Folk and Bluegrass music of New Jersey

One of the more recorded areas for early folk music in the colonial period from the Pine Barrens and shore areas of the southern New Jersey. It was there, in the sandy, dense forests and small shore towns that the earliest immigrants played musical elements of their home countries as well as sang stories of the original land they called home. Some instances ranged from the Scots/Irish fiddle tunes to Lithuanian and Yiddish songs. This was the regional where stories were sung and celebrities such as Jersey Devil were born.

source of picture: riversidebluegrassband.com

Different workshops, music creation institutions, and festivals throughout the New Jersey have celebrated folk and bluegrass music for years. The folk project has organized many folk music singers in the previous years including Bon Franke, Odetta and Richard Shindell. The New Jersey folk festival which is held in every year at the Rutgers University, celebrating diverse musicians, both in the national and local known, Pine Barons and Jim Murphy has been playing the bluegrass at scenes in the southern New Jersey for more than forty year. The Deleware Valley Bluegrass festival takes place yearly at the Salem County Fairgrounds in Woodstown in New Jersey. The Hurdy Gurdy folk music club also celebrates the folk music in the northern part of the state. The Irish festivity at the Jersey shore celebrates the Irish folk music in every summer at Sea Girt.

John Dull, who is a native of Rutherfird, is a renowned folk musician who has worked with diverse of musicians in many genres. Progressive bluegrass ensemble railroad earth came from Stillwater in New Jersey. Hunterdon County, New Jersey which is a native of Sharon Van Etten is an acclaimed singer of the folk and indie rock music, performing solo with many other popular musicians. David Grisman, who was born in Hackensack, is a celebrated mandolinist and Newgrass composer. Another highly recognized New Jersey musician is Meg Baird, John Gorka, a leader of the new folk trend, was born in Edison. New Jersey folk singer and avant-garde Catherine Moon has produced several critically stories of the widely varied ethnic orchestras in the state as well as revivalist pattern.