Winners in the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy, were announced both prior to and during ceremonies in Los Angeles on February 10. [To see a list of winners in categories of interest to acoustic music fans, click on the headline.]
The Americana Music Association is now accepting showcase applications from artists interested in performing during the 2008 Americana Music Festival and Conference to be held Sept. 17-20 in Nashville, Tennessee. A showcase application form can be downloaded at www.americanamusic.org. Conference registration forms and other information also are posted on the site. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Several Long Island-based acoustic musicians marked important milestones in January. Phil Minissale, the Long Island Blues Boy, turned 21. Denise Romas, who has been part of the local acoustic music scene for years, released her debut album. And Gathering Time – an acoustic trio featuring Glen Roethel, Stuart Markus and Hillary Foxsong – performed live in the studio at WFDU in Teaneck, New Jersey. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
"The nights were long and cold and scary; can we live through February?" That's a question posed by Dar Williams in her song "February" from her 1998 release, Mortal City. Indeed, we can. Although it may be bitter cold out at times, Long Islanders can find plenty of good, live acoustic music indors to help warm our hearts and souls. In addition to a number of talented local artists, you are bound to love the sound that the gifted and eclectic young Canadian duo known as Twilight Hotel (a highlight of both the 2007 Shelter Valley Folk Festival in Ontario and the AcousticMusicScene.com Showcase at NERFA in Monticello last fall) makes in Babylon on Valentine's Day, while talented New England-based singer- songwriters Greg Greenway and Danielle Miraglia visit our shores on Feb. 1 and 16, respectively. More than 50 concert , coffeehouse, open mic and jam session listings for the month follow, along with a few set for early March. [Click the headline to view the calendar, which is updated several times during the month.]
Balloting in the Third Annual Folk Alliance Awards ended on Friday, Jan. 25. The award winners in more than a dozen categories will be named during a Feb. 20 awards program on the opening night of the 20th Annual International Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis, Tennessee that runs through Feb. 24. The awards program will be broadcast live over XM Satellite Radio. A listing of the nominees in 11 categories appears below. In addition to these categories, in which votes were cast by Folk Alliance members, Song of the Year and Album of the Year awards will be presented based on airplay reports. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Five longtime hosts of folk radio programs have been nominated for Folk DJ of the Year in the Third Annual Folk Alliance Awards. The honoree will be named during a Feb. 20 awards program on the opening night of the 20th Annual International Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis, Tennessee that runs through Feb. 24. The awards program will be broadcast live over XM Satellite Radio. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].
For nine days in early February, the San Francisco Bay Area will be a
[To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Where is arts marketing going, and how can the presenting field lead the way? That question and more were addressed during one of the numerous informative super sessions and burning issues forums held during the 51st Annual Members Conference of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters that took place in New York City, Jan. 11-15. The session was directed primarily towards toward those who market larger performing arts and cultural centers, many associated with colleges and universities. However, much of the presentation is pertinent for those promoting smaller venues and coffeehouses, house concerts, folk music societies and festivals – including the notion that personal referrals and social networking are key to building audiences. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Singer-Songwriter John Stewart, best known for his seven-year stint with the Kingston Trio and for penning the hit song “Daydream Believer," has died at the age of 68. With his family by his side, Stewart passed away on Jan 19 at the same
“Presenting America: New Ground†was the theme of The Association of Performing Arts Presenters’ 51st Annual Member Conference, Jan. 11-15. The conference drew several thousand professionals engaged in the performing arts community to New York City and featured daily plenary sessions and a wide array of professional development workshops and forums. Notable among these were an early morning session hosted by the Future of Music Coalition on why radio consolidation matters and other issues (in which this writer opined on the efforts to save Internet radio) and another on The Role of Global Music in Geo-Political Diplomacy that included the screening of excerpts from a PBS special featuring Israeli folk-rocker David Broza at Masada. Some 1,000 showcases also took place, both at the New York Hilton, the conference’s host hotel, and at venues throughout Manhattan and several in other boroughs of NYC. An exhibition hall was teeming with booking agents and presenters eager to speak with them. And, of course, there was a whole lot of networking going on. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Pennsylvania can be pretty cold during the wintertime. But there will be plenty of Celtic music to warm your souls. The 16th Annual Greater Philadelphia Mid-Winter Scottish and Irish Music Festival takes place at the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, Friday, Feb. 15 through Sunday, Feb. 17; while the 2nd Annual Winter Classic: a Gathering of the Celts is set for Saturday and Sunday, March 1 and 2 at Lehigh University's Rauch Field House in Bethlehem. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].
Maintaining that “there are many, many folk music fans in Maine who would like an easier, more focused resource for keeping track of local artists,†Bob McKillop launched MaineFolkMusic.com on Jan. 16. McKillop – a musician, songwriter, music journalist, open mic host and entrepreneur from Portland – describes the site as “Maine’s folk music homepage†and says it is devoted to the state’s acoustic musicians, as well as touring folk artists who perform in Maine. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].
