Alice Di Micele had the top album (Interpretations: Volume 1) and was the most-played artist on folk radio during January 2024. “The Great Forgetting” by Natalia Zukerman edged out “Let’s Get Happy Together” by Jim Kweskin, the month’s second most-played artist, for top song. 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.
Alice Di Micele is a New Jersey-born and Oregon-based independent folk artist. Interpretations: Volume 1, released last month on her own independent label, is her 17th solo recording and features covers of songs by artists who have inspired her as performers and songwriters. These include Rev. Gary Davis, The Grateful Dead, Abbey Lincoln, Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Sting, Kate Wolf, and Neil Young. Di Micele released her first solo recording (Make a Change) in 1988 and also appears on a number of compilations. An environmental and peace activist, many of Di Micele’s own songs reflect on those themes as she seeks to uplift the human experience through her music.
[Here’s a link to view a video of Alice Di Micele performing her rendition of Kate Wolf’s “Give Yourself to Love”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm65iQs7taA.]
Natalia Zukerman, whose song “The Great Forgetting” appears on Hudson Harding Music’s Folk Now: Songs For These Times (Jan. 2024) compilation, is a musician, painter and educator. A daughter of violist –conductor Pinchas Zukerman and flutist-writer Eugenia Zukerman), she grew up in New York City, studied art at Oberlin, started a mural business in San Francisco, began her songwriting career in Boston, and now resides, writes, plays, teaches and paints in New York’s Hudson Valley. She has released eight independent albums and has toured internationally as a solo performer since 2005. Zukerman also developed and performs a multimedia one-woman show, The Women Who Rode Away. She was a Cultural Diplomat for the U.S. Department of State — playing concerts and conducting workshops with her trio.
[Here’s a link to listen to “The Great Forgetting” by Natalia Zukerman:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GeJa_fhz7k&list=PLhIof2GTkkV11AhZYVVYZ9rDlfieNzWoU&index=6&pp=iAQB8AUB.]
The January 2024 top albums, songs and artists charts are based on 12, 269 airplays reported on 414 playlists submitted by 108 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 2024
1 Interpretations: Volume 1 by Alice Di Micele (70)
2 More Than a Whisper: Celebrating the Music of Nanci Griffith by Various Artists (62)
3 Never Too Late: Duets With My Friends by Jim Kweskin (60)
4 By Request by Mustard’s Retreat (54)
5 Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90 (Live at the Hollywood Bowl) by Various Artists (48)
6 So Strong by Jaspar Lepak (42)
7 The Lonesome Chronicles by Kathy Kallick Band (41)
8 Dark Harvest by Malcolm MacWatt (38)
8 Together by Tom Paxton and John McCutcheon (38)
10 I Kept These Old Blues by Muireann Bradley (34)
11 Wanderlust by Elexa Dawson and Stanley Hotel (31)
11 Simple Motion by Eric Brace and Thomm Jutz (31)
13 Even Better on the Bad Days by Scott Sean White (29)
14 Old Ghosts by Diane Coll (28)
14 The Songs of Tom Gala by Free Wheelin’ Fools (28)
16 Two Singing Songs by Ben Gage (26)
17 American Patchwork Quartet by American Patchwork Quartet (25)
18 Fear of Falling Stars by Kristen Grainger and True North (24)
19 At the End of the Day by Sylvia Tyson (23)
19 The Breath Between by David Francey (23)
19 Ozark Symphony by Kelly Hunt (23)
22 A Recipe for Hope by Linda Marks (22)
22 Do You Recall by Dori Freeman (22)
24 Songs to Fight Oppression by Scott Free (21)
24 Ever Onward by Bob and Sarah Amos (21)
24 A Great Wild Mercy by Carrie Newcomer (21)
27 Au Coeur De l’Aube by Genticorum (20)
27 Colors and Covers by Brittany Jean (20)
29 City of Gold by Golden Highway and Molly Tuttle (19)
29 Lavender Moonshine by Tret Fure (19)
29 The Little in Between by Tim Grimm (19)
32 Old Cane Back Rocker by Darrell Scott String Band (18)
32 Endless Turn of Day Into Night by Last Birds (18)
32 Home by Eliza Gilkyson (18)
32 Under a Cathedral Sky by Ynana Rose (18)
36 Honeysuckle Switches: The Songs of Lucinda Williams by Amos Lee (17)
36 Weathervanes by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (17)
36 Praying’ for Sunshine by Suzy Bogguss (17)
36 Born Again Bluegrass by Marty Falle (17)
40 Bigger Than in Between by Sam Robbins (16)
40 I’m the Only One Who Will Tell You, You’re Bad by Goodnight Moonshine (16)
42 New Old Friends by C. Daniel Boling (15)
42 Songs for the Canyon by John Vincent Iii (15)
42 Mile 77 by Jody Stecher and Mile Twelve (15)
42 1988 by Lori McKenna (15)
46 Constellations by Meredith Moon (14)
46 Leaning In by Open Book (14)
46 Love and Rain by Annie and Rod Capps (14)
46 You’re the One by Rhiannon Giddens (14)
46 Rants and Romance by Rod MacDonald (14)
46 Folktown by Mark Leggett (14)
Top Songs of January 2024
Natalia Zukerman had the most-played song on folk radio in January 2024. (Photo: Jen Lee)
2 “Let’s Get Happy Together” by Jim Kweskin (16)
3 “January Skies” by Goodnight Moonshine (15)
3 “The Calendar for Peace” by Colleen Kattau (15)
5 “Give Yourself to Love” by Alice Di Micele (14)
6 “Even When the Light Is Low” by Tom Prasada-Rao (13)
6 “Hard to Hate” by Sam Robbins (13)
8 “January Knows” by Open Book (12)
8 “Old Man” by Alice Di Micele (12)
10 “Frost on the South Side” by Eric Brace and Thomm Jutz (11)
11 “Sugaree” by Alice Di Micele (10)
11 “Everybody Wants My Hat” by Marc Black (10)
11 “Trouble in the Fields” by Lyle Lovett and Kathy Mattea (10)
14 “Boombox” by Charlie Parr (9)
14 “Square One” by Alice Di Micele (9)
14 “Letter From a Groundhog” by Jeff Cannon (9)
17 “Out on the Western Plain” by Malcolm MacWatt (8)
17 “Don’t Use Our Death & Pain” by Robert Sarazin Blake (8)
17 “Tikkun Olam, Repair the World” by Ellen Bukstel (8)
17 “Dirty Dish Rag Theme” by Harvey Reid (8)
17 “Buffalo Thunder” by Malcolm MacWatt (8)
17 “Love at the Five and Dime” by John Prine and Kelsey Waldon (8)
17 “The Welcome Song” by Jan Aldridge Clark (8)
17 “Dreaming of Hassan Playing” by Mike Laureanno (8)
25 “Harvest Moon” by Alice Di Micele (7)
25 “You Can’t Go Home Again” by Sarah Jarosz (7)
25 “One Good Year” by Slaid Cleaves (7)
25 “Big Dark’s Fancy” by Cindy Kallet (7)
25” Can’t Change the Weather” by Eric Brace and Thomm Jutz (7)
25 “All My Friends” by Aoife O’Donovan (7)
25 “Listen to the Radio” by Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle (7)
25 “Banks of the Pontchartrain” by Iris Dement (7)
25 “Workin’ on a World” by Iris Dement (7)
25 “Gulf Coast Highway” by Brandy Clark (7)
25 “Stuck Inside” by Rene Moffatt (7)
25 “Hope You Never Do” Scott by Sean White (7)
Top Artists of January 2024
Alice Di Micele was the most-played artist and had the top album on folk radio in January 2024.
1 Alice Di Micele (70)
2 Jim Kweskin (6)
3 Mustard’s Retreat (54)
4 Kathy Kallick Band (47)
5 Jaspar Lepak (44)
6 Melanie (43)
7 Malcolm MacWatt (40)
8 Bob Dylan (39)
9 Tom Paxton and John McCutcheon (38)
10 Odetta (37)
11 Pete Seeger (35)
12 Eliza Gilkyson (34)
12 Muireann Bradley (34)
12 Joan Baez (34)
15 David Francey (32)
16 Elexa Dawson and Stanley Hotel (31)
16 Eric Brace and Thomm Jutz (31)
18 Brittany Jean (30)
18 Scott Sean White (30)
18 Carrie Newcomer (30)
18 Kelly Hunt (30)
18 Ben Gage (30)
18 Leadbelly (30)
18 Golden Highway and Molly Tuttle (30)
25 Diane Coll (29)
26 Free Wheelin’ Fools (28)
27 Rhiannon Giddens (26)
27 Kristen Grainger and True North (26)
27 Iris Dement (26)
27 American Patchwork Quartet (26)
27 Audie Blaylock and Redline (26)
32 Nanci Griffith (25)
32 Joni Mitchell (25)
34 Kate Wolf (24)
34 Phil Ochs (24)
34 Genticorum (24)
34 Dori Freeman (24)
34 Tim Grimm (24)
39 Ellis Paul (23)
39 Sylvia Tyson (23)
39 The Smothers Brothers (23)
39 Linda Marks (23)
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