Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Out Now

Album Cover - Chris Robley - A Filament in the Wilderness of What Comes Next (1)

Jim Nollman, Orcas’ Greatest Hits

November 6

Michael Hurley, First Songs

January 22, 2027

Making American Music: The Smithsonian Sessions

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Michael Hurley, “The Werewolf Song”

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Jim Nollman, “The Three Jimmies”

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Elizabeth Mitchell, “Peace Like a River”

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Elizabeth Mitchell, “Three Little Birds”

Press

Press Results | See All

Folk Life Features Jim Nollman

After Decades of Playing Music with Animals, Jim Nollman Shares His Insights on Interspecies Communication"Jim Nollman never felt that he had any...

KLOF Features Michael Hurley

Michael Hurley’s 1964 Debut Album First Songs to be reissued on vinyl"As many of you know, Michael Hurley died in April last year at the age of...

BMan’s Blues Report Features Classic Blues

ALBUM REVIEW: Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings - Vinyl"Smithsonian Folkways has been the ultimate vault for American roots music...

Songlines Features Classic Blues

Various Artists: Classic Blues From Smithsonian Folkways Recordings"From the East Coast and the Delta to the Southwest, St Louis and Chicago, it...

Guitar World Features Jim Nollman

His work was dismissed by scientists, but Jim Nollman’s playing was admired by orcas for years. Now he’s releasing an album of oceanic field...

ArtNet Highlights Jim Nollman

An Art-Statesman’s Heel Turn—and Other Art World Matters"Plus, Laurie Simmons does Zyn, while Jim Nollman makes art with orcas." | Read More at...

WFMU Shares Orcas’ Greatest Hits

Favoriting Out Here in the Field with Amanda: Playlist from August 10, 2026"Musician, sound artist, and environmentalist Jim Nollman has spent his...

Live Science Features Jim Nollman

"They would come in with a chord change": Composer Jim Nollman has collaborated with turkeys, kangaroo rats and whales. Now he's dropping "Orcas'...

BBC Spotlights Jim Nollman

Turkish psychedelia and whale song blues"Lopa Kothari presents the best in global folk and roots-based music, with Turkish psychedelia from BaBa...

Cyclic Defrost Features Jim Nollman

Jim Nollman: “Whales liked it best if we got into a really good groove""US artist Jim Nollman exists somewhere between, art, music and acoustic...

PopMatters Interviews Jim Nollman

Jim Nollman: The Man Who Jams With Orcas"The 1960s gave us many artistic firsts from pop and performance art to psychedelic rock and free jazz to...

Vinyl District Features Classic Blues

Graded on a Curve: Classic Blues"Folkways, formed by Moses Asch in 1948, had a distinctive approach to the blues." | Read More at The Vinyl...

Press Releases | See All

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings to Reissue Outsider Folk Musician and Indie Music Hero Michael Hurley’s Essential 1964 Debut Album First Songs on Vinyl, Out November 6

Smithsonian Folkways Shares Video for “The Werewolf Song” Animated by Drew Christie“Still the perfect introduction to Hurley…. The universe it comes...

When the Studio Is Underwater and the Bandmates Aren’t Human

Orcas’ Greatest Hits by Avant-Garde Sound Artist & Naturalist Jim Nollman—with Whale Collaborators—Released Today Via Smithsonian Folkways“I very...

Smithsonian Folkways Shares Guitar/Whale Song Duet in Experimental Album Recorded Underwater When the Studio Is Underwater and the Bandmates Aren’t Human

Orcas’ Greatest Hits by Avant-Garde Sound Artist & Naturalist Jim Nollman—with Whale Collaborators—to Be Released August 14“Stunning... Nollman...

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings celebrates 20th anniversary of two-time GRAMMY-nominee Elizabeth Mitchell’s best-selling, millions-streamed album, You Are My Little Bird, with vinyl LP reissue, out July 17

“Lovely, pure voice.” --NPR, interview piece “This is the family music that I love- soulful, mysterious, inclusive and rollicking!” --Dan Zanes...

Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings to Receive LP Reissue Treatment for First Time, Out June 12

One Of Smithsonian Folkways’ Best-Selling Titles Since Its 2003 Release, 26-Track Collection IncludesFoundational Recordings by Lead Belly,...

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