Hoo, boy -- what a big topic... this could take a while! Here are a few cool sites... I'll add more soon, be assured... in the meantime, if you have suggestions for good site, feel free to write me and steer me in their direction. Thanks!

• Ceolas is an awesome U.S.-based site which includes dozens of artist profiles, discographies, label links... The site organizes artist information by country of origin, and does not include British folk-rock and trad-revival bands such as Pentangle, Lindesfarne, etc. Other than that, I suppose this is sort what I'd like my site to be like... but gosh, hey, look -- someone's already made one! Text-heavy, but extremely informative -- an invaluable resource.

• Folk Icons is a UK equivalent of the Ceolas site, with links to dozens of great trad performers, mainly of the English persuasion.

• Dirty Linen is just about the best trad-and-roots oriented magazine around. Strong level of writing & highly informative. Their website is also quite nice.

• Folk Roots is a UK-based magazine with a good online presence... check 'em out!
  
• Mulligan Music, located way off in Galway, is a fabulous source of Irish and Scottish traditional music. Both a rather impressive record store and an influential label, Mulligan now has a strong online presence, with an extensive catalog available through mailorder worldwide. It's also worth it to drop by the store if you get the chance -- in addition to having more hard-to-find records than you can imagine, the proprietors can also steer you towards the best live music Western Ireland can provide.

• Likewise, Claddagh Music, in Dublin, has a strong online and mailorder presence, including albums some English artists that the cultural patriots at Mulligan's wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.

• The Mad For Trad website has a glossy, high-tech look, but an old-world heart. Lots of great information about Irish folk music, and plenty of handy artist profiles.

• Founded in The English Folk Dance & Song Society is one of the longest-lived folkloric organizations in the British Isles; a nice resource for all kinds of music and cultural explorations.

• Selected English Folk Singers has some great pages devoted to some of the more hardcore traditional Brit artists... And it's organized both by artist and by label... a site after me own heart!

• The Living Tradition is a Scottish site which is the online outgrowth of a fine trad-oriented magazine. Their site includes current info on a bunch of artists as well as interviews with and webpages for dozens of artists (many of whom are also profiled in Slipcue)... Cool site.

• Fol-De-Rol (Folk On Line) is a pretty interesting site, which includes an extensive discographiacal list of albums in print and out, along with tons of scattershot bios and links for dozens of artists. A little difficult to navigate and fully suss out, but lots of great info to be gleaned...

• Just an odd little bit here: a site devoted to sea shanty records, which should be of interest to fans of this odd but robust folk style... Also includes information about sea shanty events (a subculture that I had no idea was still so popular!)

• If you want to get really serious about this stuff, The University of Limerick has an Irish Music Studies program... Hey, at least it's an excuse to live in Ireland!
  
  

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