Songwriters Sought for SolarFest Showcase in Vermont

SolarFest, which bills itself as the New England Renewable Energy Festival, is seeking songwriters to perform in its annual Songwriter Showcase this July. Ten singer-songwriters, who write and perform original music and are not currently signed to a major recording label or publishing deal, will be selected to perform two songs and compete to be among the three winners of cash prizes and studio time. The first-place winner also will be invited back to perform as a featured artist during next year’s SolarFest. All finalists will receive two complimentary passes for SolarFest, which takes place July 11-13 at the Forget-Me-Not Farm in Tinmouth, Vermont. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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Clearwater Short Film Competition Focuses On Power of Song To Change the Environment

Video entries are now being sought for a new environmental short film competition, whose theme is the power of song to change the environment. Launched by Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc., a member-supported nonprofit organization created by Pete Seeger and others more than 40 years ago to help restore and protect the Hudson River, The Clearwater Environmental Short Film Competition is one way in which the organization is seeking to inspire people to use music and song as instruments for environmental change. Much as Pete Seeger has educated people about important issues and causes through his music, the folks at Clearwater are looking for videos that use music and song to heighten interest in and concern for the environment. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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‘Absolutely Irish’ Concert Film Airs on Public TV Stations

With the St. Patrick's Day season upon us, public television stations across the U.S. are airing Absolutely Irish this month. The 90-minute concert film and documentary features some of the world's leading traditional Irish musicians. Filmed live last April during a concert at the Irish Arts Center in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood by Academy and Emmy Award-winning director Paul Wagner, Absolutely Irish is replete with jigs, reels, airs, ballads, contemporary versions of familiar old tunes, and instrumental jams featuring some fine players -- young and old alike. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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Americana, Bluegrass & Roots Festivals Spring Up in TX & NC

Many fans of bluegrass, roots and Americana music will be heading to Driftwood, Texas and Wilkesboro, North Carolina in April for major festivals. Early-bird tickets are now on sale for the Old Settler’s Music Festival and Merlefest. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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NSAI Hosts Songwriters Festival & Symposium in Nashville

The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) stages its 16th annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival, April 1-5, in Nashville. The songwriters’ festival, which takes place at nine venues throughout Music City USA, also coincides with NSAI’s Spring Symposium, a two-day intensive seminar for writers of all genres and experience levels, that takes place at Nashville’s Millennium Maxwell House. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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Long Island AcoustiCalendar for March 2008

You don’t have to be Irish to enjoy Irish music. And there will certainly be a lot of opportunities to hear some “reel” good tunes and ballads this month in the run-up to St. Patrick’s Day. In addition to some fine music being performed by local artists, a number of talented touring artists visit our Isle this month. Of particular note are the performers on the bill for the Folk Music Society of Huntington’s Phil Ochs Song Night that kicks off the month on March 1; Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers at Bay Shore’s Boulton Center for the Performing Arts and Cathie Ryan, the former lead singer of Cherish the Ladies, at Port Washington’s Landmark on Main Street, both on March 7; the blues & roots music pairing of former LIer Toby Walker and Pat Wictor at the Garden Stage in Garden City that same night (Walker also has two solo gigs on LI in March, while Wictor pays homage to Phil Ochs in Centerport); a free program of Andean music performed by Hinantillan at the West Hempstead Public Library on March 9 and a visit by young Canadian singer-songwriter Nathan Rogers (son of the late Stan) to Stony Brook’s University Café the same day; an anticipated capacity crowd for a March 15 homecoming engagement by Port Washington native Richard Shindell at The Landmark on Main Street; the LI debut of Ellis, a sparkling and thoroughly engaging singer-songwriter from Minnesota, at Garden City’s Our Times Coffeehouse on March 21; a not-to-be-missed duo performance by 17-year-old singer-songwriter & Falcon Ridge Folk Festival fave Anthony da Costa and Red Molly’s Abbie Gardner at Acoustic Long Island in St. James on March 26; an intimate house concert in Babylon featuring the talented Canadian husband & wife duo The Laws, with gifted guitarist and conservatory-trained singer-songwriter Randall Williams opening on March 28. For more information on these and other acoustic music happenings on Long Island in March, click on the headline. – Michael Kornfeld

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Rich Warren Named Folk Broadcaster of the Year

Rich Warren, longtime host of The Midnight Special, was named as Folk Broadcaster of the Year during the Third Annual Folk Alliance Awards, held on Feb. 20, the opening night of the 2oth Annual International Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis, Tennessee. Balloting was by members of the North American Folk Music & Dance Alliance. The Midnight Special, which Warren has hosted for nearly 25 years, originates from the studios of WFMT (98.7 FM) in Chicago, Illinois, where it airs Saturdays from 9 p.m. to midnight (ET) and also streams online. A two-hour national edition of the popular show is syndicated at various times on dozens of radio stations across the country and also airs on XM Satellite Radio’s channel 15 (The Village). [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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Folk Alliance Awards Presented in Memphis

Winners of the Third Annual Folk Alliance Awards were recognized during an awards ceremony on the opening night of the 20th Annual International Folk Alliance Conference that drew nearly 2,000 people to Memphis, Tennessee, February 20-24. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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Pete Seeger: The Power of Song Airs on PBS, Feb. 27

The first authorized biography of Pete Seeger will air on PBS television stations, February 27. Entitled Pete Seeger: The Power of Song, the documentary by three-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Jim Brown is part of the American Masters series of primetime specials delving into the lives, works and creative processes of some of our cultural icons. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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Rhonda Vincent & The Rage Win a Bevy of SPBGMA Awards

As the title of her new album suggests, Rhonda Vincent appears to have a Good Thing Going. The bluegrass singer and mandolinist, who also plays the guitar and fiddle, was again named as Entertainer of the Year, while her band, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, took Vocal Group of the Year honors during the 34th Annual Bluegrass Awards presented by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA) earlier this month at its 25th national convention in Nashville, Tennessee. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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Roots Music Association Slates Inaugural Convention & Festival

The Roots Music Association will host its inaugural convention, radio seminar and music festival -- Music United ’08 -- June 27-29, at the Alfazar Shrine Conference Center in San Antonio, at the edge of the Texas Hill Country. Early-bird registration fees for those who register by March 28 are $125 for the full conference and $50 for the radio seminar only on Saturday, June 28. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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