Newport Folk Festival 1966
(From The Alan Lomax Collection)

Featuring: Skip James, Bukka White, Son House, Ed & Lonnie Young, Alphonse Ardoin, Canary Fontenot

This is the second volume of footage shot by Alan Lomax at the 1966 Newport Folk Festival. It digs deeper yet into the sources of African-American roots music with a richly complementary volume to its predecessor, Devil Got My Woman. It documents the infamous blues "cutting contest" Lomax staged, pitting Bukka White against Son House and Skip James.

House offers one of his notorious blues "sermons" while Bukka growls and hammers his National guitar. Skip james recreates one of his great 1931 classics, "Cherry Ball Blues." There is even an unlikely duet of White and James performing "Tombstone Blues."

No less striking than the blues offerings here are the five Creole performances of Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin, Amede Ardoin's nephew, who sang and played accordion in an emotional style akin to his legendary uncle to the accompaniment of fiddler Canary Fontenot.

Titles include: Bukka White: Aberdeen Mississippi Blues, Tombstone Blues; Skip James: Cherry Ball Blues; Son House: Talk on the Blues; Alphonse Ardoin & Canary Fontenot: Two Step de Eunice, La Valse de la Prison, Bon soir Moreau, Laccasine Breakdown; Ed & Lonnie Young: Oree, Interview.

vestapol 13050   no longer available on VHS