Bill Keith, a noted five-string banjoist who introduced a melodic style of playing the instrument and designed a specialized type of tuning peg that bears his name, died Oct. 23 at age 75. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
The Earls of Leicester were the big winners during the International Bluegrass Music Awards show, Oct. 1, at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Duke Energy Center for the Arts. The group –- which pays homage to the musical legacy of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and their band, the Foggy Mountain Boys -- took home Entertainer, Album (for its Grammy Award-winning self-entitled debut), Instrumental Group and Gospel Recorded Performance (“Who Will Sing For Me”) of the Year awards. [To continue reading this article and see the list of award winners, click on the headline.]
Joy of Living: A Tribute to Ewan MacColl was the most-played album on folk radio during September 2015, closely followed by Songs of Heart and Home by Greg Blake -- who was also the month’s most-played artist. “House Carpenter” by Low Lily, the string and vocal trio formerly known as Annalivia, was September’s most-played song -- closely followed by “Get Together” by Lowell Levinger, formerly of The Youngbloods. 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.
The Young Novelists took first place in the 2015 Grassy Hill CT Folk Songwriting Competition. The Toronto, Ontario (Canada)-based husband-and-wife folk-roots duo was selected by a panel of judges following short performances by the five finalists that kicked-off the 10th annual Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo at New Haven’s Edgerton Park on September 12. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
With four nominations, rural British Columbia folk duo Pharis and Jason Romero, known for their duets and handmade banjos, is the top contender vying for 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards that will be presented during a gala event at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta on November 8. Amelia Curran (St. John’s, NL), Fortune Ones (St. John’s, NL), Jenn Grant (Lake Echo, NS), Catherine MacLellan (Charlottetown, PEI), and Whitehorse (Toronto, ON) were close behind with three nods apiece. To continue reading this article and see the complete list of nominees in 19 categories, click on the headline.
Danny Barnes, a claw hammer and three-finger-style banjo player from Texas, has been named the recipient of the 2015 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. To continue reading this article, click on the headline.
Harpeth Rising, a young Kentucky-based folk and Americana trio, had both the most-played album (Shifted) and song (“I Am Eve”) on folk radio during August 2015. 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 monthly Top Albums and Songs charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com with permission. To view them, click on the headline.
Acclaimed singer-songwriter John Gorka and rootsy female Americana group Della Mae headline CT Folk’s 10th annual Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo, a free, daylong event, on Saturday, Sept. 12, in New Haven’s Edgerton Park. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Popular bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent will host a television show beginning this fall. The Dailey & Vincent Show, filmed before a live audience at the historic Franklin Theatre in Franklin, Tennessee, debuts on Saturday, September 5 at 9:30 p.m. EST/8:30 p.m. CST on cable network RFD-TV. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Hundreds of folk, roots and bluegrass music fans from throughout the New York metropolitan area are expected to converge on Germonds Park in West Nyack, NY on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 23, for the sixth annual, picnic, concert and jam hosted by the Borderline Folk Music Club of Rockland County and co-sponsored by AcousticMusicScene.com, The Folk Music Society of New York (aka Pinewoods Folk Music Club), Folk Music Society of Huntington, Tribes Hill and the Town of Clarkstown. [To continue reading about this free event that will feature a musical tribute to Tom Paxton, click on the headline.]
Eighteen artists/acts have been selected to perform Official Showcases during the 2015 Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA) Conference, Sept. 23-27, at the Holiday Inn – Midtown in Austin, TX. Nine will perform on Friday night, while another nine will do so on Saturday night. In addition, seven alternates have been invited to showcase their talents late Thursday night. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Arlo Guthrie celebrates the 50th anniversary of the event that inspired the seminal song “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” while influential folksinger-songwriter Tom Paxton, who plans to retire from the road later this year after more than a half-century as a performing and recording artist, are among the dozens of artists and acts slated to perform during the 2015 Philadelphia Folk Festival. Scheduled for August 13 -16 at the Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford Township, near bucolic Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, the festival is produced and presented by the Philadelphia Folksong Society. Now in its 54th year, it is the longest continuously running musical festival of its kind in North America. To continue reading this article, click on the headline.
