Tim Eriksen, Grammy-nominated Americana and Northern Roots musician, will deliver a virtual lecture for the U of A at 4 p.m., Friday, Oct. 8, via Zoom. “Vance Randolph’s ‘Unprintable’ Folk Songs: A Conversation with Music” is open to the public and offered at no cost to attendees, and registration is required. This event is sponsored by Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts and Ozark Traditional Arts.
Eriksen has achieved international acclaim as a musician, musicologist and professor. Taking influence from the historic ballads, love songs and hymns of New England and Southern Appalachia, Eriksen has revitalized Americana music. The musician marries elements of traditional and modern music, blending the inflections of “hardcore” punk-rock with his mastery of the banjo, fiddle, guitar and bajo sexto.
Eriksen’s music has accompanied an array of films, including the Oscar-winning Cold Mountain, Ray McKinnon’s Chrystal and the forthcoming documentary Behold the Earth. In 2015, the musician earned his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University. Beyond his passion for American roots music, Eriksen has engaged with a variety of different musical styles from all over the world, collaborating with Afro-Cuban world-jazz pianist Omar Sosa, Romani musician and dancer Esma Redžepova and the Bosnian folk-pop group Žabe i Babe. He revels in the distinction of being the only musician to have shared the stage with both Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and the legendary American guitarist Doc Watson. In 2018, Eriksen’s song “I Wish the Wars Were All Over” was covered and released by celebrated musician and activist Joan Baez.
Eriksen brings his passion and talent to Arkansas’s existing rich tradition of folk music. The University Libraries Special Collections Division boasts a vast archive of folklorist Randolph’s collected sheet music and folk lyrics from his fieldwork in the Ozarks. Eriksen’s lecture will emphasize Randolph’s posthumously published songs, work deemed “unprintable” during his career. These songs, released by the U of A Press in 1992, shed new light on 20th century folk expressions of intimacy and desire in Arkansas. Eriksen has been incorporating selections from Randolph’s work into his own recordings, and will share stories, song, and perspectives on their ethics and aesthetics during his conversation.
More information about Eriksen, including his musical work and upcoming performances, can be found on the artist’s website.
Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts is a statewide program of the U of A Libraries dedicated to building cross-cultural understanding by documenting, presenting and sustaining Arkansas’s living traditional arts and cultural heritage. Those interested in learning more can view the Vance Randolph Collection in Special Collections, which is located on the first level of Mullins Library and open by appointment from 1-4 p.m. Monday through Friday.