Round-up of National Heritage Fellows Podcasts—2016 Smithsonian Folklife Festival Edition

This Fourth of July weekend, celebrate our nation’s birthday with klezmer music, Irish fiddling, and go-go tunes! As part of the 2016 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the Ralph Rinzler Memorial Concert will feature some of our very own National Heritage Fellows performing on the National Mall in Washington D.C. The free concert will take place on Sunday, July 3 at 6:30 p.m. Get to know the honorees and their distinct art forms through these one-on-one interviews in our Art Works podcasts! For more information on the concert, visit here. Rahim AlHaj Oud player and 2015 NEA National Heritage Fellow “I put my hand on the oud and I was in some different space. I couldn't sleep because I was just happy.” Hear the complete podcast here. Liz Carroll Irish-American fiddler and 1994 NEA National Heritage Fellow “It's a small world, but this is a big world…this Irish music." Hear the complete podcast here. Kevin Locke Lakota flute player, hoop dancer, and 1990 NEA National Heritage Fellow “Folk arts…they tend to accentuate universal themes. I find that most of them really showcase the nobility of the human spirit.” Hear the complete podcast here. Dan Sheehy Ethnomusicologist, folklorist, and 2015 NEA National Heritage Fellow “I ultimately developed this philosophy of two guiding pillars—a good listen and a good story.” Hear the complete podcast here. Andy Statman Klezmer clarinetist, mandolinist, and composer as well as 2012 NEA National Heritage Fellow “The way to carry on a legacy is not to be a carbon copy of someone, but to take what that person taught you and move on from it.” Hear the complete podcast here.