International Folk Music Award Winners Honored During Conference in Montreal
The 2025 International Folk Music Awards were presented on the opening night of the 37th annual Folk Alliance International Conference at Le Sheraton Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada last month. These included member-voted Best Album, Song and Artist of the Year (2024), as well as Lifetime Achievement Awards, Spirit of Folk Awards, the Clearwater Award, the People’s Voice Award, and the Rising Tide Award, in addition to inductions into the Folk Radio Hall of Fame.
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IBMA Songwriter Showcase Applicants Sought
Up to 10 songwriters (or songwriting teams) will be invited to perform one original bluegrass song each for an audience of artists, producers and other industry professionals during a Songwriter Showcase at this year’s IBMA Business Conference that’s part of the World of Bluegrass in Chattanooga, Tennessee, hosted by the International Bluegrass Music Association, September 16-18. The online application period for the 2025 IBMA Songwriter Showcase extends through March 31.
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Sierra Ferrell Wins Four Grammy Awards
Sierra Ferrell was a big winner at the 37th annual Grammy Awards, taking home awards in all four categories in which she was nominated. The Nashville, Tennessee-based and small-town West Virginia-born singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was honored for Best Americana Album (Trail of Flowers), Best American Roots Performance (“Lighthouse”), Best American Roots Song (“American Dreaming,” a co-write with Melody Walker), and Best Americana Performance (“American Dreaming”) during the February 2 premiere ceremony at Los Angeles, California’s Crypto.com Arena that preceded the evening telecast on CBS.
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Songwriter Serenade Contest Opens for Entries
Applications are being accepted through March 29 in the 18th annual Songwriter Serenade contest. From among all entries received, 15 songwriters will be invited to showcase their original songs and compete for prize money at the St. John Church Outdoor Pavilion in Schulenburg, Texas on Saturday, May 3, 2025.
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Entries Sought in 2025 Kerrville New Folk Competition
Entries are now being accepted in the 2025 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters, to be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 24 and 25, 2025, during the first weekend of the annual Kerrville Folk Festival in the Texas Hill Country near Austin and San Antonio. The entry deadline is March 7, while 24 finalists will be named in mid-April.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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