Nominees in more than 75 categories have been named for the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, to be broadcast live on CBS television stations from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013. Mumford & Sons was among the top nominees with nods for Album of the Year, Best Americana Album and Best Rock Performance. [To view the full article, including a list of nominees in the Roots Music Field, click on the headline.]
Online voting began December 1 and extends until January 12, 2013 on nominees in 18 categories for the fifth annual Irish Music Awards presented by the Independence, Missouri-based Irish Music Association. The awards are slated to be presented on Saturday afternoon, January 26, at O’Malley’s Pub in Weston, MO. [To view the list of nominees, click on the headline.]
Chris Brashear's Heart of the Country, Annie Lou's Grandma's Rules for Drinking and Iris DeMent's Sing the Delta were reportedly the most played albums on folk radio during November 2012, 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. The title track of Canadian singer-songwriter Annie Lou's new CD also was the most-played song, closely followed by Anne Hills' rendition of "Early Snow" from The Things I Notice Now: Anne Hills Sings the Songs of Tom Paxton. [To view the Top Albums and Songs charts for November 2012, click on the headline.]
Privateering, the first double-album set from British guitarist and songwriter Mark Knopfler (of Dire Straits fame), tops the Roots Music Report folk radio chart this week. Alberta-born honky-tonk singer-songwriter Corb Lund's new release, Cabin Fever, returns to the #1 spot on the roots country chart. [To view the current Roots Music Report Folk and Roots Country Top 50 albums charts, click on the headline.]
Our Lady of the Tall Trees, the sophomore release by Seattle-based new old-time duo Cahalen Morrison & Eli West, tops this week's Roots Music Report folk radio chart. Depending on the Distance, Oklahoma-Texas Red Dirt-style troubadour Jimmy LaFave's first studio album in five years, moves into the #1 spot on the roots country chart. [To view the current Roots Music Report Folk and Roots Country Top 50 albums charts, click on the headline.]
Canadian singer-songwriter Garnet Rogers has been hailed by the Boston Globe as “a brilliant songwriter,” “a charismatic performer and singer,” and “one of the major talents of our time.” The venerable folk music publication Sing Out! noted that he “may be one of the greatest male interpreters and vocalists performing in the contemporary folk scene.” Kathy Sands-Boehmer posed some questions to him recently. [To read Kathy's Quick Q & A with Garnet Rogers, click on the headline.]
Babel, the sophomore studio release from British indie folk band Mumford & Sons, now tops the Roots Music Report Folk radio airplay chart, while Nashville-based singer-songwriter Rayland Baxter's debut album, Feathers and Fish Hooks, moves into the top spot on the Roots Country chart. [To view the current Folk and Roots Country Top 50 albums charts, as well as those from Nov. 9, click on the headline.]
The 2012 Canadian Folk Music Awards were presented in Saint John, New Brunswick on Saturday evening, Nov. 17, and streamed online on Roots Music Canada’s website. Winners were named in 17 categories, while recipients also were honored with special Innovator of the Year and Unsung Hero awards during a gala event at the Imperial Theatre that was hosted by the always- entertaining, genial and witty Benoit Bourque of La Bottine Souriante. [To read the full article and see the list of winners, click on the headline.]
Martin Joseph Fay, an Irish fiddler and bones player who was a founding member of The Chieftains, died Nov. 14. He was 76 and had been ill for some time. [To read the article in full, click on the headline.]
Some 800 performing artists, presenters, promoters, agents and managers, folk DJs, and others actively engaged in traditional and contemporary folk music will converge on the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, New York, Nov. 8-11, 2012, for the 18th annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference. AcousticMusicScene.com will again have a major presence as it hosts afternoon and late-night song swaps, and its popular Midnight Hoot at the close of the conference’s first day. A Midday Hoot the next day, introduced in 2010, will afford more artists opportunities to be heard. [To read the full article and see the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase schedules, click on the headline.]
Red House recording artist Lucy Kaplansky, a popular New York-based contemporary folk singer-songwriter, reportedly had the most played album on folk radio during October 2012. Reunion, her latest release, also featured four of the ten most-played songs, 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. Boston-based new acoustic folk quartet Annalivia had the month's #1 most-played song, "False Sir John." Kaplansky's new CD also has topped the Roots Music Report folk radio chart for the past several weeks. [To view the Top Albums and Songs charts for October 2012, click on the headline.]
Lucy Kaplansky's new album, Reunion, continues to top the Roots Music Report folk radio airplay chart this week, while Dwight Yoakam's latest, 3 Pears, moves into the #1 position on the roots country chart. [To view the current Folk and Roots Country Top 50 albums charts, click on the headline.]
