Library of Congress: Homegrown, Work Songs from Maine

In August 2021, the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress invited me to put together a Homegrown concert featuring work songs from Maine. I pulled from the AFC's own Maine collections, mixed them with shanties I learned as a teenager on schooners in Penobscot Bay, added a few of my own, and invited a few friends and family to lead a song, too. Dylan Ladds filmed the efforts and it was released online through the Library of Congress' channels. Thank you to Thea Austen for inviting me to be a part of things!

Some time later, the Library published a Homegrown Plus follow-up with deeper context: an oral history interview, behind-the-scenes notes, and links to archival collections that shaped the setlist.

Original sources

• Homegrown concert page (loc.gov)
• Homegrown Plus follow-up blog (2023)
• Oral history interview
• Watch the concert on YouTube
• Wayback Machine archive

Originally published by the Library of Congress American Folklife Center, August 25, 2021. Film produced by the great Dylan Ladds of Portland, Maine.