Old Songs Festival

2021 Virtual Festival Shirts are here! Many different colors and varieties available including T-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts. Order right away, if you would like to get your shirt in time to wear during the Virtual Festival. (The deadline is for the 1st batch of printing.)

This Weekend! Starts Friday Evening. Workshops, jamming, meeting old friends and new and more fun. Register to receive Festival Zoom Login Information.

Join us for An Afternoon with Tom Lewis on Thursday, May 20 at 2:30 pm EDT A chance to spend an afternoon with Tom Lewis (virtually). Five folk organizations (Old Songs, Inc, the Folk Music Society of New York, Inc, Folk Song Society of Greater Boston, Folklore Society of Greater Washington, and Branford Folk Song Society) have teamed up with Janie Meneely & Rob Van Sante (Falcon Audio Visual Arts Studio) to bring you this live-streamed event from Whitby, UK. Many of you have... had the opportunity over the years to see and hear Tom at the Old Songs Festival or in concert at the Old Songs Community Arts Center in Voorheesville, NY. Until touring is safe for everyone again, we are happy to bring Tom to you virtually. Tom Lewis loves to sing. And he loves it when people sing along. His powerful voice easily reaches to the rafters and just seems to pull other voices up aloft with it. Known throughout the maritime music world for penning classics like A Sailor Ain’t a Sailor (The Last Shanty), Marching Inland, Sailor’s Prayer (the one where the dove has wings as sharp as razors), Tom is just as likely to belt out a traditional sea chantey pulled straight from Davy Jones locker. He’ll even tell you a story, and it might even be true! Tom got hooked on sea music when he heard the likes of Louis Killen, Archie Fisher and Ewan McColl in his early folk club days. During his 23 years as a submariner in Her Majesty’s Navy, Tom never missed the chance to visit folk clubs, concerts and festivals, building a reputation that has spread across three continents. Add to his credit ten albums and a hefty songbook.

An Afternoon with Martin Carthy, this Saturday, May 1 at 3 pm ET. An afternoon with Martin Carthy, live-streamed on YouTube from the Falcon studio in Whitby, UK. Old Songs partnered with the Folk Music Society of NY, the Folk Song Society of Greater Boston, the Folklore Society of Washington, the Branford Folk Music Society, and Janie Meneely & Rob Van Sante to bring you this rare and wonderful event. Martin Carthy has remained one of the most influential figures in British t...raditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as Richard Thompson, since he emerged as a young musician in the early days of the folk revival. Along with his wife, Norma Waterson, he may be best known for his work with the Watersons, Steeleye Span, the Albion Band, Waterson-Carthy, and with his daughter Eliza. It is indeed a treat and a rare opportunity to hear Martin. See more

Spring into Uke on a Cloud is this Saturday! Featuring Lil Rev and Ron Gordon teaching great new tunes, tips, and songs in an interactive virtual space with Zoom.