The Country, Folk & World Recommendation Thread

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Albanian Folk Song - Jarnana (Albania)

Alycia plays a variety of styles of fiddle music ranging from foot stompin’ Celtic, to more eclectic music, and incorporates these diverse influences into her shows.
An engaging and entertaining selection from one of North America’s finest young fiddlers – …

Alycia Putnam - Trolley’s Reel / Dunmore Lasses / Balmoral Castle / Edinburgh Rock (Nova Scotia, Canada)

Ivo Papasov is a Bulgarian clarinetist. He leads the Ivo Papasov Wedding Band in performances of jazz-infused Stambolovo music, and is one of the premier creators of the genre known as "wedding band" music in Bulgaria, along with the violinist Georgi Yanev, saxophonist Yuri Yunakov and accordionists Neshko Neshev, Ivan Milev and Peter Ralchev.
"Ivo's album of wedding music, played first thing in the morning, provides thorough and long-lasting attitude adjustment for the busy executive." (Frank Zappa)

Ivo Papasov - Ivaylovsko Horo (Bulgaria)

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A young guitarist from Geneva, Louis Matute, is a musician recognized for his talent as a performer and composer...a group with "variable geometry", as he says himself, with Latin reminiscences and aiming to create a soundscape based on harmonic work and, above all, the communication of colleagues on the journey.

Louis Matute Large Ensemble - Renaissance (Switzerland)

Lars was an auto-didact and multi-instrumentalist (accordion, keyboards, voice, melodica, etc.) who was completely fearless in his approach to music. He could be unabashedly sentimental (Boeves Psalm, Soon Song), write incredibly dense and complex counterpoint with the best of them (Pas de Valse, Utflykt med Damcyckle), and be mischievous and joyfully wacked-out (Circus I, II).

Lars Hollmer - Boeves Psalm (Sweden)

Sharon Shannon has music at her fingertips....literally! The accordionist from Ireland has achieved legendary status throughout the world and has made the much-maligned accordion 'cool' in her home country...
Natalie MacMaster CM ONS (born June 13, 1972) is a Canadian fiddler from Troy, Inverness County, Nova Scotia, who plays Cape Breton fiddle music. She has toured with the Chieftains, Faith Hill, Carlos Santana and Alison Krauss, and has recorded with Yo-Yo Ma...

Sharon Shannon & Natalie MacMaster - Jean's Reel (Ireland/Canada)

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Marta Pereira da Costa begins her musical training on the piano at the age of 4; she studied 2 years of classical guitar at age 8; At 18, she started playing Portuguese guitar.
She graduated in Civil Engineering, and after working for 8 years, in 2012, she abandoned the activity and dedicated herself exclusively to music and the Portuguese guitar, thus starting her solo career.

Marta Pereira da Costa -Fado Lopes (Portugal)

Formed in 2006, Beirut is an American folk pop outfit, originally the brainchild of Zach Condon, who hails from Santa Fe, New Mexico. They are a concoction of indie - rock and world music.

Beirut - Serbian Cocek (USA)

Spoiler for Beirut - Gulag Orkestar:

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This 8-strong collective from England, Italy, France, Congo, Argentina and New Zealand combine traditional afrobeat and hi-life with funk, jazz, Latin and dub to deliver party music born of their truly global DNA.
Sung in Lingala by lead vocalist Juanita Euka.

London Afrobeat Collective - Topesa Esengo Na Motema (England)

Yeghish Manoukian is an Armenian duduk player, performing since 1967.

Yeghshe Manukyan - I Beg You Mountains (Armenia)

Steeped in the cadence of her native County Cavan, it is by turns raw and wild, warm and melodic, grief-stricken and exuberant, driven always by the drama inherent in the song.

Lisa O'Neill - Old Note (Ireland)

The Mary Wallopers are a folk group from Dundalk, breathing new life into both well known & rare ballads. Travelling the length & breadth of the country singing & collecting songs, they exude a raw energy that could be described as the Clancy Brothers meet John Lydon.

The Mary Wallopers - Cod Liver Oil & The Orange Juice (Ireland)

Spoiler for The Mary Wallopers - Eileen Og:

Caravan is a jazz standard composed by Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington.
The melody is emphatically chromatic, mysterious, almost oriental. Ellington arranged the song with additional orientalisms and gave it a new, more conventional middle section, which contrasts strongly with the main melody in terms of rhythm and tone. The piece draws its particular strength from this contrast.
It's no wonder that greats like .... and Tommy Emmanuel don't want to miss out on joint concerts with Joscho Stephan. The German is one of the great innovators of the genre.

Tommy Emmanuel & Joscho Stephan - Caravan (Australia/Germany)

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If I Had You is a pop song written by Ted Shapiro, Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly under the joint pseudonym Irving King and published in 1928. Originally from England, the song became popular in the 1930s, particularly in the United States, and also became a much-played jazz standard.

Spoiler for Tommy Emmanuel & Joscho Stephan - If I Had You:

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TaranProject was a Calabrian ethnic music group from Locride, led by Mimmo Cavallaro and Cosimo Papandrea.
The numerous performances (a hundred or so from May to December), almost all in the localities of Locride, the area where the musicians are originally from, record a growing success, to the point of unleashing an authentic collective passion: the town squares are packed with people of all ages, from the elderly who rediscover the songs of their past and the desire to dance the tarantella to the ancient use, to the young people who, attracted by the rock sounds, rediscover the forgotten roots of the musical culture of their land. Their signature song is undoubtedly “Spagna,” which takes a text already proposed years ago by Otello Profazio with a new melody, and becomes the soundtrack of the Locridean summer.

Mimmo Cavallaro & Cosimo Papandrea TaranProjekt - Spagna (Italy)

Spoiler for Mimmo Cavallaro & Cosimo Papandrea TaranProject - Hjuri di Hjumari:

Spoiler for Mimmo Cavallaro & Cosimo Papandrea TaranProject - Stilla chjara:

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Eugenio Bennato (born 16 March 1948) is an Italian folk musician and songwriter. He is the brother of the musician Edoardo Bennato. In 1998, he founded a musical movement called Taranta Power, with the aim of promoting south-Italian folk culture through music, cinema and theater.

Eugenio Bennato - Riturnella (Italy)

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El Negro Palma is a dedicated and passionate artist, known for his deep connection to traditional Latin American music. His career has been marked by a profound ability to convey raw emotion through his songs, making him a beloved figure in his genre. Despite not being widely known on the global stage, his music resonates deeply with those who appreciate heartfelt storytelling.

El Negro Palma - Homenaje a las Coplas (Argentina)

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Black roots, samba and African batuque in the music of Paulo César Pinheiro and Mauro Duarte, sung by Clara Nunes, tell of the emergence of Brazilians from three races, whites, blacks and Indians. Indians were plundered, blacks kidnapped, all enslaved by white Europeans. The resistance of the Quilombo, the extermination of the indigenous people the “sobs of pain”, the historical responsibility of white Europeans.
The blatant oppression lasted more than 300 years and was overcome just over 100 years ago, not for humanitarian reasons, but because of the need to adapt to the economy.

Clara Nunes - Canto Das Três Raças (Brazil)

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After meeting Quincy Jones at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2006, Alfredo left Cuba and his family behind to immigrate to the United States to pursue his dream. Alfredo was schooled in the rigorous classical conservatories of Havana.
Hailing from a small town in Cameroon, Richard Bona became fascinated with the great American bassist, Jaco Pastorius, at a very early age. Pastorius inspired him to pick up the instrument, and years later, Bona would eventually become one of the most highly-acclaimed bass players in the world. After winning his first GRAMMY in 2002, his fourth-studio album Tiki was nominated for “Best Contemporary World Music Album” at the 49th GRAMMY Awards.

Richard Bona & Alfredo Rodriguez Band - O Karaka (Live at Jazz à Vienne 2021) (Cameroon/Cuba)

Spoiler for Richard Bona & Alfredo Rodriguez Band - Ay Mama Ines (Live at Jazz à Vienne 2021):