News – U.S. National

Winners Named in 37th Annual SPBGMA Bluegrass Music Awards

Dailey & Vincent were the top winners in the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) 37th Annual Bluegrass Music Awards, taking home seven trophies, while Rhonda Vincent retained her title as Entertainer of the Year. Winners in 23 categories were announced during an awards show on February 6, 2011 at the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. [To read the entire article and see the complete list of winners, click on the headline.]

Newport Folk Festival Returns to Its Nonprofit Roots

The Newport Folk Festival, which has been held in or near the coastal Rhode Island resort city since 1959, is returning to its original roots as a nonprofit event, along with its older sibling, the Newport Jazz Festival. Both will now be produced under the umbrella of he newly formed Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc. George Wein, 85, a pioneer among producers of outdoor festivals, will remain at its helm and, with his staff, continue to steer the folk festival that is set for July 29-31 at Fort Adams State Park. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

2011 Grammy Nominees Named

Nominees in more than 100 categories have been named for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, to be broadcast live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011 on CBS. [To read the article, including a list of nominees in select categories, click on the headline.]

Dec. 2 is Early-Bird Registration and Showcase Application Deadline For 2011 International Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis

The 24th Annual International Folk Alliance Conference is slated for February 16-20, 2011 in Memphis, Tennessee. However, financial savings are in the offing through early-bird registration that is open through Dec. 2, while forms also are available on the Folk Alliance International website (www.folk.org) for performing artists to apply for Performance Alley official showcase opportunities. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Whole Wheat Radio Shuts Down

There’s now one less online outlet for independent artists and for people to discover them. Whole Wheat Radio, which exposed lots of people to lots of fine independent music through its website and webcast for eight years, is history. Jim Kloss, its founder and director, called it quits on Oct. 20. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Amber Rubarth Wins 2010 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest

Amber Rubarth, a 28-year-old, Brooklyn NY-based singer-songwriter, is the grand-prize winner in the 2010 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest. The international finals for the noted performing songwriter contest -- presented by the live performance radio show and produced by the independent music organization NewSong Music -- took place on Friday afternoon, October 22, at the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden in New York City. John Platt, host of “Sunday Breakfast” on New York’s WFUV, served as emcee for the event. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Dailey & Vincent Repeat as IBMA Entertainers of the Year

Dailey & Vincent were named Entertainer of the Year for the third consecutive time during the 21st Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards show on Thursday, Sept. 30, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The duo also was named Vocal Group of the Year for the third consecutive time and received a second Album of the Year award for Dailey & Vincent Sing the Statler Brothers, a bluegrass tribute to the legendary country music quartet. [To view the entire article and a list of other winners, click on the headline.]

Irwin Silber, Sing Out! Co-Founder and Longtime Editor, 1925-2010

Irwin Silber, a longtime editor of Sing Out!, who co-founded the folk music magazine with Pete Seeger, musicologist Alan Lomax, and others in 1950, died on Sept. 8 in Oakland, California. He was 84 and had suffered with Alzheimer’s disease. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

2010 Americana Music Awards and Honors Presented

Ryan Bingham was the big winner during last night’s Ninth Annual Americana Music Association Honors and Awards Show at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The 29-year old singer-songwriter was named Artist of the Year and won Song of the Year honors for “The Weary Heart,” the theme from the film Crazy Heart. [To see the names of all the winners and read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Paste Magazine Suspends Print Publication

In another sign of the tough economic times in which we are living and, specifically, the decline in print media, Paste Magazine has suspended publication. [To read the article, click on the headline.]

Remembering Kenny Edwards, 1946-2010

"A star has fallen; a really bright one." A memorial service is set for Sunday, Aug. 29, in Santa Barbara, California for Kenny Edwards, a driving force behind the American folk-rock movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He died on Aug. 18 at age 64. A guitarist’s guitarist, Edwards was a co-founder of the Stone Poneys and Bryndle and also collaborated with many other musical luminaries. Singer-songwriter, guitarist and AcousticMusicScene.com co-creator Glen Roethel remembers him fondly. [To read Glen's tribute to Kenny Edwards, click on the headline.]

Bluegrass Label Pinecastle Records Reemerges

Pinecastle Records, a major player in bluegrass music for the past two decades, shut down in February. Its owner and president, Orlando, Florida businessman Col. Tom Riggs, was experiencing serious health issues, and his family opted to close the label and focus on his health. This left artists in limbo, with their recordings quickly going out of print. Earlier this month, Dr. Lonnie Lassiter, a bluegrass music lover and friend of the Riggs family, assumed ownership of the label and tapped two of its former executives – Ethan Burkhardt and Matt Hood – to head up the new venture. [To read the entire, article, click on the headline.]