Roots Music Association Presents Awards
Anne McCue was named Folk Artist of the Year, while Carrie Rodriguez took Folk Songwriter of the Year honors in the inaugural Roots Music Association Awards. Others recognized during an awards ceremony that took place on the closing day of the World United Music Festival and Radio Conference in San Marcos, Texas, Nov. 14-16, included Emmylou Harris (Roots/Americana Artist of the Year), Chris Knight (Roots/Americana Country Songwriter of the Year), The Dixie Bee-Liners (Bluegrass Artist of the Year), Pinetop Perkins (Blues Artist of the Year), Tom Gray (Blues Songwriter of the Year), Asleep at the Wheel (Cowboy/Western Swing Artist of the Year), and Jo-el Sonnier (Zydeco Artist of the Year).
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2008 MountainStage NewSong Contest Winners Named
Jeff Ellis of Huntington, West Virginia; Jacob & Lily of Winnipeg, Manitoba; Kangero of Brooklyn, New York; Kelleigh McKenzie of Rosendale, New York; and Rose Polenzani of Somerville, Massachusetts were named as winners of the 2008 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, presented by Folk Alliance.
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Dailey & Vincent Dominate International Bluegrass Music Awards
Dailey & Vincent, who released their debut CD earlier this year, captured the most awards during last night’s 19th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards Show at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville Tennessee. The group, whose leaders (Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent) apprenticed for years under Doyle Lawson and Ricky Skaggs, was named Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year and Emerging Artist of the Year, while its self-titled debut on Rounder Records was named Album of the Year and “By the Mark†was named Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year. In addition, Dailey was named Male Vocalist of the Year, while Vincent was among the featured artists on the Recorded Event of the Year –...
Americana Music Association Presents Honors and Awards
Levon Helm was named Artist of the Year, while Alison Krauss & Robert Plant were named Duo/Group of the Year and their critically-acclaimed Raising Sand was tapped as Album of the Year during the Americana Music Association's 7th Annual Honors & Awards Show at Nashville's Historic Ryman Auditorium last night.
Americana Music Association members also voted Buddy Miller (who led the band for the three-hour program) as Instrumentalist of the Year, Mike Farris as New Emerging Artist of the Year, and "She Left Me for Jesus" by Hayes Carll and Brian Keane as Song of the Year.
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Americana Music Association to Honor Joan Baez, Sept. 18
Joan Baez is slated to receive the “Spirit of Americana†Free Speech Award during the Americana Music Association’s Seventh Annual Honors and Awards Ceremony, to be held Sept. 18 at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Past recipients of the Spirit of Americana Award, which recognizes and celebrates artists who have ignited discussion and challenged the status quo through their music and their actions, also have included Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Mavis Staples, Judy Collins and Charlie Daniels.
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Erik Darling, 1933-2008
Erik Darling, a singer, guitarist and banjo player, who replaced Pete Seeger in The Weavers 50 years ago and was part of the folk music revival of the 1950s to early 1960s, died of Lymphoma on August 3. Darling, who also was a member of The Tarriers and The Rooftop Singers, as well as a solo artist and an accompanist on recordings by other notable folk artists, was 74.
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NoDepression.com to Re-Launch in Late September
When No Depression, which billed itself as “The Last Alt. Country (Whatever That Is) Bimonthly†ceased publication earlier this year, its owners vowed to continue a web presence. Now comes word that plans for a major overhaul of NoDepression.com are well under way this summer, with a new site set to be launched in late September.
NoDepression.com, which will be edited by the magazine’s founding co-editor Peter Blackstock, will include regular blogs by many of the magazine’s most frequent contributors, including Blackstock and fellow founding co-editor Grant Alden, according to a news release issued this week on their behalf.
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Artie Traum, 1943-2008
Renowned songwriter and guitarist Artie Traum, who, along with his older brother, Happy, was a major figure and a pioneer in the 1970s acoustic music scene, has died. Cancer that spread to his liver claimed his life at the age of 65, although his family reports that Traum was not in appreciable pain, and he had performed publicly until May. Traum grew up in the Bronx, New York and was inspired by the Greenwich Village folk scene in the late 1950s – particularly such artists as Pete Seeger, The Weavers and The Tarriers. He was drawn into folk music by his brother, Happy, four years his senior, who survives him. As a harmony duo, they frequently performed at coffeehouses in...
Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame Inducts 10
Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson are among the inaugural class of inductees in the new Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The two nationally known artists from the greater Blue Ridge Mountains region, which extends from north Georgia to northwestern Virginia, were honored during ceremonies June 13 at the Walker Center on the campus of Wilkes Community College (home to Merlefest).
The Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame was created in 2006 as a project of the Wilkes Heritage Museum and the nonprofit Old Wilkes, Inc. Through exhibits, interactive displays and an annual celebration of inductees, the Hall of Fame seeks to educate visitors, while defining and interpreting the rich musical heritage and traditions...
2008 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners Named
Six songwriters were named as 2008 New Folk Winners after performing, along with 26 other finalists, in the Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Concerts, May 24-25, at the Threadgill Theater on the Quiet Valley Ranch Campgrounds at the Kerrville Folk Festival in the Texas Hill Country.
This year's winners were RJ Cowdery of Columbus, Ohio; Robby Hecht of Nashville, TN; Betty Soo of Austin, TX; Devon Sproule of Charlottesville, VA; CJ Watson of Nashville, TN; and Hans York of Seattlle, WA.
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Folksinger, Storyteller, Railroad Tramp Utah Phillips Dead at 73
Utah Phillips, a seminal figure in American folk music, who performed extensively and tirelessly for audiences on two continents for 38 years, died Friday, May 23, of congestive heart failure in Nevada City, California.
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Bob Childers, Godfather of Red Dirt Music, Dies at 61
Family, friends and fans of Bob Childers, an influential figure in Oklahoma's "Red Dirt" music circles, gathered in Oklahoma City on Sunday to celebrate the life and memory of the prolific and much-covered songwriter. Childers -- whose music was a blend of country, folk and roots-rock that drew inspiration from another revered Oklahoman, Woody Guthrie -- died April 22, following a long battle with lung disease.
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