LIVING TRADITIONS INC.

Community Through Music (CTM) provides folk music, songs and movement to Pre-K-2nd Grade children in NYC that are otherwise without an in-school music program. The program curriculum includes listening to, and examining music; becoming more aware of rhythm, melody and texture in folk music; identifying folk instruments, songs, and songwriters; and relating stories of American history through a transdisciplinary approach to teaching. Effectively serving multiple classrooms within a school per week, children receive 30-45 minutes of live music enrichment for 8 weeks, culminating in a school wide live performance.

Jalopy Jr. Folk School offers folk music education for children 6- 14 years old through three programs: Making Music, Jalopy Jr. Folk Ensemble and the Jalopy Jr. Folk Chorus.

Attended by over 3,000 people annually, the Brooklyn Folk Festival strives to present the best in American and world folk music. Located in the heart of Brooklyn, NY our festival is a celebration of down home music, cultural diversity and memory. Each year we draw talent from New York’s own thriving folk music scene as well as from the national and international world of folk, traditional and vernacular music. The annual festival provides an opportunity for young and old alike to come together, enjoy music, workshops, film screenings, contests and jam sessions and be part of the vitality of our community. The festival is produced each year with a strong sense of vision and attention to detail with the goal of achieving an event that is more than the sum of its parts. The Brooklyn Folk Festival is presented each year by the Jalopy Theatre & School of Music, a grassroots community space that is a music venue, music school, instrument store and record label. By growing the Brooklyn Folk Festival over the past 9 years, the Jalopy has created a substantial and unique community event that brings together thousands of music lovers and hundreds of musicians to celebrate the valuable musical traditions of the world’s peoples. The festival is held at the beautiful historic St. Ann’s Church located at 157 Montague St. between Clinton and Henry in Brooklyn Heights. The 3-day festival includes 30+ bands, vocal and instrumental workshops, a family-friendly square dance, jam sessions, film screenings, the famous Banjo Toss contest and more!

The Jalopy Theatre and School of Music hosts well over 300 musical performances rooted in folk traditions each year, making it perhaps the most expansive purveyor of folk music in New York City. Jalopy Theatre is committed to providing concerts at reasonable prices, underwriting the arts by directing all proceeds from performances to the staff working the concert and the artist themselves. Jalopy takes no cut of the proceeds from any show and offers several shows free of charge or for a suggested donation. The stage has welcomed scores of notable performers, including Alice Gerrard, Robert Crumb, Spider John Koerner, Wayne Henderson, Happy Traum, Wayne Hancock and Sam Shepard. Some of the greats from the last folk revival, like John Cohen and Baby Gramps, play alongside up-and-coming artists like Alynda Lee, Jerron Paxton, Gill Landry and Dom Flemons, who make up the flourishing young folk scene we have helped foster in New York City.

Along with the Brooklyn Folk Festival, Jalopy hosts a variety of other reasonably priced or free/donation based festivals annually. These include the Washington Square Folk Festival, the International Music Festival, Roots and Ruckus Festival, Midwinter Jug Jamboree. These festivals are geared towards highlighting diverse musical traditions here in New York City.

Jalopy Records Mission Statement:

Jalopy Records is the record label of the Jalopy Theatre & School of Music, located in Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY. Founded in 2011, Jalopy Records is New York City’s only “Folk” music record label.

Ancient tradition fosters artistic creation: Folk music is simultaneously historic, timeless, and modern - evolving and responding to the changing world. Jalopy Records is an outlet for the best contemporary artists in the fields of folk, traditional and vernacular music to record, reinterpret and advance their music. We also offer high quality reissue recordings; historic, awesome archival treasures, deep cuts, and more. Jalopy Records is a part of the non-profit Jalopy Theatre & School of Music, which holds as its central mission to support artists and educate the public by preserving, promoting and perpetuating diverse musical traditions.