The future of folk

The genre has grown in popularity over the years since Edmonson, who put Tucson on the map as part of the popular 1950s-'60s duo Bud & Travis, returned home in the 1970s to continue his career as a soloist. Attendance at the Tucson Kitchen Musicians' annual Tucson Folk Festival numbers in the thousands, and artists come from throughout the United States to perform. •

Today's folk music still has at its core a singer and a guitar, but the genre has grown with the times, incorporating contemporary pop elements and an almost indie rock sensibility. •

There's also a refreshing energy coursing through live performances. Mostly gone are the days when folk music was defined solely by the performer sitting on the stage and strumming slow-tempo odes. •

So just who are these people who make up Tucson's folk music scene? We're introducing you to a few who make their living one coffee shop, festival and backyard barbecue at a time. Stephen Budd

Personal: He's 43 and a father of two, ages 5 and 7.

Where he's from: Born in London and raised in Toledo, Ohio, after his parents relocated to the United States for higher education.

How he got here: "My wife's mother was sick with breast cancer. Mostly family brought us here. Most of her sisters were here."

Day job: Psychotherapist. "I get great subject matter for my music from the stories I hear. The emotional content of the work I do makes for a lot of emotional context in my music. . . . You get a real sense of humanity and a real sense of the struggles of the world."

How he defines folk music: "I think it's all looking forward at this point, with an eye on the past. . . . The influence of roots music, blues and Americana mixed with folk, especially in Tucson and the Southwest."

His musical style: "It's certainly alternative and new folk with one ear toward traditional folk and rock and roll. But more leaning toward the alternative vein of singer-songwriters like Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, Townes Van Zant."

His musical inspiration: "Lennon, Dylan, Greg Brown, Conor Oberst and people along those lines. Howe Gelb from Tucson and The Go-Betweens from New Zealand. Very melodic and acoustic based."

What's on his iPod: "I have 12,000 songs on it. I'm listening to a lot of demos right now for a CD I'm doing. Townes Van Zant, Tom Waits, Ryan Adams, Calexico, some Beatles bootlegs."

Social networking: Twitter.com, ReverbNation.com and Ilike.com

His links: www.myspace.com/ stephenbuddsongs and www.treehousefire.com.

Hear him live:

• CD-release party at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 2 at Hacienda del Sol's Grill. Roth D'lux

Personal: Canada natives Ginette Roth, 41, and Daniel Roth, 42, are the parents of three kids, ages 7, 11 and 13.

Where they're from: Winnipeg, with a stop in Barbados, where Daniel worked briefly as an engineer.

How they got here: They moved here in 2000 when Daniel got an engineering job in Tucson. "We actually arrived on the very day that President Bush was elected. We flew into Tucson and we had never been here before. We turned on the television and it was Election Day. We had no idea. We're Canadian," Ginette said.

Day jobs: He is an engineer, she is a stay-at-home mom.

How they define folk music: "That's a really tough one. Dan and I write songs with no particular thought about the genre, so a lot of time our songs sound different," she said. "They're always guitar-based, but depending on who we have accompanying us, sometimes it sounds jazzy, sometimes it sounds rock. Right now we have an accordion player and a violinist, so we sound more organic, I guess."

Their musical style: "I would say we're folk with a lot of different influences. Folk-rock, folk-pop — but definitely it's folky for sure."

Their musical inspiration: "For me I love women singer-songwriters, so I listen to a lot of different women."

What's on their iPods: "That's a funny question. I don't own an iPod. I don't like downloading music because I like buying CDs. I like the whole package. The last CD I bought was friends of ours, Nossa Bossa Nova . . . and they're local. I like buying local."

Social networking: "I tried to start a MySpace page, but I never finished it."

Their links: www.rothdlux.com.

Hear them live:

• They are taking time off stage to record a new CD, but Ginette will participate in an Aug. 23 benefit for New Beginnings for Women, featuring all women. Courtney Robbins

Personal: She's 28 and single.

Where she's from: Born in Connecticut and raised on the East Coast. She moved to Tucson five years ago.

How she got here: "I came out here kind of on a whim. . . . I had friends and family that lived out here, and my friends said, 'Why don't you move out here; the rent is cheap.' So I did."

Day job: She was laid off in February from Wingspan. She is now going to school to become a personal trainer.

How she defines folk music: "It's music by the people, for the people."

Her musical style: "I don't define myself in strictly a folk category. It incorporates a lot of different aspects of rock and bluegrass that's not necessarily in the folk category. I would say folk/rock."

Her musical inspiration: "I've been playing guitar since I was 13, but I was playing piano and trumpet before that. . . . I really love Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joni Mitchell, Ani DiFranco. I'm also inspired by Leila Lopez from Tucson."

What's on her iPod: "Not as much as I would like at the moment. I was on tour last summer and my computer and my iPod were stolen from my car. So I still haven't had a chance to transfer all of my stuff. I did just get Gregory Alan Isakov's new CD and I love it."

Her links: www.myspace.com/ courtneyrobbins, www.courtneyrobbins.com, www.youtube.com/ courtneyrobbins.

Hear her live:

• 6 p.m. July 31 at Plush, 340 E. Sixth St.

• 9:30 p.m. Aug. 22 at Plush. Amber Norgaard

Personal: She's 35 and single.

Where she's from: Originally Iowa but she lived for six years in Alaska, where she was a nurse. She moved to Tucson in 2004

How she got here: "When I was in Alaska I started doing original music and I started playing up there. I knew that before I got older I wanted to try the music thing. I came to some medical conferences in the Southwest and I really liked Tucson. I'm from a farm and Tucson just seemed like a small community yet a big city where I could make a go of it."

Day job: She has none. She does music full time.

How she defines folk music: "Here's the thing about my music: It seems to cross genres. It goes from folk to rock and country. It's definitely singer-songwriter style. The songs tell stories, some of them, and some of them portray feelings."

Her musical inspiration: "I grew up listening to so many different artists, and I think that's why it is so cross-genre. Patty Griffin is my all-time favorite for singer-songwriter. But I listen to everything."

What's on her iPod: "This is terrible but I don't really listen to an iPod."

Social networking: "I don't Twitter, but I do Facebook and MySpace."

Her links: www.amber norgaard.com, www.youtube.com/ user/ambernorgaard and www. myspace.com/ambernorgaard.

Hear her live:

• 7:30 p.m. July 3 at Fire + Spice Restaurant in the Sheraton Tucson Hotel & Suites, 5151 E. Grant Road.

• 6:30 p.m. July 25, Summer Concert Series at La Encantada, East Skyline Drive and North Campbell Avenue, presented by the Greater Oro Valley Arts Council.

• 7 p.m. July 28, Green Valley Community Performing Arts Center, 1250 W. Continental Road.

Did you know

The Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association hosts the annual Tucson Folk Festival, which celebrated its 24th event in May. The group celebrates Tucson's folk music tradition and nurtures the art form through contests, showcases and outreach. www.tkma.org/tkma/index.htm.