Remembering Jean Ritchie, 1922-2015
Jean Ritchie, the Kentucky-born folksinger, songwriter and song collector who helped to popularize hundreds of traditional Appalachian ballads and spur the so-called folk revival of the mid-20th century in the U.S., died June 1, 2015 at her home in Berea, KY. Ritchie, 92, was surrounded by members of her family, who sang at her bedside during her last hours.
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Top Albums & Songs of September 2014 (FOLKDJ-L)
Dear Jean: Artists Celebrate Jean Ritchie was the most-played album on folk radio during September 2014 according to charts compiled by Richard Gillmann 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 37-track, two-CD set released by Compass Records features various artists paying homage to the Kentucky-born singer-songwriter who influenced and inspired them and who many regard as “the mother of folk.” It also was the top album in August.
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FreshGrass Returns to MASS MoCA, Sept. 19-21
FreshGrass, a family-friendly bluegrass and roots music festival in the Berkshires of northwestern Massachusetts, is slated for Sept. 19-21, 2014. For three days and nights, the indoor galleries and outdoor courtyards and meadows of the Mass MoCA campus in North Adams will be filled with the sounds of banjos, fiddles, guitars, mandolins and voices of traditionalists and trailblazers alike.
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Jesse Winchester, 1944-2014
Singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester lost his battle with cancer on April 11, 2014, just over a month shy of his 70th birthday. He died at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia. A songwriter’s songwriter, Jesse Winchester was revered and widely covered by other artists.
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Grammy Winners Named in American Roots Music Field
Most of the winners in more than 80 categories in the 56th Annual Grammy Awards were announced during ceremonies held prior to the televised event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Jan. 26. To view the list of winners in the American Roots Music Field, click on the headline.
Nominees Named for 56th Annual Grammy Awards
Nominees in more than 80 categories have been named for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, to be presented at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014. Of particular interest to readers of AcousticMusicScene.com are the nominees in the American Roots Music Field. Among them, Sarah Jarosz and Steve Martin & Edie Brickell received nods in two categories.
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‘Nashville 2.0: The Rise of Americana’ Airs on PBS
The burgeoning Americana music scene is the focus of Nashville 2.0, a new hour-long music documentary that airs on PBS television stations across the U.S. on Nov. 22. The special, which may be viewed as a primer of the genre, features performances by a number of well-known roots music artists and emerging artists who are transcending traditional boundaries and putting their own contemporary stamp on long-established genres like country, folk, bluegrass, blues, roots rock, R&B, rockabilly, folk-rock and honky-tonk that have inspired what is broadly known as Americana today. These are interspersed with filmed interviews with some of these artists as well as select music journalists and historians.
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2013 Americana Music Awards Presented
Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell were named Duo/Group of the Year, while their 2013 release, Old Yellow Moon, was named Album of the Year , during the annual Americana Music Honors & Awards on Sept. 18 at the Historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
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Americanafest Draws Record Attendance
This year’s Americana Music Festival and Conference (Americanafest), which took place Sept. 12-16 in Nashville, TN, was the most successful one in its 13-year history – drawing record attendance and registrations, according tot the Americana Music Association.
The five-day celebration of American Roots-inspired music, featuring plenty of learning and networking opportunities, as well as a wide array of music showcases by up-and-coming and veteran artists, drew more than15,000 fans, 300 performing artists and more than 1,100 music industry professionals, according to the association.
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Warren Hellman, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Founder, 1934-2011
Warren Hellman, a San Francisco-based financier and philanthropist who founded and funded the city’s nationally renowned Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival and toured earlier this year with his band, The Wronglers, died Dec. 18 from complications of leukemia. He was 77.
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Hayes Carll Has #1 Album on Americana Airplay Chart for 2011
Austin, Texas-based singer-songwriter Hayes Carll’s Lost Highway release KMAG YOYO is the #1 album of 2011 on the Americana Airplay Chart. The album-based chart prepared for the Americana Music Association represents reported play on broadcast, satellite and Internet radio stations as well as nationally syndicated shows that submit weekly spin counts.
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2012 Grammy Nominees Named in American Roots Music Field
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.]
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