FAI Folk Radio Charts – August 2020

Ghost Tattoo by Americana quartet Kristen Grainger and True North was the top album on folk radio during August 2020, while “Keep the River on Your Right,” one of its tracks, tied with Canadian prairie roots balladeer Scott Cook’s “Say Can You See” for the month’s top song. John McCutcheon, a revered folksinger-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, was August’s most-played artist — closely followed by Cook and Granger. 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.

Kristen Grainger and True North is a band deeply rooted in traditional folk and bluegrass that puts its own fresh twist on American roots music. Grainger, an award-winning singer-songwriter, fronts the quartet that also features multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Dan Wetzel and Pacific Northwest-based bluegrass artists Martin Stevens (mandolin, octave mandolin, fiddle, vocals) and Josh Adkins (upright bass, vocals), both formerly of the Bluegrass Regulators. Grainger was the winner of the 2019 Local Roots Northwest songwriting competition (Portland, OR), a winner in the 2018 Wildflower Arts & Music Festival Performing Songwriter Contest (Richardson, Texas), and also has been a finalist in the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Competition, among others. The group’s previous recording, Open Road, Broken Heart, was #1 on the folk DJ charts in January 2018.

Scott Cook, whose recent seventh release, Tangle of Souls, was the month’s second most-played album on folk radio, is an internationally touring Edmonton, Alberta-based troubadour and has been playing an average of more than 150 shows and a dozen festivals annually since 2007. His previous album, Further Down the Line (2017), is packaged in a 132-page softcover book that features a look back, in words and pictures, on his first decade of near-incessant rambling. However, like most artists, he’s not been touring during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Chosen by Falcon Ridge Folk Festival attendees as the “Most Wanted to Return” artist following last year’s Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase, Cook performed as part of the virtual festival last month. A straight-talking, keenly observant singer-songwriter, Cook delves in folk, roots, blues, soul and country, and accompanies himself on fingerstyle guitar and clawhammer banjo.

John McCutcheon, whose digital release, Cabin Fever: Songs From the Quarantine, was the top album on folk radio during both June and July, has been a performing and recording artist since the mid-1970s. He was the most-played artist for three consecutive years (2017-2019) and also had both the top album (To Everyone in All the World: A Celebration of Pete Seeger) and the top song (“Well May the World Go”) on folk radio during 2019. McCutcheon’s classic “Christmas in the Trenches” has been among the most-played songs during the holiday season for years. Cabin Fever: Songs From the Quarantine is his 41st recording. McCutcheon, also a longtime labor and social activist, wrote its 17 songs while self-quarantined in his north Georgia cabin during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, after returning from an Australian tour in mid-March.

The August 2020 Top Albums, Songs and Artists charts are based on 13,342 airplays reported on 423 playlists submitted by 108 different DJs. The number of reported spins is shown below in parentheses.

Folk Alliance International (folk.org) is a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion.

Top Albums – August 2020

1. Ghost Tattoo by Kristen Grainger and True North (89)
2. Tangle of Souls by Scott Cook (82)
3. The Dirt and the Stars by Mary Chapin Carpenter (79)
4. The Balladeer by Lori McKenna (76)
5. Welcome Home by Michael and Nell (65)
6. World on the Ground by Sarah Jarosz (63)
7. Cabin Fever: Songs From the Quarantine by John McCutcheon (61)
8. Bet on Love by Pharis and Jason Romero (59)
8. Pilot Me by Dennis Warner (59)
10. Willie Nile Uncovered by Various Artists (57)
11. Possum Came to Town by The Barbaloots (52)
12. Blonde on the Tracks by Emma Swift (47)
13. 2020 by Eliza Gilkyson (42)
14. Where The Wind Blows (Dove Tia O Vento) by Beppe Gambetta (38)
14. Love Circles ‘Round by Byrd and Street (38)
14. No Summer by Cinder Well (38)
17. All by His Own Self by Charlie Barnett (37)
17. Live at the Kitchen Sink by Ronny Cox (37)
17. Have Purpose Live Long by Josie Bello (37)
17. Long Day in the Milky Way by Kris Delmhorst (37)
21. Nonet by The Mammals (34)
21. I Have Known Women: Songs by Si Kahn Celebrating Women’s Lives and
Struggles by Saro Lynch-Thomason and Sam Gleaves (34)
23. Best of Many Days by Michael Veitch (32)
23. Rough and Rowdy Ways by Bob Dylan (32)
23. Such Things Are Finely Done by Michael Smith (32)
26. 25 Trips by Sierra Hull (31)
27. Spider Tales by Jake Blount (30)
27. Ordinary Love by Ellis Delaney (30)
27. Alternative Facts and Other White Lies by Mike Glick (30)
30. Undercover by Bronwynne Brent (29)
31. Keep on Walkin by Julie and John Pennell (28)
31. But I’d Rather Be With You by Molly Tuttle (28)
33. Highway Philosophers by Lara Herscovitch (27)
34. Headlight by Della Mae (26)
34. Up Around the Bend by Kim Moberg (26)
36. Oh Darlin by Bradley and Adair (25)
36. The Path of Stones by John Doyle (25)
38. Besos Kisses by Colleen Kattau (24)
38. Gasoline by Grain Thief (24)
40. Any Kind of Angel by Jenny Reynolds (23)
40. Boots No. 2: The Lost Songs, Vol. 1 by Gillian Welch (23)
40. Western Sun by Nell and Jim Band (23)
40. Right Now by Twisted Pine (23)
44. Mondegreens by Rachel Garlin (22)
44. Ledgers and Stones by Thomas Hine (22)
44. Old Flowers by Courtney Marie Andrews (22)
44. The Stories We Are Told by Heathcote Hill (22)
44. The Night You Wrote That Song: The Songs of Mickey Newbury by
Gretchen Peters (22)
49. Live! At the Seagull Shop by Jud Caswell (21)
49. Roots and Honey by Old-Time Pharmaceuticals (21)
49. Good Good Man by Vance Gilbert (21)
49. Brother, Sister by Watkins Family Hour (21)
49. Roll Up the Rug by The Roe Family Singers (21)
54. The Reservoir by Kenny Roby (20)
55. Big Blue Sky in the Morning by Barbara Jo Kammer (19)
55. There Was a Fair Maid Dwelling: Ballads of Katherine Jackson French
by Liza Disavino (19)
57. Rise and Fly by The Barefoot Movement (18)
57. The Wildmans by The Wildmans (18)
57. When I Wait for You by Dirk Powell (18)
57. Bill Monroe’s Lost Mandolin by Lorriane Jordan and Carolina Road (18)
57. Inner Journey by Darin and Brooke Aldridge (18)
57. Look Long by Indigo Girls (18)
57. Freedom, Love, and the Open Road by Lindley Creek (18)
57. Awake by Jayme Stone (18)
57. Waltz for Abilene by Cindy Cashdollar (18)
66. Bad for You by The Steeldrivers (17)
66. Love in the Midst of Mayhem by Joe Ely (17)
66. Chicago Barn Dance by Special Consensus (17)
66. Love and Leave You by 100 Mile House (17)
66. Total Freedom by Kathleen Edwards (17)
66. Old Tin by Erynn Marshall and Carl Jones (17)
66. We Fit Together by Barry Oreck (17)
66. Home by Billy Strings (17)

Top Songs – August 2020

1. “Say Can You See” by Scott Cook (19)
1. “Keep the River on Your Right” by Kristen Grainger and True North (19)
3. “Election Year Rag” by Michael and Nell (17)
4. “Farther Along and Further In” by Mary Chapin Carpenter (15)
4. “Hometown Blues” by Pharis and Jason Romero (15)
4. “Uphill” by Lori McKenna (15)
4. “Queen Jane Approximately” by Emma Swift (15)
8. “Golden Rule” by Dennis Warner (14)
8. “The Night That John Prine Died” by John McCutcheon (14)
8. “Put Your Good Foot in the Road” by Scott Cook (14)
8. “Secret Keepers” by Mary Chapin Carpenter (14)
12. “Have Purpose Live Long” by Josie Bello (13)
13. “Far Too Fast” by Tret Fure (12)
13. “Down in the Lonesome Draw” by Kristen Grainger and True North (12)
13. “Hometown” by Sarah Jarosz (12)
16. “American Stooge” by Mary Chapin Carpenter (11)
16. “Potter’s Wheel” by Dennis Warner (11)
16. “Across the Room” by Tret Fure (11)
16. “My Heart Aches” by Eliza Gilkyson (11)
16. “Hold Still” by Charlie Barnett (11)
16. “Peace in Our Hearts” by Eliza Gilkyson (11)
22. “Walking Through” by Thomas Hine (10)
22. “Famous in France” by Michael Smith (10)
22. “Tattooed Love Song” by Kristen Grainger and True North (10)
22. “Little Satchel” by Sarah Jarosz (10)
22. “Lonesome Dark-Eyed Beauty” by Caroline Doctorow (10)
22. “Until My Heart Grows Quiet” by The Promise Is Hope (10)
22. “Black Eyed Dog” by Ben Harper and Rhiannon Giddens (10)
22. “Good Fight” by Lori McKenna (10)
22. “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” by Kronos Quartet (10)
22. “Going Going Gone” by Emma Swift (10)
22. “Corinna, Corinna” by Charlie Barnett (10)
22. “No Summer” by Cinder Well (10)
22. “1920” by Saro Lynch-Thomason and Sam Gleaves (10)
22. “Six Feet Away” by John McCutcheon (10)
22. “Any Kind of Angel” by Jenny Reynolds (10)

Top Artists – August 2020

1. John McCutcheon (95)
2. Scott Cook (91)
3. Kristen Grainger and True North (89)
4. Mary Chapin Carpenter (84)
5. Lori McKenna (76)
6. Michael Smith (68)
7. Sarah Jarosz (65)
7. Michael and Nell (65)
9. Pharis and Jason Romero (61)
10. Dennis Warner (59)
10. John Prine (59)
12. Bob Dylan (54)
13. Eliza Gilkyson (53)
14. The Barbaloots (52)
15. Emma Swift (47)
16. Justin Townes Earle (42)
16. Beppe Gambetta (42)
16. Byrd and Street (42)
19. Molly Tuttle (41)
20. Kris Delmhorst (40)
21. Ronny Cox (39)
22. Steve Goodman (38)
22. Cinder Well (38)
24. Charlie Barnett (37)
24. Josie Bello (37)
26. Gillian Welch (36)
27. The Mammals (35)
27. Saro Lynch-Thomason and Sam Gleaves (35)
29. Sierra Hull (34)
30. Vance Gilbert (32)
30. Michael Veitch (32)
32. Mike Glick (31)
32. Della Mae (31)
34. Ellis Delaney (30)
34. Bronwynne Brent (30)
34. Jake Blount (30)
37. John Gorka (29)
38. Julie and John Pennell (28)
38. Mara Levine (28)
40. Rachael Sage (27)
40. Pete Seeger (27)
40. Tret Fure (27)
40. Lara Herscovitch (27)