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Ron Olesko

@folkmusicnotebook

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26

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Folk Music radio 24/7

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Do we know anybody in Champaign? Is it named after the bubbly wine with a different spelling? Is this more like Curious George in a cowboy hat or John Wayne in a monkey costume?

Anyhow, please get your tickets for Thursday, Nov 12 @cowboy.monkey in Central Illinois!!

Our show @heynonnyah outside Chicago on Nov 17 is gonna sellout any second now — if you can make it to Champaign on Nov 12 or @anodynecoffee in Milwaukee on Nov 16 or Fort Wayne on the 19th, PLEASE DO IT!!

Big thanks to @dala_house in Maine for the footage of Jesse & David playing Jesse’s tribute to Woody Guthrie in these protest-worthy times, “This Machine Kills Loneliness.” The DW-produced studio track will hit streaming in 2027, but it’s already available on CD, and the vinyl will ship next month. Or you can ask your favorite radio DJ to play it like in the olden days. Thank-you to all the folk, Americana, college and AAA stations who’ve started spinning the new album, IF YOU LOVE SOMEBODY, TELL THEM. The full, live, acoustic duo video is at YouTube.com/@thepinkertonraid

Jesse will also be back in Maine @olsportland on Oct 30, supporting @upstatelovesyou and at DALA House on Election Night, Nov 3

Early-voting starts Thursday, 10/15 in NC!

#champaignillinois #indiefolk #americanamusic #acousticduo #woodyguthrie

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Hello Friends, My new 7” single, “Letter to the Editor” is now available everywhere you stream music, and for purchase on my bandcamp page. A limited vinyl pressing of 40 hand-numbered copies of “Letter to the Editor” are also available on bandcamp (Bandcamp Friday!) and at upcoming shows. See 🔗 in bio to stream & get a copy 😊

I’m so very proud of this song. Written back in Fall 2024, Letter to the Editor was borne out of immediate anger @washingtonpost , and the decision made by its owner (Jeff Bezos) to not endorse either major political candidate in the weeks leading up to the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. This was common practice at the paper since 1976 to share a formal endorsement and rationale for backing a candidate. For an institution that has/had prided itself for decades on journalistic integrity and educating its readership on the directions in which current and aspiring political leadership want to take the United States, it was disheartening to learn that their top brass pulled a piece outlining their position and endorsement. In my view, it was a betrayal of my country’s First Amendment rights 🇺🇸 , which include entitlement to a free press 🗞️ , and their own adopted slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness” in February 2017, following the November 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.

Produced, Mixed and Mastered by Jarrett Nicolay in the Merry Month of May 2026 @ Mixtape Studios, Alexandria, VA.

Matt Tarka - Acoustic & Electric Guitar, Vocals, Apple Shaker, Sleigh Bells, Tambourine, and School Bell on “Letter to the Editor”
Jarrett Nicolay - Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals, Drums, Organ

Many thanks to Danielle, O.I.T., Richard, Jarrett, Eugene Dudley, Rice & Noodles Thai Gourmet, Susquehanna River Creative Conspiracy, Dan & Amber, Spinning Our Vinyl, Jeremy @ The Nest, Joe, Kinley Zook, The Folk Music Notebook, Allen Theatre, Paul & Ed, Salim, Lilac Connection, Chris Rider, Tabitha, Kerriann Curtis, The Turntable Store, Seán Crossey @ ALLCAPS, and YOU.

Dedicated to Ted Comerford.

Thank you for listening and exercising your right to freedom of speech. 📰📢 #lettertotheditor #matttarka #freedomofspeech #freedomofthepress #fourthestate

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“If Joni Mitchell and Richie Havens had a love child, with Rodney Dangerfield as the midwife, the results might be something close to the great Vance Gilbert”, says Richmond Magazine

Excited to welcome back @vancevancevance, with his more than 30 years of experience as a songwriter, performer, and acoustic storyteller to Godfrey Daniels!

✈️ Sat. October 3 • 7:30PM Show | 6PM Doors
🎟️ Tickets: Link in Bio

A Philadelphia-area native, Gilbert has recorded 14 albums, opened for artists ranging from Arlo Guthrie and Anita Baker to The Milk Carton Kids and Southside Johnny, and spent the mid-2000s opening more than 150 shows for George Carlin. His music combines Folk and Americana songwriting with sharp wit, accomplished guitar playing, and a gift for turning experience into song. Join us October 3 for an evening with a performer who has played stages and festivals around the world while remaining firmly rooted in the art of acoustic storytelling.

Opening the evening is our guest, Chester County (PA) native Barry Rabin, who’s songs tackle such critical social issues as horse castration, dancing with poultry, and the star-crossed love lives of New Jersey condom factory workers. During his 40-year music career, he has performed in such venues as the Philadelphia Folk Festival (five times), Nashville’s Bluebird Café, The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, and Catch a Rising Star in New York City.

#vancegilbert #georgecarlin #bethelehempa #concertsinBethlehem #eventsinbethlehem #lehighvalleypa #lehighvalleymusicscene #godfreydaniels #listeningroom

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“Plow the Fields / Smell the Roses” was one of the songs that helped me understand I was writing an album about fatherhood. It’s my dad’s story, it’s my story, dreaming dreams about a music career, holding the responsibilities of work and family.

In 1980 Dad worked as an admin assistant for a special education department in Lowell, Mass., under Jimmy Carter’s Job Corps program. Ronald Reagan kept Carter from a second term that November, my little brother made us a family of four later that month, John Lennon got shot in December, and the day after Reagan’s inauguration in January ‘81, Dad went to work to find the phones were dead. It foreshadowed both the 2010s newspaper job cuts that helped to drive me out of full-time journalism and also Elon Musk and DOGE and my daughter losing her job at a national wildlife refuge in February 2025.

“Smell the Roses” won’t come out on streaming till Jan 15, commemorating the Bread & Roses Strike of 1912 in my infant home of Lawrence, Massachusetts, which helped to birth the Labor Movement. I wanted the pure pink PINKIES to be able to get some of these songs on CD or vinyl before everybody could hear them online. Order the 14-song IF YOU LOVE SOMEBODY, TELL THEM at pinkertonraid.com or pinkertonraid.bandcamp.com. They’ll ship out this fall.

Big thanks to @davidwimbishandthecollection, @sumnerphi, and @justinlongerbeam for the production work and @folkmusicnotebook for the early airplay!!

Workers of the world, unite. Wishing you a restful Labor Day

#democraticsocialism #laborday2026 #breadandroses #labormovement #workersoftheworldunite

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MostlyBlue has a new song on its way May 15.
“Missing You” is a quiet one — moon over the bay, rain turning to snow, and the strange way memory keeps speaking after someone is gone.

Available May 15 on Spotify, Apple Music, and all major digital platforms.

Pre-save link in bio:��Copy/Paste link
https://orcd.co/mostly-blue-missing-you

— Denis

#mostlybluemusic #newmusic #americanamusic #singersongwriter #folkmusic

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Grateful to the A team of staff at @folk_alliance. Thx for a very fun conference in NOLA!!!

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🎶 Celebrate the New Year with a special marathon broadcast of recorded live performances from legendary folk venues Caffé Lena | @caffelena and Godfrey Daniels | @godfrey_daniels on Folk Music Notebook!

📻 Tune in from Noon on December 31 to 8PM on January 1, 2026
📻 https://folkmusicnotebook.com/

#folkmusicnotebook #godfreydaniels #caffelena #livemusic #marathonradiobroadcast #livefolkmusic #newyearsday2026 #folkmusicvenue #listeningroom #nonprofitmusic #nonprofitvenue #celebratethenewyear #recordedliveperformances #archivedmusic #contemporaryfolk #newfolkmusic #radioshow #onlineradio #rootsmusic #americanamusic #indiefolkmusic

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📻 Save the Date! Celebrate the New Year with a special marathon broadcast of recorded live performances from legendary folk venues @caffelena and @godfrey_daniels on FolkMusicNotebook.com @folkmusicnotebook!

📻 Tune in all day on January 1, 2026
📻 folkmusicnotebook.com

#folkmusicnotebook #godfreydaniels #caffelena #livemusic #marathonradiobroadcast #livefolkmusic #newyearsday2026 #folkmusicvenue #listeningroom #nonprofitmusic #nonprofitvenue #celebratethenewyear #recordedliveperformances #archivedmusic #contemporaryfolk #newfolkmusic #radioshow #onlineradio #rootsmusic #americanamusic #indiefolkmusic

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A few photos from out NERFA trip. What a memorable experience!

@nerfalliance

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A few photos from out NERFA trip. What a memorable experience!

@nerfalliance

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I went to my first NERFA conference and all I got was aaaaall of this (pt 1)

Pls help me tag new friends!

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Day 3 of @nerfalliance was a delicious musical whirlwind of inspiration! I was the last showcase (at 2AM!) of the @folkmusicnotebook. Such an honor to spend time with @ronolesko. Thank you Ron for your thoughtfulness and talents. You celebrated and gave a platform to so many artists and got the music out there. Thank you @scottmoore302 for snapping this pic! #singersongwriters #originalmusic #womeninmusic #folkcreative #folkmusic #originalsongs #musicconference

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