Originally founded in 1948 as an independent record label, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings will celebrate forty years at the Smithsonian in 2027. The home to the recorded legacy of Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Ella Jenkins, and Clifton Chenier, Folkways continues to steward the important recordings of our shared American experience while also releasing new recordings of music from up-and-coming artists whose work is tied to this historic catalog. Join us for a discussion of the label’s storied past and its plans for the future.

Smithsonian Folkways director and curator Maureen Loughran leads the conversation with producer Mark Puryear and blues musician Jay Summerour. We hear about the recent vinyl reissue of Classic Blues plus a few live, acoustic tunes from our guests!

Photo: Pete Seeger and Bernice Johnson Reagon perform at a Lead Belly Concert sponsored by Sing Out! Magazine, New York Town Hall, New York City. Photo by Diana J. Davies, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives