Awards & Contests
Canadian Folk Music Awards Nominees Named

Canadian Folk Music Awards Nominees Named

Cassie and Maggie and Stephen Fearing top the list of nominees for the 2017 Canadian Folk Music Awards with four nods each. The Nova Scotia sister duo and the Canadian folk-rock singer-songwriter are among the 75 artists and groups from nine provinces and one territory vying for awards in 19 categories to be presented at Ottawa’s Bronson Centre on Nov. 18-19. [To continue reading this article and see the complete list of nominees, click on the headline.]

NewSong Competition Entry Deadline Nears

October 15 is the online submissions deadline for the 2017 NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Showcase & Competition. Now in its 16th year, the competition showcases emerging performing songwriters. NewSong Music is an independent music organization that aims to build a supportive community of performers and songwriters across various genres of music and skill levels, while identifying truly exceptional artists and introducing their music to a broader international audience. [To continue reading this short article, click on the headline.]

Open Book Wins 2017 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition at Connecticut Folk Festival

Open Book, the Cold Spring, NY-based husband-and-wife contemporary folk duo of Rick and Michele Gedney, was named the winner of the 2017 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition following a final round featuring four artists/acts during the Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo at New Haven’s Edgerton Park on Sept. 9. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
2017 Americana Honors & Awards Show to be Streamed Live on Sept. 13

2017 Americana Honors & Awards Show to be Streamed Live on Sept. 13

The 2017 Americana Honors & Awards will be presented September 13 at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Hosted by Jim Lauderdale and featuring an all-star band led by Buddy Miller, the awards show is the highlight of the 18th annual AmericanaFest, a six-day festival and conference celebrating American roots-inspired music that is put on by the Americana Music Association. A live video stream of the show will be webcast via NPRMusic.org starting at 6:30 p.m. CDT, while a live simulcast will air on SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country and several Nashville area radio stations. [To continue reading this article and see the list of nominees in six categories, click on the headline.]
Heather Mae is 2017 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase Winner

Heather Mae is 2017 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase Winner

Heather Mae was named as the winner in the 2017 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase, held in conjunction with the festival in Lyons, Colorado, Aug. 18-20. She received a Taylor guitar and will perform a set on the main stage during next year’s festival. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Finalists Named in 2017 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase

Ten singer-songwriters have been selected as finalists in the 2017 Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase, held in conjunction with the 27th Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Lyons, Colorado, Aug. 18-20. The finalists will vie for cash and other prizes – including a 2018 festival main stage set and a Taylor guitar for the first-place winner. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Clint Alphin is Telluride Troubadour Winner

Clint Alphin is Telluride Troubadour Winner

Clint Alphin, a Nashville, Tennessee-based singer songwriter, won the 2017 Telluride Troubadour Competition and had the opportunity to perform a short set on the main stage during the 44th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival, a roots-oriented music festival set amid Colorado’s rugged San Juan Mountains, June 15-18. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Winners Named in 2017 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition

Six singer-songwriters have been named as winners in the 2017 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 27 and 28 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, click on the headline.]
Winners Named in 2017 Songwriter Serenade

Winners Named in 2017 Songwriter Serenade

Andrew Delaney has been named the first-place winner in the 2017 Songwriter Serenade competition. He was among 15 songwriters who were invited to showcase several of their original songs and compete for $7,000 in prize money at Moravia Performance Hall in Moravia, Texas, on Saturday, May 6. [To continue reading this article and see the complete list of winners and semifinalists, click on the headline.]

2017 Telluride Troubadour Finalists Named

Ten singer-songwriters have been selected as finalists in the 2017 Telluride Troubadour Competition, held in conjunction with the 44th Telluride Bluegrass Festival, a roots-oriented music festival set amid Colorado’s rugged San Juan Mountains, June 15-18. They will now vie for cash and other prizes, as well as the honor of being named this year’s Telluride Troubadour. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Finalists Selected in 2017 RISA Performing Songwriter Contest

Rick Allendorf (Middleboro, MA), Kayla Farnham (Pomfret, CT) and Judy Kass (Tarrytown, NY) have been named as finalists in the 2017 RISA Performing Songwriter Contest presented by the Rhode Island Songwriters Association in partnership with Stone Soup Folk Arts Foundation. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Finalists Announced in 2017 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition

Finalists Announced in 2017 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition

Thirty-two songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2017 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. Chosen from among more than 600 submissions from around the world, the finalists will perform the two songs they submitted at the New Folk Concerts slated for Saturday and Sunday afternoons, May 27 and 28, as part of the Kerrville Folk Festival. [To continue reading this article and see the list of Kerrville New Folk finalists, click on the headline.]