Hear and feel music from America's past. Includes songs of Civil Rights, political campaigns, Prohibition, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, anti-war protests, and more.
Musical sound recordings, program notes, reference texts (composer biographies, history, and glossary), and images with selections from the earliest Gregorian chants to works by modern composers.
Opera performances captured on video through staged productions, interviews, and documentaries. Selections represent the world’s best performers, conductors, and opera houses.
Produced in partnership with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries is a virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions.
Stream dance productions and documentaries by influential performers and companies of the 20th century, spanning from traditional ballet to hip hop, street dance, and modern dance.
The films on Folkstreams were produced by independent filmmakers. These documentaries focus on the culture, struggles, and arts of unnoticed Americans from many different kinds of communities. The filmmakers were driven more by sheer engagement with the people and their traditions than by commercial hopes. Their films have unusual subjects, odd lengths, and talkers who do not speak "broadcast English." Although the films won prizes at festivals, were used in college classes, and occasionally were shown on PBS, they found few outlets in video shops, commercial theaters, or television. But they have permanent value.