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].

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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].

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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].

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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].

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“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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