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Roots Music Report Folk and Roots Country Radio Charts, 02-10-12

Pieta Brown's album Mercury retained the #1 spot on the Roots Music Report folk radio chart last week, while Robert Earl Keen's Ready for Confetti continues to top the roots country chart. [To view the current Folk and Roots Country Top 50 charts, click on the headline.]

Quick Q & A with Aoife Clancy

Irish and contemporary folk music courses through Aoife Clancy’s blood. Clancy, who hails from the small town of Carrick-on-Suir in County Tipperary, Ireland and now calls Massachusetts home, is the daughter of Bobby Clancy (of the celebrated Clancy Brothers), with whom she began playing in local pubs as a young teenager. Over the years, Aoife Clancy has shared stages with some of Ireland’s most noted artists, was part of the acclaimed all-female Irish-American group Cherish The Ladies, and has toured extensively as a solo artist. She also collaborates with other artists as part of The Clancy Legacy and The Jammin’ Divas, as well as playing duo shows with Robbie O’Connell. Kathy Sands-Boehmer posed a few questions to Aoife Clancy recently. [To...

A Quick Q & A with Mary Gauthier

Mary Gauthier is a Louisiana native and former restaurateur who didn’t turn to full-time songwriting until she was in her mid 30s. Mercy Now, her 2005 release on the Lost Highway label, made a number of publications’ annual top 10 albums lists and resulted in the singer-songwriter being hailed as the New/Emerging Artist of the Year by the Americana Music Association. Gauthier’s seventh and latest release is entitled The Foundling and was produced by Michael Timmons of the Cowboy Junkies. A number of other artists, including such notables as Jimmy Buffett and Tim McGraw, also have recorded her songs – many of which are autobiographical in nature. Kathy Sands-Boehmer posed a few questions to her recently. [To read Kathy's Q &...

Sonny Ochs Reflects on Her Brother Phil and a New Film About Him

"Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune," a new film about the American troubadour whose music continues to influence and inspire songwriters today, is currently in limited release. Phil's sister Sonny shares some thoughts about her late brother and the documentary about him with AcousticMusicScene.com readers. [To read the article, click on the headline.]

‘The Peter Yarrow Sing-Along Special’ Airs on PBS Stations

The Peter Yarrow Sing-Along Special, featuring some of America’s favorite folk songs performed by Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul & Mary, Yarrow’s daughter Bethany and cellist Rufus Cappadocia, Grammy Award-winning artists Mary Chapin Carpenter and Keb’ Mo', and percussionist Billy Jonas, airs on PBS stations through December 2010. Yarrow spoke with AcousticMusicScene.com recently. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Quick Q & A with Tim O’Brien

Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Brien has been making waves in bluegrass, country, folk and roots music circles for some time. His latest release, Chicken & Egg, is currently the #1 album on the Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart (which is posted in the Acoustic Radio Waves section on AcousticMusicScene.com). And O’Brien is among the nominees for International Bluegrass Music Association‘s Male Vocalist of the Year, one of the awards and honors to be presented by the IBMA on Sept. 30 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. A two-time past recipient of that honor, O’Brien also has previously been recognized by the IBMA for Album of the Year and Song of the Year and received a Grammy Award...

Quick Q & A with John Gorka

John Gorka is widely considered one of the top male singer-songwriters on the contemporary folk scene. Since being named a Kerrville New Folk Winner in 1984, he has become a popular fixture on the coffeehouse and festival circuit, and a number of other notable artists have recorded and/or performed his songs. He is part of a new folk trio called Red Horse with Eliza Gilkyson and Lucy Kaplansky, whose Red House Records debut will be released on July 13. With his rich, soulful baritone, Gorka delivers his own well-crafted songs in a way that prompted Rolling Stone to call him “the preeminent male singer-songwriter of the new folk movement.” Ever self-effacing, Gorka has professed to “consider myself to be...

Q & A with John Platt of WFUV’s ‘Sunday Breakfast’

In a popular music landscape where today’s talented singer-songwriters are often ignored, it’s a little miracle to listen to radio stations — usually small, publicly-run or independent — that promote songwriters who might fall between the cracks. Among the many wonderful DJs out there supporting independent singer-songwriters in markets across the U.S., one of the most well-known and well-listened to is John Platt, host of “Sunday Breakfast” on New York’s WFUV. Sharon Goldman recently elicited his thoughts about the singer-songwriter scene for her blog, Songwriting Scene. Her Q & A interview with him is reprinted here with permission. [To read the Q &A with John Platt, click on the headline.].

A Quick Q & A with Kelleigh McKenzie

In less than two years' time, Kelleigh McKenzie has made quite a mark in acoustic music circles. A talented singer-songwriter who alternately accompanies herself on banjo, guitar and amplified stompbox, McKenzie has appeared on "Mountain Stage" and the "WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour," was a co-winner in the 2008 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, secured a coveted formal showcase slot at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference, and was selected to participate in emerging artists showcases at both the Falcon Ridge and Grey Fox festivals. Her debut album, Chances, was on the Americana Music Chart for six months, while "Gin," one of the tracks on it, won an Independent Music Award for Best Americana Song. Kathy Sands-Boehmer recently posed...

A Quick Q & A with John McCutcheon

Multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter John McCutcheon has collected a legion of fans since he first started recording and performing in the mid-1970s. As Kathy Sands-Boehmer maintains, "McCutcheon skillfully combines his great storytelling with poignant and evocative songs which continue to inspire young and old alike." [To read Kathy's quick Q & A interview with John McCutcheon, click on the headline.]

A Quick Q & A with Beaucoup Blue

Beaucoup Blue is a gifted father and son roots-Americana duo from Philadelphia with a growing repertoire of rousing blues and soulful songs. Kathy Sands-Boehmer posed a few questions to them recently. [To read Kathy's Q & A interview with Beaucoup Blue, click on the headline.]

A Quick Q & A with David Francey

David Francey is one of Canada’s most revered folk poet-singers. As Kathy Sands-Boehmer notes, his songs and stories resonate with audiences from all over the world. [To read Kathy's recent Q & A interview with David Francey, click on the headline.]