We’re kicking off our 70th anniversary with some new and exciting new releases from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings! Out on January 19 is, Classic Delta and Deep South Blues is a collection of songs that celebrates the diversity and dissemination of Blues' most powerful and influential voices. Following the Blues, we travel to California to hear the sounds of Mexican American siblings Hermanos Herrera in their Smithsonian Folkways debut album Sones Jarochos y Haustecos y Más, out on January 26. Their music draws deeply from the lively, string-driven son jarocho and son huasteco traditions of Mexican music. Later, we revisit Barbara Dane’s lifetime body of work on her February 16 release Hot Jazz, Cool Blues and Hard-hitting Songs. Taking from over 60 years of music, this compilation features songs that shine on Dane’s uncompromising quest for social justice and peace.

Experience the sounds of the Delta with Classic Delta and Deep South Blues from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, out on January 19, featuring Legendary blues artists like Big Joe Williams, Son House, Memphis slim and more. Mississippi, particularly the Delta, lays claim to being the land where the blues began. Forged in the crucible of poverty and racial oppression, blues flourished there as nowhere else, evolving into what most critics consider the deepest or most intense strain of the blues tradition. During the Great Migration, music changed consistently, adapting to its new surroundings like St. Louis and Chicago, while retaining its connection to its down home Delta roots. Pre-order your copy today.

On January 26, Hermanos Herrera, a six-member sibling group of third-generation Mexican Americans, makes its debut for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings with Sones Jarochos y Huastecos y Más. Motivated by their family’s devotion to traditional music, Hermanos Herrera immersed themselves in a quarter century of mentorship by pillar performers of son huasteco and son jarocho, two favorite forms of Mexico’s rich musical heritage. They supercharged signature sounds with their own passion and an aggressive approach to playing the regional instruments of Veracruz: the harp, the five-string jarana guitar, and the distinctive requinto jarocho. In this album, they make their mark on musical gems popular on both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border. Pre-order the album today.

Out on February 16 and available for pre-order now is Barbara Dane’s Hot Jazz, Cool Blues & Hard-Hitting Songs, This 2 CD retrospective reflects over 60 years of Barbara Dane’s eclectic musical history in folk, blues and jazz. The 38 tracks include 14 never-before-released recordings, featuring collaborations with Lightnin’ Hopkins, the Chambers Brothers, Doc Watson, Pete Seeger, Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon, Art Hodges, and more. The extensive liner notes give insight into Dane’s singular trajectory as an outspoken and indomitable artist who, unwilling to make the compromises demanded by the music business, struck out on her own path, singing for peace and social justice.