Road to Sweet's Mill

Sweet's Mill was a jewel in the crown really. There's something so beautiful about the Central California location. All these people who were deep into the music, making the pilgrimage all the way to Sweet's Mill, being there for this unreal almost pretend magical kingdom, at least something that wasn't too much damaged by reality. There was freedom balanced with responsibility. It functioned as a community. -- Barry Olivier In the 1960s, well before the internet became available, recordings of authentic traditional music were limited and other resources were yet to be invented. Many of the people featured here searched their own communities, the nation, and the globe for folk traditions. For some people the passion was Appalachian fiddle and banjo music, Carter Family songs, blues, bluegrass, or shape note singing. For others it was ethnic: Irish, Mexican, French, Greek, Balkan, Flamenco, Middle-Eastern, Cajun, or klezmer. Pilgrimages were made to find authentic fiddlers, banjo pickers, singers, cloggers. Some travelers became amateur folklorists; others became revivalist performers. Still others became professional ethnomusicologists or dance troupe directors. What is remarkable is that their paths crossed at Sweet's Mill.