News Capsules for the Acoustic Community
J.D. Crowe, an influential and visionary bluegrass banjo player, who plied his craft for more than 60 years, died on Dec. 24. The Lexington, Kentucky native and Grammy Award-winning artist was 84.
Scott Alarik, Bill Staines and Joe Virga — each of whom made important contributions to the folk music community in the U.S. — passed away in early December 2021 and will be greatly missed. Ethan Baird, executive director of Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA), pays tribute to them below. [Click on the headline to read Ethan's reflections and an extended editor's note with more information about Scott, Bill and Joe -- along with video links.]
Nominees in 86 categories have been named for the 64th annual Grammy Awards to be presented by the Recording Academy on Monday, January 31, 2022. Allison Russell leads the nominees in the American Roots Music Field with three nominations, while Jon Batiste, Béla Fleck, Rhiannon Giddens, Billy Strings, and Yola each received two. Click on the headline to continue reading this article and to see the complete list of nominees in the American Roots Music Field.
Music festival impresario George Wein, founder of the Newport Folk & Jazz Festivals and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, died September 13 in his New York City apartment. The noted pianist, producer and promoter was 95.
Nanci Griffith, a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, whose music straddled the line between folk and country, died on August 13, 2021 at age 68. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article , including reflections from other artists.]
Byron Berline, a three-time national fiddle champion and a leading figure on the contemporary bluegrass music scene, died July 10, 2021 – just a few days after turning 77. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article that also includes video links.]
Last week, the folk community lost two seminal figures: Clark Weissman, co-founder of Folk Alliance International (along with his late wife Elaine, 2005), and Reba Heyman, an omnipresent supporter (along with her late husband Vic, 2009). Aengus Finnan, executive director of Folk Alliance International, remembers them and reflects on their contributions. [Click on the headline to read this remembrance piece.]
Winners in the 63rd Grammy Awards’ American Roots Music Field were recognized during a Premiere Ceremony that took place prior to The Recording Academy’s televised awards show on Sunday, March 14, 2021 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, while singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile paid tribute to the late John Prine, one of the winners, during the awards show that aired on CBS television stations. [Click on the headline to continue reading the article.]
Folk DJs from throughout the northeastern United States and Canada, along with a couple from outside the region, will present a free, online emerging artist showcase on Saturday, January 23, 2021. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article and to see the list of performing artists.]
Live performances at theaters and other venues could resume with relatively few restrictions “sometime in the fall of 2021 … if enough people get vaccinated,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during an online conversation as part of a virtual Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) conference on January 9. Theaters, performing arts centers, concert halls and other live music venues throughout the U.S. have been closed since last spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the inability to tour and perform live has had a serious economic impact on artists, presenters and others in the field.
Liam Reilly, an acclaimed songwriter and former lead singer of the Irish folk-rock band Bagatelle, died on New Year’s Day 2021 at age 65. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article and to view a few videos.]
Tony Rice, an influential acoustic guitarist and 2013 inductee into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, died on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 2020 at his home in Reidsville, North Carolina. He was 69. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
