About

Ministry of Folk

Origin Story

When the world shut down in March 2020, we were devastated to see so many friends lose months of income as tours were canceled, tickets refunded, hotel rooms and plane tickets rendered unnecessary. The cost was not just financial: with these cancellations, our community lost many opportunities to gather to share music, to derive inspiration and joy from one another through concerts and workshops and jam sessions.

As the pandemic took hold, we saw leaders emerge from within our own communities. Musicians and artists played a role: leading sing-a-longs from balconies in Italy, organizing international music festivals that people could watch from their couches, and using their influence to normalize critical public health precautions like 20-second hand washing. In April of 2020, we set out to create an online environment that could provide teaching and performance opportunities for the folk music community during the COVID-19 pandemic. We came to love attending virtual concerts and playing along with weekly virtual sessions, and we tried to keep our community strong.

We built this platform at the Ministry of Folk to connect us—to build relationships, share ideas and tunes, and support music that feeds our souls—all while keeping our physical distance. Over the past year and counting, we’ve maintained a community of 125+ folk musicians and thousands of patrons who support their success.

Experts predict that we will be living with the consequences of this global pandemic for years. It’s a hard pill to swallow, and things may never be the same for the music and arts industry. But we hope that this platform will continue to serve as a resource for this community as we navigate these tough times.

As kids, our imaginations ran wild in the magical world of Harry Potter. It’s no coincidence that we named this platform after the Ministry of Magic. After all, what’s more magical than the ability of music to inspire/comfort/console in times of crisis?

Meet the Team

The team at Ministry of Folk is composed of heart-centered friends and musicians based all around the world. Our connections stem from growing up together in the supportive and inspirational fiddle camp communities across the United States. With the combination of our unique skills and personalities, we are pleased to bring you this platform to help support our fellow musician and artist friends during these trying times.

Sarah Collins grew up in the Boston area playing classical, Scottish and Irish music on the fiddle. Now she’s based in Washington D.C. and plays lots of music in the DC/Baltimore scene. Sarah writes the monthly Ministry of Folk newsletter, puts together the Spotify playlists, handles the graphics and website design, and answers the mail. If you have an idea you want to pitch or questions about what we do, hit her up sarah@ministryoffolk.com.

Brendan Hearn is a native Marylander, but currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. As both a cellist and a technologist, he is constantly balancing his love for traditional music and exploring tech solutions for projects he is involved in. Brendan helps with building out the technology and automation behind many of the Ministry of Folk offerings, as well as expanding and optimizing the products as the organization develops.

Summer McCall is a proud northern Californian. As a Celtic cellist and fiddler she found her way to the Boston Celtic music scene in September 2019 where she has remained since. She primarily works as a manager at Club Passim where she handles marketing, memberships and is the lead organizer for the Boston Celtic Music Festival. For Ministry of Folk, Summer contributes creative insights on the folk music industry, offers ideas for programming and facilitates our event organizing.

Kate Gregory grew up in Colorado where she played classical violin for years before beginning Irish fiddle lessons when she was in college and falling in love with traditional music. She continues to play Irish, Old Time, and some Scottish and Swedish tunes in Portland, OR, where she currently lives and goes to graduate school. At Ministry of Folk, Kate does some behind the scenes planning and communications, helps create and manage blog posts, and handles MOF merch.

Contact Us

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