk fests are the places to find some more! :O)

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 07:27 AM

Hi, Laura

Welcome to mudcat - you'll find there is a lot of young talent out there. This thread might be of interest.
thread.cfm?threadid=66618#1109849

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Kevin Sheils
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 07:48 AM

I'm sure you'll connect up with lots of youngsters at Towersey, Laura. Us oldies will probably say hello to you as well, as we did at Sidmouth. I guess you'll be on the RCM stall.

Enjoy the festival.

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: MBSLynne
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 08:29 AM

I'll tell my son about this thread. He hasn't been on Mudcat before and he may be the other end of the scale (too young) because he's only 13, but he has been singing at folk clubs and in the Anchor at Sidmouth since he was 3, so he's definitely a proper folkie! I'll get him to post to you.

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: GUEST,Observer
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 09:04 AM

Laura, please please keep trying with your friends. The Folk world (whether they know it or not) needs many more people like yourself to perpetuate itself. The Folk world in general is not as welcoming as it could be. They cater for young children and for us older "fogie types" but miss out the mid to late teens (maybe assuming they all like Justin Timberlake and 50 cent?)

so Keep on trying and I hope you have a wonderful time at Towersy.

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: The DeanMeister
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 09:48 AM

And I thought I was young.... Oh well. Keep looking, Laura. They're a lovely bunch of people.

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Leadfingers
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 10:13 AM

In my opinion there are FAR too many youngsters involved in Folk music already ,and they are ALL far too talented and I just get more and more depressed cos I am Old And Past It !!

I will now go away and have a quiet weep for my own lack of suitable talent .

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Sweetfia
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 10:23 AM

Yesss!! Other young folkies!! I've just tunred 17 but started singing when I was about 13 and I only told my closet friends that I sang about 6 months ago. They had no idea because the music i'm also into is completely different (RnB).

Yeah i'm usually the youngest at a session by about 20 years. I don't mind it though, it's kinda cool that my dad likes the same music as i do!!

Where is Towersey and what's happening? Sounds like it could be a good place to visit.

C'mon Deanie, who are you trying to fool? You haven't been young in a long time! ;-)

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Leadfingers
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 10:33 AM

In my opinion there are FAR too many youngsters involved in Folk music already ,and they are ALL far too talented and I just get more and more depressed cos I am Old And Past It !!

I will now go away and have a quiet weep for my own lack of suitable talent .

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: GUEST,Stephen
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 12:25 PM

Yes, what/where/when is Towersey??

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: treewind
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 12:44 PM

Towersey - August Bank Holiday weekend
(look for it on Google!)

Anahata

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Leadfingers
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 12:48 PM

Towersey is a small village near Thame in Oxfordshire . The Festival runs over the August Bank Holiday weekend .

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: GUEST,Claire
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 12:57 PM

When people ask what kind of music I am into, I used to try and suss them out a bit before I told them in case they thought I was a duffle coat wearing hippy, but nowadays I don't care. When you are young though (blimey I thought I WAS young until now) you do care what your peers think. I was good friends with a girl at uni for several years before either of us discovered we were both into folk!


http://members.lycos.co.uk/clairesoconnell/

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: GUEST,Crystal
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 01:03 PM

I'm 21 if it helps. My sister and her friend are both 18 so I hope we count as young (I don't feel it any more!!). Drag your friends to Towersy, Kidnapp them if you need to. My sister did and her unfortunate friend got hooked (she was only 15, what chance did she have) And has returned with us every year.

Hope to see you there.

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: GUEST,Stephen
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 01:11 PM

Claire... I tried to download the demo on your website, but failed - how might I procure a copy of the CD you mention? :O)

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: GUEST,Claire
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 01:27 PM

It didn't work? Oh dear, I might have to tinker with it again!! If you email me your address, I can post you a copy of a CD-R with a few tracks on. [e-mail]

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 03:40 PM

No young folkies here, just a bunch of old perverts.

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Scooby Doo
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 03:44 PM

you talking about yourself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: dunkel_esel
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 04:58 PM

ahhhh! there is young people out there who like folk music!!!!! ah!!!!! I am 17 and have been trying to find ppl for years my own age to start a band. Unfortunatly, Scotland is full of bearded accordian players (not thats bad or anything). ah well.

mjxx

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Turlough
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 08:31 PM

And bearded buddhist bagpipe players!

T.

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Turlough
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 08:37 PM

But seriously, you must be thankfull that you live in Scotland. If you would have been born in Newfoundland, you would have been confronted by NUDE accordion players! See this thread.

T.

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Scoville
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 11:20 PM

I'm 27 but I grew up with it, sort of (lots of recordings, and songs learned from recordings, but it was better than none at all). I was 16 when I loaned a tape to a classmate of mine who didn't know what bluegrass was (he was a NIN fan) and nearly ruined a good friendship. Then, I went to college and found all kinds of people who thought folk music was A-OK and my life improved dramatically.

I saw Tom Paxton in a coffeehouse downtown when I was 16, too. Somebody in the audience had brought their 3-ish-year-old daughter. Tom was glad to see her but warned that if parents started them on folk music that young, they'd be hooked for life.

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: GUEST,Claire
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 06:05 AM

"was 16 when I loaned a tape to a classmate of mine who didn't know what bluegrass was (he was a NIN fan) and nearly ruined a good friendship"

-- ha ha! had the same experience with someone who was into hard house music!

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: CharleyR
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 07:12 AM

Hi Laura

I'm sure you'll meet lots of other young folkies at Towersey. I have a friend who's 17 who is planning to meet up with her friends there, so there are other people your age out there! Get along to the Shooting Roots events, for sure.

When you start applying to university, look out for ones with folk/ceilidh societies, there are a few out there. I got into folk music through playing in a ceilidh band when I was at school and then didn't play much folk music while I was at 6th form because there wasn't really anything out there I could join in with (and there was the small matter of coursework etc. anyway), then went to university, joined the ceilidh society there, met lots of folkies my age and since then I've been playing more and more, and it helped me to find some other students who aren't only interested in clubbing. Here's a few to start you off: http://www.ceilidhsoc.org
http://www.warwick.ceilidhsoc.org/ http://gosh.ex.ac.uk/societies/folkdance/index.html

Also, you could try signing up to a Yahoo group called 'bigsession', it's a discussion group for young (and some young-ish) folkies.

Have fun at Towersey!

Charley

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: GUEST,noddy
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 10:19 AM

I am 50 . Is that too old to be young?

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: GUEST,noddy
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 10:20 AM

I have pink hair if that helps.

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Turlough
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 11:08 AM

Noddy,

is your beard also pink?

T.

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: GUEST,Crystal
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 06:43 PM

:Unfortunatly, Scotland is full of bearded accordian players (not thats bad or anything). ah well.:

Where in Scotland?

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Moonunit
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 07:00 PM

"When people ask what kind of music I am into, I used to try and suss them out a bit before I told them in case they thought I was a duffle coat wearing hippy"

...does that mean duffle coats aren't cool anymore? Ho hum.

Does the very fact I am asking this question make me too old to be a Young Folkie?

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Merina
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 07:54 PM

Laura: Towersey's the place. During this year my 16 year old dragged a few school friends to a ceilidh. Now they are ceilidh mad. Then they saw Morris Offspring and were so impressed that several even muttered "Cool!" (never heard that applied to Morris before!). Now a whole gang of her friends, previously only into hip hop, N.E.R.D. and white boy rock bands - far too hip for Timberlake - are mad keen to go to Towersey. Bribe, kidnap or drug your friends - get them there camping - get them to ceilidhs and Shooting Roots. But if they won't go, just make some new friends there - sounds like your current ones are boring!

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: The Shambles
Date: 14 Aug 04 - 04:11 AM

I am sure that our 'Laura' is really 16 but it is it not wise to be a little careful when responding to requests like these? Or indeed when making them?

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: s6k
Date: 14 Aug 04 - 11:20 AM

Im 18 and started going to folk type stuff last year and its great.. i already liked most types of music, but this has added a whole load more.

but is not to say that folk is the only music i like, i like everything from deep purple, acdc, led zeppelin to bob marley, pink floyd, metallica, leftfield and robert johnson, etc etc loads of stuff, i think i like someone from every type of music.

my favourite folk music be kate rusby, christy moore, eliza carthy, cartin marthy, and loads of others.

folk music is great and if younger peeple (tean agers etc) continue to like folk music then it will be able to carry on forever.

and now i have typed so mutch that i need a sand widge

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: *Laura*
Date: 14 Aug 04 - 02:44 PM

Hi - just got back from Cropredy so only just read all your helpful messages. (I'd never been before and was working there - does anyone else go? I saw someone with a mudcat t-shirt - i sold you a cd in fact!) anyway -
Turlough - maybe I should have said 'baby folkies' hehe - you know what i mean.
I am probably on the RCM stall at Towersey - though maybe only part time. Still hoping I can drag my friends down - i have a feeling that if I can get them to stand in a tent and listen to Spiers and Boden, and the Demon Barbers - they might actually enjoy it!
So if you want to chat - you could always come to the stall and ask for me! That would be great!

See some of you at Towersey then!

Cheers

Laura xxx

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Turlough
Date: 14 Aug 04 - 03:16 PM

Laura,

glad to hear you're still going! I really hope your friends will enjoy themselves. If I could give you an advice: try to avoid going to any "old", more traditional performers. Go for the new, dynamic stuff... But I guess you figured that out already! And please don't call yourself baby folkie! I'll just have to come to terms with the fact that I'm not a teenager anymore... Sigh ;-)

Have fun at Towersey! (I won't be there, I live in Holland)

T.

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 15 Aug 04 - 09:21 AM

Laura

I forgot to mention that my first Sidmouth was also when I first heard your Dad sing!

Kitty

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: dunkel_esel
Date: 15 Aug 04 - 09:52 AM

Cystal - everywhere!

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Letty
Date: 15 Aug 04 - 10:35 AM

Hi,

I was 'into folk' from a very young age too, and it didn't help that
I grew up in the Netherlands (*waves to Turlough*), where folk tradition is practically non-existent.
But: I managed to find other young folkies at my local music school, so perhaps that's an option? The music classes I joined were geared more towards Yiddish and Eastern European music than Irish/English, but that opened up a whole new world of music for me.
Now that I've moved to Ireland, young folk musicians are everywhere...

Letty (26 years old)

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: Matt_R
Date: 15 Aug 04 - 11:41 AM

Get her Nick Drake's Pink Moon and tell her to lay off that horrible Justin Pisslake shite.

-Matt, 25

Subject: RE: Young Folkies?
From: The Shambles
Date: 15 Aug 04 - 02:46 PM

It is probably as good as it is bad that Nick Drake will always remain a 'yoing folkie'.

Roger, 53