Thirty-two songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2013 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. Chosen from among more than 700 submissions from throughout the U.S. and Canada, the finalists will perform the two songs they submitted during the New Folk Concerts slated for Saturday and Sunday afternoons, May 25 and 26, as part of the Kerrville Folk Festival. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]
Ten finalists have been named in the 2013 Wildflower! Performing Songwriter Contest. Each will perform two songs on the Singer Songwriter Stage during the 21st annual Wildflower! arts and music festival in Richardson, Texas, just a few minutes north of Dallas. Billed as North Texas’ largest music festival, it takes place, May 17-19. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]
The roots, bluegrass and Americana-oriented Old Settler’s Music Festival returns to the Salt Lick BBQ Pavilion and Camp Ben McCulloch in Driftwood, Texas, April 18-21. Now in its 26th year, the festival is not as well-known outside the state as some others in the Austin area – and that’s part of its allure. Old Settler’s Music Festival also takes place during what’s usually the height of Texas Hill Country’s bluebonnet and wildflower season. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]
Bluegrass music’s annual industry gathering and family reunion is uprooting from its Nashville base and headed for Raleigh, North Carolina, Sept. 24-28. Registration is now open for the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)’s World of Bluegrass 2013 events. [To read the article in its entirety, click on the headline.]
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. [To read the full article and learn who the recipients of this year's Americana Honors and Awards are, click on the headline.]
A couple of music festivals of note take place in Massachusetts in July: the Greater New Bedford Summerfest, July 6-8, along the cobblestoned streets of the old whaling city, and the Green River Festival featuring music, hot air balloons and more at the community college campus in Greenfield, July 14-15. [To read the full article previewing these festivals, click on the headline.]
Acoustic Hot Tuna and the David Bromberg Quartet headline the second annual American Roots Music Festival at Caramoor -- a day-long, family-friendly celebration of bluegrass, folk, string band and country blues music, on Saturday, June 30, 2012. Set on 90 acres of Italianate architecture and gardens in Katonah, Westchester County, NY – 40 miles northeast of New York City -- the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is well known for its summer music festivals. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]
New Music Seminar, the granddaddy of American music conferences, returns to New York, June 17-20. In addition to a number of daytime panels, workshops, intensives and keynotes at Manhattan’s Webster Hall, an accompanying NMS New York Music Festival will feature four nights of performances in 17 New York City venues. These include three nights of acoustic music showcases at The Living Room, hosted by Folk Alliance International. {To read the full article, click the headline.]
Ten finalists have been named in the 2012 Wildflower! Performing Songwriter Contest. Each will perform two songs on the Singer Songwriter Stage during the 20th annual Wildflower! arts and music festival in Richardson, Texas, just a few minutes north of Dallas. Billed as North Texas’ largest music festival, it takes place, May 18-20. [To read the article, click on the headline.]
The roots and Americana-oriented Old Settler’s Music Festival returns to the Salt Lick BBQ Pavilion and Camp Ben McCulloch in Driftwood, Texas, April 19-22. Although now in its 25th year, the festival is not as well-known outside the state as some others in the Austin area – and that’s part of its allure. Old Settler’s Music Festival also takes place during what’s usually the height of Texas Hill Country’s bluebonnet and wildflower season. [To view a short preview of the festival, click on the headline.]
Music festival impresario George Wein, founder of the Newport Folk Festival, received the Award of Merit for Achievement in Performing Arts from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) on Jan. 9. The award is bestowed on an individual whose genius, energy and excellence have defined or redefined an art form for today’s audiences. [To read the article in its entirety, including comments from George Wein, click on the headline.]
A wide array of Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, Appalachian and other Celtic and Celtic-inspired music and dance is on tap during Boston’s annual Celtic Music Fest (BCMFest), Jan. 6-7, 2012. The grassroots, musician-run, family-friendly winter Celtic music festival takes place at three venues in Harvard Square that are all within easy walking distance of one another – a change from previous years when not all the events took place in Cambridge. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]
