EFN Newsletter August 2025 #33
- EFN editor
- Aug 11
- 10 min read
Updated: Sep 2
WELCOME AND SUMMARY
Welcome to the new edition of this communication and outreach initiative of the EFN. Feel free to forward it to your friends and colleagues. Receiving this newsletter is open to anyone for free, here. Read to the end to find out how to submit content for future editions.
This is what you'll find below:
🔹News from EFN:
▫️Reminders of the Annual Conference and the European Folk Day
🔸New members: in this month of holidays, EFN welcomed just one new member, Angharad Cooper, from UK
🔹News from our members:
▫️ Play It! – Strengthening Cooperation In The Music Industry, by Oliver Djordjevic from World Music Association of Serbia
▫️ NIGHTLORE – Building the future of music, by Johanna Sauramäki
▫️ Folk Musicians Share Strings of Connection at Orchard Brae School, by Malena Persson from Live Music Now Scotland
▫️Transglobal World Music Festival Awards, open call for folk festivals, by Araceli Tzigane, from Mapamundi Música
🔸Our next featured member is Jeroen Geerinck, from Belgium
🔹Our next featured artist is the Flemish singer-songwriter Walter de Buck
🔸Erratum: in the previous edition, the first release mentioned that our new member RadioFolk.dk is from Sweden. It was a mistake: they are from Denmark.
✍️ Do you want to participate? At the end of the newsletter you will find how you can contribute to future editions, whether you are an EFN member or not.
And of course EFN is always looking for new members and at the end of this newsletter there is a note about how and why to join, with links to the membership pages of the website and the application form.
Thanks for your attention, have a fruitful reading and, please, forward this to any person who could be interested! |
News from EFN |
🔸REMINDER: 2025 EFN Conference - the program will be announced soon! - for everyone - EFN members and also non members:
The 6th annual European Folk Network Conference will take place on 10 & 11 October 2025 hosted by the Fira Mediterránia de Manresa. The Fira have already announced their programme. Check it here. And the EFN conference programme will be announced this week. Full of subjects of high interest to the traditional/folk sector - there will be plenty opportunities for networking, discussions, speakers: don't miss the chance to get involved. If you haven't registered yet, go to the registration page here or contact us with any questions and let's see what we can do for you.
🔸REMINDER: European Folk Day 2025
Save The Date also for the European Folk Day – 23 September! It’s your chance to participate in the Folk Day – on the Day itself or in the days surrounding it.
Register your event in the map and the database: www.europeanfolkday.eu/participate/
This year, we have once again gone beyond the borders of Europe: an event in Kenya has been registered — the Nyatiti Folk Festival!
Check the events on the website, from Oulu in Finland to Carrega Ligure in Italy, from Aberdeen in Scotland to Mesochori in Greece! And register your event!
How will you celebrate the European Folk Day?
News members
In this summertime of the last weeks, we have welcomed a new member:
🔹Angharad Cooper, from UK
It's a pleasure to welcome this multifaceted personality. This is how she introduced herself in her membership form:
"I am a cultural consultant, facilitator, producer and coach working with a wide variety of organisations and artists across the EU. I am producer for a number of folk and traditional music inspired projects including the Imagined Village, and I am myself a keen Irish traditional musician (fiddle) both amateur and with some professional work. I am Director of Operations at music policy NGO the Center for Music Ecosystems and Vice Chair of the European Music Council."
Her answer to "what you and/or your organisation think you can give to the European Folk Network as a member and what you think will be the benefits of membership?", Angharad's thrilling answer has been:
"I am truly passionate about folk and traditional musics and their relevance to contemporary society, as well as the great resilience they exhibit in a changing world. I will be an enthusiastic cheerleader for the work of EFN, and I would hope also to create some links and connections via my existing projects with organisations across Europe. For me, the benefit of membership is all about connection, solidarity and growing and developing new work."
The picture is from her Facebook profile. Learn more about her on her website.
News from our members
🔹Play It! – Strengthening Cooperation In The Music Industry
By Oliver Djordjevic from World Music Association of Serbia
Three Serbian cultural organizations – World Music Association of Serbia, Music Information Centre of Serbia, and Ring Ring – are launching Play it!, a project focused on enhancing cooperation in the Serbian music industry and driving positive change. Activities include surveys, focus groups, workshops, a conference, concerts, and the creation of an online platform that will connect key industry actors. The project emphasizes inclusion, collaboration, and long-term development, especially for emerging artists and underrepresented groups.
The project is supported by the UNESCO International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD).
🔹NIGHTLORE – Building the future of music
By Johanna Sauramäki
NIGHTLORE is a professional music event in Helsinki, bringing together music experts during the day and music professionals in the evening concerts for a wider audience. The event will take place for the second time on 29.8.2025 at the Kulttuuritehdas Korjaamo – in one of the most inspiring places on the Helsinki music and culture scene.
Nightlore is a new-age music conference where tradition meets popular culture, original artists and new audiences. The event uniquely combines a professional music event with an urban festival open to the public, offering a fresh, sustainable and international perspective on music.
THE conference will takes place 10-16 and the music festival 16-01:00.
In night time you can see Tuuletar band´s big comeback, and other very unique bands from both Finland and Estonia, for example Puuluup, OOPUS, Suistamon Sähkö, Vimma, Moontwins and so on.
We can help you to find an accommodation near venue. You can make your accreditation here.
You can read more here.
🔹Folk Musicians Share Strings of Connection at Orchard Brae School
By Malena Persson from Live Music Now Scotland
LMNS folk musicians Penny James and Matt Tighe have been working with Orchard Brae School in Aberdeen, where they undertook a week-long music residency with children and young people with additional support needs. The residency, supported by Aberdeen City Council’s Youth Music Initiative (YMI), is now in its second year. Over five days, Penny and Matt delivered 29 interactive workshops and a final performance, reaching all 115 pupils across the school – each session tailored to the needs, pace and personalities of the young people taking part.
Drawing on their shared roots in folk and traditional fiddle music, Penny and Matt created a space of calm, creativity and connection – both in the moment and beyond. “The piece of feedback that we got multiple times a day from staff was that the students were the quietest, calmest and most content that they had been in ages… We had a lot of groups that found a collective experience of regulation and quiet, most notably at the final concert.” – Penny James and Matt Tighe
Live Music Now Scotland is proud to continue working alongside inspiring musicians like Penny and Matt to share the power of live music in ASN settings, and is grateful to Aberdeen City Council for their continued support.
For the full story, visit LMNS News and Stories.
🔹Transglobal World Music Festival Awards, open and inviting the folk festivals
By Araceli Tzigane, from Mapamundi Música
As part of its goal to increase the appreciation of the music from the cultures of the world, as a tool for the development of people in many areas of life, as well as for joy and pleasure, the Transglobal World Music Chart launched a Festival Awards. The first edition was in 2018. In 2020, the Festival Awards was cancelled due to the pandemic. In November of 2023 it was continued.
The call for proposals is open all year long and the folk festivals are welcome to apply.
The definitions, procedure and criteria are reviewed and updated every year. Check the details, here.
And if you don't have a folk festival of your own and you want to inform any festival you like about this, feel free to share this information.
Featured Member: Jeroen Geerinck
When he joined in 2018, Jeroen explained that:
"I am a musician / producer / studio owner & engineer / record label working as an independent. All of the aspects that I do are focused on 'folk' music. As a musican I play in several folk music bands (Snaarmaarwaar, Hot Griselda, Novar, Spilar, ..). The studio (Studio Trad) attracts mostly folk bands due to it's specialisation in the genre. The record label 'TRAD RECORDS' is focused on releasing acoustic based folk & roots music."
About the question on what you can give to the European Folk Network as a member, his answer was: "Since my time is invested almost solely in producing (in every aspect of the word) folk music, I feel that within Studio trad we have build, (and will continue to build) an experience in making folk music records in Belgium. From starting a band to recording a first album, releasing,... Following up on all there is to it. That experience can be put to use for upcoming bands."
The picture is from his Facebook profile.
You can also check the website of his Studio Trad.
Featured Artist: Walter de Buck
By Araceli Tzigane
There are some artists who may not be very famous beyond their region, but who leave a mark that lasts for many years after they are gone. I learned about Walter De Buck during a visit to the headquarters of Trefpunt in Ghent, where Jan Hoozee told us how he composed songs in the Ghent dialect (a very minority language) and somehow re-founded and strengthened the Gentse Feesten, the Ghent Festivities. This event gathers more than one million visitors over the course of 10 days, second half of July (always around the 21st of July, Belgium's National Day).
So, thanks to Jan for telling us about Mr. Buck and to Juan Antonio Vázquez, who suggested to dedicate this Featured Artist edition to him.
Walter De Buck (1934–2014) was a Ghent singer, songwriter and visual artist. A central figure in reviving the city’s folk culture, he helped relaunch the Gentse Feesten in 1970 via Trefpunt at Bij Sint-Jacobs, where his songs—especially “’t Vliegerke” (1971)—became local anthems. Beyond music, he remained active as a sculptor and tireless promoter of Ghent’s popular traditions. De Buck died on 21 December 2014, aged 80; in recognition, the city later named the square at Bij Sint-Jacobs “Walter De Buckplein.”
Sources:
The song "'t Vliegerke" is the unofficial folk anthem of Ghent, commonly sung during student gatherings (cantussen) and by supporters of the local football team KAA Gent before and during matches. The song, sung in Ghent dialect, literally praises kite flying ("The Little Kite"), featuring playful imagery of enjoying the simple act of flying a kite. But several sources (like this and this) explain that it's actually a metaphor for blossoming sexuality. It has become a classic associated with the Gentse Feesten.
According to "Linguistic Landscapes in the City of Ghent: An Empirical Study", by Ann-Katrien Botterman, the dialect of Ghent is still actively used, particularly in informal contexts and among older generations, but it is experiencing a gradual decline in daily use. The main reason is the increasing dominance of Standard Dutch in education, media, and public life, leading younger generations to use it more frequently. Despite this shift, the dialect remains a strong marker of local identity in Ghent, especially in cultural events and traditional songs. The text does not give an exact current number of speakers, but it indicates that while a significant part of the older population speaks it fluently, younger speakers often understand it but use it less actively.
“Koevoet es beter dan boelie” (sometimes written just “Koevoet”) is a song by Walter De Buck in the Ghent dialect. It is a burlesque, satirical, tavern-style piece that blends social criticism with cheeky humour. The lyrics are based on a strike pamphlet from 1860 (source here).
In the verses, a “madam” preaches that “meat is too good for the worker” and that they should settle for scraps… or “a koevoet” (literally “cow trotters”). The chorus and several lines play with culinary double entendres (“nen eind saucie”, literally “a piece of sausage”) that work as sexual innuendos. The song is known as a “meezinger” (sing-along), with bawdy humour and a class-conscious undertone. The reference to the double meaning is confirmed on this website about the album Buck, produced by Trefpunt in 2023, featuring performances of songs by the author, recorded at that time by other artists. It is difficult to understand some texts as they are in the Ghent dialect, so I wanted to find unequivocal references for this kind of considerations.
For much more information about this song (in the context of the socialist story of Ghent) you can check this page on Medium.com. You will need to sign up and the free account gives you access to the article.
You are very alive, Mr. Buck!
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS NEWSLETTER
Are you already a member? Then, remember that you can submit contents for this monthly newsletter. Email your content to efneditors@gmail.com, for these sections:
· News from EFN Members. Brief announcements – of around 100 words and a link.
· Featured artist. - A profile with around 200 words, an embedded video and one link. Members are invited to submit profiles, considering solo and ensemble living or not living artists who have achieved lifelong artistic and technical quality or historical significance in the field of folk art from or developed in or settled in Europe. If you have any artists in mind that you'd like to feature, please ask in advance, just to be sure there is no other member already doing it.
And whether you are a member or not, you can participate in this section:
· Special sections. For instance, an interview with someone from an institution that is not a member or a thematic article by a guest writer or anything that can appear and be considered as interesting. This section can also host guest writers that are not members.
If you'd like to share any content, contact us in advance to schedule it by emailing efneditors@gmail.com
Of course, self promotional articles lacking interest won't be accepted. In case of doubt, the EFN board will be consulted and will decide.