WHAT IS SWALLOW HILL?

Ask anyone at Swallow Hill, and you will get a different answer. Defining Swallow Hill Music Association is almost as difficult as defining what folk music is! How would YOU describe it? Is is "Denver's home for folk, roots and acoustic music"? A non-profit, 501c(3) organization dedicated to the preservation and presentation of folk music in the Rocky Mountain region? The oldest multicultural folk arts organization in the region? The only place of its kind between Freight & Salvage in Berkeley and the Old Town School in Chicago?

Like the story of the blind men and the elephant, each of us sees Swallow Hill from our own perspective. For some of us, Swallow Hill is a music school. We revel in the extensive selection of classes, jam sessions, clubs and incredible workshops with touring artists. Others celebrate it as a concert venue, where performers from all over the world come to play and sing, offering Denver a breadth and depth of talent that it would not have witnessed otherwise. For others, Swallow Hill is a coffee house, a cozy place where we can get together for an open stage or hear a great new songwriter. Many musicians know Swallow Hill as the home of the Sawtelle Recording Studio, while many in the arts community see us as a "living museum," the protector of the folk spirit and legacy. Still others see Swallow Hill as a place to volunteer, to find camaraderie in working together to make a difference in the community.

Swallow Hill is also a veritable grab-bag of sounds and styles: bluegrass, Celtic, cowboy swing, gospel spirituals, African-American rural blues, Jewish Klezmer, traditional Spanish, Cajun & Zydeco, shape-note singing, to name but a few. And let's not forget the other folk arts of dancing (Appalachian clogging, Ceili, contra dance...), storytelling, songwriting, and even music business basics (an arcane art to many). Swallow Hill's accomplishments over the years are staggering. What began with a small group of volunteers has grown into one of the largest arts organizations in the region.

Swallow Hill has won both the Mayor's and Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts, has been recognized by the North American Folk Alliance, has won countless Westword "Best of Denver" awards, has achieved SCFD Tier II status, and is one of the most sought-after venues by folk/roots artists in the country. But beyond the programs that Swallow Hill presents, beyond the lists of artists, teachers, instruments, styles and accomplishments, Swallow Hill is a community of people drawn together by a common love of music. This is the place where we connect with our "musical family."

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