Awards & Contests

Winners Named in South Florida Folk Festival Singer-Songwriter Competition

Jane Fallon (Brookline, NH), Amber Ikeman (Bozeman, MT), and Austin MacRae (Ithaca, NY) are the winners of the 2017 South Florida Folk Festival singer-songwriter competition. The three showcased their talents, along with nine other finalists, on Jan 28 during the annual event presented by the nonprofit Broward Folk Music Club at Fort Lauderdale’s Hugh Taylor Birch State Park. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
2017 Kerrville New Folk Competition Opens for Entries

2017 Kerrville New Folk Competition Opens for Entries

Entries are now being sought in the 2017 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters to be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 27 and 28, 2017, during the first weekend of the 46th Annual Kerrville Folk Festival in the Texas Hill Country. The first 800 entries received by February 28 will be accepted, and 32 finalists will be named in April. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Nominees Named for 2017 Grammy Awards

Nominees in 84 categories have been named for the 59th Annual Grammy Awards to be presented by The Recording Academy on Sunday, February 12, 2017. Of particular interest to readers of AcousticMusicScene.com are the nominees for awards in the American Roots Music Field that will likely be presented prior to the live broadcast airing on CBS television stations that evening from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Lori McKenna leads the nominees in the American Roots Music Field with three nominations. [To continue reading this article and see the list of nominees in the American Roots Music Field, click on the headline.]
2016 Canadian Folk Music Awards Presented

2016 Canadian Folk Music Awards Presented

With trophies for Solo Artist of the Year and Contemporary Album of the Year (Empty Train), David Francey was the top winner in the 2016 Canadian Folk Music Awards. The expressive Scotland-born and Ontario-based singer-songwriter and three-time Juno Award-winner was among 72 artists and groups from ten provinces and two territories who vied for awards in 19 categories that were presented during a bilingual gala event at Toronto’s Isabel Bader Theatre on Dec. 3. [To continue reading this article and see the complete list of award winners, click on the headline.]
ACL Presents: Americana Music Festival 2016 Airs on PBS Television Stations

ACL Presents: Americana Music Festival 2016 Airs on PBS Television Stations

Performance highlights from this year’s Americana Honors & Awards show in Nashville will be broadcast on Austin City Limits. ACL Presents: Americana Music Festival 2016 premieres Nov. 19 on PBS stations across the U.S. Check your local TV listings for dates and times. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Finalists Chosen in 2016 NewSong Contest

Finalists have been named in the 2016 NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition. Now in its 15th year, the contest showcases emerging performing songwriters. It is open to artists performing in all genres, although all songs must include a vocal with lyrics. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

International Bluegrass Music Awards Presented

Entertainer of the Year honors went to The Earls of Leicester, while Flatt Lonesome was named Vocal Group of the Year and received awards for Album and Song of the Year during the 27th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards show, Sept. 29, 2016, at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Duke Energy Center for the Arts. [To continue reading this article and to see the complete list of award winners, click on the headline.]

2016 NewSong Contest Entry Deadline Nears

October 15 is the online submissions deadline for the 2016 NewSong Contest. Now in its 15th 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 article, click on the headline.]
Nominees Named for 2016 Canadian Folk Music Awards

Nominees Named for 2016 Canadian Folk Music Awards

Ten Strings And A Goat Skin tops the list of nominees for the 2016 Canadian Folk Music Awards with four nods. The Prince Edward Island-based bilingual folk trio is among 72 artists and groups from ten provinces and two territories vying for awards in 19 categories to be presented during a gala event at Toronto’s Isabel Bader Theatre on Dec. 3. [To continue reading this article and see the complete list of nominees, click on the headline.]
2016 Americana Honors and Awards Presented

2016 Americana Honors and Awards Presented

Jason Isbell won Album of the Year and Song of the Year honors, while Chris Stapleton was named Artist of the Year during the Americana Music Association’s 15th Annual Americana Honors & Awards show, Sept. 21, at Nashville’s storied Ryman Auditorium. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Rhiannon Giddens Earns 2016 Steve Martin Prize

Rhiannon Giddens has been named the recipient of the 2016 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. A North Carolina-based musician and co-founder of the Grammy Award-winning string band Carolina Chocolate Drops, Giddens, 39, is the first woman and the first African-American to win the prize in its seven-year history. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Amy Soucy Wins 2016 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition at Connecticut Folk Festival

Amy Soucy Wins 2016 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition at Connecticut Folk Festival

Amy Soucy of Beacon, New York was named the winner of the 2016 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition following a final round featuring five artists/acts that opened the Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo at New Haven’s Edgerton Park on Sept. 10. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]