The Canadian Folk Music Awards were established in 2005 to bring greater exposure to the breadth and depth of Canadian folk music, celebrating and promoting it in all its forms. The annual awards in 21 categories were presented during four concerts showcasing many of the talented nominees. More than 100 jurors — located across Canada and representing all of its official provinces, territories and languages — determined the recipients in each category.

A complete list of winners in the 2026 Canadian Folk Music Awards nominees follows, while recorded livestreams of the concerts and awards presentations may be found, along with more information, online at www.folkawards.ca.

Stan Rogers Traditional Singer Award: Matthew Byrne – Stealing Time

Contemporary Singer of the Year: Julian Taylor – Pathways

Vocal Group of the Year: PIQSIQ – Legends

New Artist of the Year: Claire Morrison – Where Do You Go at Night?

French Songwriter of the Year: Guillaume Arsenault – Les plantes continuent de pousser même quand tu dors – Face B

English Songwriter of the Year: Terra Spencer – Sunset

Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year: Rachel Therrien – Mi Hogar II

Solo Artist of the Year: Lennie Gallant – Shelter From the Storms

Indigenous Songwriter of the Year:  TIE — Aysanabee – Edge Of The Earth and Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Ayalik (PIQSIQ) – Legends

Album Artwork of the Year: Ru Rose – Revival

Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award: Oktoecho – Saimaniq Sivumut

Single of the Year: AHI – Human Kind

Contemporary Album of the Year: AHI – The Light Behind The Sun

Instrumental Composer of the Year: Eric Abramovitz, Rebekah Wolkstein and Drew Jurecka – Schmaltz and Pepper

Producer of the Year: Ben Plotnick for “Every Colour Left” by Loud in the Pines

Instrumental Group of the Year: The Fretless – Glasswing

Ensemble of the Year: Cassie and Maggie – Gold and Coal

Traditional Album of the Year: Matthew Byrne – Stealing Time

Global Roots Album of the Year: Kazdoura – Ghoyoum 

Children’s Album of the Year: Ginalina – All the Earth Speaks

Young Performer of the Year: Max Francis – Home

During the JUNO Awards Broadcast that aired live nationwide on CBC and CBC Gem and was viewed globally on CBC Music’s YouTube channel,  Joni Mitchell received thunderous applause as she took to the stage at the TD Coliseum to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award. In introducing her, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said: “Joni’s music didn’t just provide the soundtrack to our lives he shifted culture, inspired generations and redefined what songwriting could be.”

Gracing the stage, Mitchell, 82, said that she was “so happy to be in Canada [with] our wonderful prime minister.” Noting that she now lives in the United States, she continued “and you know what’s happening there. This man is a blessing. You guys are so fortunate.”

Following her brief remarks, the widely acclaimed Canadian-American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist joined Sarah McLachlan, Allison Russell and other artists in a musical tribute to her body of work, which includes such notable songs as “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Both Sides, Now,” “Chelsea Morning,” “Help Me,” and “River.”

Mariel Buckley, whose October 2025 release Strange Trip Ahead (Birthday Cake Records) was named Contemporary Folk Album of the Year, is a Calgary, Alberta-based singer-songwriter. She is the younger sister of singer T. Buckley, with whom she has also recorded and performed together as a duo. Strange Trip Ahead was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with her Edmonton-based band and produced by Jarrad K at Chateau Noir Studios. Her third full-length album, it was preceded by the critically acclaimed Everywhere I Used To Be (2022) and Driving In The Dark (2018). Although Buckley’s music may be genre defying, her songwriting reflects an intimate folk style. She tours Europe for several weeks this spring.

Morgan Toney, 27, whose Heal The Divide, was named Traditional Folk Album of the Year, is a Mi’kmaq folk singer-songwriter and fiddler from Nova Scotia. A member of he Wagmatcook First Nation, Toney performs and records music blends Celtic folk (reflective of Cape Breton) and the traditional, old songs of his people – a fusion that he calls Mikmatic) and describes as his way of celebrating his language and heritage. Heal The Divide is Toney’s third album. Preceding it were 2023’s Resilience, which was nominated for a Juno Award for Traditional Roots Album of the Year in 2024, and 2021’s First Flight, which was reissued in 2022 on Ishkode Records.

Also nominated for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year were The Hammer & The Rose (Matt Andersen), Purple Gas (Noeline Hofmann), These Dark Canyons (The Young Novelists), and Further From The Country (William Prince). The other Traditional Roots Music Album of the Year nominees included I Lost My Heart on Friday (Aerialists), Gold And Coal (Cassie and Maggie), The Moon’s Daughter (Heather MacIsaac), and Folk Signals (The Southern Residents).

Also of potential interest to AcousticMusicScene.com readers, Steven Marriner’s Hear My Heart was named Blues Album of the Year, while Sarah McLachlan’s Better Broken was named Adult Contemporary Album of the Year. Canadian pop star Tate McRae was the big winner, receiving awards in four of the six categories in which she was nominated: album of the year, artist of the year, single of the year, and pop album of the year.

For more information on Canada’s top music awards, including a complete listing of winners and the 248 nominees across 47 categories, visit https://junoawards.ca.

Here’s a complete listing of the nominees in the American Roots Music Field, while select nominees in other categories of particular interest to readers of AcousticMusicScene.com are mentioned in a paragraph following that:

Best Americana Album:

Big Money – Jon Baptiste
Bloom – Larkin Poe
Last Leaf On The Tree – Willie Nelson
So Long Little Miss Sunshine – Molly Tuttle
Middle – Jesse Welles

Best Americana Performance:

“Boom” – Sierra Hull
“Poison In My Well” – Maggie Rose & Grace Potter
“Godspeed” – Mavis Staples
“That’s Gonna Leave A Mark” – Molly Tuttle
“Horses” – Jesse Welles

Best American Roots Performance:

“Lonely Avenue” — Jon Batiste (featuring Randy Newman)
“Ancient Light” – I’m With Her
“Crimson And Clay” – Jason isbell
“Richmond On The James” – Alison Krauss & Union Station
“Beautiful Strangers” – Mavis Staples

Best American Roots Song:

“Ancient Light” – Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan & Sara Watkins, songwriters (I’m With Her)

“Big Money” – Jon Baptiste, Mike Elizondo & Steve McEwan, songwriters (Jon Baptiste)                                                              “Foxes In The Snow” – Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell)                                                                                                              “Middle” – Jesse Welles, songwriter (Jesse Welles)                                                                                                                                  “Spitfire” – Sierra Hull, songwriter (Sierra Hull)

Best Bluegrass Album:

Carter & Cleveland – Michael Cleveland & Jason Carter Carter                                                                                                           A Tip Toe High Wire – Sierra Hull                                                                                                                                                  Arcadia – Alison Krauss & Union Station
Outrun – The Steeldrivers                                                                                                                                                                Highway Prayers –- Billy Strings

Best Folk Album:

What Did The Blackbird Say To The Crow – Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson
Crown of Roses – Patty Griffin                                                                                                                                                              Wild And Clear And Blue – I’m With Her
Foxes In The Snow – Jason Isbell                                                                                                                                                      Under The Powerlines April 24-September 24 – Jesse Welles

Best Contemporary Blues Album:

Breakthrough – Joe Bonamassa                                                                                                                                                          Paper Doll – Samantha Fish
A Tribute To LJK – Eric Gales                                                                                                                                                        Preacher Kids – Robert Randolph                                                                                                                                                      Family – Southern Avenue

Best Traditional Blues Album:

Ain’t Done With The Blues – Buddy Guy
Room On The Porch – Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’                                                                                                                                      One Hour Mama: The Blues of Victoria Stivey – Maria Muldaur                                                                                                Look Out Highway – Charlie Musselwhite                                                                                                                                      Young Fashioned Ways – Kenny White Shepherd & Bobby Rush

Best Regional Roots Music Album:

Live At Vaughan’s – Corey Henry & The Treme Funktet
For Fat Man – Preservation Brass & Preservation Hall Jazz Band                                                                                            Church Of New Orleans  – Kyle Roussel                                                                                                                                            Second Line Sunday – Trombone Shorty And New Breed Brass Band                                                                                               A Tribute To The King Of Zydeco – Various Artists

Also of note: Nominees for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album include Bella Fleck, Edgar Castaneda & Antonio Sanchez for BEATrio, while Sierra Hull’s “Lord, That’s A Long Way” is in the running for Best Instrumental Composition. Angelique Kidjo’s “Jerusalema” is among the nominees for Best Global Music Performance. The soundtrack for A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic, is nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, while Joni Mitchell Archives – Volume 4: The Asylum Years – 1976-1980 is among the nominees for Best Historical album. Alison Krauss & Union Station’s Arcadia is up for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Nominees for Best Country Solo Album include Chris Stapleton’s Bad As I Used To Be and Tyler Childers’ Nose On The Grindstone. Stapleton also snagged a nominations for Best Country Song for both “A Song To Sing” (with Miranda lambert) and “Honky Tonk Hall of Fame” (with George Strait), while Childers is also nominated for Best Country Song for “Bitin’ List” and with Margo Price for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Love Me Like You Used To Do.” In total, nominees were named in 95 categories on November 7 from among recordings released between August 31, 2024 – August 30, 2025.

Voting members of the Recording Academy (grammy.com), who represent all genres and creative disciplines, select the GRAMMY Award winners. These members include recording artists, songwriters, composers, producers, mixers, and engineers. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Academy honors music’s history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards.

The GRAMMY Awards show will be broadcast live from Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, February 1, 2026 on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+ from 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5-8:30 p.m. PT. However, the winners in the American Roots Music Field and select others will be recognized prior to the telecast during the GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony at the Peacock Theater that will be streamed live on live.GRAMMY.com and the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. ET.

Editor’s Note: Please excuse the formatting issues with the listing of nominees in some categories.

Billy Strings, a Michigan-born and Nashville, Tennessee-based genre-bending flatpicking guitarist and singer-songwriter, was previously named Entertainer of the Year in 2021, 2022 and 2023. A two-time Grammy Award winner for Best Bluegrass Album — Live Vol. 1 (2025) and Home (2021) — he also was named Artist of the Year (2022 and 2023) in the Americana Music Honors & Awards presented by the Americana Music Association, as well as Pollstar’s Breakthrough Artist of the Pandemic. He was previously honored as both Guitar Player and New Artist of the Year in the 2019 IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards and was named Guitar Player of the Year again in 2021, while his song “Red Daisy” was 2022’s Song of the Year. Billy Strings, who turns 33 on Oct. 3, grew up playing traditional bluegrass with his dad. In the years since, he has been among the artists who have helped to expand the boundaries of the genre, widening its appeal.

Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland’s “Outrun the Rain” won the coveted Song of the Year award and was also named Collaborative Recording of the Year, while the 2025 release on which it appears, Carter & Cleveland, was named Album of the Year. Carter, a five-time IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year, has played with the Del McCoury Band for 30 years and is a founding member of the Travelin’ McCourys, winners of the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. The Kentucky native’s fiddling prowess can also be heard on albums by such notable artists as Asleep at the Wheel, Diercks Bentley, Charlie Daniels, Steve Earle, Vince Gill, and Ricky Skaggs. Southern Indiana-based Michael Cleveland, whose 2024 release, Tall Fiddler, won a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album, was inducted into the National Fiddler Hall of Fame (2018) and was a recipient of a prestigious 2022 NEA National Heritage Fellowship, the nation’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts, from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has been recognized 13 times as the IBMA’s Fiddle Player of the Year and six times for Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year, while Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper has been hailed as its Instrumental Group of the Year multiple times. And has also received awards from the society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPGMA). The subject of a 2019 biographical documentary film, Flamekeeper: The Michael Cleveland Story, the much sought-after musician has also performed with such noted artists as J.D. Crowe and the New South, Vice Gill, The Kruger Brother, Tim O’Brien, Andy Statman, and Mary Stuart, among others.

The IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards are voted on by the professional membership of the International Bluegrass Music Association, a nonprofit trade organization that connects, educates, and empowers bluegrass professionals and enthusiasts, honoring tradition and encouraging innovation in the bluegrass community worldwide (ibma.org).

A complete list of 2025 IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards recipients appears below, along with brief information about three Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductees.

Entertainer of the Year: Billy Strings

Song of the Year: “Outrun the Rain” – Jason Carter & Michael Cleveland

Songwriters: Terry Herd & Jimmy Yeary

Producers: Jason Carter & Michael Cleveland

Label: Fiddle Man Records

Album of the Year: Carter & Cleveland – Jason Carter & Michael Cleveland

Producers: Jason Carter & Michael Cleveland

Label: Fiddle Man Records

Vocal Group of the Year: Authentic Unlimited

Instrumental Group of the Year: The Travelin’ McCourys

Gospel Recording of the Year:

“He’s Gone” – Jaelee Roberts

Songwriter: Kelsi Harrigil
Producer: Byron House
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

Instrumental Recording of the Year:

“Ralph’s Banjo Special” – Kristin Scott Benson
Songwriter: Ralph Stanley
Producer: Allison Brown
Label: Compass Records

Collaborative Recording of the Year:

“Outrun the Rain” – Jason Carter, Michael Cleveland, Jaelee Roberts & Vince Gill
Songwriters: Terry Herd & Jimmy Yeary
Producers: Jason Carter & Michael Cleveland
Label: Fiddle Man Records

New Artist of the Year: Red Camel Collective

Male Vocalist of the Year: Greg Blake

Female Vocalist of the Year: Alison Krauss

Banjo Player of the Year: Kristin Scott Benson

Bass Player of the Year: Vickie Vaughn

Fiddle Player of the Year: Maddie Denton

Resophonic Guitar Player of the Year: Justin Moses

Guitar Player of the Year: Trey Hensley

Mandolin Player of the Year: Sierra Hull

Music Video of the Year: “The Auctioneer” – The Kody Norris Show

Songwriters: Leroy Van dyke & Buddy Black
Producer: James Gilley
Videographer: Nate Wiles

Label: Rebel Records

Hot Rize (a pioneering bluegrass band), The Bluegrass Cardinals (known for its flawless harmonies, virtuoso playing, and original music), and Arnold Shultz (an influential African American musician) were inducted into Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame during the awards show.

The IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Show is the centerpiece of World of Bluegrass that extended from September 16-20. Considered the genre’s annual industry gathering and family reunion, IBMA’s World of Bluegrass also featured a three-day business conference (replete with a wide array of professional development programming, sponsored artist showcases and late-night hospitality functions, and plenty of networking and relationship-building opportunities), the IBMA Bluegrass Ramble (a series of showcases at various Chattanooga venues), and the two-day IBMA Bluegrass Live! – a festival of live performances and fan experiences.

Song of the Year honors went to Dan Navarro and Janiva Magness’ recording of “$20 Bill (for George Floyd) by the late singer-songwriter Tom Prasada-Rao. In accepting the award, Navarro (a singer-songwriter and voice actor perhaps best known for co-writing the hit song “We Belong”) noted that more than 100 artists recorded a version of Prasada-Rao’s song in 2020 “but because of the impact and the challenges of the pandemic, it never really had a proper release and we decided we would do something about that.“ Dedicating the award to Prasado-Rao, who died last year, Navarro said: “This is not just the song of the year; it’s the song of the century and the song of a lifetime.”

Here’s a link to view a video of Dan Navarro and Janiva Magness performing “$20 Bill (for George Floyd)”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeHdq817B7Y

Susan Werner’s Halfway to Houston was named Album of the Year. A prolific and versatile singer-songwriter who accompanies herself on both guitar and piano and is known for her sassy wit and classy Midwest charm, Werner was unable to be in Montreal to accept the award and sent a short video, while fellow singer-songwriter Dar Williams picked up the award on her behalf.

In addition to these FAI member-voted awards – which were open to recordings released between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024 – a number of special awards and honors were presented.

The People’s Voice Award recognizing an artist who embraces social and political commentary in his/her songs was presented to Gina Chavez, an Austin, Texas-based singer-songwriter who has helped to amplify the voices of the marginalized.

The River Roads Festival received The Clearwater Award, honoring a festival that — like its Pete Seeger-founded namesake –- exhibits sound leadership in environmental stewardship and sustainable event production. A one-day event presented by Dar Williams and held in Easthampton, Massachusetts for the past two years, the next River Roads Festival is set for July 5 at Heuser Park in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Williams said that she was “so excited” to accept the award. She noted that, like Seeger was, she is a resident of New York’s Hudson Valley and recalled being on Conan O’Brien’s late-night TV talk show with him in 1998. Said Williams: “Music is an incredible force … The culture around the music can be a powerful vehicle for justice.”

The Rising tide Award, which is bestowed on an emerging artist/act of an age, went to OKAN, a female-led, Afro-Cuban roots and jazz duo.

Spirit of Folk Awards recognizing people and organizations actively engaged in the promotion and preservation of folk music were presented to Annie Capps, Innu Nikamu festival, Tom Power, and Alice Randall. Capps is a Michigan-based singer-songwriter and a longtime leader with Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM), who has served as both its board president and conference director. Innu Nikamu is a Quebec-based festival of Indigenous music and culture that has taken place for more than 30 years. Power, best known as the host of CBC Radio One’s Q program, is also a musician who performs and records with The Dardanelles, a Canadian folk band. Randall is a hit-making country music songwriter who has been a trailblazer in folk and country music. She’s also a college lecturer and the author of My Black Country, which she describes as both a memoir and a history.

“I owe my sanity to folk music,” said Randall in accepting the award. “In My Black Country, I tell the story of climbing out of the hell of being raped by holding on to the sound of John Prine singing “Angel From Montgomery.” Prine’s label, Oh Boy! Records, also released a collection of songs entitled My Black Country. Randall noted that her book “is about the Black folk, including Black folk musicians, who made country country.”

2025 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients included the folk-rock duo Indigo Girls (whose eponymous debut album won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording 35 years ago), the late Black Appalachian musician Lesley Riddle, and the global roots magazine Songlines. During the awards show, singer-songwriters Rose Cousins and Mary Bragg performed “Galileo,” one of the Indigo Girls’ hit songs, in tribute to the duo, while Black indigenous Canadian singer-songwriter Julian Taylor performed “Red River Blues” in tribute to Riddle.

Accepting the Legacy Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of Riddle, who died in 1980 at age 75, Randall referred to him as a founder of country music and a practitioner of folk who collected and taught the Carter Family a lot of songs. “Tonight, Folk Alliance corrects an almost 100 year-old wrong” by recognizing him.

“We need folk music now more than ever,” said the Indigo Girls’ Emily Saliers in a pre-recorded video. “This Folk Alliance is a group that honors diversity, equity, inclusion, and access for all. Folk music is the music of truth telling. Amy [Ray] and I are, especially in this time, particularly honored to accept this award.” Echoing her sentiments, Ray urged folks to “Please stand up with us and make your voices heard in these times … Day by day, song by song, we can make this world a better place.”

Accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of Songlines, James Anderson-Hanney, its publisher, said: “I think we’re the last world music magazine on the planet.” The UK-based, glossy bimonthly that comes with CD is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary.Leading Quebecois folk ensemble Le Vent Du Nord, a 2023 Songlines award recipient, performed in honor of the magazine.

Five Inducted Into Folk Radio Hall of Fame

Eight years ago, Folk Alliance International established a Folk Radio Hall of Fame in order to recognize folk DJs and music directors for the vital role that they play by sharing the music with their listeners. Wanda Fischer, Longtime host of The Hudson River Sampler on WAMC Radio in Albany, New York and herself an inductee in the Hall of Fame, recognized this year’s inductees, while a video featuring visuals and information about them was also screened. The 2025 inductees include Taylor Caffery, Matthew Finch, Archie Fisher, MarySue Twohy, and Chuck Wentworth.

Taylor Caffery, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, has been the host Hootenanny Power of WRKF Public Radio in Baton Rouge, LA since it began airing in 1981. He’s also been recognized with WRKF’s Founder’s Award (2022) and with the Kari Estrin Founding President’s Award during the 2024 Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) Conference.

Matthew Finch, who left our world unexpectedly in July 2024, was a beloved figure in New Mexico’s music scene, who devoted more than 20 years to KUNM in Albuquerque as its music director, and as a tireless advocate for local musicians. Through the programs Ear to the Ground and Studio 55, he created platforms for regional artists to share their music, showcasing live performances and celebrating the diversity of the state’s music community.

Archie Fisher hosted BBC Radio Scotland’s award-winning Traveling Folk program for 27 years – promoting artists and musicians of the folksong revival throughout the British Isles. A talented artist in his own right, he also hosted studio sessions and interviews with such notable American and Canadian artists as Joan Baez, Judy Collins, David Francey, and James Keelaghan. Queen Elizabeth II presented him with a MBE in 2006 for his services to music.

MarySue Twohy is a program director at SiriusXM, who currently manages The Village, its folk channel, among others. She conducts artist interviews and produces a wide array of radio programs. Formerly an artist herself, she moved into broadcasting by hosting a two-hour program 20 years ago and quickly rose to PD. She also served on the FAI board of directors for seven years and continues to serve on national music committees, and to participate in conference panels and as a songwriting contest judge.

Chuck Wentworth, who passed away last year, was a revered figure on the New England music scene – best known for his long-standing contributions as both a radio show host and a festival producer. He began hosting a folk radio show on WRIU-FM, the college radio station at the University of Rhode Island, while he was a student and Traditions aired for 38 years. He also served as the station’s folk and roots music director and expanded its folk programming from one show to five nights a week. Wentworth was also the founder and producer of the Rhythm & Roots Festival, a three-day music and dance festival in Rhode Island.

[Here’s a link to view the International Folk Music Awards Show, which also was livestreamed via YouTube and was available for viewing via Folk Alley and NPR Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVE29BZ6fBg

The International Folk Music Awards was just one part, albeit an important one, of the 37th annual Folk Alliance International Conference that extended from February 19-23 and drew nearly 2,500 attendees. In addition to more than 2,700 showcases featuring more than 700 acts (including 183 juried official showcases plus many more showcases extending into the early morning hours), the conference included a keynote conversation with Allison Russell and Ann Powers [see below], Black American Music and International Indigenous Music Summits, a one-day legal summit, 45 panel discussions and workshops, a number of affinity and peer group sessions, six film screenings and discussions, lobby jams, meetings of FAI’s regional affiliates, a town hall meeting on P2 Visas – Working Through Parity at the Canada/US Border, a popular Meet the Folk DJs session, morning yoga, an exhibit hall, agent-presenter speed networking sessions, and lots of other networking opportunities.

Artist & Activist Allison Russell Engages in Keynote Conversation with Music Journalist Anne Powers

Allison Russell — a widely acclaimed singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and activist –- returned to her hometown to engage in an hour-long keynote conversation with Anne Powers, a critic and correspondent for NPR Music. A soulful, Nashville, Tennessee-based, Montreal-born Scottish Grenadian Canadian, Russell is the recipient of more than a dozen awards. These include a Grammy Award for Best American Roots Music Performance for Eve Was Black,” a single off of her sophomore solo recording, Returner released in September 2023), Juno Awards for Contemporary Album of the Year (for her solo debut, Outside Child – 2022) and Music Video of the Year (for “Demons,” 2024), six UK Americana Music Awards, four Canadian Folk Music Awards, and two Americana Music Honors & Awards. In 2022, Folk Alliance International members voted Russell’s solo debut as Album of the Year and her as Artist of the Year. Outside Child was also named Contemporary album of the Year in the 2022 Canadian Folk Music Awards, while she was named Songwriter of the Year and New/Emerging Artist of the Year in recognition of the emotion-laden album featuring 11 original songs “about resilience and survival, transcendence and the redemptive power of art, community, connection, and chosen family.”

Russell has previously spoken of the abuse and trauma that she faced in her youth and the major role that music has played in helping her to overcome it .In her conversation with Powers, she recalled how, at age 15, while unhoused, she slept in the pews at a church just a few blocks from Le Sheraton Centre.

Asked about her latest album, 2023’s The Returner, she noted how she had been a challenged, broken yet brave girl. “”We come from long, broken lines of survivors. We’re all miracles. We’re all returners. We are all overcoming things.”

Much of her on-stage conversation with Powers focused on her recent portrayal of Persephone in Anais Mitchell’s award-winning Broadway musical, Hadestown. Russell noted that it was her first professional acting role and that she had not acted since performing in a Shakespearean play while in high school.

Sharing her reflections on Hadestown just days after she concluded her 50-week run as Persephone and in keeping with the “Illuminate” theme of the conference, she said: Persephone is Hades’ only source of light, of illumination in the underworld. She was the light in his life.”

Playing a mythic goddess in this time took on new connotations, she acknowledged, citing “the current fear-mongering administration in Washington” and “the bigotry and bias that can really harm communities.”

Referring to herself as “a geriatric millennial,” Russell said: “When I came up 24 years ago, there weren’t too many others who looked liked me.” Acknowledging that “our [folk] community is growing more diverse,” she spoke of being a curator during the 2021 Newport Folk Festival tasked with featuring Black and Black & queer women and their allies in the center of a 90-minute set focused on roots and revolution. ”What could be more beautiful than to be conscious, to be mindful [woke],” said Russell, noting that she’s “a queer woman who somehow married a white man with a guitar.”

Prior to embarking on her solo career, Russell was a co-founder of Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago and was part of Po’ Girl.

[Here’s a link to view a video recording of the keynote conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_ne2-baY8g.]

Folk Alliance International (folk.org) is a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion.

Good Lovelies, Lucy MacNeil and The Andrew Collins Trio snagged three nominations each, while Derina Harvey, Rum Ragged, Ndidi O, Celidh Cardinal, Burnstick, Rachel Davis & Darren McMullen, Mélisande, and Miles Surawell each received two nominations. They are among 107 nominees from throughout Canada vying for awards in 20 categories to be presented during the CFMA 2025 Awards Weekend, April 3-6, in Ottawa, Ontario – the nation’s capital and where the awards were launched 20 years ago.

Lindsey also cited what he called the important work that CFMA is doing in forging connections between artists. “I spoke with one person who didn’t feel part of a community in the music world, and after the CFMA event earlier this year, they had found their folk family and were energized to keep making great music,” he said.

A complete list of the 2025 Canadian Folk Music Awards nominees follows, while more information may be found online at folkawards.ca.

Children’s Album of the Year

• Abigail Lapell – Lullabies
• Bon Débarras – J’m’en viens chez vous!
• Henri Godon – Chants de vacances
• Seeka Sings – I Belong
• Will and Seeka – Will and Seeka: Friends with Everyone

Contemporary Album of the Year

• Abigail Lapell – Anniversary
• Boy Golden – For Jimmy
• Juurini – Aqqutinni
• Kaia Kater – Strange Medicine
• Lynne Hanson – Just A Poet
• Sandra Bouza – A Sound in the Dark

Contemporary Singer of the Year

• Camille Intson (Camie) – POEMS IN THE ASHES
• Derina Harvey (Derina Harvey Band) – Waves of Home
• Jeffery Straker (Jeffery Straker) – Great Big Sky
• Ndidi O (Ndidi O) – Simple Songs for Complicated Times
• Esther Wheaton (Onion Honey) – Foul Weather Friends

English Songwriter(s) of the Year

• Celeigh Cardinal, Brennan Cameron (Celeigh Cardinal) – Boundless Possibilities
• Kellie Loder (Kellie Loder) – Transitions
• Ndidi O (Ndidi O) – Simple Songs for Complicated Times
• Ruth Moody (Ruth Moody) – Wanderer
• Shayna Hayes (Shaina Hayes) – Kindergarten Heart
• Adrian Glynn, Brendan McLeod (The Fugitives) – No Help Coming

Ensemble of the Year

• Good Lovelies – We Will Never Be The Same
• Rachel Davis & Darren McMullen – Home
• Rum Ragged – Gone Jiggin’
• Sultans of String – Walking Through the Fire
• The Fugitives – No Help Coming

French Songwriter(s) of the Year

• Alexandre Poulin (Alexandre Poulin) – La somme des êtres aimés
• Michel Robichaud (Michel Robichaud) – Rallumer l’effort
• Reney Ray (Reney Ray) – L’album Temporaire
• Sara Dufour, Dany Placard (Sara Dufour) – On va-tu prendre une marche?
• Lennie Gallant, Patricia Richard (Sirène et Matelot) – Un monde de dissonances

Global Roots Album of the Year

• Dumai Dunai – Sometime Between Now and Never
• Jason Wilson and Ashara – Ashara
• Lemon Bucket Orkestra – Cuckoo
• Merrie Klazek – Dance Around the Sun
• Okavango African Orchestra – Migration

Indigenous Songwriter(s) of the Year

• Alan Syliboy & The Thundermakers (Alan Syliboy & The Thundermakers) – Marks on the Ground
• Jason Burnstick, Nadia Burnstick (Burnstick) – Made of Sin
• Celeigh Cardinal (Celeigh Cardinal) – Boundless Possibilities
• Gabrielle Fontaine (Indian City) – Tomorrow
• Mimi O’Bonsawin (Live in Concert) – Live in Concert

Instrumental Composer(s) of the Year

• Alanna Jenish (Alanna Jenish ) – Daleview
• Karson McKeown, Tom Gammons, Tuli Porcher (Inn Echo) – Hemispheres
• Andrew Collins (The Andrew Collins Trio) – The Rule of Three
• Andre Valerio (Tio Chorinho) – Tempestuoso
• Pastelle LeBlanc (Vishtèn) – Vishtèn Connexions Expansion

Instrumental Group of the Year

• Masmoudi Quartette – Villes Éternelles
• Pipeslinger – The King’s Clothing
• Solidaridad Tango – DISTANCIA
• The Andrew Collins Trio – The Rule of Three
• Tio Chorinho – Tempestuoso

Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year

• Jason Fowler (Jason Fowler) – FORELSKET
• Jeremie Groleau (Jeremie Groleau) – Uphill
• Merrie Klazek (Merrie Klazek) – Dance Around the Sun
• Miles Zurawell (Miles Zurawell) – Far Afield
• Shaun Ferguson (Shaun Ferguson) – La Lumière De L’Ombre – L’Ombre De La Lumière

Single of the Year

• “What Would Love Do?” (Alternate Version) – Andrew Allen
• “Train Coming” (featuring Eric Gales) – Angelique Francis
• “Wildflower” – Asiah Holm
• “Same Old Me” – Geneviève Racette
• “Tell Me How” – Loryn Taggart
• “Meaning Well” – Mia Kelly

Solo Artist of the Year

• Abigail Lapell (Abigail Lapell) – Anniversary
• Connie Kaldor (Connie Kaldor) – Keep Going
• Loryn Taggart (Loryn Taggart) – The Lost Art of Pulling Through
• Mélisande (Mélisande) – Rembobine
• Orit Shimoni (Orit Shimoni) – Winnipeg
• Sue Foley (Sue Foley) – One Guitar Woman

Traditional Album of the Year

• Bradley Murphy – BEUL
• Brandon Isaak – One Step Closer
• David Francey – The Breath Between
• La Bottine Souriante – Domino !
• Lucy MacNeil – Angels Whisper
• Rum Ragged – Gone Jiggin’

Traditional Singer of the Year

• Abigail Lapell (Abigail Lapell) – Lullabies
• Fathieh Honari (Gordon Grdina’s The Marrow) – With Fatheih Honari
• Ken Whiteley (Ken Whiteley) – So Glad I’m Here
• Lucy MacNeil (Lucy MacNeil) – Angels Whisper
• Mélisande (Mélisande) – Rembobine

Vocal Group of the Year

• Good Lovelies – We Will Never Be The Same
• La Nef – RED SKY AT NIGHT
• Mikha.elles – Camino de mujeres
• Prairie Comeau – L’emprunt(e)
• summersets – small town story

Producer(s) of the Year

• Jason Burnstick, Nadia Burnstick (Burnstick) – Made of Sin
• Gal George Gjurin (Gal George Gjurin) – How about a kiss?
• Joshua Van Tassel and Christine Bougie (Good Lovelies) – We Will Never Be The Same
• David Boulanger (La Bottine Souriante) – Domino !
• (Marie Onile) – Les mots, l’élan et la chance

Young Performer(s) of the Year

• Amelia Parker – Forwards
• Irish Millie – GRACE
• Mary Frances Leahy – First Light
• Paige Penney – INFINITY
• The Salt Beef Junkies – Somewhere In Between

Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries

• Irish Millie – GRACE
• James Hill – Uke Heads
• Jonathan Bélanger – Sur le Boulevard
• Kiran Ahluwalia – Comfort Food
• Nastasia Y – Kyiv Soul
• The Andrew Collins Trio – The Rule of Three

New/Emerging Artist(s) of the Year

• Derina Harvey Band – Waves of Home
• Lucy MacNeil – Angels Whisper
• Maggie’s Wake – Maggie’s Wake
• Miles Zurawell – Far Afield
• Rachel Davis & Darren McMullen – Home
• Solidaridad Tango – DISTANCIA

Established in 1972 at the urging of Peter Yarrow, the Kerrville New Folk Concerts have become a highlight of the annual festival that is geared towards singer-songwriters of various musical styles. It is the longest continuously running festival of its kind in North America.

Now in its 54th year, the Kerrville Folk Festival extends through Sunday, June 9. Besides concerts each evening, Kerrville features “Ballad Tree” song-sharing sessions, late-night and afternoon song circles and jam sessions at various campsites, concerts and activities for children, organized canoe and kayak trips on the Guadelupe River, Hill Country bike rides, guided nature walks, yoga, beer and wine seminars, a Young Artists Performance Incubator, a professional development program for teachers, as well as a songwriters school and instrumental workshops.

A listing of all of this year’s New Folk Finalists was included in a previously posted article: https://acousticmusicscene.com/2024/04/17/finalists-named-in-2024-kerrville-new-folk-competition/.

A Winnipeg, Manitoba-based country-folk singer-songwriter from Peguis First Nation, William Prince previously received a Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year in 2017 for his debut release, Earthly Days, which was also a finalist for Indigenous Music Album of the Year. His album Reliever was among the nominees for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year in the Juno Awards of 2021, while he won awards for Contemporary Album of the Year and English Songwriter of the Year during that year’s Canadian Folk Music Awards. Prince was also among the nominees for Songwriter of the Year, a coveted award that went to Aysanabee, an indigenous artist who, along with previous Juno Award winner Allison Russell, also paid tribute to the late notable artists Gordon Lightfoot and Robbie Robertson during the awards ceremonies.

Here’s a link for the official video for “When You Miss Someone,” one of the songs on William Prince’s Stand in the Joy album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxVzg0F4fcU

Also In the running for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year were The Returner (Allison Russell), We Will Never Be The Same ((Good Lovelies), Beyond the Reservoir (Julian Taylor), and A Light in the Attic (Logan Staats).

David Francey is an expressive and revered Scotland-born and southern Ontario-based singer-songwriter and storyteller. Besides his Juno for The Breath Between, Francey is the recipient of three previous Juno Awards for Roots and Traditional Album – Solo: Right of Passage (2008), Skating Rink (2004), and Far End of Summer (2002). He’s also won several Canaian Folk Music Awards, while Penguin Eggs magazine named Skating Rink and Far End of Summer as Album of the Year in 2003 and 2002, respectively. . Francey, who launched his career as a folksinger-songwriter at age 45 – after working as a carpenter and in rail yards for 20 years, is also the winner of the International Acoustic Music Awards (2010), and a recipient of the prestigious SOCAN Folk Music Award and the grand prize in the folk category for the John Lennon Songwriting Awards. Francey has also had his songs covered by such notable artists as Tracy Grammer, James Keelaghan, the Del McCoury Band, and The Rankin Family.

Here’s a link to enjoy a live performance by David Francey of the title track of his album, The Breath Between, a poignant, introspective reminder of the passage of time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LM6Sa-A8r8

Traditional Roots Album of the Year nominees also included Paint Horse (Benjamin Dakota Rogers), Roses (Jackson Hollow), Second Hand (James Keelaghan), and Resilience (Morgan Toney).

A complete list of JUNO Awards winners can be found, along with additional information, online at junoawards.ca.

A list of winners in the GRAMMY Awards’ American Roots Music Field follows, while the complete list of award recipients may be found at grammy.com.

Best American Roots Performance: “Eve Was Black” – Allison Russell

Best American Roots Song: “Cast Iron Skillet” – Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit)

Best Americana Album: Weathervanes – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Best Americana Performance: “Dear Insecurity” – Brandy Clark (featuring Brandi Carlile)

Best Bluegrass Album: City of Gold – Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

(Note: Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway also won in this category last year for Crooked Tree.)

Best Folk Album: Joni Mitchell At Newport (Live) – Joni Mitchell

Best Contemporary Blues Album: Blood Harmony – Larkin Poe

Best Traditional Blues Album: All My Love For You – Bobby Rush

Best Regional Roots Music Album: New Beginnings – Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. & The Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band and Live: Orpheum Theater Nola – Lost Bayou Ramblers & Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (Tie)

Winners in other categories of potential interest to AcousticMusicScene.com readers included Bela Fleck for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album (As We Speak) and Best Global Music Performance (“Pashto”); Blind Boys of Alabama for Best Roots Gospel Album (Echoes of the South); Chris Stapleton for Best Country Solo Performance (“White Horse”) and Best Country Song (“White Horse”) with co-writer Dan Wilson; Lainey Wilson for Best Country Album (Bell Bottom Country); Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves for Best Country Duo/Group Performance (“I Remember Everything”); and John Carter Cash, Tommy Emmanuel, Markus Illko, Janet Robin, and Roberto Luis Rodriguez, arrangers (The String Revolution featuring Tommy Emmanuel) for Best Arrangement , Instrumental or A Cappella (“Folsom Prison Blues”).

The Recording Academy represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Recording Academy honors music’s history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards.

Here’s a complete listing of the nominees in the American Roots Music Field:

Best Americana Album:

• Brandy Clark — Brandy Clark
• The Chicago Sessions — Rodney Crowell
• You’re The One — Rhiannon Giddens
• Weathervanes — Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
• The Returner — Allison Russell

Best Americana Performance:

• “Friendship” — The Blind Boys of Alabama
• “Help Me Make It Through The Night” — Tyler Childers
• “Dear Insecurity” — Brandy Clark featuring Brandi Carlile
• “King of Oklahoma” — Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
• “The Returner” — Allison Russell

Best American Roots Performance:

• “Butterfly” — Jon Batiste
• “Heaven Help Us All” — The Blind Boys of Alabama
• “Inventing The Wheel” — Madison Cunningham
• “You Louisiana Man” — Rhiannon Giddens
• “Eve Was Black” — Allison Russell

Best American Roots Song:

• “Blank Page” — Michael Trotter Jr. & Tanya Trotter, songwriters (The War and Treaty)
• “California Sober” — Aaron Allen, William Apostol & Jon Weisberger, songwriters (Billy Strings featuring Willie Nelson)
• “Cast Iron Skillet” — Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit)
• “Dear Insecurity” — Brandy Clark & Michael Pollack, songwriters (Brandy Clark featuring Brandi Carlile)
• “The Returner” — Drew Lindsay, JT Nero & Allison Russell, songwriters (Allison Russell)

Best Bluegrass Album:

• Radio John: Songs Of John Hartford — Sam Bush
• Lovin’ Of The Game — Michael Cleveland
• Mighty Poplar — Mighty Poplar
• Bluegrass — Willie Nelson
• Me/And Dad — Billy Strings
• City Of Gold — Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

Best Folk Album:

• Traveling Wildfire — Dom Flemons
• I Only See the Moon — The Milk Carton Kids
• Joni Mitchell At Newport (Live) — Joni Mitchell
• Celebrants — Nickel Creek
• Jubilee — Old Crow Medicine Show
• Seven Psalms — Paul Simon
• Folkocracy — Rufus Wainwright

Best Contemporary Blues Album:

• Death Wish Blues — Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton
• Healing Time — Ruthie Foster
• Live In London — Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
• Blood Harmony — Larkin Poe
• LaVette! — Bettye LaVette

Best Traditional Blues Album:

• Ridin’ — Eric Bibb
• The Soul Side of Sipp — Mr. Sipp
• Life Don’t Miss Nobody — Tracy Nelson
• Teardrops For Magic Slim Live At Rosa’s Lounge — John Primer
• All My Love For You — Bobby Rush

Best Regional Roots Music Album:

• New Beginnings — Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. & The Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band
• Live At The 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers
• Live: Orpheum Theater Nola — Lost Bayou Ramblers & Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
• Made In New Orleans — New Breed Brass Band
• Too Much To Hold — New Orleans Nightcrawlers
• Live At The Maple Leaf — The Rumble Featuring Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr.

Also of Note: Among the nominees for Best New Artist are The War and Treaty. Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain & Edgar Meyer featuring Rakesh Chaurasia received nominations in three categories: Best Global Music Performance (for “Pashto”), Best Contemporary Instrumental Album (for As We Speak) and Best Instrumental Composition (for “Motion”). Tyler Childers’ “In Your Love,” Brandy Clark’s “Buried” and Chris Stapleton’s “White Horse” are among those in the running for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song (along with co-writers Geno Seale, Jessie Jo Dillon and Dan Wilson, respectively). Childers’ “In Your Love” also is vying for Best Music Video, while his Rustin’ In The Rain is among the nominees for Best Country Album. Clark’s Shucked is in the running for Best Musical Theater Album. “I Remember Everything” by Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves is in the running for both Best Country Song and Best Country Duo/Group Performance, while Bryan’s self-titled album vies for Best Country Album.

The Recording Academy (grammy.com) represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Academy honors music’s history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards.