Where the Palm Trees Shake at Night

The music presented on Where the Palm Trees Shake at Night was selected from hundreds of hours of Florida Folk Festival performances and field recordings spanning 25 years, from 1977-2002.

Alongside the down-home folk traditions of Emmett Murray, Richard Williams, and Moses Williams are performances of standard Blues by Albert "Buck" Thompson, Charles Atkins and Martin "Tampa Blue" Locklear. The Piedmont finger-picking style of North Carolina guitarist Etta Baker was captured at the Florida Folk Festival, as was the renowned Washington, D.C. duo Cephas and Wiggins’ more modernized interpretation of Piedmont Blues.

The blues has enjoyed a rich and varied tradition in Florida. Folklorists such as Zora Neale Hurston, Alan Lomax, and Stetson Kennedy documented blues from the late 1920s until the early 1940s. Blues musicians received widespread attention during the 1960s blues and folk music revival. In 1978, the North Florida Folklife Project began to reexamine and document performances by blues musicians throughout the state.

The music presented on this playlist was selected from hundreds of hours of Florida Folk Festival performances and field recordings spanning 25 years, from 1977-2002. Alongside the down-home folk traditions of Emmett Murray, Richard Williams, and Moses Williams are performances of standard blues by Albert "Buck" Thompson, Charles Atkins, and Martin “Tampa Blue” Locklear. The Piedmont finger-picking style of North Carolina guitarist Etta Baker was captured at the Florida Folk Festival, as was the renowned Washington, D.C. duo, Cephas and Wiggins’ more modernized interpretation of Piedmont blues. Other performances from the Florida Folk Festival include renditions of classic blues forms on piano with powerful and colorful vocal performances from Ida Goodson, Mary McClain, Marie Buggs, and Alex McBride. Florida Folk Heritage Award winner William "Washboard Bill" Cooke's unique combination of blues, street performance, and folk art illustrates the musician’s love for his home state. Songs by Roy Book Binder, Johnny Brown, Sammy Lee Williams, and Johnny Shines exhibit masterful talents with traditional blues forms through their performances of original material.

With the work of folklorists and archivists, as well as the legacy of creation passed on to future generations by the artists themselves, Florida blues music will remain to be treasured and enjoyed.