The Delaware Friends of Folk are starting off the new year by resurrecting an old tradition of theirs: the pick-in. The group used to hold regular pick-ins, or song-swapping circles, at W.T. Smithers for anyone with a voice and an acoustic instrument. That stopped a few years ago after the bar changed owners.
Now Friends of Folk are picking up where they left off and moving the song circle to Cody’s, 492 Walnut Shade Road, Dover, starting with the pick-in at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10.
In the past, folks would bring guitars, fiddles, banjos, autoharps, flutes, whistles and other obscure instruments, according to board member Jim McGiffin. Then they joined in the circle and sang and played everything from blues to Counting Crows to Woodie Guthrie, said board member Jan Crumpley.
“We’re all about the preservation and furtherance of folk music, and folk music is any kind of music that folks play,” she said. “The idea is just to sit around in a circle and have a musical conversation.”
Musicians bring original tunes to try out or go with older songs that nearly everyone can play along with. Then there’s a leader to make sure things run smoothly.
The circle used to draw a mix of newcomers to public performance and veterans, McGiffin said. For the newcomers who haven’t had the opportunities or initiative to play in public, this can be a relaxed starting point. So fledgling musicians can get some experience and make contacts while trying out their material.
“It’s low pressure and you have people supporting you,” Crumpley said.
She plays squeezebox and flute, and said that the previous pick-ins had hosted as few as three or four people and as many as 25. The events led to relationships, the formation of bands and bookings, Crumpley said. And when they didn’t do that, at least they were entertaining for both musicians and listeners, McGiffin said.
After the first pick-in on Saturday, Jan. 10, the events will be held at 3 p.m. the second Saturday of each month at Cody’s.
Email Sarika Jagtiani at sarika.jagtiani@doverpost.com
If you go...
What: Delaware Friends of Folk’s pick-ins, song-swapping circles for musicians
When: 3 p.m. the second Saturday of each month, starting Saturday, Jan. 10
Where: Cody’s Restaurant, 492 Walnut Shade Road, Dover
Admission: Free
Information: Visit www.delfolk.org
