Applications are now being accepted from artists interested in performing in this year’s Falcon Ridge/Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase. Slots are available for 24 artists to play two songs/10 minutes on the Mainstage on Friday afternoon, July 27, as part of the four-day Falcon Ridge Folk Festival at the foot of the Berkshires in Hillsdale, New York. [For details, click on the title in red].
The Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival (SMAF) has extended the postmark deadline for its singer-songwriter contest to March 25. The contest is open to singer-songwriters who are not signed to a major label or publishing deal. If interested, send a CD or cassette (rewound, please) that is clearly labeled with your name and the title(s) of up to two songs that you would like the judges to listen to, along with a press kit and lyric sheet , as well as a check for $15. to Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival Songwriting Contest, P.O. Box 139, Abingdon, MD 21009. [To see the entire article, click on the title in red].
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].
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].
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].
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).
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].
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].
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].
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].
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]
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]
