Fiddler’s Green Festival Performances Stream Online on BBC Radio Ulster’s ‘Folk Club’ with Colum Sands

For eight days and seven nights in late July, Rostrevor, a scenic village in the foothills of the Mourne Mountains overlooking Carlingford Lough on Northern Ireland’s County Down Coast, was home to the 21st Annual Fiddler’s Green International Festival... Upcoming editions of “Folk Club,” a weekly program on BBC Radio Ulster hosted by Colum Sands, will feature recorded performances from the festival. These include singer Cara Dillon and her band (August 11), former DeDanann fiddler Frankie Gavin and Hibernian Rhapsody (August 18), and Belfast-born singer-songwriter Brian Kennedy (August 25). Streaming on the Web at www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/radioulster/folk_club, each of the shows will be archived for seven days following the initial broadcast and can be accessed using the BBC Radio Player. Also archived is a performance by The Sands Family, featuring Colum’s brother Tommy, from last year’s festival. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Continue ReadingFiddler’s Green Festival Performances Stream Online on BBC Radio Ulster’s ‘Folk Club’ with Colum Sands

Senators Vow to Push for Internet Radio Equality Act

U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), chief sponsors of the “Internet Radio Equality Act” in the Senate, are vowing to press forward with it if webcasters and SoundExchange, the performance rights organization, have not reached a compromise agreement with respect to royalty rates by Labor Day. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Continue ReadingSenators Vow to Push for Internet Radio Equality Act

LI’s Steve Robinson is Memphis-Bound

Steve Robinson will represent the Long Island Blues Society in the solo/duo category at the 2008 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee next January. The 58 year-old Massapequa Park-based singer-songwriter and fingerstyle guitarist bested several other talented Long Islanders (Bob Westcott, Phil Minissale, Dan Freedman, and Josh Allen & Junior Allen) for this coveted honor during a competition held in Patchogue on Sunday afternoon, August 5. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Continue ReadingLI’s Steve Robinson is Memphis-Bound

BBC Streaming Good Music Online from Across the Pond

Americans can enjoy some fine acoustic music from across the U.K. via the Internet, using the BBC Radio Player. Most of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s traditional and contemporary folk, Celtic and country music programs are streamed online and archived for seven days following their initial broadcast. They can be accessed by keying in www. bbc.co.uk/music/folkcountry/ on your web browser. [To read the entire article, including information on current and upcoming guests and special features on several radio programs, click the headline].

Continue ReadingBBC Streaming Good Music Online from Across the Pond

Tommy Makem, 1932-2007

Tommy Makem, a singer-songwriter and storyteller who played a major role in popularizing Irish folk music in America, as well as in his native Ireland, died of lung cancer Wednesday at his Dover, New Hampshire home. Widely regarded as the godfather of Irish music, Makem, 74, regaled audiences with traditional Irish songs and stories for more than half a century, as well as his own ballads like “Four Green Fields” and “Gentle Annie,” sung in his rich baritone, while accompanying himself on the banjo and tin whistle. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Continue ReadingTommy Makem, 1932-2007

Steve Forbert Headlines Huntington Folk Festival, Aug. 11

The 2nd Annual Huntington Folk Festival is slated for Saturday, August 11, 2007, beginning at 5 p.m., on the Chapin Rainbow Stage at Heckscher Park, Prime Avenue and Route 25A in Huntington Village. Steve Forbert, a folk-rock singer-songwriter best known for his 1979 album Jackrabbit Slim and its sprightly hit single “Romeo’s Tune,” headlines the free festival that is jointly presented by the Folk Music Society of Huntington and the Huntington Arts Council. Beaucoup Blue, a Philadelphia-based father & son acoustic blues & roots duo, opens for Forbert. Preceding them will be three on-stage song swaps, featuring artists from New York and New England. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Continue ReadingSteve Forbert Headlines Huntington Folk Festival, Aug. 11

“Bound For Glory: A Musical Tribute to Woody Guthrie” Airs Sunday, July 22

“Bound For Glory: A Musical Tribute to Woody Guthrie” will be re-broadcast by WFDU-FM (89.1 FM - Teaneck, N.J. and online at www.wfdu.fm) on Sunday, July 22, at 3 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time), in recognition of the 95th anniversary of the birth of this folk icon. Recorded during last November’s Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference in Monticello, N.Y., “Bound For Glory” is a wonderful two-hour remake of an historic revue that was originally presented in New York City in 1956... A musical highlight of last fall’s gathering in The Catskills, “Bound For Glory” features a talented group of performers assembled by Ron Olesko, longtime host of WFDU’s “Traditions” program, which airs on Sunday afternoons. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Continue Reading“Bound For Glory: A Musical Tribute to Woody Guthrie” Airs Sunday, July 22

2007 Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase Finalists Named

Ten finalists and two alternates have been named in the 2007 Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase, a nationally recognized songwriter competition that is open to those who write and perform original music and who are not currently signed to a major recording or publishing deal. The finalists, each of whom will play two original songs on the main stage during the first day of the 17th Annual Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Lyons, Colorado on Aug. 17, are: Nels Andrews of Brooklyn, NY; Jim Beaver of Philadelphia, PA; J.E. Borgen of Boston, MA; Julie Clark of Norfolk, VA; John Common of Denver, CO; Cary Cooper of Dallas, TX; Julie Payne of Nederland, CO; Sarah Sample of Laramie, WY; and Amy Speace of New York, NY. Robby Hecht of Nashville, TN, is the first alternate, while Jenee Halstead of Boston, MA, is the second alternate. The finalists were chosen by a panel of music industry professionals, from among more than 675 entries, on the basis of the quality of original song composition, vocal delivery and overall performance. On Aug. 17, they will vie for cash prizes and the opportunity to play a main stage set during the 2008 festival.

Continue Reading2007 Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase Finalists Named

Webcasters Get Last-Minute Reprieve

Webcasters have received what appears to be at least a temporary reprieve from what some considered to be onerous new royalty rates that could have led some online radio stations to cease playing music. A recording royalty rate increase imposed by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) will not take effect on July 15, as scheduled. During a hearing on Thursday before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce, SoundExchange, the sole administrative entity designated by the U.S. Copyright Office to collect and distribute performance royalties that are owed artists and labels, indicated that it would hold off on enforcing the new rates as it continues to negotiate with webcasters. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Continue ReadingWebcasters Get Last-Minute Reprieve

Entries Sought for International Acoustic Music Awards

Entries are now being accepted in the fourth annual International Acoustic Music Awards (IAMA). Intended to “promote excellence in acoustic music performance and artistry,” IAMA is open to amateur and professional musicians and songwriters in various genres. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Continue ReadingEntries Sought for International Acoustic Music Awards

Webcasters Denied Emergency Stay on Royalty Rate Increase

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has denied an emergency stay sought by the Digital Media Association, National Public Radio and a group of small commercial webcasters to block a recording royalty rate increase imposed on webcasters by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB). “This situation is grave, but that makes the message all the simpler and more serious,” maintains the SaveNetRadio Coalition in an action alert posted on its Website (savenetradio.org) today. The coalition is encouraging its supporters to call their U.S. Senators and Representatives to urge their support for bringing the Internet Radio Equality Act to the floor for an immediate vote. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Continue ReadingWebcasters Denied Emergency Stay on Royalty Rate Increase

Folk Alliance International & Regional Conferences Slated

The 20th Annual International Folk Alliance Conference is slated for next February 20-24 in Memphis, Tennessee, while regional conferences of the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance (Folk Alliance) are shaping up for this fall. Designed for performing artists, presenters, agents and managers, folk DJs, folk societies and clubs, media, and others engaged in the folk music field, these conferences provide useful and enjoyable opportunities to learn, network and share music. Booking gigs is the primary objective of some performers who attend these annual conferences, while many presenters and folk DJs come primarily to scout out new artists and those who they have not previously heard and seen in live performance. However, the conference experience is much more than that; it’s really about forging connections and building an acoustic community. Although artist showcases and educational workshops and panel discussions are common to all of them, the regional conferences hosted by Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM), Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA), Folk Alliance Canada, Folk Alliance Region West (FAR-West) and Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) all have their own tenor and style. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Continue ReadingFolk Alliance International & Regional Conferences Slated