The Country, Folk & World Recommendation Thread

[Safar]

These are two generational talents, understood within and outside of bluegrass to be standard-setters for the instrument and for flatpicking at large. Together, their musical dialogues are entrancing, exciting, and as charming as they are downright unpredictable. Billy’s power and aggression on the six-string ease, while each player listens ardently and responds to the other with comfortability, or a wink, or a tasteful counterpoint, or an outburst-inducing surprise. Sutton is endlessly lyrical, drawing out such responses from Strings. For their level of chops, the collection rarely strays into self-involved jamming or ego-driven ideas.

Billy Strings & Bryan Sutton - Little Darling Pal of Mine (USA)

The Be Good Tanyas are a Canadian folk music group formed in Vancouver in 1999. Their influences include folk, country, and bluegrass. The style of music they perform can be referred to as alt-country or Americana. The Be Good Tanyas formed in 1999 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Samantha Parton had been living on the road as a tree planter and wandering and making music, when she met Jolie Holland. The two began playing songs, including one called "Be Good Tanya", which had been written by a friend of Holland's. They added a mutual friend, Trish Klein, and Frazey Ford, who had been planting trees with Parton, joined the trio.

The Be Good Tanyas - Waiting Around To Die (Canada)

The 17 Hippies are a fixture in the German music scene and far beyond....Eastern European melodies and rhythms, Americana, and chanson merge with the Anglo-American rock/pop/jazz background of the band members to create an exciting mix that has made the 17 Hippies a genre unto themselves.

17 HIPPIES - Frau von Ungefähr (Germany)

Jovano, Jovanke (Bulgarian: Йовано, Йованке; Macedonian: Јовано, Јованке) is a traditional folk song originating from the region of Macedonia. It is about two young lovers separated by their disapproving parents.

Spoiler for 17 HIPPIES - Jovano Jovanke:

Istanbul-based musician Tolga Boyuk created the character Islandman. In concert, it turns into an electro-acoustic trio, weaving sinuous and bewitching improvisations. Islandman won over the Montreux Jazz Festival audience with its electronic structures, hypnotic guitars and shamanic rhythms.
Shure Montreux Jazz Band Award Winner 2018: Islandman

Islandman - Agit (Türkiye)

We’re thrilled to announce that six-piece contemporary trad band Falasgair as the winner of this year’s Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival x BBC ALBA talent search, bagging themselves the opportunity to perform on the festival’s main hot house stage. The Skye band, who take their name from the Gaelic word for the seasonal act of burning heather, are sure to light up Bella 2025 as the opening act.

Falasgair – The Sauna Set (Scotland)

[Safar]

Called "three of the finest folk violinists anywhere" by The Washington Post, Celtic Fiddle Festival celebrates the violin in all its globe-trotting variations.

Celtic Fiddle Festival - Cutting Bracken/Brisk Bob/Laird Of Drumblair (Ireland, France, Scotland)

“Agnes Dreams of Being an Artist” is the lead-off track for The Good Ones’ fifth album, Rwanda Sings With Strings. It was also the first song recorded during the album’s lone recording session— an epic twenty-three song affair. The Good Ones’ duo had just met the cellist and violin player moments before (and the two string players had also just met). There were no rehearsals, no demos, and no sheet music.

The Good Ones - Agnes Dreams of Being an Artist (Rwanda)

...Tucker Zimmerman moves on to Belgium, the country of origin of
wife Marie-Claire, opens a recording studio in the Liège area and never stops writing songs. When selecting the songs, Tucker Zimmerman emphasized "a positive message and a peaceful vibration. It should be “just poetry”, “little hums that perhaps might lift us all above our daily worries and fears, little hums that try to make the world a better place to live in.” Nothing less than that has been achieved and the response this time has been overwhelming!

Tucker Zimmerman - Burial At Sea (USA)