Atlanta Area Friends of Folk Music
(AAFFM)
In 2025, we are planning to stream the Fiddler’s Green Coffeehouse shows on Facebook Live.
For more information, visit the Fiddler’s Green Coffeehouse Facebook page.
Fiddler’s Green April 19, 2025
NICHOLAS EDWARD WILLIAMS / KATHY REED & LONESOME REDWING
NICHOLAS EDWARD WILLIAMS
Honoring and blending the American roots music spectrum in his own flair, Nicholas Edward Williams is a multi-instrumentalist, storyteller and preservationist who has spent the last 15+ years touring three continents.
He’s opened for Taj Mahal, The Wood Brothers, CAAMP, Dom Flemons, Ballroom Thieves, John Craigie, John Paul White and Town Mountain, and his 2019 debut record, As I Go Ramblin’ Around, hit the Top 10 Folk DJ charts for album and song.
His critically acclaimed sophomore release Folk Songs For Old Times’ Sake has been heralded by well-regarded figures such as David Holt, Oliver Wood and JP Harris, and his newest traditional record, titled Rags, Folk and Blues, Oh My! releases in the Spring of 2025.
Nicholas has also presented on TEDx, he’s the producer and host of the roots music history podcast American Songcatcher, has been on the board for the Southeast Regional Folk Alliance since 2021, and is the Founder and Director of the Hurricane Helene instrument relief organization ReString Appalachia.
KATHY REED & LONESOME REDWING
Lonesome Redwing’s feet are firmly planted in the traditions of Americana, country, Western Swing, and bluegrass. The Atlanta-based trio of Kathy Reed, Ellen Rapier, and Russell Weeks are talented musicians known for their instrumental expertise and tight harmonies, and captivating songwriters as well. Their songs about people, places, and experiences big and small are as delightful as they are thoughtful. They will be joined by Walter “Dean of the Dobro” Dean on dobro and pedal steel guitar, and Joel Glogowski on the upright bass.
Along with their musical precision and craftsmanship, Lonesome Redwing is an engaging band whose performances invite the audience to join the fun. Their banter onstage and with the audience leave you with the feeling that you just spent an evening with best friends. Their original material pays homage to the classics of their genres, and their beautiful arrangements and performances give new life to beloved old sweet songs. Lonesome Redwing has opened for such legendary performers as Tony Rice, Peter Rowan, Claire Lynch, The Steep Canyon Rangers, and Patti Loveless.
Website: https://lonesomeredwing.com/
Instagram: @lonesomeredwing
Welcome! This site lists information about folk music and related activities in the greater Atlanta area and the Southeastern U.S. It contains:
- General and recurring information in an expanded directory format
- Links to other folk resources
- See the EVENTS Tab for Fiddler's Green and other AAFFM- sponsored concerts, workshops, and pickin' parties, as well as other events of interest in and around Atlanta.
In email blasts, you'll find details about current events and information on member-only activities like our famous "get-togethers". If you'd like to host a pick-'n-grin, let us know! See the EVENTS tab for upcoming concerts and pickin' parties.
Contact us at membership@aaffm.org to host a pickin' party, join our organization, find out about an upcoming concert, party or workshop, or to submit listings to the website.
See the 'History' tab for the history of the organization.
AAFFM sponsors a local monthly coffeehouse, Fiddler's Green, that features concerts that included traditional music, singer-songwriters, poetry and storytelling. As of August, 2016, it is held at First Existentialist Congregation of Atlanta. AAFFM Membership benefits include the email blasts (our mailing list will always remain private) and discounts on AAFFM sponsored concerts. Annual membership dues are $15 for individuals and $20 for families, $35 sustaining members. E-mail membership@aaffm.org for membership information or click HERE for our Membership Application.
AAFFM Needs YOU
Chris Moser, President
AAFFM
John McCutcheon
Smoke Rise, GA
April 7, 2019
Dear Friends,
I got a call, early on in my years of performing, from Betty Smith, a friend I’d met at the Folk Festival of the Smokies, inviting me to come do a show in Atlanta. A follow up call from Don and Laeta Smith sealed the deal and, sometime in the 1970’s I appeared in Atlanta for the first of many times. My host was a freshly-formed group, The Atlanta Area Friends of Folk Music. What I found was a devoted clutch of folk music lovers who not only presented concerts, but sponsored all sorts of events that encouraged people to play music themselves, to share the love of this music that is the root of all the world’s music. To get involved with the music, with one another, with the world.
Having this lovely relationship with Atlanta played a part in my decision to move here in 2006. And I thank you for that.
Over forty years later, AAFFM is still sponsoring events that are meeting places for Atlantans of all stripes and a watering hole for that wandering herd of performers still plying the boards out there. I get to see some of my far-flung fellow performing pals as a result of these. And I thank you for that.
But groups such as AAFFM do not magically sustain themselves. Communities must commit to survive. And in this age of hyper-tribalism it’s more important than ever to reach out, to stand up, to say, “This is the kind of community, the kind of world, I want to be a part of.” You’ll never see the musicians AAFFM brings into our intimate gatherings at the Fox or on Netflix. No, you have to go out, sit shoulder-to-shoulder with others and have that experience live and in person. You can learn how to play, how to sing, how to harmonize in jam sessions not sponsored by YouTube. And, in the process, help build a community that improves the lives of individuals and the collective community life of Atlanta.
Pete Seeger would have been 100 years old this year. He taught us what we could feel like, what we could do if we risked adding our voice to the others in his audience, if we dared to harmonize with a roomful of strangers. But we had to make the move.
So, my fellow Atlantans, make the move, risk, dare, and join me in continuing to support the Atlanta Area Friends of Folk Music. And for that I thank you, as well.
Take it easy, but take it!
Become an AAFFM Member!
What's Happening?
Fiddler’s Green September 21, 2024
FRANK HAMILTON SCHOOL PLAYERS and VERONIKA JACKSONFRANK HAMILTON SCHOOL PLAYERSFrank Hamilton is one of the founding figures in the American Folk Music tradition. In addition to gathering and performing folk songs, recording with The Weavers, Pete Seeger, Odetta, and...