Awards & Contests

Highlights of 23rd Annual Americana Honors & Awards Air on PBS Television Stations

Performances by some of Americana music’s biggest stars-- including Duane Betts, Blind Boys of Alabama, Fantastic Negrito, Sierra Ferrell, Emmylou Harris with Rodney Crowell, Sarah Jarosz, Noah Kahan, Larkin Poe, Jobi Riccio, Shelby Lynne, Waxahatchee with MJ Lederman, and Dwight Yoakam -- captured live during the 23rd annual Americana Honors & Awards show in September will air as an episode of Austin City Limits on PBS television stations throughout the U.S. beginning on Saturday, November 23. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

2025 Canadian Folk Music Awards Nominees Named

Abigail Lapell, a Toronto-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, tops the list of nominees for the 2025 Canadian Folk Music Awards with four nominations: Contemporary Album of the Year and Solo Artist of the Year for her newest release, Anniversary, and Traditional Singer of the Year and Children’s Album of the year for her previous recording, Lullabies. Lapell previously received Canadian Folk Music Awards for English Songwriter of the Year in 2023 and 2020 and Contemporary Album of the Year in 2017. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article and to view the complete list of 107 nominees vying for awards in 20 categories to be presented in Ottawa next April.]

2024 Kerrville New Folk Winners Tour Texas in November

Winners of the 2024 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters will embark on a Kerrville New Folk on the Road tour across Texas on Friday, November 8. Extending through Sunday, Nov. 17, the tour will include stops in Austin, Dripping Springs, New Braunfels, Wimberley, Houston, Kerrville, Fischer, and San Antonio. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]
Entry Deadline Nears for Mid-Atlantic Song Contest

Entry Deadline Nears for Mid-Atlantic Song Contest

Entries are now being accepted in the 41st annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest (MASC) produced by the Songwriters’ Association of Washington. The online submission deadline is September 30, 2024. [Click on the headline to continue reading this short article.]

The Honey Badgers Emerge Victorious

The Honey Badgers was named the winner following the Emerging Artist Showcase at the 2024 Susquehanna Folk Festival in York, Pennsylvania on Saturday, August 10. The Newark, Delaware-based folk and Americana duo of Erin Magnin and Michael Schutz Natrin was afforded the opportunity to open that evening for Hot Club of Cowtown at the Capitol Theatre and received a $1,000 cash prize. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

Martin Gilmore is 2024 Telluride Troubadour

Martin Gilmore, an Englewood, Colorado-based singer songwriter and bluegrass picker, won the 2024 Telluride Troubadour Competition and had the opportunity to perform a short set on the main stage during the 51st Telluride Bluegrass Festival -- a roots-oriented music festival that took place around Colorado’s rugged San Juan Mountains, June 20-23. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]
Winners Named in 2024 Kerrville New Folk Competition

Winners Named in 2024 Kerrville New Folk Competition

Six singer-songwriters have been named as winners in the 2024 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. They were chosen by a panel of judges from among 24 finalists who performed two songs each during the New Folk Concerts on May 25 and 26 as part of the Kerrville Folk Festival, an 18-day event at the Quiet Valley Ranch in the Texas Hill Country near Austin and San Antonio. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

Finalists Named in 2024 Kerrville New Folk Competition

Twenty-four songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2024 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. Chosen from among a record-breaking 1341 entries, the finalists will perform the two songs they submitted on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, May 25 and 26, as part of the first weekend of the 52nd annual Kerrville Folk Festival. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

Winners Named in 2024 Canadian Folk Music Awards

Winners of this year’s Canadian Folk Music Awards were recognized at a bilingual, celebratory and music-filled event that took place over two nights during the 2024 CFMAs, April 3-7, in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. William Prince, a Winnipeg, Manitoba-based singer-songwriter from Peguis First Nation, was the top recipient -- with awards for Contemporary Album of the Year (Stand in the Joy), Solo Artist of the Year, and Single of the Year (“When You Miss Someone”). [Click on the headline to continue reading this article and to view the complete list of award winners.]

Entries Sought for Emerging Artist Showcase at 2024 Susquehanna Folk Festival

Up-and-coming roots musicians who would like an opportunity to showcase their talents during this summer’s Susquehanna Folk Festival in York, Pennsylvania have until April 19 to submit application for the event’s Emerging Artist Showcase at the Appell Center on Saturday, August 10, 2024. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]
Semifinalists Named in 2024 Songwriter Serenade Competition

Semifinalists Named in 2024 Songwriter Serenade Competition

Fifteen songwriters have been invited to showcase their original songs and compete for prize money at the St. John’s Outdoor Pavilion in Schulenburg, Texas on Saturday, May 11 after being named as semifinalists in the 2024 Songwriter Serenade competition. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

William Prince and David Francey Win JUNO Awards

William Prince’s Stand in the Joy was named Contemporary Roots Album of the Year and David Francey’s The Breath Between won Traditional Roots Album of the Year during the 53rd annual JUNO Awards ceremonies on March 23, 2024 at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Members of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) selected award recipients in these and other categories. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article and to enjoy a couple of songs.]