AcousticMusicScene.com Creators “Booked”

A song from Glen Roethel’s forthcoming release is chosen to appear in the new Unity songbook -- Special Services and Chants, Volume 2 -- that is due out in June… Michael Kornfeld, editor & publisher of AcousticMusicScene.com, is a panelist at the 67th Annual IBS International Radio, TV, Webcasting & Podcasting Conference… [For more details, click on the title in red].

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USA Songwriting Competition Accepting Entries

Entries are currently being sought for the 2007 USA Songwriting Competition. Now in its 12th year, this competition provides winners not only with cash and music gear, but also helps expose their music to a wider audience via airplay on the nationally syndicated radio program “Acoustic Café,” as well as on XM Satellite Radio. [To see the entire article, click on the title in red].

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Winners of International Acoustic Music Awards Named

Fertitta and McClintock won the overall grand prize in the third annual International Acoustic Music Awards (IAMA). The Orange County, California-based duo -- whose songs have been recorded by such artists as Sammy Kershaw, Lorrie Morgan, Juice Newton and Andy Williams -- also was named best group/duo. [For a list of top winners, click on the title in red].

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Long Island AcoustiCalendar for March 2007

For a compendium of upcoming concerts and coffeehouses, click on the title in red. In addition to a number of talented local singer-songwriters and musicians, visiting acoustic artists performing on Long Island in March include Bob Franke, Susan McKeown, David Wilcox, Catie Curtis, Christine Lavin, The Roches, Terence Martin, Beaucoup Blue and Livingston Taylor. Gigs listed in boldface type are highlighted under AcoustiConcerts (LI, NY).

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Folk Alliance Honors Gene Shay

Gene Shay, hailed as "the dean of American folk DJs" by the Philadelphia Daily News, was named Folk DJ of the year during the 2nd Annual Folk Alliance Awards Show in Memphis, Tenn. on Feb. 21. The awards, presented on the opening night of the just-concluded 19th Annual North American Folk Music & Dance Alliance Alliance International Business Conference, recognize merit and achievement in the folk music field. Shay, who has hosted and produced weekly folk radio shows in Philadelphia for more than four decades, can currently be heard each Sunday on WXPN (88.5 FM) and, as of yesterday (Feb.24), on the FolkAlley.com stream each Saturday from 5-7 p.m. ET, with an encore broadcast Wednesday evenings at the same time. [To read this article in its entirety, click on the title in red].

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Folk Alliance Award Winners Named

Winners of the 2nd Annual Folk Alliance Awards were recognized during an awards ceremony at the just-concluded 19th Annual North American Folk Music & Dance Alliance International Business Conference in Memphis, Tenn. And the winners are… Folk DJ: Gene Shay, WXPN (Philadelphia) Song of the Year: “Seems So Real,” Chris Smither Traditional Release of the Year: Bruce Springsteen, We Shall Overcome – The Seeger Sessions Contemporary Release of the Year: Wailin’ Jennys, Firecracker [To see the full list of winners, click on the tile in red].

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Long Island AcoustiConcerts of Note – March 2007

A number of talented acoustic performers will grace Long Island stages during March. Although more extensive listings appear in the AcoustiCalendar, here are a few highlights: Susan McKeown -Saturday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. Congregational Church of Huntington, Centerport Catie Curtis – Saturday, March 10 at 8 p.m. Landmark on Main Street, Port Washington The Roches – Friday, March 16 at 8 p.m. (Cancelled) Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, Bay Shore Beaucoup Blue and Terence Martin - Sunday, March 18 at 2 p.m. University Cafe, Stony Brook Christine Lavin – Friday, March 23 at 8 p.m. Our Times Coffeehouse at the Ethical Humanist Society, Garden City Livingston Taylor – Saturday, March 31 at 8 p.m. Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, Bay Shore [To see this posting in its entirety, with opinionated one-paragraph descriptions of each of the artists, click on the title in red].

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Deadlines Loom for Two Songwriting Competitions

March entry deadlines for both the Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival Songwriting Contest and the Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Contest for Emerging Songwriters are fast approaching. Both contests are associated with festivals taking place in late spring. [To see the entire article, click the title in red].

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Grammy Award Winners Named

Among the winners of the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, announced during ceremonies at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 11, were:

Best Bluegrass Album: Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Instrumentals (Skaggs Family Records)

Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album: Bob Dylan, Modern Times (Columbia)

Best Traditional Folk Album: Bruce Springsteen, We Shall Overcome - The Seeger Sessions (Columbia)
[Click title in red to see the entire posting]

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Blues Bits & Songwriting Success

Little Toby Walker returns to Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch in March… Phil Minissale appears on WRCN’s “Graveyard Blues Radio Show,” Feb. 18…2007 LI Harp Blowoff Slated for March 4… James O’Malley is a finalist in the Plowshares Singer-Songwriter Competition for the second successive Year… [Read more by clicking on the title in red]

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Grammy Nominees of Note

Winners of the 49th annual Grammy Awards will be announced in Los Angeles on Feb. 11. Listed below are the nominees in the folk, bluegrass and Americana categories.

Best Bluegrass Album:

The Grascals, Long List of Heartaches

Jim Lauderdale, Bluegrass

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Instrumentals

Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Live at the Ryman

Rhonda Vincent, All-American Bluegrass Girl

Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album:

Jackson Browne, Solo Acoustic Vol. 1

Rosanne Cash, Black Cadillac

Guy Clark, Workbench Songs

Bob Dylan, Modern Times

Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris, All the Roadrunning

Best Traditional Folk Album:

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, I Stand Alone

Odetta, Gonna Let It Shine

Linda Ronstadt & Anne Savoy, Adieu False Heart

Bruce Springsteen, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions

Ralph Stanley, A Distant Land to Roam [For complete listing, click on title in red]

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Americana, Bluegrass & Roots Festivals Springing Up

Many fans of bluegrass, roots and Americana music will be heading to Driftwood, Texas and Wilkesboro, North Carolina in April for major festivals.

The 20th Annual Old Settler’s Music Festival, slated for April 19-22 at the Salt Lick BBQ Pavilion and Camp Ben McCulloch in Driftwood, Texas is not as well-known outside the state as some other festivals in the Austin area – and that’s part of its allure. Old Settler’s Music Festival also takes place during what’s usually the height of Texas Hill Country’s wildflower season, although few bluebonnets were in bloom last year due to earlier drought conditions. [Click on title in red to see the entire article]

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