Le Vent du Nord – AcousticMusicScene.com

FAI Folk Radio Charts – October 2025

Post published:November 14, 2025
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Acoustic Radio Waves

Two-time Juno Award-winning Quebecois folk group Le Vent Du Nord had the top album (Voisinages), its 13th full-length release, on folk radio in October 2025 and was the month’s most-played artist/group. Upstate New York husband & wife contemporary folk duo The Whispering Tree’s “Bones of Better Days,” the title track of its #2 album (its first in seven years), was the month’s most-played song. So say charts compiled by Folk Alliance International based on radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in folk-based music on the radio.

International Folk Music Award Winners Honored During Conference in Montreal

Post published:March 11, 2025
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Acoustic Radio Waves Awards & Contests Conferences of Note

The 2025 International Folk Music Awards were presented on the opening night of the 37th annual Folk Alliance International Conference at Le Sheraton Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada last month. These included member-voted Best Album, Song and Artist of the Year (2024), as well as Lifetime Achievement Awards, Spirit of Folk Awards, the Clearwater Award, the People’s Voice Award, and the Rising Tide Award, in addition to inductions into the Folk Radio Hall of Fame. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article, which also includes information about the conference, and to view a couple of videos.]

FAI Folk Radio Charts – March 2022

Post published:April 12, 2022
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Acoustic Radio Waves

The Accidentals, an eclectic American power trio, had the most-played song (“Eastern Standard Time”) on folk radio in March 2022 and edged out Quebecois folk group Le Vent du Nord with the month’s top album (Time Out Session #2) and as the most-played artist. So say charts compiled by Folk Alliance International based on radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in folk-based music on the radio. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article and to view the top albums, songs and artists charts that are posted monthly with permission.]

Winners Named in Canadian Folk Music Awards

Post published:April 3, 2022
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Awards & Contests

With three awards each, Allison Russell and Cedric Dind-Lavoie were the big winners in the 2022 Canadian Folk Music Awards that were presented March 31-April 2 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and streamed online. They were among the more than 100 nominees from throughout Canada who vied for awards in 19 categories. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article, see the list of all the winners, and view a few videos.]

Quebec Artists Showcase Their Talents During Virtual APAP Conference

Post published:January 25, 2021
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Conferences of Note

As in years past, an evening of music from Quebec was a highlight of the annual conference of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), Jan. 8-12, 2021. However, like the multi-day conference itself, the Folquebec TradFest did not take place in-person in New York City but, rather, was livestreamed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Nominees Named for 2020 Canadian Folk Music Awards

Post published:November 22, 2019
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Awards & Contests

Singer-Songwriter Dave Gunning, who hails from Nova Scotia, tops the list of nominees for the 2020 Canadian Folk Music Awards with four nominations. Jenn Grant (also a Nova Scotia-based singer-songwriter), The Small Glories (the Winnipeg-based duo of Cara Luft and JD Edwards), and Vishten (an Acadian trio from Canada’s East Coast) each received three nods, while more than half-a-dozen other artists/acts received two nominations apiece. They are among the many artists and groups from throughout Canada vying for awards in 19 categories to be presented at the PEI Convention Centre in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, during two Awards Weekend Concerts on April 3-4, 2020. [To continue reading this article and see a complete listing of nominees, click on the headline.]

National Folk Festival Returns to Greensboro, NC, Sept. 9-11

Post published:August 31, 2016
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Festival Focus News - U.S. National

Diversity is the hallmark of the 76th National Folk Festival taking place Sept. 9-11, 2016 in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina. The free event, programmed and co-produced by the National Council for Traditional Arts (NCTA), the U.S.’s oldest nonprofit folk arts organization, in partnership with Arts Greensboro, celebrates togetherness and the diversity of America’s arts and heritage – with artists young and old honoring America’s musical soul and cultural roots. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Nominees Named for 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards

Post published:September 9, 2015
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Awards & Contests

With four nominations, rural British Columbia folk duo Pharis and Jason Romero, known for their duets and handmade banjos, is the top contender vying for 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards that will be presented during a gala event at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta on November 8. Amelia Curran (St. John’s, NL), Fortune Ones (St. John’s, NL), Jenn Grant (Lake Echo, NS), Catherine MacLellan (Charlottetown, PEI), and Whitehorse (Toronto, ON) were close behind with three nods apiece. To continue reading this article and see the complete list of nominees in 19 categories, click on the headline.

Participants in Ice Storym 2014 included Gilles Garand (front center), David Boulanger (second from left), Maja Kjaer Jacobsen (third from left) and members of Kongero and Jidder.

Quebec, Scandinavian Folk Artists Showcase Their Talents During APAP Conference in NYC

Post published:January 23, 2014
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Conferences of Note Featured

Talented artists from the Canadian province of Quebec and the Scandinavian nations of Sweden and Denmark teamed up for an evening of musical showcases in New York City that was a highlight of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) Conference, Jan. 10-14. [To continue reading the article, click on the headline.]

Irish, Irish-American Artists Shine During APAP Conference

Post published:February 2, 2013
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Celtic Corner Conferences of Note Featured

Although New York City’s demographics are changing, Irish arts and culture have long been a part of its fabric. This was particularly evident January 11-15. That’s when a number of Irish and Irish American folk artists were in the Big Apple to showcase their talents during the 56th annual conference of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP). {Click on the headline to read a conference recap that also features information on the annual Folquebec showcase and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash's closing keynote.]

Festivals Set in the Northeast Over Independence Day Weekend

Post published:June 26, 2011
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Festival Focus News - Northeast U.S.

A couple of music festivals of note in the Northeast take place during the first weekend in July -- one along the cobblestoned streets of the old whaling port city of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the other at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah, New York. [To read the article, click on the headline.]

Neil Young, Old Man Luedecke, Le Vent du Nord Win JUNO Awards

Post published:March 29, 2011
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Awards & Contests

The 40th annual JUNO Awards were presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), March 26 and 27 in Toronto. Internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Neil Young was the big winner, while Nova Scotia-based Old Man Luedecke and Quebec-based group Le Vent du Nord captured awards for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year Solo and Group, respectively. {To read the article in its entirety, click on the headline.]