Nominees in five categories have been named for the 2026 Americana Honors and Awards. The winners will be recognized on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The 25th annual awards show is the highlight of the Americana Music Association’s AMERICANAFEST, a festival and conference celebrating American roots-inspired music which extends from Sept. 15-19. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]
Six singer-songwriters have been named as winners in the 2026 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 23 and 24 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.]
Natalie Price, a Tennessee-based singer-songwriter originally from Texas, took top honors during the 19th annual Songwriter Serenade in Schulenburg, Texas on May 2, 2026. She was chosen from among 15 semi-finalists in the songwriting competition by a panel of judges who evaluated them based on lyrics (imagery, story, creativity, and originality), melody (structure, phrasing, and rhythm), and performing ability (vocals, musicianship), as well as stage presence/audience rapport. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article that includes extensive quotes from Natalie Price.]
Twenty-four songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2026 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. Chosen from among more than 1,000 entries, the finalists will perform the two songs they submitted on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, May 23 and 24, as part of the first weekend of the 54th annual Kerrville Folk Festival. Ten finalists have also been recently selected as finalists in the Al Johnson Performing Songwriter Contest. [Click on the headline to continue reading tis article.]
Winners of this year’s Canadian Folk Music Awards were recognized during a celebratory and music-filled, extended CFMA 2026 Awards Weekend, April 9-12, in Calgary, Alberta. [Click on the headline to continue reading this short article and to view the complete list of winners.]
Fifteen songwriters have been invited to showcase their original songs and compete for more than $10,000 in prize money at the St. John Church Outdoor Pavilion in Schulenburg, Texas on Saturday, May 2 after being named as semifinalists in the 2026 Songwriter Serenade competition. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]
Joni Mitchell received a Lifetime Achievement Award, while Mariel Buckley’s Strange Trip Ahead was named Contemporary Roots Album of the Year and Morgan Toney’s Heal the Divide won Traditional Roots Album of the Year during the 55th annual JUNO Awards ceremonies on March 28 and 29, 2026 in Hamilton, Ontario. The coveted awards were presented at a JUNO Awards Gala on Saturday, March 28, and during The JUNO Awards Broadcast on Sunday, March 29. Members of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) selected the award recipients in these and other categories. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]
Erin Ash Sullivan, a Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter, has been named as the winner of the 2025 Heyman Rising Artist Award. Focus Music established the award in 2022 in honor of the late Reba and Vic Heyman, two stalwart supporters of the folk music community. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]
Applications are being accepted through March 22 in the 19th annual Songwriter Serenade contest. From among all entries received, 15 songwriters will be invited to showcase their original songs and compete for more than $10,000 in prize money at the St. John Church Outdoor Pavilion in Schulenburg, Texas on Saturday, May 2, 2026. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) has revealed the nominees for the 55th Annual JUNO Awards – including those for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year and Traditional Roots Album of the Year. The coveted awards will be presented on stage in Hamilton, Ontario at The JUNO Awards Gala Presented by Music Canada on Saturday, March 28, 2026, and The JUNO Awards Broadcast at TD Coliseum on Sunday, March 29, 2026, live nationwide on CBC and CBC Gem. They also may be viewed globally on CBC Music’s YouTube channel. [Click on the headline to continue reading this short article.]
Nominees have been named for the 68th annual GRAMMY Awards to be presented by the Recording Academy on Sunday, February 1, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Among the artists in the American Roots Music Field with multiple nominations are Jon Batiste, Sierra Hull, I’m With Her, Jason Isbell, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Molly Tuttle, and Jesse Welles.
The South Florida Folk & Acoustic Music Club is accepting online applications for both its National Singer-Songwriter Competition and South Florida Singer-Songwriter Competition through October 31, 2025. A panel of preliminary judges will assess the submissions. Finalists in the national competition will be invited to perform and be evaluated by another panel of three judges during the annual South Florida Folk & Acoustic Music Festival that is slated for January 30-February 1, 2026 at the Bergeron Rodeo Grounds in Davie. Artists in the local competition will perform prior to the festival, while three winners will be invited to showcase their talents during it. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]
