33rd Annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest Winners Announced
Winners have been named in the 33rd annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest (MASC) produced by the Songwriters’ Association of Washington. Seth Kibel, a composer and woodwind player (saxophone, clarinet and flute), was named the grand prize winner for his song “New Waltz” during a Jan. 22 awards gala at Jammin’ Java in Vienna, Virginia.
[To continue reading this article -- including listings of the first- and second-place winners in a number of categories and the winners, finalists and honorable mention recipients in the folk/acoustic and folk rock/Americana/roots rock categories -- click on the headline.]
Winners Named in South Florida Folk Festival Singer-Songwriter Competition
Jane Fallon (Brookline, NH), Amber Ikeman (Bozeman, MT), and Austin MacRae (Ithaca, NY) are the winners of the 2017 South Florida Folk Festival singer-songwriter competition. The three showcased their talents, along with nine other finalists, on Jan 28 during the annual event presented by the nonprofit Broward Folk Music Club at Fort Lauderdale’s Hugh Taylor Birch State Park.
[To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Maggie Roche of The Roches, 1951-2017
Maggie Roche, the eldest of three sisters in the folk-pop vocal trio The Roches, died Jan. 21 at age of 65, following a long struggle with cancer.
[To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Greg Trooper, Singer-Songwriter, 1956-2017
Singer-songwriter Greg Trooper died Jan. 15, two days after his 61st birthday and less than two years after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Trooper, who released 13 albums over the span of 30 years, also had his songs recorded by many artists. Among them were Billy Bragg, Steve Earle (who recorded “Little Sister”), Vince Gill, Lucy Kaplansky, Robert Earl Keen, Maura O’Connell and Tom Russell.
[To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Top Albums and Songs of 2016 (FOLKDJ-L)
Folk-harmony trio Brother Sun had the most-played album (Weights & Wings) on folk radio during 2016, while Indiana-based singer-songwriter Tim Grimm had the most-played song (“Woody’s Landlord”), according to charts compiled by Richard Gillmann from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in all folk-based music on the radio. Bob Dylan was the year’s most-played artist.
[The 2016 year-end FOLKDJ-L top albums, songs and artists charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com with permission. To view them, click on the headline.]
Top Albums and Songs of December 2016 (FOLKDJ-L)
Hudson Harding Sampler, Vol. 11: Happy Holidays, a compilation CD distributed by radio promoter Erik Balkey, was the most-played album on folk radio during December 2016. Dar Williams’ “Christians and the Pagans” tied with John McCutcheon’s classic “Christmas in the Trenches” as the month’s most-played song. So say charts compiled by Richard Gillmann 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 top albums and songs charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission. To view them, click on the headline.]
Arts Presenters, Performing Artists Gather in NYC in January
Several thousand people are expected to converge on New York City, Jan. 6-10, 2017 for the annual conference of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP). Now in its 60th year, the global performing arts marketplace and conference will feature more than 1000 showcases (including a few-dozen featuring folk and roots music artists), nearly 400 exhibitors, networking opportunities galore, daily plenary sessions and keynote speakers, and a wide array of professional development workshops and forums. Four plenary sessions will live stream free, while Wavelengths: APAP Global Music Pre-Conference is open to the public as are some of the ticketed showcases at venues throughout the city.
[To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Showcase Application Deadline Nears for 2017 SERFA Conference
February 1 is the deadline for receipt of applications from artists seeking official showcase opportunities during the 2017 Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) Conference, slated for Wednesday-Sunday, May 17-21, at the Montreat Conference Center in Montreat, North Carolina, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Black Mountain and Asheville. An extended weekend of contemporary and traditional folk music, networking, and educational sessions, the conference attracted 250 people last spring.
[To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
2017 Kerrville New Folk Competition Opens for Entries
Entries are now being sought in the 2017 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters to be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 27 and 28, 2017, during the first weekend of the 46th Annual Kerrville Folk Festival in the Texas Hill Country. The first 800 entries received by February 28 will be accepted, and 32 finalists will be named in April.
[To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
South Florida Folk Festival Set for Jan. 28-29
Suzy Bogguss and Victoria Vox headline the 2017 South Florida Folk Festival. Presented by the nonprofit Broward Folk Club, the festival takes place Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 28-29. More than 40 musicians 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, click on the headline.]
2016 Canadian Folk Music Awards Presented
With trophies for Solo Artist of the Year and Contemporary Album of the Year (Empty Train), David Francey was the top winner in the 2016 Canadian Folk Music Awards. The expressive Scotland-born and Ontario-based singer-songwriter and three-time Juno Award-winner was among 72 artists and groups from ten provinces and two territories who vied for awards in 19 categories that were presented during a bilingual gala event at Toronto’s Isabel Bader Theatre on Dec. 3.
[To continue reading this article and see the complete list of award winners, click on the headline.]
Like/Follow Us!