News Capsules for the Acoustic Community
Nickel Creek, the popular progressive acoustic trio that went on a self-described “indefinite hiatus” in 2007, is reuniting. To mark its 25th anniversary, the Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum-selling band will embark on a U.S. tour this spring and summer and is at work on a new album. [To read the full article and view a video of Nickel Creek performing a song from its forthcoming album, click on the headline.]
The Boxcar Lilies, Darlingside, Connor Garvey and Roosevelt Dime have been invited to participate in the Most Wanted Song Swap at this summer’s Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. They were chosen in balloting by 2013 festival goers from among 24 artists/bands who performed in last year’s Falcon Ridge/Grassy Hill Emerging Artists Showcase. [To read the full article and view videos of the "Most Wanted" artists, click on the headline.]
Pete Seeger, the inspirational American folk music icon, political activist, environmentalist and humanitarian, whose songs helped provide a musical backdrop for many of the historical movements of the past 50-plus years, died on Jan.. 27. He was 94 and had been preceded in death last year by his wife and soulmate of nearly 70 years, Toshi. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Most of the winners in more than 80 categories in the 56th Annual Grammy Awards were announced during ceremonies held prior to the televised event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Jan. 26. To view the list of winners in the American Roots Music Field, click on the headline.
Steven Fromholz, a well-respected Texas singer-songwriter, engaging and witty performer, author, actor, humorist, “singing cowboy,” acclaimed whitewater rafting guide, and one-time poet laureate of the Lone Star State, died Jan. 19 following a hunting accident. He was 68. {To read the full article, click on the headline.]
A U.S. federal appeals court in Washington, DC has dealt a serious blow to musicians, the music community and others eager to maintain a level online playing field. On Jan. 14, the three-judge panel struck down the Federal Communications Commission’s rules designed to keep the Internet open to free expression, entrepreneurship and innovation. [To continue reading the article, including a statement from the Future of Music Coalition, click on the headline.]
Folk harmony trio Brother Sun's sophomore release, Some Part of the Truth, was the most-played album on folk radio during 2013. The trio -- comprised of veteran touring singer-songwriters Joe Jencks, Greg Greenway and Pat Wictor -- also had the most-played song, Jencks’"Lady of the Harbor," 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 FOLKDJ-L charts are based on 157,864 airplays from 187 different DJs. The number of reported spins (airplays) is shown in parentheses, while label and release dates appear in brackets. They are posted, with permission, on AcousticMusicScene.com. [To view the Top Albums and Songs of 2013, click on the headline.]
Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, an Austin, Texas-based performing songwriter, succumbed to liver cancer on Dec. 26, 2013 at the age of 60.The cancer stemmed from a rare form of Hepatitis C to which she had been exposed as a child. [To read the full article and view a video of Sarah, click on the headline.]
Nominees in more than 80 categories have been named for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, to be presented at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014. Of particular interest to readers of AcousticMusicScene.com are the nominees in the American Roots Music Field. Among them, Sarah Jarosz and Steve Martin & Edie Brickell received nods in two categories. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]
Folk Alliance International members are casting votes this month for one or more -- up to five -- individuals to serve on the nonprofit organization’s board of directors. Among the candidates is Michael Kornfeld, editor and publisher of AcousticMusicScene.com. Currently in his third term on the board of FAI’s largest regional affiliate and the president of a volunteer-run nonprofit presenting organization on Long Island (NY), Kornfeld advocates broader representation of FAI’s constituencies on its governing board. [To read the article in its entirety, click on the headline.]
The burgeoning Americana music scene is the focus of Nashville 2.0, a new hour-long music documentary that airs on PBS television stations across the U.S. on Nov. 22. The special, which may be viewed as a primer of the genre, features performances by a number of well-known roots music artists and emerging artists who are transcending traditional boundaries and putting their own contemporary stamp on long-established genres like country, folk, bluegrass, blues, roots rock, R&B, rockabilly, folk-rock and honky-tonk that have inspired what is broadly known as Americana today. These are interspersed with filmed interviews with some of these artists as well as select music journalists and historians. [To continue reading the article, click on the headline.]
Dom Flemons, a founding member of Carolina Chocolate Drops, has announced that he is leaving the Grammy Award-winning African-American string band following a final round of shows with the group in December. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]
