News Capsules for the Acoustic Community
Artists, friends and family of Odetta, a singer of folk, blues, jazz and spirituals, whose powerful, deep voice helped spark the flames of social justice and freedom during the height of the civil rights movement, will celebrate her life and career in words and song on Feb. 24 at New York’s Riverside Church. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
American folk music icon Pete Seeger, whose songs have helped to provide a musical backdrop for many of the historical movements of the past 50-plus years, will join other musical luminaries in performing during “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial” in Washington, D.C. on Sunday. Jan. 18. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Winners in the eighth annual Independent Music Awards were announced this month. Produced by Music Resource Group, publishers of The Musician’s Atlas, the Independent Music Awards feature more than 50 music and design categories and were open to any indie-label release or self-produced, self-distributed recording released between July 1, 2007 and Sept. 30, 2008. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
The potential impact of media and broadband policy and changes in federal copyright law on the music and technology communities will be explored and debated during the Future of Music Coalition’s second Policy Day. Slated for Wednesday, February 11, at National Geographic’s Grosvenor Auditorium in Washington, D.C., the day-long event -- sponsored by the national nonprofit education, research and advocacy organization --comes just weeks after the Obama Administration assumes power. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Odetta, a singer of folk, blues, jazz and spirituals whose powerful, deep voice helped spark the flames of social justice and freedom during the height of the civil rights movement, has died. The artist, who helped keep the light of folk music burning brightly for more than half a century, succumbed to heart disease on Dec. 2, less than a month short of her 78th birthday and less than 50 days shy of the inauguration of President Barack Obama at which she had hoped to sing.
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). [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
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. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
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 – Everett Lilly & Everybody and Their Brother (Swift River Music). [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
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. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
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. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
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. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
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. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
