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2018 International Bluegrass Music Awards Presented

Entertainer of the Year, the top honor in the 29th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards – presented Sept. 27 at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Duke Energy Center for the Arts – went to the Tar Heel State’s own Balsam Range. The five-member acoustic ensemble previously won this award in 2014. Balsam Range’s Buddy Melton was voted 2018 IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year, while Tim Surrett was named Bass Player of the Year. [To continue reading this article – including a listing of all the 2018 award-winners – click on the headline.]

Top Albums & Songs – September 2018 (FOLKDJ-L)

Franco-American folk-rock duo The Whispering Tree had the top album (Invisible Forces) and five of the month’s most-played songs on folk radio during September 2018, while eclectic Celtic folk and roots-rock duo House of Hamill had the month’s #1 song. So say charts compiled from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in all folk-based music on the radio. [The monthly top albums and songs charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission. To view them, click on the headline.]
Nominees Named for 2018 Canadian Folk Music Awards

Nominees Named for 2018 Canadian Folk Music Awards

The LYNNeS and Buffy Sainte-Marie top the list of nominees for the 2018 Canadian Folk Music Awards with five nods each. The duo of Lynn Miles & Lynne Hanson and the much-celebrated folksinger-songwriter are among the many artists and groups from throughout Canada vying for awards in 19 categories to be presented at The Gateway in Calgary, Alberta, Nov. 30 – Dec. 1. [To continue reading this article and see the complete list of nominees, click on the headline.]

Susan Cattaneo Wins Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition at 2018 Connecticut Folk Festival

Boston-based singer-songwriter Susan Cattaneo was named the winner of the 2018 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition following a final round featuring five artists/acts during the 13th annual Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo at New Haven’s Edgerton Park on Sept. 8. [To continue reading this article, click on he headline.]
Top Albums & Songs, August 2018 (FOLKDJ-L)

Top Albums & Songs, August 2018 (FOLKDJ-L)

Zoe Speaks, a folk-Americana group from Kentucky, had the top album (Wings) and five of the month’s most-played songs on folk radio during August 2018, while singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson (whose new album, Secularia, was #1 in July) had the #2 album and the #1 song for a second consecutive month {her rendition of “Down By the Riverside” with her friend, the late Jimmy LaFave). So say charts compiled from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in all folk-based music on the radio. [The monthly top albums and songs charts are posted here with permission. To view them, click on the headline.]

Club Passim’s Campfire. Festival Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary Over Labor Day Weekend

Dozens of emerging artists from New England and beyond will showcase their talents over the Labor Day Weekend during the annual Campfire. Festival at Club Passim, the legendary Harvard Square listening room in Cambridge, MA. Now marking its 20th year, the event also will be live streamed via Concert Window beginning Friday, Aug. 31, at 6 p.m. and extending through Monday, Sept. 3, at 10:30p.m. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Connecticut Folk Festival Set for Sept. 8, 2018

Martin Sexton, an acclaimed singer-songwriter, headlines CT Folk’s 13th annual Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo. The daylong event is set for Saturday, Sept. 8, in New Haven’s Edgerton Park. [To continue reading this festival preview, click on the headline.]

Juried Official Showcase Artists Chosen for 2018 NERFA Conference in Stamford, CT, Nov. 8-11

More than 40 artists/acts have been selected for juried formal and semi-formal showcases during the 24th annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference, slated for Nov. 8-11, 2018 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Stamford, CT. [To continue reading this article that includes an overview of the conference and the names of all the formal and semi-formal showcase artists and alternates, click on the headline.]

Official Showcase Artists Chosen for 2018 FARM Conference in Michigan, Oct. 25-28

Fourteen artists/acts have been selected (from among more than 130 applicants) to perform official showcases during the 2018 Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM) Conference slated for October 25-28 at the Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel & Conference Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. [To continue reading this article -- including a listing of official showcase artists and alternates and more conference information -- click on the headline.]

2018 SWRFA Conference Shaping Up for September; Showcase Artists Selected

Seventeen artists/acts have been selected to perform Official Showcases during the 2018 Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA) Conference, Sept. 26-30, at the Holiday Inn – Midtown in Austin, Texas. Eight will perform on Friday night, while nine will do so on Saturday night. In addition, six alternates have been invited to showcase their talents late Thursday night, the 28th. [To continue reading this article previewing the 2018 SWRFA Conference, click on the headline.]
Philadelphia Folk Festival Set for Aug. 16-19

Philadelphia Folk Festival Set for Aug. 16-19

Thousands of music lovers are expected to converge on Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford Township, near bucolic Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, Aug. 16-19, 2018 for the annual Philadelphia Folk Festival. Now in its 57th year, the event, produced and presented by the Philadelphia Folksong Society, a nonprofit arts organization, is the longest continuously running outdoor music festival of its kind in North America. [To continue reading this article previewing the festival, click on the headline.]
Top Albums & Songs - July 2018 (FOLKDJ-L)

Top Albums & Songs – July 2018 (FOLKDJ-L)

Eliza Gilkyson had both the top album (Secularia) and the most-played song (“Down by the Riverside”) on folk radio during July 2018, while Brooks Williams had the #2 album and song (Lucky Star and “Bright Side of the Blues,” respectively). Five other tracks on Gilkyson’s album and four others on Williams’ new one also were among the month’s top songs. So say charts compiled from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in all folk-based music on the radio. [The monthly top albums and songs charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission. To view them, click on the headline.]