Thirty-two songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2012 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. Chosen from among 800 submissions from around the world, the finalists will perform the two songs they submitted during the New Folk Concerts slated for Saturday and Sunday afternoons, May 26 and 27, as part of the Kerrville Folk Festival. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]
Ten finalists have been named in the 2012 Wildflower! Performing Songwriter Contest. Each will perform two songs on the Singer Songwriter Stage during the 20th annual Wildflower! arts and music festival in Richardson, Texas, just a few minutes north of Dallas. Billed as North Texas’ largest music festival, it takes place, May 18-20. [To read the article, click on the headline.]
True North recording Artists Bruce Cockburn and The Wailin’ Jennys were named as winners in the 41st annual Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys). The awards were presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) in Ottawa over the weekend. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]
March 15 is the application deadline for the 2012 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters to be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 26 and 27, during the 41st Annual Kerrville Folk Festival at the Threadgill Theater on the Quiet Valley Ranch Campgrounds in the Texas Hill Country. The first 800 entries received via the mail or online will be accepted, and 32 finalists will be named in April. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]
Maddy Rodriguez, an 18-year-old Canadian country-pop singer-songwriter, is the overall grand prize winner in the 8th Annual International Acoustic Music Awards competition. {To read a short article, including a list of winners and runners-up in the competition's eight categories, click on the headline.]
The Civil Wars won two Grammy Awards February 12. Barton Hollow, the debut full-length album by the East Nashville, Tennessee-based singer-songwriter duo of Joy Williams and John Paul White was named Folk Album of the Year, while its title track was recognized as the Best Country Duo/Group Performance. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]
Music festival impresario George Wein, founder of the Newport Folk Festival, received the Award of Merit for Achievement in Performing Arts from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) on Jan. 9. The award is bestowed on an individual whose genius, energy and excellence have defined or redefined an art form for today’s audiences. [To read the article in its entirety, including comments from George Wein, click on the headline.]
Category winners have been named in the 2011 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, sponsored by the Songwriters Association of Washington, while overall grand, second and third prize winners will be announced during the 28th Mid-Atlantic Awards Night Gala on Jan. 15, 2012 at Jammin’ Java in Vienna, Virginia. [To read a short article with a list of winners, finalists and those receiving honorable mention for songs entered in the contest’s folk/acoustic category, click on the headline.]
Online voting began December 1 and extends until January 12, 2012 on nominees in 18 categories for the fourth annual Irish Music Awards presented by the Independence, Missouri-based Irish Music Association. [To read the article and see the list of nominees, click on the headline.]
The 2011 Canadian Folk Music Awards were presented in Toronto, Ontario on Sunday evening, Dec. 4. Winners were named in 19 categories and a new Unsung Hero award was presented during a gala event at the Isabel Bader Theatre. Bruce Cockburn, Dave Gunning and Quebecois trio Genticorum each won two awards. [To read the article in its entirety and see a complete list of the award winners, click on the headline.]
The Canadian Folk Music Awards will be presented on Sunday, Dec. 4, at the Isabel Bader Theatre in Toronto. You can be part of the celebration without leaving the comfort of your own home. Tomorrow's awards gala, co-hosted by Benoit Bourque of La Bottine Souriante and CBC Radio's Shelagh Rogers, as well as a Nominee Showcase from Hugh's Room tonight at 8 p.m., will be streamed live online at http://rootsmusic.ca/. A list of nominees appears on http://folkawards.ca/. Established in 2005, the Canadian Folk Music Awards celebrates and promotes the breadth and depth of folk music in Canada and recognizes outstanding achievements in 19 categories plus a new "Unsung Hero" category. Bruce Cockburn and Dave Gunning garnered the most nominations this year, with four apiece.
Nominees in more than 75 categories have been named for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, to be broadcast live from Los Angeles, California on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, on CBS television stations. [To see a list of nominees in the American Roots Music Field -- including those for Best Folk Album, Best Americana Album, Best Bluegrass Album, Best Blues Album, and Best Regional Roots Music Album -- click on the headline.]
