“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].

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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.

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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].

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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].

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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].

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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].

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Irish Festivals Abound Across the U.S. This Summer

The sounds of Celtic harps, fiddles, Irish balladeers, pipe bands, step dancers and Celtic rockers abound during the summer festival season. And you won’t have to shell out much green to attend most of the festivals, featuring traditional and contemporary music from and inspired by the Emerald Isle, that are mentioned here. The Colorado Irish Festival, Cleveland’s Irish Cultural Festival, the Adams County Irish Festival in Gettysburg (PA), and Utica, NY’s Great American Irish Festival are slated in July. Milwaukee’s nationally acclaimed Irish Fest takes place in August, as do two festivals in upstate New York, while the fifth annual Kansas City Irish Festival is set for Labor Day Weekend. [For short descriptions of -- and performer listings for -- each of these festivals, along with websites to visit for further information, click on the headline].

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24 Selected for Falcon Ridge New Artist Showcase

Twenty-four artists have been selected from among some 450 applicants to perform in the New Artist Showcase during the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival on Friday afternoon, July 27, 2007. Appearing in this year’s Showcase, slated for noon to 4:30 p.m. on the Main Stage, are: Nick Annis, Derek Aramburu, Judith Avers, Ken Bonfield, Beaucoup Blue, Edie Carey, Sandy Cash, Joe Crookston, Anthony da Costa, Five2, Ryan Fitzsimmons, Joe Jencks, Jennings & Keller, Dawn Kenney, Lindsay Mac, Stephanie Marshall, Zoe Mulford, Chris O’Brien, Siobhan Quinn& Michael Bowers, Bob Sima, Vienna Teng, Heather Waters, The Whispering Tree and Randall Williams. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

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Long Island Summer AcoustiCalendar & Nearby Festivals

Summer is here, and with it comes an array of outdoor festivals and concerts, in addition to many indoor concerts, coffeehouses and open mic nights. Besides plenty of homegrown talent, a number of notable performers will be visiting the Island this summer. The folk-rockin’ duo Aztec Two-Step and veteran acoustic blues guitarist John Hammond play Bay Shore’s Boulton Center, as do The Roches with their impressive song craft and delightful three-part harmonies. The rootsy Americana trio Red Molly makes a couple of LI appearances. Folk-rock singer-songwriter Steve Forbert headlines the 2nd Annual Huntington Folk Festival that also features the father & son acoustic blues & roots duo Beaucoup Blue and several song swaps. Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder headline the 5th annual Long Island Bluegrass Festival in Copiague, and talented Canadian fiddler April Verch plays the Long Island Fiddle Festival in Stony Brook. Living folk icons Richie Havens and Tom Rush play the new Great South Bay Music Festival in Patchogue, while Tom Paxton, a former Long Islander and one of America’s finest folksingers and topical songwriters, returns to Albertson’s Clark Botanic Garden. The Friends of the Arts Long Island Summer Festival in Oyster Bay features such entertaining performers as Randy Newman, The Indigo Girls, Rosanne Cash & The Flatlanders. Acclaimed German fingerstyle guitarist Peter Finger plays a free lunchtime concert in Bay Shore, and rootsy alt-country singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams brings her “West” tour east to the Brookhaven Amphitheater. Within close proximity for many Long Islanders, New York City’s River to River Festival, the Roots of American Music Festival outside Lincoln Center, the 2007 Pleasantville Music Festival in the Westchester County community of that name and a wonderful weekly series of free acoustic concerts at Ridgefield, Connecticut’s Ballard Park also beckon. [To see the calendar listings, click on the headline].

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Performance Royalties Sought for Terrestrial Radio Airplay

Calling for “fair pay for airplay” and expressing its collective belief that artists should be compensated when their music is broadcast over the air, a new coalition of U.S. recording artists and music industry organizations announced the launch of musicFIRST (Fairness in Radio Starting Today) on June 14. The move comes as a battle still rages over the Copyright Royalty Board’s decision to raise Internet radio royalty rates (as previously reported here). [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

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Summer Festivals Offer Bluegrass Fans Plenty to Pick From

From Telluride in Colorado to Grey Fox in New York, Podunk in Connecticut and Thomas Point in Maine, and many places in between, there are plenty of festivals for bluegrass fans and pickers to enjoy across the country this summer. These range from one-day events in Minnesota, New York and Oregon to three- and four-day gatherings with workshops, jam sessions and camping. Here’s a sampling of 30 bluegrass festivals (a few of which also include other genres of music) slated between June 21 and Labor Day Weekend, along with websites to consult for further information. [To see the entire column, click on the headline].

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