Susan Cattaneo Wins Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition at 2018 Connecticut Folk Festival

Boston-based singer-songwriter Susan Cattaneo was named the winner of the 2018 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition following a final round featuring five artists/acts during the 13th annual Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo at New Haven’s Edgerton Park on Sept. 8. [To continue reading this article, click on he headline.]

Continue ReadingSusan Cattaneo Wins Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition at 2018 Connecticut Folk Festival

Top Albums & Songs, August 2018 (FOLKDJ-L)

Zoe Speaks, a folk-Americana group from Kentucky, had the top album (Wings) and five of the month’s most-played songs on folk radio during August 2018, while singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson (whose new album, Secularia, was #1 in July) had the #2 album and the #1 song for a second consecutive month {her rendition of “Down By the Riverside” with her friend, the late Jimmy LaFave). 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 here with permission. To view them, click on the headline.]

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Club Passim’s Campfire. Festival Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary Over Labor Day Weekend

Dozens of emerging artists from New England and beyond will showcase their talents over the Labor Day Weekend during the annual Campfire. Festival at Club Passim, the legendary Harvard Square listening room in Cambridge, MA. Now marking its 20th year, the event also will be live streamed via Concert Window beginning Friday, Aug. 31, at 6 p.m. and extending through Monday, Sept. 3, at 10:30p.m. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingClub Passim’s Campfire. Festival Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary Over Labor Day Weekend

Juried Official Showcase Artists Chosen for 2018 NERFA Conference in Stamford, CT, Nov. 8-11

More than 40 artists/acts have been selected for juried formal and semi-formal showcases during the 24th annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference, slated for Nov. 8-11, 2018 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Stamford, CT. [To continue reading this article that includes an overview of the conference and the names of all the formal and semi-formal showcase artists and alternates, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingJuried Official Showcase Artists Chosen for 2018 NERFA Conference in Stamford, CT, Nov. 8-11

Official Showcase Artists Chosen for 2018 FARM Conference in Michigan, Oct. 25-28

Fourteen artists/acts have been selected (from among more than 130 applicants) to perform official showcases during the 2018 Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM) Conference slated for October 25-28 at the Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel & Conference Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. [To continue reading this article -- including a listing of official showcase artists and alternates and more conference information -- click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingOfficial Showcase Artists Chosen for 2018 FARM Conference in Michigan, Oct. 25-28

2018 SWRFA Conference Shaping Up for September; Showcase Artists Selected

Seventeen artists/acts have been selected to perform Official Showcases during the 2018 Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA) Conference, Sept. 26-30, at the Holiday Inn – Midtown in Austin, Texas. Eight will perform on Friday night, while nine will do so on Saturday night. In addition, six alternates have been invited to showcase their talents late Thursday night, the 28th. [To continue reading this article previewing the 2018 SWRFA Conference, click on the headline.]

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Philadelphia Folk Festival Set for Aug. 16-19

Thousands of music lovers are expected to converge on Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford Township, near bucolic Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, Aug. 16-19, 2018 for the annual Philadelphia Folk Festival. Now in its 57th year, the event, produced and presented by the Philadelphia Folksong Society, a nonprofit arts organization, is the longest continuously running outdoor music festival of its kind in North America. [To continue reading this article previewing the festival, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingPhiladelphia Folk Festival Set for Aug. 16-19

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

Eliza Gilkyson had both the top album (Secularia) and the most-played song (“Down by the Riverside”) on folk radio during July 2018, while Brooks Williams had the #2 album and song (Lucky Star and “Bright Side of the Blues,” respectively). Five other tracks on Gilkyson’s album and four others on Williams’ new one also were among the month’s top songs. 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.]

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AcousticMusicScene.com Hosts Showcases During Huntington Folk Festival, July 29

Legendary folksinger-songwriter Tom Rush (accompanied by up-and-comer Matt Nakoa on piano and percussionist Marshal Rosenberg) headlines the 13th Annual Huntington Folk Festival on Sunday, July 29, at Heckscher Park, located off Main Street (Route 25A) and Prime Avenue, in Huntington, New York. Extending from 12 noon to 10:30 p.m., the free event – co-presented by the Folk Music Society of Huntington and the Huntington Arts Council – is part of the 53rd Huntington Summer Arts Festival. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

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Rocky Mtn Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase Finalists Chosen

Ten singer-songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2018 Rocky Mtn Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase and will open the festival on August 18 as they perform on its main stage in Lyons, Colorado – a historic quarry town, 15 miles north of Boulder, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. They also will perform during in-the-round sessions in the Wildflower Pavilion on Aug. 18 and 19 – where songwriting workshops will take place throughout the weekend. [To continue reading this article -- including a listing of the ten finalists and two alternates -- click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingRocky Mtn Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase Finalists Chosen

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

Bluegrass group David Davis and the Warrior River Boys had the top album (Didn’t He Ramble: Songs of Charlie Poole) and three of the ten most-played songs on folk radio during June 2018, while singer-songwriter Tret Fure had the month’s top song ("Lessons From Home Plate"). 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.]

Continue ReadingTop Albums & Songs – June 2018 (FOLKDJ-L)