Fin-A-Billy: American Roots Music and Rebellion in Finland

March 26th, 2022
Saturday starting at 11:00 am
Virtual

So far in our Music Series, we have explored the process in which many Finnish-Americans have connected with Finnish language and culture through music. But during the 1970s, there was an enormous American roots music boom in Finland, spawning hundreds of Fin-A-Billy (Finnish rockabilly, country, bluegrass, blues, and related genres) bands with thousands of fans. In our March continuation of the FinnFest USA Music Series, folklorist and ethnomusicologist Nathan Gibson will share his research and musical samples of the ways many Finns have connected with American culture through American roots music over the last 60 years.

Nathan Gibson is a folklorist, ethnomusicologist, musician, and the Audio-Visual Preservation Archivist for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At UW-Madison, Nate runs the audio preservation studio at Mills Music Library and works with Anna Rue and Marcus Cederström on the “Sustaining Scandinavian Folk Arts in the Upper Midwest” and “Nordic Folklife” projects. Nathan was a guest researcher at Tampere University between 2012 and 2013, during which time he was researching his dissertation on American Roots Music in Finland and both touring and recording with several Fin-A-Billy bands. He has visited more than 50 cities in Finland, can sing at least two songs in Finnish, is a big fan of Eero Aarnio’s ball chair, but is still not a fan of salmiakki.

For information and to register, click here.

All lectures are free, but the participants are encouraged to support FinnFest USA with a donation.