“Go Ahead Songs” gives new life to Ellen Stekert’s folk music over 50 years later
Ellen Stekert is a folklorist, folk musician, and professor emerita at the University of Minnesota who recently released her first album in over 50 years. Now 90 years old, Go Ahead Songs Vol. 1 is a project between her and Twin Cities musician Ross Wylde to release for the first time a set of her recordings from the 1950s and 60s, using AI to remix and remaster the songs with a higher level of production. Stekert is no longer able to sing due to a medical accident, but Wylde has been rebuilding her collection of songs and giving them new life, having released many of them throughout the year.
Ellen and Ross join Will Moore and Carl Solander on the Scenic Route. Ellen talks about her days collecting folk songs from lumberjacks for her dissertation and performing in the Greenwich Village folk scene in the 50s, while Ross shares how he came to meet Ellen and form a friendship with her that has led to this project.
You can find more about Ellen’s music on her website as well as find more of her music on her Bandcamp page
