Posts tagged "Joan Baez"

Music Festival Impresario George Wein, 1925-2021

Music festival impresario George Wein, founder of the Newport Folk & Jazz Festivals and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, died September 13 in his New York City apartment. The noted pianist, producer and promoter was 95. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

Joan Baez to Receive Woody Guthrie Prize

The Woody Guthrie Center will honor singer-songwriter and activist Joan Baez with the 2020 Woody Guthrie Prize during this year’s virtual edition of the Philadelphia Folk Festival. Baez, who has performed at the festival numerous times, is slated to accept the award on August 16 in recognition of her groundbreaking career and impact on humanitarian causes over the span of 60 years. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

National Independent Talent Organization Launched

Fourteen independent talent agencies have joined forces to form a new nonprofit advocacy group that aims to promote the welfare and prosperity of its members and their represented artists, as well as for the indirect benefit of those associated with them. Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has prompted the cancelation of countless concerts and music festivals, the nascent National Independent Talent Organization (NITO) “has been working tirelessly to advocate for the survival of the live music community” in the U.S., according to a news release issued on June 11. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Falcon Ridge ‘Most Wanted’ Artists Named

Scott Cook, Zoe Mulford and South for Winter have been invited to participate in the Most Wanted Song Swap at this summer’s Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. They were chosen in balloting by 2019 festival attendees from among 24 artists/bands who performed in last year’s Falcon Ridge/Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase. [To continue reading this article -- that also includes several video links, as well as information on applying for this year's Emerging Artist Showcase -- click on the headline.]

Nominees Announced for 2019 Grammy Awards

Nominees in 84 categories have been named for the 61st Annual Grammy Awards to be presented by the Recording Academy on Sunday, February 10, 2 019. With three nominations each, Brandi Carlile and John Prine lead the nominees for awards in the American Roots Music Field that will likely be presented prior to the live broadcast airing on CBS television stations that evening from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. [To continue reading this article and view a list of all the nominees in the American Roots Music Field, as well as a couple of videos, click on the headline.]

Top Albums, Songs – October 2018 (FOLKDJ-L)

Appleseed’s 21st Anniversary: Roots and Branches by Various Artists was the top album on folk radio during October 2018, while singer-songwriter John Flynn had the month’s #1 song (“She Persisted”). 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.]

Top Albums, Songs – March 2018 (FOLKDJ-L)

Whistle Down the Wind by Joan Baez and Ghost Light by John McCutcheon were the most-played albums on folk radio during March 2018. “The President Sang Amazing Grace,” written by Zoe Mulford and recorded by Joan Baez, was the month’s top 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. McCutcheon’s Ghost Light also was the most-played album in February, while “Hole” by Tracy Grammer was that month’s most-played song. [The monthly top albums and songs charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com with permission. To view them, click on the headline.]
Jesse Winchester, 1944-2014

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. [To continue reading the article, click on the headline.]

Clearwater Honors George Wein with Power of Song Award

Music festival impresario George Wein, founder of the Newport Folk Festival, among others, will receive the first Power of Song Award during an Oct. 21 benefit concert in New York City. Monies raised during the event, which is set for 8 p.m. at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space, will support the environmental education programs of Clearwater, a nonprofit organization launched by Pete Seeger and others more than 40 years ago to help spur awareness of and preserve and protect the Hudson River and its tributaries. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]

Board of Advisors Named for Newport Folk Festival

The Newport Folk Festival, which, earlier this year, returned to its original roots as a nonprofit event, has taken another step that organizers say will help ensure that it “remains a significant, viable, and influential institution for years to come.” To further advance the dialogue with both established and emerging artists, the Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc. announced the creation of its Newport Folk Festival Board of Advisors. Named to the panel were Gillian Welch, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Colin Meloy of The Decemberists, and Ben Knox Miller of The Low Anthem. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]

‘Legends of Folk: The Village Scene’ Airs on PBS Stations in August

Well-known figures in folk music perform their best-loved songs in the new PBS documentary, Legends of Folk: the Village Scene. Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul & Mary fame hosts the special celebrating the folk era in New York City’s Greenwich Village – the epicenter of the folk, folk-rock and singer-songwriter movements during the 1960s. The special program premieres on PBS television stations in August. Check your local listings for air dates and times in your area. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]

2011 International Folk Alliance Conference Gets Under Way Today

Some 2,000 performers, presenters and others engaged in contemporary and traditional folk music are converging on Memphis, Tennessee for the 23rd International Folk Alliance Conference, February 16-20. [To read the article and learn where you can hear live performances from the conference on the radio and online, click on the headline.]