There's not a lot happening in the Texas polka music scene right now, just look at the meager dance listing on pages 9-10. A lot of folks in polka music are worried about the future. The pandemic will subside one day, but what will the scene look like then? How many bands will survive? What about the dancehalls?
In spring of 1918, a pneumonia/ influenza pandemic began to encircle the globe, it was commonly called “the Grippe” or the “three day flu.” The Grippe appeared to abate by the summer of 1918, however the strain morphed into a more deadly variety and was given the name the Spanish Flu. People were dying from this new disease all over the U.S. and the world. Government censorship forbade the reporting of it as not to excite the population, since they were focused on the slaughter of their men in Europe.
Back in July, Texas Folklife launched the Texas Folk and Traditional Artist COVID-19 Relief Fund. The fund provides grants of $500 to community-based folk and traditional artists impacted by COVID-19. Grants are a one-time award made to individuals to assist with their financial well-being.
The Central Texas Accordion Association published this lovely piece of music in their August 2020 newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter by emailing Dr. Mitchell R. "Mitch" White, president of the CTAA, at austinaccordion@gmail.com
Dean Hansen, polka bandleader from Ithaca, Nebraska, passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 12, at the age of 87. You can find his obituary at https://www.reichmuthfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/Dean-Hansen/.
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