Library series explores music of ‘Great Folk Scare: The American Folk Music Revival, 1958-1965’

Musicians Brad Keeler and Linda Parman have a knack for bringing moments in history to life through song, as heard in their series for the Spokane County Library District.

In 2014, they created a program of music from the Great Depression of the 1930s as part of the library district’s “Hope in Hard Times: Washington During the Great Depression” exhibit.

They were then asked to create a program of live music from the years of the Vietnam War to coincide with the broadcasting of the Ken Burns documentary series on PBS.

The Yukon-Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s and World War I also got the Keeler-Parman touch.

For their upcoming library series, the pair will present “The Great Folk Scare: The American Folk Music Revival, 1958-1965.”

“This time around we will be exploring the folk music revival which gained momentum in those years with the release of the 19th century song ‘Tom Dooley’ by the Kingston Trio in 1958 … and the creation of the Newport Folk Festival,” Keeler wrote on his website.

Keeler and Parman will perform on a variety of instruments including acoustic guitars, National Reso-Phonic guitar, mandolin, banjos, autoharp, Appalachian mountain dulcimer, harmonica and washboard.

For a complete list of performances, visit www.scld.org.