Awards & Contests

Kerrville New Folk Winners Perform Live Online, Nov. 4

The 2014 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners will perform live online on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 7:30 p.m. CST. The special Blue Rock Sessions Live broadcast will emanate from Billy and Dodee Crockett’s Blue Rock Studios near Wimberley, Texas. Tickets for the high-quality studio production and HD video webcast use the “pay what you want” model with fan tipping. [To continue reading the article and see the link for watching the live broadcast online, click on the headline.]
Ralph Stanley Inducted Into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Ralph Stanley Inducted Into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Ralph Stanley, a leading exponent of traditional Appalachian music and a founding father of bluegrass, was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences In Cambridge, Massachusetts on Oct. 11. Founded in 1780 to recognize America’s foremost “thinkers and doers,” the Academy counts more than 250 Nobel laureates and 60 Pulitzer Prize-winners among its members. [To continue reading the article, click on the headline.]
Balsam Range is IBMA Entertainer of the Year

Balsam Range is IBMA Entertainer of the Year

Entertainer of The Year, the top honor in the 25th annual International Bluegrass Music Awards – presented Oct. 2 at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Duke Energy Center for the Arts – went to the Tar Heel State’s own Balsam Range. The acoustic quintet also was named Vocal Group of the Year, while member Buddy Melton was voted Male Vocalist of the Year. [To read the full article and see a listing of 2014 International Bluegrass Music Award winners, click on the headline.]

2014 International Bluegrass Music Awards to be Presented, Oct. 2

The Boxcars top the list of nominees for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s 25th International Bluegrass Awards, with ten nominations for the band and its individual members. Awards in more than 20 categories will be presented on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. EST at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts (Memorial Auditorium). [To continue read the full article, click on the headline.]

Nominees Named for 2014 Canadian Folk Music Awards

With a combined five nominations, 18-year old Quinn Bachand and his Victoria, British Columbia-based group Brishen are the top nominees vying for 2014 Canadian Folk Music Awards to be presented during a gala event at the Bronson Centre in Ottawa, Ontario on Nov. 29. Fellow BC-based instrumental artists The Fretless and vocal group The High Bar Gang also received multiple nominations, as did Quebecois instrumental group MAZ and Manitoba-based singer-songwriter Del Barber. [To continue reading the article and see the complete list of nominees in 19 categories, click on the headline.]

Entries Sought for International Acoustic Music Awards

Entries are currently being accepted for the International Acoustic Music Awards. Now in its 11th year, the competition promotes excellence in acoustic music performance and artistry. Awards will be presented in eight categories: Best Male Artist, Best Female Artist, Best Group/Duo, Folk/Americana/Roots/AAA, Instrumental, Bluegrass/Country, and an Open category (any musical style or genre). An overall Grand Prize winner also will be named. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Michael Kirkpatrick is 2014 Telluride Troubadour Winner

Michael Kirkpatrick is 2014 Telluride Troubadour Winner

Fort Collins, Colorado-based folk-rock singer-songwriter Michael Kirkpatrick was selected as the winner of the 2014 Telluride Troubadour Competition and had the opportunity to perform a short set on the main stage during the 41st Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival that took place in Colorado, June 19-22. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]
SolarFest Songwriter Showcase Finalists Named

SolarFest Songwriter Showcase Finalists Named

Ten performing songwriters have been named as finalists in the annual Songwriter Showcase hosted by SolarFest, a three-day family-friendly festival set for July 18-20, 2014, at the Forget-Me-Not Farm in Tinmouth, Vermont. Now in its 20th year, SolarFest showcases the power and possibilities of solar and other renewable energy sources, as well as some talented musicians. [To read the full article and see the list of finalists, click on the headline.]

Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners Named

Five songwriters and a duo have been named as winners in the 2014 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]

Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Finalists Named

Thirty-two songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2014 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. Chosen from among hundreds of submissions from throughout the U.S. and Canada, the finalists will perform the two songs they submitted during the New Folk Concerts slated for Saturday and Sunday afternoons, May 24 and 25, as part of the Kerrville Folk Festival. [To continue reading the article and see the list of Kerrville New Folk Finalists, click on the headline.]

Entries Sought for 2014 FreshGrass Awards

Up-and-coming bluegrass artists who offer a fresh take on the genre are invited to compete for the 2014 FreshGrass Award, a highlight of the eponymous three-day bluegrass and roots festival held each fall at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Finalists Named in 2014 Wildflower! Performing Songwriter Contest

Performing songwriters from the states of Maine and Texas dominate the list of ten finalists named this week in the 2014 Wildflower! Performing Songwriter Contest. Each will perform two songs on the Singer Songwriter Stage during the 22nd annual Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival at Galatyn Park in Richardson, Texas, just a few minutes north of Dallas. Billed as North Texas’ largest music festival, it takes place, May 16-18. [To continue reading the article and see the list of finalists, click on the headline.]