Originally published between 1961 and 2003, the UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music comprises more than 125 albums from around the world. These recordings, including 12 previously unreleased albums, will be reissued by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings in both digital and physical formats. Two albums will be published per week.

Follow our weekly blog updates and save 20% on the albums released so far with code UNESCOMAY

Job Opening: Smithsonian Folkways is hiring a marketing assistant

Join Us! Volunteer for the Folklife Festival

The 2014 Smithsonian Folklife Festival is just a month away, and we need your help to make it a success. Volunteers are critical to the Festival and work closely with participants and staff. Volunteers assist stage managers, interact with visitors at the information booths, help with audiovisual documentation, provide general Festival support, and more.

Learn more and sign up to volunteer

Festival Preview: A Visit to Guizhou Province, China

Smithsonian Folkways staffer Atesh Sonneborn recently returned from a trip to Guizhou Province in China, where he met with 2014 Folklife Festival participants the Dimen Dong Folk Chorus, learned about efforts to sustain local culture and music, and discussed continuing our collaboration with a traditional music Festival in Guizhou.

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From the Archives: Cook Labs Records

We just finished digitizing the Cook Labs Records in the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Quirky, clever, and full of a missionary zeal for sound, Emory Cook’s papers are a joy to explore.

Archivist Cecilia Peterson shares one of her favorite stories from the collection, a scandalous tale involving a geodesic dome and a glamorous zither player named Ruth Welcome.

Marketplace Diary: Stories from Kenya and China

This winter, Folklife Festival Marketplace consultant Halle Butvin traveled to Kenya and China along with photographer Josh Eli Cogan to document the stories and crafts of the traditional artisans who will participate in this summer's Folklife Festival. "Marketplace Diary" is her weekly travelogue blog series, so far including accounts of Lamu and Matondoni, Kenya.

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Images (top to bottom): 1) Album covers from UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music. 2) Photo by 2012 Smithsonian Folklife Festival Staff. 3) Dimen Dong Folk Chorus. Photo by Atesh Sonneborn. 4) Ruth Welcome. Photo by James Kriegsmann, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. 5) Lamu town. Photo by Josh Eli Cogan, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections.