About the Arhoolie Foundation

The Arhoolie Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the documentation, preservation, and celebration of regional roots music and its makers. Through our work, we seek to broaden public awareness of our diverse music history, support the vitality of living traditions, and reinforce the value and sustainability of community-based cultures.

The Arhoolie Foundation stems from the work of our late founder Chris Strachwitz (1931-2023) and his seminal independent record label Arhoolie Records. In 1960, Strachwitz recorded Texas songster Mance Lipscomb for what was to become Arhoolie Records’ first album. From that time, Chris devoted his life to recording and sharing regional roots music. Today, the Arhoolie Foundation carries on Chris’s legacy through archival preservation, documentary fieldwork, public programs, and direct support to artists.

In 2016, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings acquired Arhoolie Records and continues to distribute the Arhoolie catalog worldwide.