Awards & Contests

2018 NewSong Music Contest Finalists Chosen

Eight songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2018 NewSong Music Performance and Songwriting Competition and will showcase their talents on Saturday evening, December 15, at Isis Music Hall in Asheville, North Carolina. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

2018 International Bluegrass Music Awards Presented

Entertainer of the Year, the top honor in the 29th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards – presented Sept. 27 at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Duke Energy Center for the Arts – went to the Tar Heel State’s own Balsam Range. The five-member acoustic ensemble previously won this award in 2014. Balsam Range’s Buddy Melton was voted 2018 IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year, while Tim Surrett was named Bass Player of the Year. [To continue reading this article – including a listing of all the 2018 award-winners – click on the headline.]
Nominees Named for 2018 Canadian Folk Music Awards

Nominees Named for 2018 Canadian Folk Music Awards

The LYNNeS and Buffy Sainte-Marie top the list of nominees for the 2018 Canadian Folk Music Awards with five nods each. The duo of Lynn Miles & Lynne Hanson and the much-celebrated folksinger-songwriter are among the many artists and groups from throughout Canada vying for awards in 19 categories to be presented at The Gateway in Calgary, Alberta, Nov. 30 – Dec. 1. [To continue reading this article and see the complete list of nominees, click on the headline.]

Susan Cattaneo Wins Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition at 2018 Connecticut Folk Festival

Boston-based singer-songwriter Susan Cattaneo was named the winner of the 2018 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition following a final round featuring five artists/acts during the 13th annual Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo at New Haven’s Edgerton Park on Sept. 8. [To continue reading this article, click on he headline.]

Rocky Mtn Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase Finalists Chosen

Ten singer-songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2018 Rocky Mtn Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase and will open the festival on August 18 as they perform on its main stage in Lyons, Colorado – a historic quarry town, 15 miles north of Boulder, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. They also will perform during in-the-round sessions in the Wildflower Pavilion on Aug. 18 and 19 – where songwriting workshops will take place throughout the weekend. [To continue reading this article -- including a listing of the ten finalists and two alternates -- click on the headline.]

Garrett Owen is 2018 Telluride Troubadour

Garrett Owen, a Dallas, Texas-based singer songwriter, won the 2018 Telluride Troubadour Competition and had the opportunity to perform a short set on the main stage during the 45th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival, a roots-oriented music festival set amid Colorado’s rugged San Juan Mountains, June 21-24. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Winners Named in 2018 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition

Six singer-songwriters have been named as winners in the 2018 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. They were chosen by a panel of judges from among 32 finalists who performed two songs each during the New Folk Concerts on May 26 and 27 as part of the Kerrville Folk Festival, an 18-day event at the Quiet Valley Ranch in the Texas Hill Country. [To continue reading this article and see the names of this year's winners, click on the headline.]
Mary Bragg Wins 2018 Songwriter Serenade Competition

Mary Bragg Wins 2018 Songwriter Serenade Competition

Nashville-based Americana singer-songwriter Mary Bragg has been named the first-place winner of the 2018 Songwriter Serenade Competition after showcasing two of her original songs, along with 14 other semifinalists, at Moravia Performance Hall in Moravia, Texas, during the day on Saturday, May 5. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Finalists Announced in 2018 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition

Finalists Announced in 2018 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition

Thirty-two songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2018 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. Chosen from among more than 600 submissions from around the world, the finalists will perform their two submitted songs during the New Folk Concerts on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, May 26 and 27, as part of the Kerrville Folk Festival in he Texas Hill Country. [To continue reading this article and see the listing of Kerrville New Folk finalists and alternates, click on the headline.]
Semifinalists Named in 2018 Songwriter Serenade Competition

Semifinalists Named in 2018 Songwriter Serenade Competition

Fifteen songwriters have been invited to showcase their original songs and compete for prize money at the Moravia Performance Hall in Moravia, Texas, on Saturday, May 5, after being named as semifinalists in the 2018 Songwriter Serenade Competition. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Bruce Cockburn, The Dead South and Buffy Sainte-Marie Win Juno Awards

Bruce Cockburn, The Dead South and Buffy Sainte-Marie Win Juno Awards

Artist and Songwriter of the Year honors went to the late Gord Downie, while Bruce Cockburn took home Contemporary Roots Album of the Year and The Dead South won Traditional Roots Album of the Year during the 2018 JUNO Awards ceremonies on March 25 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. Award recipients in these and other categories were selected by members of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS). [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Entries Sought in CT Folk’s 2018 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition

March 31 is the deadline for singer-songwriters to enter the 2018 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition that is held in conjunction with the Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo. Five finalists will be invited to perform two of their submitted songs during the annual free outdoor event that takes place in New Haven’s Edgerton Park on Saturday, September 8, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]