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Master of cajun music
An impassioned ambassador for Cajun music and culture, fiddler and singer Dewey Balfa (1927-1992) was...
Master of American folk music
Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten (1895-1987), best known for her timeless song "Freight Train,"...
Brazilian Bossa Nova Guitarist
A musician of virtuosity, subtlety, and passion, guitarist Luiz Bonfá (1922-2001) ranks...
Rural blues performer
Walter "Furry" Lewis (1893-1981) personified the relaxed and intimate character of the early blues...
Master of Afghan classical music
Ustad Mohammad Omar (1905-1980), an Afghan rabab virtuoso, helped shape what many...
The First Lady of Children's Music
"You'll sing a song and I'll sing a song, and we'll sing a song together." That is what Ella Jenkins has...
Bahamian master guitarist
Sometimes one performer's unique style is so compelling that it influences an entire generation of artists...
Central Asian Shashmaqam performers
For centuries, the elegant classical music tradition known as maqâm has captivated listeners...
Trío huasteco
Since the group's inception, Los Camperos de Valles have come to represent the best in one of Mexico's most...
Colombian joropo vocalist
The plains region is home to one of Colombia's most prominent and engaging musical traditions...
American Folk Revivalist and Historian
For over fifty years, Mike Seeger has been a musician, documenter, and tireless advocate of the early folk...
Mariachi band leader
Natividad "Nati" Cano was born July 23, 1933 in Ahuisculco, Jalisco, a small rural town outside of Guadalajara, Mexico...
Peurto Rican plena drummer
Héctor "Tito" Matos was born in 1968 in Villa Palmera, a poor neighborhood of Santurce, Puerto Rico...
Scottish ballad singer
Through her classic recordings, Lucy Stewart of Fetterangus, Aberdeenshire...
Iraqi oud soloist
Oud soloist and composer Rahim Alhaj has carried his (roughly) five-thousand-year-old music...
Activist musician and Broadside editor
Sis Cunningham (1909-2004) and her husband Gordon Friesen were born in rural Oklahoma...
Piedmont bluesman
Bluesman and songster John Jackson was born in the rural Blue Ridge Mountain foothill town...
A cappella gospel quartet
Tidewater gospel quartet is a long and proud a cappella tradition, and the...
Sones jarochos from Veracruz
Born and raised on the Costa de la Palma (Palm Coast) ranch near the town of Alvarado...
Civil Rights song leader
Singer, song leader, civil rights activist, and scholar, is a profound contributor to African American culture...
Afro-Puerto Rican traditions
Los Pleneros de la 21 gelled as a group in 1983, when conservatory-trained percussionist...
Dominican accordionist
Lidia María Hernández López, "La India Canela," was born in El Limón, Villa González...
Conjunto de arpa grande
Listen to Mexican arpa grande ensemble Arpex, and you will hear a remarkable demonstration of Michoacán's Tierra...
Argentinian singer and songwriter
In her performances and in her life, Suni Paz has deftly combined her message of cultural awareness and...
Calypsonian great
Born Rupert Westmore Grant in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, on December 13, 1914, Grant grew up around San Fernando...
Bluegrass innovator
Bill Monroe is credited with inventing the high energy, fast tempo, hard-edged style of country music known as bluegrass...
Blues musician
The daughter of English professor Miller Williams, Lucinda Williams was born in Lake Charles, Lousiana...
