Singer-Songwriter Janis Ian had the #1 album (Light at the End of the Line), four of the top 10 songs, and was the most-played artist on folk radio during January 2022. Buffalo Rose, a modern folk–Americana ensemble, joined by Tom Paxton, had the month’s most-played song (Paxton’s “I Give You the Morning”). 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.
Janis Ian’s Light at the End of the Line, officially released January 22 on her own Rude Girl Records, is the veteran artist’s first album of new material since 2006’s Folk is the New Black and is reportedly her last solo recording. Ian, 70, who burst on the folk scene while still a teenager in the mid-1960s and scored major hits with “Society’s Child” early on in her career, is a two-time Grammy Award-winner. Her new album features 12 newly recorded tracks. Also lending their musical talents to the recording are John Cowan, Vince Gill, Diane Schuur, and Andrea Zonn, among others.
Here’s a link to listen to its opening track, “I’m Still Standing,” which is about getting older but wiser: youtube.com/watch?v=Y93NZWb7oLw.
At 70, with more than 55 years of experience as a professional writer, Ian says she’s ready to step back from performing and recording after touring for the final time later this year. “It takes a certain amount of maturity to realize that you don’t have to keep proving you can write,” she asserts. “I’ve already created a body of work I’m proud of, and I’m old enough to realize that it’s the light at the end of the line that matters. And I’m not calling this retiring. It’s rewiring.”
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Buffalo Rose features Lucy Clabby (vocals), Margo Jazerc (vocals), Bruce Rubideau (mandolin), Malcolm Inglis (dobro), Jason Rafalak (upright bass), and Shane McLaughlan (guitar and vocals). The band – which was recently selected to showcase its talents during this year’s SXSW — is joined on “I Give You the Morning” by Tom Paxton. A folk icon and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Paxton wrote the song that previously appeared on his own recording The Things I Notice Now. It’s one of four songs recorded with Paxton on Buffalo Rose’s forthcoming EP entitled Rabbit.
The January 2022 Top Albums, Songs and Artists charts are based on 15, 373 airplays reported on 499 playlists submitted by 122 different folk 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 of January 2022
1. The Light at the End of the Line by Janis Ian (143)
2. Long Haul by John Wort Hannam (96)
3. Strings, Wings and Curious Things by Sue Horowitz (86)
3. Songs From the River Wind by Eliza Gilkyson (86)
5. Folk Hero by House of Hamill (79)
6. Rabbit by Buffalo Rose and Tom Paxton (73)
7. Raise the Roof by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (70)
8. Sacred Spaces by Eric Bannan (69)
9. Anthems of Home by HuDost (59)
10. Head Above Water by Heather Sarona (49)
10. Over the Moon by Chinook Waltz (49)
12. The Village Out West: The Lost Tapes of Alan Oakes by Various Artists
(44)
13. Bucket List by John McCutcheon (42)
14. Renewal by Billy Strings (41)
15. Blues Ballads Cowboy Songs by Peter Keane (38)
15. Come What May by Kevin Burgess Project (38)
17. Until Now by Carrie Newcomer (37)
18. Home by Linda Marks (36)
19. Long Time Coming by Sierra Ferrell (35)
19. The Birds of Florida by Susan Werner (35)
21. Age of Apathy by Aoife O’Donovan (34)
22. A Little Life by Liz Miller (33)
22. A Better Day A-Coming by Robin and Linda Williams (33)
24. Awake by Mala Oreen (31)
25. Stops Time by Brooksie Wells (30)
26. Song to a Refugee by Diana Jones (29)
26. My Bluegrass Heart by Bela Fleck (29)
28. The Empress by The McDades (28)
29. Hell on Church Street by Punch Brothers (27)
29. Hometown Tragedies by Terry Family (27)
29. Outside Child by Allison Russell (27)
29. The Insurrection Blues by Corey Harris (27)
33. Everything Will Be by Eric Brace and Last Train Home (26)
33. Changemakers by Crys Matthews (26)
33. Turning Over Stones by Bett Padgett (26)
36. I’ll Meet You Here by Dar Williams (25)
36. Buffalo Nichols by Buffalo Nichols (25)
38. Day by Day by Norman Blake (24)
39. Borrowed Time by Joe Troop (23)
39. A World Like This by George Mann (23)
41. Arrivals by Declan O’Rourke (21)
41. The St Buryan Sessions by Sarah McQuaid (21)
41. Be Here for a While by Shane Cook and the Woodchippers (21)
44. Gone by Tim Grimm (20)
44. Downhill From Everywhere by Jackson Browne (20)
46. Be a Better Me by George Ensle (19)
47. Watchhouse by Watchhouse (18)
47. Surely Will Be Singing by Tammy Rogers and Thomm Jutz (18)
47. Cosmic Banjo by Michael Johnathon (18)
47. The Turning Year by Jennifer Cutting’s Ocean Orchestra (18)
47. Rewrite the Ending by Ina May Wool (18)
47. On Solid Ground by Reggie Harris (18)
47. Timeless Hours by Last Chance (18)
54. Settler by Malcolm Macwatt (17)
54. Violet Light by Maya De Vitry (17)
54. Stories and Memories by Mohavisoul (17)
57. Good to Be by Keb’ Mo (16)
57. Renaissance by Valerie Smith (16)
57. Grit and Polish by Mark Schatz and Bryan McDowell (16)
57. The Other Side by Kristi Flagg (16)
61. American Siren by Emily Scott Robinson (15)
61. Satisfyin by Lady A (15)
61. Lost Love Songs by The Pine Hearts (15)
61. Uranium Maiden by Kate Macleod (15)
61. Be Ready When I Call You by Guy Davis (15)
66. The Way the River Goes by Dan Weber (14)
66. First Farewell by Peggy Seeger (14)
66. Pohorylle by Margo Cilker (14)
66. Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys by Jimmy Martin and the
Sunny Mountain Boys (14)
66. Frame by Frame by T. Buckley (14)
66. The Second Million Miles by Bill Staines (14)
66. Declining With Thanks by Ian Robb and James Stephens (14)
66. Right Where I Am by Jonathan Edwards (14)
66. Beating the Odds by Eric Lambert (14)
66. The Road Ahead by Ray Lambiase (14)
Top Songs of January 2022
1. “I Give You the Morning” by Buffalo Rose and Tom Paxton (38)
2. “Better Times Will Come” by Janis Ian (33)
2. “I’m Still Standing” by Janis Ian (33)
4. “January” by Sue Horowitz (32)
5. “If You Can’t Fly” by Eric Bannan (24)
6. “Wonderful Things” by John Wort Hannam (20)
7. “The South Wind” by Ailisa Newhall (18)
8. “Dancing With the Dark” by Janis Ian (16)
8. “Sister’s Keeper” by Crys Matthews (16)
8. “Louder Than the Guns” by Tret Fure (16)
8. “Take Back The Red White And Blue” by Crowes Pasture (16)
8. “Swannanoa” by Janis Ian (16)
13. “Our Words Will Be Louder” by HuDost (15)
13. “At Least It’s Not Terrorism” by Ina May Wool (15)
15. “Winter Wonderland” by Noel Paul Stookey (14)
15. “Wanderin” by Eliza Gilkyson (14)
17. “Runaway” by Buffalo Rose and Tom Paxton (13)
17. “I’ll Be Lost” by Heather Sarona (13)
17. “Last Kind Word Blues” by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (13)
17. “Bristlecone Pine” by Eliza Gilkyson (13)
21. “Green Light” by Buffalo Rose and Tom Paxton (12)
21. “Ladder to the Sun” by House of Hamill (12)
21. “Sacred Spaces” by Eric Bannan (12)
21. “You Led Me to the Wrong” by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (12)
21. “Long Haul” by John Wort Hannam (12)
21. “Step on the Gas” by Sue Horowitz (12)
21. “Young at Heart” by John Wort Hannam (12)
21. “Hate That Kind of Love” by Marion Halliday (12)
Top Artists of January 2022
1. Janis Ian (150)
2. Eliza Gilkyson (106)
3. John Wort Hannam (97)
4. Sue Horowitz (87)
5. Bill Staines (82)
6. House of Hamill (79)
7. Buffalo Rose and Tom Paxton (76)
7. Joan Baez (76)
9. John McCutcheon (73)
10. Eric Bannan (71)
11. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (70)
12. Christine Lavin (65)
13. HuDost (61)
14. Bob Dylan (59)
15. Heather Sarona (51)
16. Billy Strings (49)
16. Chinook Waltz (49)
18. J.D. Crowe the New South (48)
19. Crys Matthews (46)
19. Carrie Newcomer (46)
19. Susan Werner (46)
22. Pete Seeger (43)
23. Peter Keane (38)
23. Kevin Burgess Project (38)
23. Nanci Griffith (38)
23. Sierra Ferrell (38)
27. Linda Marks (37)
28. Ina May Wool (35)
28. Dar Williams (35)
30. Liz Miller (34)
30. Aoife O’Donovan (34)
30. Robin and Linda Williams (34)
33. Diana Jones (32)
33. Tim Grimm (32)
33. Michael Johnathon (32)
36. Tret Fure (31)
36. Mala Oreen (31)
38. Jackson Browne (30)
38. Brooksie Wells (30)
40. Sarah McQuaid (29)
40. Punch Brothers (29)
40. Bela Fleck (29)
40. Allison Russell (29)
40. Corey Harris (29)
40. Bett Padgett (29)
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