Carolina Chocolate Drops' Negro Spiritual Jig returns to the top spot on the Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart this week, followed by albums by Ruth Moody, Jakob Dylan, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Mumford & Sons. This week's Folk Top 50 chart is posted here with permission. [To view the current Roots Music Report Folk Radio chart, click on the headline.]
Winners of both the 8th Annual Texas Music Awards and the 2010 Wildflower Performing Songwriter Contest were named last weekend during separate events in the Lone Star State. [To view the entire article, click on the headline.]
Larry Murante is the winner of the 2010 Rose Garden Performing Songwriter Contest. A Pennsylvania native who has been living in the Seattle, Washington area for many years, Murante was named the winner over fellow contest finalists Jim Colbert (Bellefonte, PA) and Chris Elliott (Leverett, MA) after performing two of his original songs on May 15 prior to an April Verch Band concert at the Rose Garden Coffeehouse in Mansfield, Massachusetts. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
After topping the Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart for more than two months, Carolina Chocolate Drops' Negro Spiritual Jig dropped to the #21 position this week, while albums by Ruth Moody, Mary Gauthier and Mary Chapin Carpenter climbed into the #1- #3 slots. The Folk Top 50 chart is posted here with permission. [To view the latest Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart, click on the headline.]
Dave Rawlings, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Ryan Bingham and Patty Griffin scored the most nominations for the Americana Music Association’s 2010 Honors and Awards. Fellow Americana singer-songwriters Emmylou Harris and Todd Snider announced the nominees May 12 during a reception in Nashville, Tennessee. Nominees in additional categories will be announced over the next several months, while the winners will be named September 9 during the association’s ninth annual awards and honors show at the historic Ryman Auditorium. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
The Future of Music Coalition's third annual D.C. Policy Day is set for May 25, while the national nonprofit education, research and advocacy organization also co-presents a six-hour seminar entitled "Musicplus: Skill Building for Musicians" in Oakland, California on May 16. Both events are free and will be webcast. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Albums by Carolina Chocolate Drops and Ruth Moody retain the #1 and #2 spots on this week's Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart, while Storyhill's Shade of the Trees moves up to #3. Rounding out the top ten are albums by Mary Gauthier, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Jakob Dylan, Nathaniel Rateliff, Mumford & Sons, Anais Mitchell and Red Molly. The latest Folk chart, based on spin totals reported by music directors and folk DJs, is posted on AcousticMusicScene.com with permission. [To see the current Top 50 Folk Album Chart, click on the headline.]
Songwriters interested in performing during Avalonfest in West Virginia in mid-August are invited to enter the festival’s annual songwriting competition. June 15 is the deadline for submission of two songs that have not previously been released for sale on CD, on the Web or any other media. [For more information, click on the headline.]
A grand prize winner and winners in 21 categories have been selected from among nearly 15,000 entries in the 2009 International Songwriting Competition. [To read the article, click on the headline.]
Carolina Chocolate Drops' album Genuine Negro Jig retains the top spot on this week's Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart, while Ruth Moody's The Garden and Red Molly's James are in the #2 and #3 positions. The latest Folk chart, based on spin totals reported by music directors and folk DJs, is posted on AcousticMusicScene.com with permission. [To see the current Top 50 Folk Album Chart, click on the headline.]
In a popular music landscape where today’s talented singer-songwriters are often ignored, it’s a little miracle to listen to radio stations — usually small, publicly-run or independent — that promote songwriters who might fall between the cracks. Among the many wonderful DJs out there supporting independent singer-songwriters in markets across the U.S., one of the most well-known and well-listened to is John Platt, host of “Sunday Breakfast” on New York’s WFUV. Sharon Goldman recently elicited his thoughts about the singer-songwriter scene for her blog, Songwriting Scene. Her Q & A interview with him is reprinted here with permission. [To read the Q &A with John Platt, click on the headline.].
Why is writing a good bio so important for singer-songwriters? What are the biggest challenges of writing one, especially if you’re writing it about yourself? What are the qualities of a really good bio? What are the different ways you can use them in publicity and in marketing yourself? AcousticMusicScene.com’s Michael Kornfeld, a communications and PR strategist, recently responded to these and other questions posed to him by singer-songwriter Sharon Goldman for Songwriting Scene, a blog for songwriters about songwriting. That interview is re-posted here with permission. [To read the article, click on the headline.]
