Live Music Open Forum: Who Are Your Favorite Folk/Bluegrass/Country/Blues Performers in Second Life?

As promised, we're starting an epic New World Notes Reader's Poll for your favorite live music performers in Second Life. The first category: Folk/Bluegrass/ Country/Blues Performers. Nominate your most loved artists in any of those genres in Comments. This will help us (a panel of expert advisors and myself) narrow down the finalists for reader voting. Here's some other guidelines:

• Include a short description of each nominee, and ideally, links to their website(s) and YouTube performance video.
• Artists specializing in covers can be nominated, but those who perform at least some original work in SL preferred.
• To qualify as a "music performer in Second Life", the artist must have performed at least three live in-world gigs this year.

So start nominating now, the more the better. Readers' favorite artists will get a profile in New World Notes, and hopefully, a much larger fanbase. And if you're a Folk/Bluegrass/Country/Blues performer in Second Life, do encourage your fans to lobby for you here.

Update, 8/7: Bumped up again -- please keep nominating. WE WILL PROBABLY CLOSE NOMINATIONS AT THE END OF THIS WEEKEND!

Comments

[Opensource Obscure]

ok, for the first and the last time I will say what I feel when I listen to Folk/Bluegrass/Country.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sorry! I have no excuses for my immature reaction.

And admittely, Folk/Bluegrass/Country is a kind of music that is very popular in Second Life as far as I see, and the "1-person with a guitar" formula usually works well. Keep up your work, people.

PS
blues is ok!

[Sioban McMahon]

Blues:

Tone Uriza
Madmax Huet (although he's not playing right now)

Folk:

DannyQuinn Irelund

[Ignatius Onomatopoeia]

I'd nominate Beth Odets as my favorite: some great old-time fiddle-playin' for us SL hillbillies.

@Opensource,

It's okay to not like bluegrass, though you'd go insane near me. Something about spending much of my free time on a farm got me in touch with old-timey and bluegrass.

When I hear most rap, hip-hop, and bubblegum pop, I scream and reach for the "off" button too :)

[Honour McMillan]

Blues? Well then definitely Von Johin - he does both covers and original music and is pure magic with that guitar. :)

http://www.vonjohin.com/VonJohin/Welcome.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vid6WdBHbK8&feature=related

[Arcadia Codesmith]

I hate genre labels. If I had to put a category on my favorites, it would be "crossover", because none of them are confined to one genre.

With that in mind... two of my favorite "folk" artists are:

1) CelticMaidenWarrior Lancaster: lovely haunting voice lends itself to tragic Irish ballads... but she also handles modern pop with skill and spirit.

2) MrMulti Writer: another artist with little respect for artifical boundries between genres. I love the texture of his voice and his willingness to reconstruct old favorites into new forms. His original work is well worth a listen as well.

I have no links, but both will pop up readily on a youtube search.

[Delinda Dyrssen]

Im going to get in so much trouble for saying this.. but here goes...Bluegrass Cosmic Haystack, Folk Too many to list.. Blues Von Johin

[Maurice Mistwallow]

My favorite folk artist in SL by far is Shannon Oherlihy. Her voice is pure folk.... she sings both well known and lesser known folk songs that touch people's souls as well as her own original material which is just beautiful. She definitely belongs on any who's who list of folk music in Second Life.

http://www.reverbnation.com/shannonmcmahon
http://www.myspace.com/shannonmcmahonbruchal

I'm not sure about favorite bluegrass... I think Beth Odets could fit that category as somebody else posted and I definitely second the nomination for Von Johin for best in blues.

[Maurice Mistwallow]

Forgot to include youtube performances with my nomination for Shannon Oherlihy..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7WtRdSYbUQ Shannon doing a Joan Baez cover at Melodies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpFzJDfByys Shannon performing her original 40 Years On along with Beth Odets at Holly GoLightly's Cafe

[Buckaroo Mu]

For the Blues, I can't help but nominate Dakila Lacava. He sits at an old pianer (his word) and channels Louis Armstrong. Unfortunately, he sometimes has some tech issues - he's broadcasting from half-way around the world, and his streams can be annoyingly choppy sometimes. Still worth a listen, he performs usually twice a week.

[bartelby Pegler]

Blues: Etherian Kamaboku, Arman Finesmith, Blindboink Parham, Von Johin and Ziffy Zarf

And when he plays in SL Charles Bristol is the real deal Bluesman :)

[ZenRascal Mandelbrot]

Noma Falta - My favorite electric blues performer.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW6rokE2MTY (and many others)

Website (not very active): http://www.nomafalta.com/

Inworld Group: Noma's Bluez

[Phil]

My favorite blues and folk musicians: HondoMesa Kidd, Brendan Shoreland & Noma Falta.

[Ajax Manatiso]

I have yet to see a performer who in SL who was not off key or off tempo -- usually both. Not only would Simon tell them to go home, they would have been gonged off the Gong Show. Yet they all seem to have "fans" Maybe some people's sound cards are off

[Komuso Tokugawa]

"I have yet to see a performer who in SL who was not off key or off tempo -- usually both."

@ajax Watch it bud, I resemble that remark!

[Jura Shepherd]

I'm throwing BlindBoink Parham in. There are Blues performers who's music I like just as much, but BlindBoink is a bit of a historian for a specific area of Blues. He has an educator's manner that adds to his performance and it seems to fit well with the SL platform when it comes to live music.

[Pierce Kronos]

Cosmic Haystack
http://www.mefeedia.com/watch/30934180

Bart & Whirl
http://www.cruxwork.com/wordpress/

[Emile Sands]

HondoMesa Kidd is DA BOMB!!!! I sooooo nominate him!!

[serene bechir]

Brendan Shoreland known in RL as David Walton, whose original song Sailors Sail Away can be found on the BBC website. Brendan is the most sincere, open and quality performer I have heard. The purity of his tone goes beyond musical skill and speaks to his true connection with the music. Performing originals and covers with no backing tracks or effects, Brendan performs on 6 sting guitar and 12 as well as some a Capella, depending on what best portrays the message of the song.

[Emile Sands]

I would like to nominate BRENDAN SHORELAND as an AMAZING folk performer. He is soooooo good!! :D

[Komuso Tokugawa]

I nominate Phillip Linden as best SL Blues performer! Man, that guy can really make you feel dem low down raggedy ass my pixels are dragging in the bitstream blues but yet can still pull out some fast, fun and easy high notes when the occasion demands it.

[Chantal Glenwalker]

Brendan Shoreland for sure is one of my favourite performers as all is live with no backing at all.

[Fox Ravenheart]

Brendan Shoreland is one of the finest folk singers on Second Life. He is worthy of nomination. Singing weekly from his maritime home of Plymouth England, Brendan compels a soulful nuance and elegance, a sandy sadness and windy wistfulness. He never seeks publicity nor linden compensation for his music. He is glad to give and honored to be heard. He unites his listeners into a circle and always inspires me. Though he would not seek this recognition, he should be recognized for the salubrious song he brings to a weary world.

[Rosemary Serenity]

I've ran into many performers in SecondLife and I must confess it is hard to choose a favorite. Still, from my list of favorites there is one name that must be mentioned and that is Brendan Shoreland. Not only had I the pleasure to listen to him in-world, I also had the pleasure to work with him on a RL film project to which he created an original soundtrack that was amazingly welcomed by the audience. Giving his voice to covers and opening up his heart with his original songs, Brendan is one of the singers that you can't - or at least shouldn't – miss as he adds that little something to music that reminds us of why it is considered an art.

http://www.brendan-shoreland.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/

[MsKadee Gossipgirl]

I would like to nominate BRENDAN SHORELAND as an AMAZING folk performer!!!

[Komuso Tokugawa]

How come blues gets lumped in with the folkie dawg done left me deliverance fingerpickers?
Apart from a few rare cases like Bele Fleck's Flecktones folk country & bluegrass are pretty defined narrow genres, whereas blues spans a much broader range of sub-styles and instrumentation.

Lumping it in with them is rather narrow thinking (though I guess your "experts" must be aware of that *sigh*), also given the diverse range of excellent blues artistes banging it out in sl (off key and off tempo blues included)

"The blues is the roots, the rest is the fruits" Willie Dixon.

except for new country I guess
and Alternative indie folk...
and Acid Bluegrass...
and grunge folk country blues..
and...

I also vote for Brenden Shoreland...he knows how to encourage his fans to lobby for him!