Dirk Powell

Overview

Dirk Powell (born 1969) is an American fiddler, banjo player, and singer. He was born in Oberlin southwest of Elyria, Ohio into a family with deep Kentucky roots. He has lived in Louisiana since 1992. He is considered one of the world's leading experts on traditional Appalachian fiddle and banjo styles. ^[1] Powell is also a recording engineer, producer, and owns a studio, the Cypress House, in Breaux Bridge near Lafayette, Louisiana. The studio is in a converted 1850s Louisiana Creole home on Bayou Teche and focuses on vintage gear and audio.. ^[2]

Powell has won four Grammy Awards and has been a guest on television shows including Late Night with David Letterman , the Today Show , and American Masters . For ten years, he was Joan Baez's "band." He was a longtime member of the Cajun band Balfa Toujours. He performs as a solo artist, as a featured artist with Transatlantic Sessions, on tour with Mary Chapin Carpenter, and as a duo with Rainy Eyes. Powell has recorded with Rhiannon Giddens, Loretta Lynn, Irma Thomas, Tim O'Brien, the Raconteurs on their record “Consolers of the Lonely,” and Eric Clapton. ^{[1] [3]}

Powell has scored and worked on numerous films including Cold Mountain, In the Electric Mist, Stevie, and Ride with the Devil. He collaborated on the score for Sundance award-winning documentary Descendant.

Discography

• If I Go Ten Thousand Miles (Rounder, 1996)
• Songs from the Mountain (Howdy Skies, 1999) - Dirk Powell, Tim O'Brien & John Herrmann
• Tony Furtado & Dirk Powell (Rounder, 1999)
• Hand Me Down (Rounder, 1999)
• Time Again (Rounder, 2004)
• A Fret Free Christmas (Valcour Records, 2010) ^[4]
• Walking Through Clay (Sugar Hill/Welk Music Group, 2014) ^[5]
• I Wanna Sing Right: Rediscovering Lomax in the Evangeline Country four-EP set - various artists (Valcour Records, 2015) ^[4]
• Cajun Accordion Kings (and the Queen) various artists (Valcour Records, 2015) ^[4]
• When I Wait for You (Vertical Records, 2020)

See also Balfa Toujours.

References

1. Jeffries, David. "Dirk Powell Biography". AllMusic . Rovi Corporation . Retrieved 25 November 2018.
2. Giddens, Rhiannon (Introduction); Powell, Dirk (Producer's Note); Track Notes by group members/producer (2019). Borden, Carla (ed.). "Liner Notes: Songs of Our Native Daughters" (pdf). folkways.si.edu. Smithsonian Folkways . Retrieved April 24, 2019.
3. "Dirk Powell Biography". Dirk Powell. Archived from the original on 11 December 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
4. "Valcour Records". Valcour Records. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
5. "Dirk Powell | Album Discography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 October 2016.

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