Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Folk Explosion

The Donks won an SDMA for Best Rock Album, but there’s a lot of twang in what they do.
The Donks won an SDMA for Best Rock Album, but there’s a lot of twang in what they do.

Troubadour magazine will celebrate its tenth anniversary in the midst of what they describe as a folk-music renaissance. American porch music, says publisher Liz Abbott, meaning acoustic blues, country, folk, and bluegrass is being made into pop crossover by acts such as Mumford and Sons and the Fleet Foxes, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, the Avett Brothers, and more. “And look at the roll of the hurdy-gurdy in some of these bands like Arcade Fire and groups like that. Kids want to find a new avenue and reinvent stuff.”

Pete Bayard is a local musician. He says this year’s San Diego Music Awards is proof of that same folk invasion among local bands. “The Silent Comedy came away with the award for Best Pop. But, really, what they’ve got is a very traditionally influenced array of instruments and sound. That they could take that category as opposed to the Americana category shows the depth of that sort of crossover.” Blackout Party took the Best Americana award, he says. “And the Donkeys have also been around for a handful of years now. They came in with Best Rock Album [Born with Stripes], and yet there’s a lot of twang to what they do. Theirs is maybe a little more on the rock side of the hybrid.” Add Little Hurricane, the Smart Brothers, and Rio Peligroso to the short list of indie/folk-rock crossovers. “It’s definitely a scene that’s as pervasive here as it is internationally.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Liz Abbott and Kent Johnson now own the Troubadour outright, but it was conceived by another couple, Ellen and Lyle Duplessie, in 2001. In the beginning, ownership was a four-way split. “They had the vision and we kinda had the wherewithal,” says Liz Abbott. “I have a background in publishing, and Kent has a background in delivery. It just kinda all fit into place.”

Full ownership in the monthly transferred to Abbott and Johnson when Ellen Duplessie became sick with cancer. “They both died in 2004. She’d had breast cancer and died, and Lyle had a heart attack at the beach and died four months later.”

Abbott describes the Troubadour these days as a labor of love that barely supplements her and Johnson’s retirement funds. The couple hopes to raise some coin to help with magazine operations during its anniversary party October 9 at the Sunset Temple in North Park, featuring Berkley Hart, A.J. Croce, Robin Henkel, and Peter Sprague.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
The Donks won an SDMA for Best Rock Album, but there’s a lot of twang in what they do.
The Donks won an SDMA for Best Rock Album, but there’s a lot of twang in what they do.

Troubadour magazine will celebrate its tenth anniversary in the midst of what they describe as a folk-music renaissance. American porch music, says publisher Liz Abbott, meaning acoustic blues, country, folk, and bluegrass is being made into pop crossover by acts such as Mumford and Sons and the Fleet Foxes, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, the Avett Brothers, and more. “And look at the roll of the hurdy-gurdy in some of these bands like Arcade Fire and groups like that. Kids want to find a new avenue and reinvent stuff.”

Pete Bayard is a local musician. He says this year’s San Diego Music Awards is proof of that same folk invasion among local bands. “The Silent Comedy came away with the award for Best Pop. But, really, what they’ve got is a very traditionally influenced array of instruments and sound. That they could take that category as opposed to the Americana category shows the depth of that sort of crossover.” Blackout Party took the Best Americana award, he says. “And the Donkeys have also been around for a handful of years now. They came in with Best Rock Album [Born with Stripes], and yet there’s a lot of twang to what they do. Theirs is maybe a little more on the rock side of the hybrid.” Add Little Hurricane, the Smart Brothers, and Rio Peligroso to the short list of indie/folk-rock crossovers. “It’s definitely a scene that’s as pervasive here as it is internationally.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Liz Abbott and Kent Johnson now own the Troubadour outright, but it was conceived by another couple, Ellen and Lyle Duplessie, in 2001. In the beginning, ownership was a four-way split. “They had the vision and we kinda had the wherewithal,” says Liz Abbott. “I have a background in publishing, and Kent has a background in delivery. It just kinda all fit into place.”

Full ownership in the monthly transferred to Abbott and Johnson when Ellen Duplessie became sick with cancer. “They both died in 2004. She’d had breast cancer and died, and Lyle had a heart attack at the beach and died four months later.”

Abbott describes the Troubadour these days as a labor of love that barely supplements her and Johnson’s retirement funds. The couple hopes to raise some coin to help with magazine operations during its anniversary party October 9 at the Sunset Temple in North Park, featuring Berkley Hart, A.J. Croce, Robin Henkel, and Peter Sprague.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance
Next Article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.