Halloween started early last week on Tuesday night as The New LA Folk Fest brought us something a little less crazy but much more spookier. Gathering more than a handful of talented folk singers from the area with notable acts including Frank Fairfield, Simon Stokes, Vaud and the Villans and more, we were beautifully eased into the dark but fun holiday.

Even if you had already seen the flyer for the event, the set up in the Echoplex on Tueday night was extraordinarily different and perfectly eerie. Walking into the one-night festival of folk artists doing their favorite folk murder ballads, one was offered to take a seat for the first time. As we lowered ourselves into our designated chairs, the silence in between the three songs in each artist’s set were wonderfully creepy as mug shots and ghoulish photos were projected onto the back of the stage. Intimate atmosphere or not, we knew this show as going to go down differently from others.

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We know we’ve deprived you from our BeatCrave Favs for a little bit, but we’re happy to say the series is back in full effect! So without further ado… We’ve picked out favorite artists of the week. Now it’s your turn to pick yours!

Is your favorite Those Darlins, the trio who makes country sound more like punk (listen here)? Is it the incredible banjo master and soulful Bluegrass crooner, Olentangy John (listen here)? Is it Blair who reminds us of Liz Phair’s greater days (listen here)? Or do you enjoy local experimental rockers, Vanaprasta (listen here)?

The number one voted artist will be eligible for our BeatCrave Fav of the Month poll! So support your favorite band and vote for them in our BeatCrave Fav Poll!

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Dance music has overtaken the airwaves in recent months, and while it’s all well and dandy in its corner of the club, to appreciate music is to appreciate it in all its forms. Enter Bluegrass aficionado Olentangy John, the one man operative behind a seemingly unadulterated production involving basic musical components. Little is known about Olentangy John himself , but we do know how hard it is to not be won over by his musical mental offerings. He seems to know the effectiveness of properly tuned vocals and a well-played banjo, and that every genre of music has its rhythm and reason, but doesn’t have to fit to its moment in time. With compositions built on what has assisted rock & roll and R&B, we are pleased to get back to the “basics.” Check out Olentangy John in our BeatCrave Fav series below, and let us know what you think!

“We are born again then we’re dying [...] faster than we came / I am damned again for trying” (“Daniel”)

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