Awards & Contests

The Philadelphia Songwriters Project Names Ten Finalists in its 2017 Songwriting Contest

Finalists have been named in the 12th annual songwriting contest produced by The Philadelphia Songwriters Project. The 10 finalists have been invited to compete in a live finals showcase on Sunday afternoon, May 21, at Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, during which a panel of celebrity judges and the audience will select four winners and two alternates. Winners will be afforded non-compensated opportunities to perform during various festivals and concert series in the region this summer. [To continue reading this article and see who the finalists are, click on the headline.]
Finalists Named in 2017 Wildflower! Performing Songwriter Contest

Finalists Named in 2017 Wildflower! Performing Songwriter Contest

Ten finalists have been named in the 2017 Wildflower! Performing Songwriter Contest. Each will perform two songs on the Singer Songwriter Stage during the 25th annual Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival at Galatyn Park Urban Center in Richardson, Texas, just a few minutes north of Dallas. Billed as North Texas’ largest music festival, it takes place, May 19-21. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

2017 JUNO Awards Presented in Ottawa

Artist and Album of the Year honors went to the late Leonard Cohen, while William Prince took home Contemporary Roots Album of the Year and The East Pointers won Traditional Roots Album of the Year during the 2017 JUNO Awards ceremonies that took place April 1 and 2 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario -- Canada’s capital city. Award recipients in these and some three-dozen 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 for 2017 FreshGrass Awards

Online submissions are being sought through May 31 for the 2017 FreshGrass Awards and a new No Depression Singer-Songwriter Award. Unsigned bluegrass bands, banjo pickers, fiddlers and roots music-oriented singer-songwriters are invited to compete for more than $25,000 in cash prizes, instruments, recording sessions at Compass Records, and a spot on the main stage during FreshGrass 2018. Finalists will perform for a panel of music industry judges during this year’s festival, which is set for Sept. 15-17 on the grounds of MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Folk Alliance International Honors David Amram with Lifetime Achievement Award

Noted composer, conductor, multi-instrumentalist and author David Amram received an Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Award during a star-studded International Folk Music Awards Show, Feb. 15, on the opening night of the 29th Folk Alliance International Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. The late activist songwriter Malvina Reynolds (legacy) and prolific Canadian folklorist Helen Creighton (Business/Academic) were also named as recipients. [To continue reading this article, which includes more information on the awards and on the conference, click on the headline.]

Entries Sought in Two Songwriting Contests

Both The Philadelphia Songwriters Project and the Rhode Island Songwriters Association (RISA) are now accepting submissions in their respective performing songwriter contests. One does not need to be a member of either organization or to live in the areas they serve in order to enter. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Winners Named in 59th Grammy Awards’ American Roots Music Field

Winners in the 59th Grammy Awards’ American Roots Music Field were recognized during a Premiere Ceremony that streamed online prior to The Recording Academy’s televised awards show on Sunday, February 12, from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Folk Alliance International Hosts Conference, Camp and Festival, Feb. 15-19, in Kansas City

“Forbidden Folk,” a celebration of activism in art, is the theme of the 29th Folk Alliance International Conference that takes place, Feb. 15-19, in Kansas City, Missouri. Billy Bragg, a Grammy Award-winning British singer-songwriter and activist, keynotes the event and also headlines the second annual Kansas City Folk Festival that caps it. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Nominees Named for 2017 JUNO Awards

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) has revealed the nominees in 41 categories – including Contemporary Roots Album of the Year and Traditional Roots Album of the Year – for the 2017 JUNO Awards. In addition, singer-songwriter and social activist Buffy Sainte-Marie will receive the Alan Waters Humanitarian Award, while multi-platinum, award-winning singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The JUNO Awards will be presented April 2 at the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa, Ontario, and will be broadcast live on CTV and CTV GO. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

SPBGMA Presents Bluegrass Music Awards

The Farm Hands were the top winners in the 43rd Annual Bluegrass Music Awards presented by The Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA) at the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday, February 5. Winners in 19 categories were honored during an awards show that capped the nonprofit organization’s 34th national convention. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

2017 Songwriter Serenade Opens for Entries

Applications are being accepted through March 26 in the 2017 Songwriter Serenade Competition. From among all entries received, 15 songwriters will be invited to showcase their original songs and compete for prize money at Moravia Performance Hall in Moravia, Texas, on Saturday, May 6. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
33rd Annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest Winners Announced

33rd Annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest Winners Announced

Winners have been named in the 33rd annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest (MASC) produced by the Songwriters’ Association of Washington. Seth Kibel, a composer and woodwind player (saxophone, clarinet and flute), was named the grand prize winner for his song “New Waltz” during a Jan. 22 awards gala at Jammin’ Java in Vienna, Virginia. [To continue reading this article -- including listings of the first- and second-place winners in a number of categories and the winners, finalists and honorable mention recipients in the folk/acoustic and folk rock/Americana/roots rock categories -- click on the headline.]