Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart, 03-12-10

Carolina Chocolate Drops remain #1 on the Roots Music Report's folk radio chart with Genuine Negro Jig, while Joe Pug's Messenger and The Honey Dew Drops' If The Sun Will Shine have moved up to the #2 and #3 positions, respectively. 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.]

Continue ReadingRoots Music Report Folk Radio Chart, 03-12-10

A Quick Q & A with John McCutcheon

Multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter John McCutcheon has collected a legion of fans since he first started recording and performing in the mid-1970s. As Kathy Sands-Boehmer maintains, "McCutcheon skillfully combines his great storytelling with poignant and evocative songs which continue to inspire young and old alike." [To read Kathy's quick Q & A interview with John McCutcheon, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingA Quick Q & A with John McCutcheon

Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart, 03-05-10

The Carolina Chocolate Drops' Genuine Negro Jig has moved up to the top spot on the Roots Music Report's Folk Radio Chart, while Cliff Eberhardt's 500 Miles - The Blue Rock Sessions now occupies the number two position. The weekly radio airplay charts are compiled for various roots-related genres. These are based on spin totals reported by music directors and DJs from more than 400 terrestrial and Internet radio stations. The latest Folk chart is posted on AcousticMusicScene.com with permission. [To see the current Top 50 Folk Album Chart, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingRoots Music Report Folk Radio Chart, 03-05-10

Liz Longley is Top International Acoustic Music Awards Winner

Liz Longley is the overall grand prize winner in the sixth annual International Acoustic Music Awards competition. The young singer-songwriter from Pennsylvania, who grew up listening to Joni Mitchell and Karla Bonoff, also captured first place in the competition’s Folk category for “When You’ve Got Trouble.” [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingLiz Longley is Top International Acoustic Music Awards Winner

Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart, 02-05-10

Roots Music Report compiles weekly radio airplay charts for various roots-related genres. These are based on spin totals reported by music directors and DJs from more than 400 terrestrial and Internet radio stations. The latest Folk chart is posted on AcousticMusicScene.com with permission. [To see the current Top 50 Folk Album Chart, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingRoots Music Report Folk Radio Chart, 02-05-10

Winners Named in 52nd Annual Grammy Awards

Many of the winners in the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy -- including those in the recently renamed and expanded American Roots Music field -- were announced online prior to televised ceremonies on January 31 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. [To view the full article and see the list of winners, click here.]

Continue ReadingWinners Named in 52nd Annual Grammy Awards

Cactus Cafe at UT in Austin Faces Closure

The nationally renowned Cactus Café on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin may be closing later this year. Citing a desire “to minimize the impact of budgetary reductions on students and to protect student core services,” the Texas Union board of directors on Friday announced plans to “phase-out” the intimate live music venue that has attracted a wide array of local, regional, national and international touring acoustic artists since it opened in February 1979. The board's plans are slated to take effect in August. [To view the full article, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingCactus Cafe at UT in Austin Faces Closure

Irish Music Awards Presented

The second annual Irish Music Awards were presented by the Irish Music Association on January 27 at O’Malley’s Pub in Weston, Missouri. Harpist and singer Orla Fallon, formerly of Celtic Woman and Anuna, won awards in all four categories in which she was nominated. Irish folk musician Donal Lunny -- who has been a part of such groups as Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts and Mozaik, played on a number of Christy Moore albums, and has produced albums for other artists -- was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. [To see a complete list of award recipients, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingIrish Music Awards Presented

Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart, 01-29-10

Roots Music Report compiles weekly radio airplay charts for various roots-related genres. These are based on spin totals reported by music directors and DJs from more than 400 terrestrial and Internet radio stations. The latest Folk chart is posted here with permission. [To see the current Folk Top 50 album chart, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingRoots Music Report Folk Radio Chart, 01-29-10

Congress Honors the Legacy of Lester Flatt

Bluegrass pioneer Lester Flatt, who died in 1979, is best known for having been a lead singer and guitarist with Bill Monroe back in the 1940s and for the two decades he spent with banjoist and fellow Bluegrass Boys alum Earl Scruggs as Flatt and Scruggs – a partnership that produced such bluegrass classics as “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” The U.S. House of Representatives, on Jan. 26, agreed to a sense resolution recognizing Flatt’s invaluable contribution to American art and the indelible legacy he left on bluegrass music. [To see the full text of the resolution, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingCongress Honors the Legacy of Lester Flatt