| Free Dirt Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founder | John Smith, Erica Haskell |
| Distributor(s) | AMPED Distribution (US), [1] MNRK Music Group |
| Genre | Folk, American roots, country |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| Location | Washington, DC |
| Official website | www |
Free Dirt Records is an American independent record label and label services company founded in 2006 by John Smith and Erica Haskell that releases folk and roots music. [2] The label's releases have received three Grammy nominations. [3] [4] [5]
John Smith met Erica Haskell when Haskell interned at Smithsonian Folkways in 2000. [6] Later while Haskell was attending graduate school in ethnomusicology [7] they collaborated on a box set of spoken word introductions paired with original songs by anarchist folk musician and storyteller Utah Phillips [6] before founding Free Dirt Records in 2006. The label's first official release was by the traditional Bosnian group Mostar Sevdah Reunion. [8] Smith and Haskell ventured to create a label where they could work with young artists making traditionally rooted music and showcase often overlooked material like spoken word. Since 2006, the label has released music by Pokey LaFarge, [9] Anna & Elizabeth, [10] Hackensaw Boys, Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge (Grammy-nominated), Cahalen Morrison, Che Apalache (Grammy-nominated), Dori Freeman, [11]