There’s plenty of acoustic music on the radio and streaming online these days – if you know where to find it. This recurring column will help point you to it, while also noting upcoming in-studio guests and live or recorded concerts and performances.
Mara Levine and John McCutcheon had the top albums on folk radio during January 2019 (Facets of Folk and To Everyone in All the World: A Celebration of Pete Seeger, respectively) and a number of the month’s most-played songs. So say charts compiled from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in folk-based music on the radio.
[The monthly top albums, songs and artists charts are posed on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission.
John Prine had both the most-played album (The Tree of Forgiveness) and song (“Knockin’ On Your Screen Door”) on folk radio during 2018, according to 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. John McCutcheon was the year’s most-played artist, as he was in 2017.
[To continue reading this article and view abbreviated charts denoting the top 25 folk albums, songs and artists of 2018, click on the headline. The charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com with permission.]
The Longest Night of the Year, Vol. 1 by Various Artists (Hudson Harding Music) was the top album on folk radio during December 2018, while Noel Paul Stookey’s “Christmas Dinner” and John McCutcheon’s classic “Christmas in the Trenches” were the month’s most-played songs. So say charts compiled from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in folk-based music on the radio.
[To view the monthly top albums and songs charts, which are posted here with permission, click on the headline.]
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats’ Tearing at the Seams was the most-played Americana album during 2018, while its lead single, “You Worry Me,” topped the year-end singles chart. That’s the word from the Americana Music Association, whose Top 100 Albums and Singles of the Year are based on reports to the Americana Radio Airplay Charts between January 9 and December 10, 2018.
[To see the year-end radio airplay charts, click on the headline.]
Appleseed’s 21st Anniversary: Roots and Branches by Various Artists was the top album on folk radio for a second consecutive month, while Tellico’s “Courage for the Morning” was the #1 song during November 2018. 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.]
Bob Sherman (Photo: Gus Philippas)
Some of Bob Sherman’s favorite folk artists -- including David Amram, Tom Chapin and Tom Paxton – will help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the longtime New York City broadcaster’s popular, award-winning radio show “Woody’s Children,” during a December 7 concert at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space. The event, hosted by Sherman, will be filmed for future airing on PBS television stations.
[To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Appleseed’s 21st Anniversary: Roots and Branches by Various Artists was the top album on folk radio during October 2018, while singer-songwriter John Flynn had the month’s #1 song (“She Persisted”). 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.]
Franco-American folk-rock duo The Whispering Tree had the top album (Invisible Forces) and five of the month’s most-played songs on folk radio during September 2018, while eclectic Celtic folk and roots-rock duo House of Hamill had the month’s #1 song. 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.]
Zoe Speaks, a folk-Americana group from Kentucky, had the top album (Wings) and five of the month’s most-played songs on folk radio during August 2018, while singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson (whose new album, Secularia, was #1 in July) had the #2 album and the #1 song for a second consecutive month {her rendition of “Down By the Riverside” with her friend, the late Jimmy LaFave). 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 here with permission. To view them, click on the headline.]
Eliza Gilkyson had both the top album (Secularia) and the most-played song (“Down by the Riverside”) on folk radio during July 2018, while Brooks Williams had the #2 album and song (Lucky Star and “Bright Side of the Blues,” respectively). Five other tracks on Gilkyson’s album and four others on Williams’ new one also were among the month’s top songs. 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.]
Bluegrass group David Davis and the Warrior River Boys had the top album (Didn’t He Ramble: Songs of Charlie Poole) and three of the ten most-played songs on folk radio during June 2018, while singer-songwriter Tret Fure had the month’s top song ("Lessons From Home Plate"). 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.]
Ry Cooder had the top album (The Prodigal Son) and four of the ten most-played songs on folk radio during May 2018, while Reggie Harris and Cosy Sheridan & Charlie Koch shared the month’s top song with “Ready To Go” and “My Fence & My Neighbor,” respectively. 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 from Folk Alliance International. To view them, click on the headline.]