The Longest Night of the Year, Volume 2 [Hudson Harding Music] — a compilation featuring songs recorded by various artists — was the top album and featured 11 of the 25 most-played songs on folk radio during December 2019. Topping the monthly songs chart was “Bringing in the Light” by Gathering Sparks, the Southern Ontario folk-roots duo of Eve Goldberg and Jane Lewis, that appears on both its album, All That’s Real, and the compilation. So say charts compiled by Folk Alliance International based on radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in folk-based music on the radio.
The December 2019 Top Albums, Songs and Artists charts are based on 15,586 airplays reported on 500 playlists submitted by 121 different DJs. The number of reported spins is shown below in parentheses.
Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org) is a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion. Its annual conference takes place Jan. 22-26, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The monthly top albums and songs charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission.
Top Albums of December 2019
1. The Longest Night of the Year, Volume 2 by Various Artists (248)
2. Recollections/Revolutions by Windborne (97)
3. Happy Holidays, Vol. 11 by Various Artists (93)
4. Winter Stories by Judy Collins and Jonas Fjeld (78)
5. Best of the Rest by Si Kahn (67)
6. Making Life Sweet by The Early Risers (56)
7. Rearrange My Heart by Che Apalache (52)
8. Lines and Spaces by Heather Pierson (46)
9. Facets of Folk by Mara Levine (44)
10. The Storyteller’s Suitcase by Ellis Paul (43)
11. Honest by Ordinary Elephant (40)
12. Catching Rain by Peter Mayer (37)
13. Greening the Dark by Debra Cowan (35)
14. Up Against the Sky by Dave Gunning (33)
14. All That’s Real by Gathering Sparks (33)
14. Bones and Gravity by Lizanne Knott (33)
14. It’s a Dog’s Life by Si Kahn and the Looping Brothers (33)
14. Songs of Our Native Daughters by Our Native Daughters (33)
19. Christmas Morning by Silent Winters (32)
20. Wildwood by Katie Dahl (31)
20. To Everyone in All the World by John McCutcheon (31)
20. Coyote by Catherine Maclellan (31)
23. The Bells of Christmas by Skinner and Twitch (30)
24. Heart Land Again by Tim Grimm (29)
25. Straight to Marrow by Clint Alphin (27)
26. Chasing the Sun by Bobtown (26)
26. How We Want to Live by Lisa Bastoni (26)
28. Paws of a Bear by Sofia Talvik (25)
28. Time and Truth by Joel Mabus (25)
30. Fair Play to You All by Tommy Sands (24)
30. Every Single Star by Dori Freeman (24)
30. Wahoo! by Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer (24)
33. Visions by Alice Howe (23)
33. When They Fall by Annie and Rod Capps (23)
33. If I Catch My Dream by Bett Padgett (23)
33. Even the Sparrow by Kelly Hunt (23)
37. Wonderful Fairytale by Bill Jones (22)
37. Oklahoma by Keb’ Mo (22)
37. Going to the Well by Linda McRae (22)
37. Charlie Parr by Charlie Parr (22)
37. Gonna Love Anyway by Louisa Branscomb (22)
42. Heroes and Sparrows by Kevin Brown (21)
42. Assiniboine and the Red by The Small Glories (21)
42. Me and the Ghost of Charlemagne by Amy Speace (21)
45. If You Fall by Jaime Michaels (20)
46. Today Again by Fred Arcoleo (19)
46. Acorns by Ben Winship (19)
46. Unfortunate Point of View by Katherine Rondeau (19)
46. Due to the Darkness by The Gossamer Strings (19)
50. While I’m Livin by Tanya Tucker (18)
50. Christmas by Bruce Cockburn (18)
50. Words of Love by Allison Lupton (18)
50. Adobe Road by Cej (18)
54. Holly Head by Kate Rusby (17)
54. Christmas Caravan by Sultans of String (17)
54. Slow It Down by Crowes Pasture (17)
54. When Winter Comes by Sofia Talvik (17)
54. Heather Down the Moor by Gatehouse (17)
54. Rings Around Saturn by Marion Halliday (17)
60. How Far It Goes by The Refugees (16)
60. If I Catch My Dream, Songs of Hope for a Better World by Bett Padgett
(16)
60. These Old Hands by Crys Matthews (16)
60. The Hard Stuff by Susan Gibson (16)
60. Caravan of Dawn by The Levins (16)
60. Leylines by Rising Appalachia (16)
60. Free and Fine by Jordi Baizan (16)
60. Tall Fiddler by Michael Cleveland (16)
60. The Gift of the Magi by Darryl Purpose (16)
69. Hush the Wild Horses by Rachel Harrington (15)
69. Moth Nor Rust Ii by Jon Brooks (15)
69. Sketches by Natalie Macmaster (15)
69. Toolshed by Ben Winship (15)
Top Songs of December 2019
[Here’s a link to view a lyric video for “Bringing in the Light” by https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfNaSRAqjqk]
Gathering Sparks (l-r: Jane Lewis and Eve Goldberg)
2. “We Teach Them How” by Emily Kurn (25)
3. “Christmas in the Trenches” by John McCutcheon (21)
4. “Your Favorite Christmas Song” by Mark Stepakoff (19)
4. “Northwest Passage” by Judy Collins and Jonas Fjeld (19)
4. “The Dreamer” by Che Apalache (19)
7. “Merry Christmas From the Family” by Robert Earl Keen (13)
7. “Christmas Train” by Sofia Talvik (13)
7. “The Christians and the Pagans” by Dar Williams (13)
7. “Christmas Morning” by Silent Winters (13)
7. “The Universal Holiday Greeting” by Christine Lavin and the Mistletones
(13)
12. “The Spirit of Christmas” by Ashley and Simpson (12)
12. “The Fallow Way” by Judy Collins and Jonas Fjeld (12)
14. “Pretty Paper” by Jordi Baizan (11)
14. “Long Shadows” by Michael Jerling (11)
14. “In the Dark” by Katie Dahl (11)
14. “River” by Joni Mitchell (11)
18. “This Christmas” by The Refugees (10)
18. “Time” by Rosanne Cash (10)
18. “Kindness” by Amy Speace (10)
18. “The Midnight Special” by Lead Belly (10)
18. “Over in Glory/New Swing” by Che Apalache (10)
18. “The Longest Night of the Year” by Eli Lev and Megan Leigh (10)
18. “The Longest Night of the Year” by Mary Chapin Carpenter (10)
25. “Happy New Year” by Annie and Rod Capps (9)
25. “Parting Through” by Craig Werth (9)
25. “Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night” by Windborne (9)
25. “River” by Judy Collins and Jonas Fjeld (9)
25. “Jenny & James” by Ordinary Elephant (9)
25. “Winter Stories” by Judy Collins and Jonas Fjeld (9)
25. “The Winter Song” by Skinner and Twitch (9)
25. “Lucy She Rises (Theme)” by Nicolas and the Iceni (9)
25. “A Hazy Shade of Winter” by Crowes Pasture (9)
25. “This Changes Everything” by The Early Risers (9)
25. “Taladh Chriosda” by Mara Levine (9)
25. “The Storyteller’s Suitcase” by Ellis Paul (9)
Like/Follow Us!