Author Archive

Top Albums & Songs – December 2018 (FOLKDJ-L)

The Longest Night of the Year, Vol. 1 by Various Artists (Hudson Harding Music) was the top album on folk radio during December 2018, while Noel Paul Stookey’s “Christmas Dinner” and John McCutcheon’s classic “Christmas in the Trenches” were the month’s most-played songs. So say charts compiled from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in folk-based music on the radio. [To view the monthly top albums and songs charts, which are posted here with permission, click on the headline.]

South Florida Folk Festival Set for Jan. 26-27

The Caroline Aiken Band, Ronny Cox Trio, The Kennedys, David Olney, and Tom Prasada-Rao co-headline the 2019 South Florida Folk Festival, Presented by the nonprofit Broward Folk Club, the festival takes place on Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 26-27. Nearly 50 artists/acts will perform on two stages at Fort Lauderdale’s Hugh Taylor Birch State Park (3109 E. Sunrise Boulevard, just west of A1A) over the weekend. [To continue reading this article -- including information on the festival's singer-songwriter competition -- click on the headline.]
Kornfeld Re-elected President of NERFA Board; Tankle Retires as Conference Director

Kornfeld Re-elected President of NERFA Board; Tankle Retires as Conference Director

Michael Kornfeld, editor and publisher of AcousticMusicScene.com, was re-elected to a third term as president of the board of directors of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) during its annual conference in Stamford, CT, in November 2018. Serving a region that extends from the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC to Canada’s eastern provinces, NERFA is the largest regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International, a Kansas City-based nonprofit organization (on whose board Kornfeld also serves) that aims to serve, strengthen and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Top Americana Albums and Singles of 2018

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats’ Tearing at the Seams was the most-played Americana album during 2018, while its lead single, “You Worry Me,” topped the year-end singles chart. That’s the word from the Americana Music Association, whose Top 100 Albums and Singles of the Year are based on reports to the Americana Radio Airplay Charts between January 9 and December 10, 2018. [To see the year-end radio airplay charts, click on the headline.]

Nominees Announced for 2019 Grammy Awards

Nominees in 84 categories have been named for the 61st Annual Grammy Awards to be presented by the Recording Academy on Sunday, February 10, 2 019. With three nominations each, Brandi Carlile and John Prine lead the nominees for awards in the American Roots Music Field that will likely be presented prior to the live broadcast airing on CBS television stations that evening from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. [To continue reading this article and view a list of all the nominees in the American Roots Music Field, as well as a couple of videos, click on the headline.]

Winners Named in 2018 Canadian Folk Music Awards

Winners in the 2018 Canadian Folk Music Awards were recognized during a bilingual, two-night celebratory and music-filled event co-hosted by Benoit Bourque and James Keelaghan, Nov. 30-Dec. 1, at The Gateway in Calgary, Alberta. [To continue reading this article and to view the complete list of award winners, as well as a couple of videos, click on the headline.]

Top Albums and Songs – November 2018 (FOLKDJ-L)

Appleseed’s 21st Anniversary: Roots and Branches by Various Artists was the top album on folk radio for a second consecutive month, while Tellico’s “Courage for the Morning” was the #1 song during November 2018. So say charts compiled from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in all folk-based music on the radio. [The monthly top albums and songs charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission. To view them, click on the headline.]
2019 Kerrville New Folk Competition Opens

2019 Kerrville New Folk Competition Opens

Entries are now being accepted for the 2019 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters, to be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 25 and 26, 2019, during the first weekend of the 48th Annual Kerrville Folk Festival in the Texas Hill Country near Austin and San Antonio. The first 800 entries postmarked or submitted online by February 28 will be judged, and 32 finalists will be named in April. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Dec. 7 Concert in NYC Celebrates 50 Years of "Woody's Children"

Dec. 7 Concert in NYC Celebrates 50 Years of “Woody’s Children”

Some of Bob Sherman’s favorite folk artists -- including David Amram, Tom Chapin and Tom Paxton – will help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the longtime New York City broadcaster’s popular, award-winning radio show “Woody’s Children,” during a December 7 concert at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space. The event, hosted by Sherman, will be filmed for future airing on PBS television stations. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

2018 NewSong Music Contest Finalists Chosen

Eight songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2018 NewSong Music Performance and Songwriting Competition and will showcase their talents on Saturday evening, December 15, at Isis Music Hall in Asheville, North Carolina. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Top Albums, Songs – October 2018 (FOLKDJ-L)

Appleseed’s 21st Anniversary: Roots and Branches by Various Artists was the top album on folk radio during October 2018, while singer-songwriter John Flynn had the month’s #1 song (“She Persisted”). So say charts compiled from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in all folk-based music on the radio. [The monthly top albums and songs charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission. To view them, click on the headline.]

2018 NERFA Conference Celebrates Music and Community, Nov. 8-11, in Stamford, CT

More than 700 performing artists, presenters, promoters, agents and managers, folk DJs, and others actively engaged in contemporary and traditional folk music are expected to converge on the Crowne Plaza in Stamford, Connecticut, Nov. 8-11, 2018 for the 24th Annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference. AcousticMusicScene.com will again have a major presence as it hosts afternoon and late-night song swaps in addition to its popular Midnight Hoot at the close of the conference’s first day. [To continue reading this illustrated article -- including listings of juried showcase artists and the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase lineup -- click on the headline.]