Hugh Blumenfeld

Hugh Blumenfeld
Hugh Blumenfeld performing.
Hugh Blumenfeld performs at the University of Connecticut in 2009.
Background information
Born (1958-10-11) October 11, 1958 (age 66)
Jamaica, Queens, New York City
GenresFolk
Occupations
  • Musician
  • doctor
Years active1994–present
Labels
Websitehughblumenfeld.com

Hugh Blumenfeld (born October 11, 1958) is an American folk musician and singer-songwriter from Connecticut. He was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, graduated with degrees in Biology and Humanities from M.I.T. in 1980, and got a master's degree in English Literature from the University of Chicago in 1981. He was active in the Greenwich Village music scene in the 1980s, attending the Cornelia Street Songwriters Exchange and performing at Folk City and Speak Easy while working on a PhD in Poetics from New York University. He also helped to edit the Fast Folk Musical Magazine (now part of the Smithsonian-Folkways collection) and recorded songs for a dozen issues. After earning his PhD in 1991, he worked as an English professor until 1994,[1] when he began writing and performing full-time. Over the next 10 years he toured mainly in the Northeast and Midwest, with several short tours in Europe and one in Israel. In 1999 he was appointed Connecticut State Troubadour.[2]

In the fall of 2003, he enrolled in medical school at the University of Connecticut and became an MD. He currently practices family medicine in Hartford, Connecticut,[3] and continues to perform as part of a folk quintet, The Faithful Sky with long-time collaborators including Jim Mercik.

  1. ^ Jackie Fitzpatrick (May 30, 1993). "Another Generation Discovers Folk Music". The New York Times. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  2. ^ Roger Catlin (March 11, 1999). "Singer's Take on Tragedy, Rick James Intrigues". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved April 27, 2020. In folk [...] Connecticut state troubadour Hugh Blumenfeld plays the Northwest Park Folk Series at the Windsor Nature Center Saturday.
  3. ^ Hugh Blumenfeld (May 31, 2019). "Hartford physician: Connecticut should legalize marijuana". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved April 27, 2020. As a family doctor, I treat and prevent illness in my patients, and I am also committed to improving public health.