52nd annual Philadelphia Folk Festival heads for the rock – and rolls local, too

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Givin’ a Hoot

When not sitting behind the drum seat for the Hooters, David Uosikkinen has unofficially taken on the job of curator for Philadelphia pop and rock history, though he laughs at a suggestion that he’s the modern, local answer to field collectors like Lomax or Francis James Childs, the folklorist whose cataloging of old English and Scottish ballads would inspire everyone from Joan Baez to the Dead and Decemberists.

Every three months or so, Uosikkinen gathers a bunch of veteran Philly talents in a recording studio and cuts a new version of a classic rock or soul song spawned in these parts, mostly from the flush-with-success 1960s and ’70s, when his own musical consciousness was awakening. He releases the recording as a 99-cent MP3 download at songsinthepocket.org (Settlement Music School shares in the profits) and gathers the clan for a celebratory concert at a local club or theater. There will be 17 people on hand for the Folk Fest appearance!