Entries are now being accepted in the 32nd annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest (MASC) produced by the Songwriters’ Association of Washington. The submission deadline is Sept. 15, 2015, while the early-bird deadline is July 15. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
David Berkeley (Santa Fe, NM), Wes Collins (Chapel Hill, NC), Amy Kucharik (Somerville, MA), Tom Meny (Buda, TX), Anna Tivel (Portland, OR) and Becky Warren (Nashville, TN) have been named as winners in the 2015 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. The six winning songwriters were chosen from among hundreds of applicants following performances May 28-29 by 32 finalists during the New Folk Concerts held as part of the Kerrville Folk Festival in the Texas Hill Country. [To continue reading this article and see a photo of the winners, click on the headline.]
Joe Hill’s Last Will by John McCutcheon was the most-played album on folk radio during May 2015, closely followed by Sue Massek’s Precious Memories. The title track of McCutcheon’s latest album was the most-played song during the month. 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 May 2015 FOLKDJ-L charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com with permission. To view them, click on the headline.
The finals in the 2015 Telluride Troubadour Competition will take place during the 42nd Telluride Bluegrass Festival, June 18-21. The roots-oriented music festival takes place amid Colorado’s rugged San Juan Mountains and coincides with the Summer Solstice. Ten singer-songwriters will each perform two original songs as they vie for ash and other prizes, recognition, and the opportunity to perform on the festival’s main stage. Each finalist also receives an "in-the-round" workshop spot in Elks Park, a performance coaching session, and a short tweener main stage set over the festival weekend. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline or link below.]
Several days of contemporary and traditional folk music, networking, and learning opportunities await the nearly 200 people expected to converge on the Montreat Conference Center in Montreat, North Carolina, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Asheville, May 13-17, 2015, for the eighth annual Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) Conference. AcousticMusicScene.com will again host late-night song swaps. [To continue reading this article -- including comments from renowned singer-songwriter and activist Si Kahn and a listing of Official and AcousticMusicScene.com Showcase performers -- click on the headline.]
Guy Carawan, a folksinger, musician, ethnomusicologist and activist perhaps best known for introducing the anthemic protest song “We Shall Overcome” to the American civil rights movement during the 1960s, died in his sleep May 1 following a lengthy illness. He was 87. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Pharis and Jason Romero’s A Wanderer I’ll Stay was the most-played album on folk radio during April 2015, while its title track was the most-played song for the second consecutive month. 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 FOLKDJ-L top albums and song charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission. To view them, click on the headline.
Wine pairs well with music, and wineries across the U.S. frequently feature performances by acoustic artists. For the past several years, Four Sisters Winery in Belvidere, New Jersey has played host to Muses in the Vineyard, billed as a “Celebration of Music Of the Women, By the Women and For Everyone.” Now in its fourth year, the festival, set for May 16-17, will feature sets by 18 local, regional, national and international touring artists and groups. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Finalists have been announced in the 10th annual performing songwriting contest produced by The Philadelphia Songwriters Project. The 12 singer-songwriters – who hail from Maryland, New York and New Jersey, as well as the Philadelphia area – include Annika Scilipote, Ben O’Neill, Jeanette Lynne, Adam Web, Cat Ricketts, Avi Wisnia, Alyssa Garcia, Joe Marson, Angela Burns, Rob Camarino, Stetson Rose, and Jeff Waters. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Ten finalists have been named in the 2015 Wildflower! Performing Songwriter Contest. Each will perform two songs on the Singer Songwriter Stage during the 23rd annual Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival at Galatyn Park Urban Center in Richardson, Texas, just a few minutes north of Dallas. Billed as North Texas’ largest music festival, it takes place, May 15-17. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Folk Alliance Region-West (FAR-West), Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM) and Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA), regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International, are currently accepting applications for juried showcases during their respective annual conferences this fall. All showcase entries must be submitted online. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Thirty artists and bands have been selected to participate in the Bluegrass Ramble series of showcases slated to take place at select venues throughout downtown Raleigh, North Carolina during the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)’s World of Bluegrass 2015, Sept. 29-Oct. 3. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
