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.

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.

Neal grew up in Connecticut and loves getting back up to New England. “I’m really looking forward to spending some time in Vermont, which is so beautiful in the summertime. I love that the folks at SolarFest focus their attention on renewable energy and sustainable, healthy living, all very important things that I am so excited to learn more about, and be a part of! I’m also so excited to bring the guys from the band Pretty Saro along with me to play as my backing band for the show.” She anticipates it being “a really fun and special time.”

Since graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2019, Neal has released two albums featuring her original songs. Also a finalist in the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Competition this year, Neal is delighted that Pretty Saro, an acoustic roots trio from Boston, Massachusetts, will join her when she performs at SolarFest.

Here’s a link to enjoy a video of Neal performing “Emily,” one of the two songs that she submitted to the SolarFest Songwriter Showcase judges: https://youtu.be/OpiQZgfFSQA.

Named as showcase finalists were Narissa Bond (Houston, TX), J.M. Clifford (Brooklyn, NY), Frank Critelli (New Haven, CT), and Carolann Solebello (Brooklyn, NY).

As previously reported on AcousticMusicScene.com, the SolarFest Singer-Songwriter Showcase was free to enter and open to all artists who write and perform original music and are not currently signed to a major recording label. Entries were evaluated based on composition (music and lyrics), vocal and instrumental delivery, and overall live performance.

Launched in 1995, SolarFest — slated for July 15-16 this year — aims to connect people, the arts, ideas and technology, fostering partnerships and activism to create a vibrant present and a sustainable future. “In addition to workshops and great information on renewable energy, SolarFest has been the home to diverse and exciting music,” says singer-songwriter Phil Henry, a festival organizer. Among the more than 20 artists and acts who will showcase their talents during this year’s festival are Dar Williams, House of Hamill, HuDost, Lara Herscovitch & the Philosopher Kings, Pamela Means, Louise Mosrie Coombe, and the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival “Most Wanted” Preview Tour featuring Phil Henry, Grace Morrison, Sam Robbins, and Erin Ash Sullivan. Henry, Herscovitch and Mosrie Coombe are previous SolarFest Singer-Songwriter Showcase winners. More information on SolarFest may be found at solarfest.org.

A number of booking agencies whose rosters include such artists were among the more than 300 exhibitors in the large EXPO Hall. The conference also featured networking opportunities galore, streamlined array of professional development workshops, peer group sessions, and networking opportunities galore.

Since the last in-person APAP conference in NYC in January 2020, the impacts of the pandemic; calls for racial equity, diversity and inclusion; and a shifting economy and workforce continue to have a major impact on the performing arts industry as it seeks to recover and reimagine itself.

For Lisa Richards Toney, who joined APAP as its president and CEO in 2020, the 2023 gathering also marked the first in-person conference of her tenure. As she noted in an email to members and colleagues last November, the conference has evolved to meet the shifting nature of the field and the times we live in. “None of this has been easy. In fact,it’s been downright hard,” she acknowledged during the conference’s opening plenary session. In welcoming people to what she called “the creative capital of the world,” Richards Toney said “We are a resilient community of colleagues from all across North America” and expressed excitement at “the feverish fury to reignite business [in the performing arts].”

APAP embraced the ‘less is more’ philosophy — with considerably fewer professional development sessions during the 2023 conference than in previous years in light of its increased year-round programming. This afforded attendees — more than one-third of whom were first-timers — more time to connect and network with colleagues, visit the exhibit halls, enjoy showcases, and just breathe.

For the first time, APAP did not produce a printed conference program and other printed materials (or a tote bag in which to carry them), relying instead on an online platform called Swapcard that was also available as an app.

Showcases of Note Took Place at the Host Hotel and at Venues Around NYC

Showcases took place both at the New York Hilton Midtown, the conference hotel, and at venues throughout Manhattan. A few also were set in other New York City boroughs and beyond.

“When I talk to presenters, I sometimes tell them I always strive for events that are win/win/win and are successful for the attendees, for the host organization and its community, and for myself and anyone joining me;” Waldman told AcousticMusic Scene.com.

So once I had my mini-preview set to open the evening with Fairbanks native and super fiddler, Caitlin Warbelow, and I playing my ‘Fairbanks Cabin Waltz’ composition, then joined by Ilan Moss on banjo and Jefferson Hammer on guitar, I had my own successful time of it. And, later, I had my couple of tunes, with poems, joined by Ilan. Fun, too, for me, and I heard positive things afterwards… I got very positive feedback from my troupe of musicians and from Danielle, so that all checked the box of ‘me and anyone joining me’.”

Waldman, who has been attending, exhibiting and mentoring at APAP conferences since 2007 and began hosting a Friday night roots music variety show three years later, said that also received very positive feedback from attendees. “One attendee emailed me during the evening to say how much they were enjoying it. Another told me later how inspired they were from being introduced to such a wide range of musicians that were different, yet all fit together.” However, he said that his favorite response came from someone who arrived the earliest, said they were tired and would probably only stay for a half hour, and stayed for the whole three hours (later informing him that they passed word about the evening to their venue’s artistic director). “A number of people stopped me through the week to either say they were there and thoroughly enjoyed it, or weren’t there but heard it was fantastic. With proper follow-up and any luck at all I’ll get work I probably wouldn’t have gotten otherwise– and I hope some also goes to the artists I invited and to Danielle’s artists.”

“The evening had a beautiful range of artists performing that included flamenco, sea shanties, masterful kora playing, jazz manouche, beautiful song and fiddle tunes, poetry … all complementing each other. One of my artists, Tamar Ilana, who was performing with Shelley Thomas on oud, came to me immediately after her opening single-song [and said] that her heart was so full from the experience and was just loving it. The energy in the room was beautiful and felt like a perfect return to an in-person APAP for all involved, I believe.”

So three years later, he returned – having lined up two showcases for his new solo shanty show and planning to reconnect with as many of the people he had met in 2020 as possible. Dagher decided to focus less on the Expo Commons and found that the experience of showcasing changed how he interacted with people and how they interacted with him. “After the first showcase [the roots music variety show], random people came up to me to tell me that they had enjoyed my performance… I suddenly felt like less of a beggar and more of a commodity,” he said.

Dagher considered the showcase at Don’t Tell Mama to be great – “despite and because of being chaotic. I heard lots of great artists and met some fascinating people. According to Danielle Devlin, my agent and co-host of the event, I generated some interest from presenters. The venue was intimate and having the other musos there helped create a great atmosphere.”

Folquebec Shines Spotlight on Artists from the Canadian Province

Dagher also performed a short set during a Folquebec Spotlight showcase at the host hotel that he described as “an entirely different, though no-less enjoyable experience.” Comparing it to showcases he had seen and participated in at other conferences, he noted that the hotel room “had a colder feel and the lights made it hared to connect with the public, but I still had fun playing for and with them. The loud altercation between the lighting tech and the maintenance guy during my set actually helped put me at ease. Again, I felt like people were treating me with a little more respect than when I was just a delegate. I hope that I get a lot of work out of the conference, and I will definitely go back next year.”

Garand previously informed AcousticMusicScene.com that Folquebec’s formation stemmed from conversations at a Folk Alliance conference in 2000 and that he views APAP and other conferences as “opportunities to share our knowledge and contribute to the concept of cultural reciprocity among artists. Through its participation in such conferences, Folquebec “looks forward to developing an ongoing partnership with leaders of North American cultural organizations to bring together our strengths, our resources, our complementaries in the advancement of the performing arts sector, and music in particular, of the broad cultural diversity of human expression through the arts,” he said.

The quartet’s Clay Ross (who also fronts both Matuto and Ranky Tanky) joined with composer, banjoist and producer Jayme Stone — with whom he has previously co-produced Global Routes Music Showcases — to also present an interactive, multi-part Composing Your Career professional development series of workshops for artists. [Editor’s Note: As someone who is often retained by artists and others to write bios for them, I sat in on part of one of their workshops, Tell a Better Story, Book Better Gigs and found that the information and insights that they shared pretty much conformed with mine.]

Among the other folk and roots artists who showcased their talents during the conference were two-time IBMA Entertainers of the Year Balsam Range, Colorado-based folk and Americana duo Bettman & Halpin, Colombian-Panamanian roots duo Calle Sur, bluesician Eli Cook, singer-songwriter and pianist Annie Moscow and her trio, New York-based progressive bluegrass band Nefesh Mountain, Mali Obamsawin Sextet (whose music is a blend of blues, jazz, hymns, folk songs, and native cultures), ebullient New York-based jig-rockers The Prodigals, 2022 International Blues Challenge Winner Eric Ramsey (whose fingerpicking and bottleneck slide playing really impressed this writer), and The Scooches (a band whose spirited and joyful music features an eclectic mix of Roaring ‘20s, global folk, blues, gospel, New Orleans jazz, Americana, and more). Americana-cowboy country outfit Bill & the Belles, banjoist Nora Brown with Stephanie Coleman, and balladeer Phoebe Hunt shared a Concerted Efforts Presents bill at Rockwood Music Hall during the conference. Susan Werner, a very witty and versatile singer-songwriter who accompanies herself on both guitar and piano, played Iridium, a Manhattan nightclub that primarily features jazz artists. There were also musical tributes to such artists as Joni Mitchell and Van Morrison, while Darrah Carr Dance presented “Celidh“ Irish Music & Dance and Allan Harris and others shared excerpts from Cross The River — a musical by him and Pat Harris that relates the story of an escaped slave named Blue who journeys to Texas and becomes one of the first Black Cowboys. Artists in various other musical genres also showcased their talents, while comedy, dance and theatrical showcases also were part of the mix.

About the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP)

Based in Washington, DC, APAP (apap365.org) is a nonprofit national service, advocacy and membership organization dedicated to developing and supporting robust performing arts presenting field and the professionals who work within it.

Brand was a major player on the folk scene in New York (and beyond) – not only as an energetic, prolific and versatile performing and recording artist, but also as host of the world’s longest continuously running weekly radio show with a single host — as confirmed by Guinness Book of World Records.

Beginning in 1945 and for more than 70 years, Brand hosted Folksong Festival on WNYC, a public radio station – and he did so weekly without any compensation. His last show – a mix of music and conversation, punctuated with humor — aired on Sept. 24. The recipient of a George Foster Peabody Award in 1995 for ‘more than 50 years of service to the music and messages of folk performers and fans across the world,” Brand played a diverse array of music and engaged in conversations with many of the artists who performed and recorded the songs on his show. Woody Guthrie (who he met around 1939 and to whom he paid tribute in a 2001 PBS documentary entitled Woody & Me that he wrote, directed and hosted) was one of his early guests. Among the other musical luminaries who appeared on Folksong Festival over the years were Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, Harry Chapin (with whom I also saw him perform in concert at my alma mater, Huntington High School), Judy Collins, Bob Dylan, Lead Belly Joni Mitchell, Phil Ochs, Odetta, Tom Paxton, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Pete Seeger (with whom he worked on the People’s Songs newsletter), and Suzanne Vega.

Brand was blacklisted in 1950 in Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio & Television, although he was never called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He continued to invite politically active artists onto his radio show.

Through the years, Brand recorded hundreds of songs – his own compositions and those of others — on some 100 albums. These ranged from collections of bawdy ballads to political campaign songs, drinking songs, sea shanties, vaudeville numbers and children’s songs, among others. His composition “Something to Sing About [This Land of Ours]” is viewed as an unofficial national anthem in Canada.

He also hosted the weekly Canadian children’s television series Let’s Sing Out that aired on CBC during the 1960s and featured such then-emerging talents as Leonard Cohen and Gordon Lightfoot, and was part of an advisory panel that created Sesame Street. Brand believed he was the namesake for the popular PBS children’s series’ character Oscar the Grouch. He also hosted the National Public Radio program Voices in the Wind during the 1970s, a top-rated Canadian show called Brand New Scene, and was host and co-producer of American Odyssey on New York’s WNET Channel 13, as well as a couple of children’s TV shows stateside. He also was engaged in writing for dozens of documentary films for which he won numerous accolades and awards; wrote and composed for and/or appeared in hundreds of television commercials; and authored a number of books and music manuals.

The curator of the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York, Brand also saw his songs covered by others. Doris Day’s rendition of “A Guy is a Guy,” Brand’s reworking of an old English pub song, was a #1 hit on the Billboard chart in 1952.]. He also wrote songs for the Broadway musicals A Joyful Noise and The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N.

Along with David Amram and the late Theodore Bikel, Brand was part of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA)’s first annual Wisdom of the Elders panel discussion in 2010.

Born Feb. 7, 1920 on wheat farm near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Brand moved with his family to Minneapolis, MN as a youngster and later to Chicago, before settling in Brooklyn, NY where he graduated from Erasmus Hall High School and Brooklyn College. While growing up, he aspired to be a writer and started writing professionally – for radio and television — while still in high school. Although he attended Brooklyn College to learn writing and journalism, he wound up earning a degree in psychology since those were the only courses in which he reportedly earned A’s. After a stint in the U.S. Army, he moved to NYC’s Greenwich Village and immersed himself in its then-burgeoning music scene during the 1940s American folk music revival.

Brand leaves behind his wife Karen and their son Jordan, three other children from a previous marriage — Jeannie, Eric (with whom I graduated from Stony Brook University) and James, and nine grandchildren.

Jason Isbell was named the winner for both Best Americana Album and Best American Roots Song for Something More Than Fine (Southeastern Records) and “24 Frames,” respectively. The singer-songwriter from northern Alabama, who was formerly a member of the Drive-By Truckers, has been garnering attention and cementing a reputation outside of Americana circles of late. Something More Than Fine debuted at #1 on Billboard Magazine’s rock, folk and country charts, while his tour in support of the album late last year included four sold-out nights at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium.

Isbell is also featured on slide guitar on a track on The Steeldrivers’ The Muscle Shoals Recordings, which captured a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. Inspired by the legendary music mecca that’s also home to its lead vocalist and guitarist Gary Nichols, the soulful bluegrass group’s fourth Rounder release features 11 new original songs –- most penned by Nichols and bandmate Tammy Rogers.

Mavis Staples was recognized for Best American Roots Performance for “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” (Anti). The Grammy for Best Folk Album went to the husband-and-wife banjo duo Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn for their eponymously-titled Rounder release. Buddy Guy received the Grammy Award for Best Blues Album for Born To Play Guitar (RCA Records/Silvertone Records), while funky Louisiana-based R&B keyboardist and singer Jon Cleary was the recipient of the Best Regional Roots Music Album for Go Go Juice (FHQ Records).

Grammy Awards nominees had been named in 83 categories. Besides the winners in the American Roots Music Field, AcousticMusicScene.com readers might be interested to know that Lori McKenna, along with co-writers Hillary Lindsay and Liz Rose, won a Grammy Award for Best Country Song for “Girl Crush” (recorded by country artists Little Big Town, who also were honored for Best Country Duo/Group Performance). “Girl Crush” was also in the running for the coveted Song of the Year award. Angelique Kidjo’s Sings (429 Records) was named Best World Music Album. Joni Mitchell was recognized for Best Album Notes for Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting To Be Dance (Rhino). The Grammy Award for Best Historical Album went to The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11 (Steve Berkowitz, Jan Haust & Jeff Rosen, compilation producers; Peter J. Moore, mastering engineer (Bob Dylan And The Band) on Columbia/Legacy).

Here is the complete list of nominees in the American Roots Music Field, with the winners denoted in boldfaced type.

And Am I Born To Die – Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn
Track from Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn (Rounder)

Born To Play Guitar – Buddy Guy
Track from Born To Play Guitar (RCA/Silvertone)

City Of Our Lady – The Milk Carton Kids
Track from Monterey (Anti)

Julep – Punch Brothers
Track from The Phosphorescent Blues (Nonesuch)

See That My Grave Is Kept Clean – Mavis Staples
Track from Your Good Fortune (Anti)

All Night Long – Raul Malo, songwriter (The Mavericks)
Track from Mono (The Valory Music Co.)

The Cost Of Living – Don Henley & Stan Lynch, songwriters (Don Henley & Merle Haggard)
Track from Cass County (Capitol Records)

Julep – Chris Eldridge, Paul Kowert, Noam Pikelny, Chris Thile & Gabe Witcher, songwriters (Punch Brothers)
Track from The Phosphorescent Blues (Nonesuch)

The Traveling Kind – Chris Chisel, Rodney Crowell & Emmylou Harris, songwriters
(Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell)
Track from The Traveling Kind (Nonesuch)

24 Frames – Jason Isbell
Track from Something More Than Free (Southeastern Records)

The Firewatcher’s Daughter – Brandi Carlisle (ATO Records)

The Traveling Kind – Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell (Nonesuch)

Something More Than Free – Jason Isbell (Southeastern Records)

Mono – The Mavericks (The Valory Music Co.)

The Phosphorescent Blues –Punch Brothers (Nonesuch)

Pocket Full Of Keys – Dale Ann Bradley (Pinecastle Records)

Before The Sun Goes Down – Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley (Compass Records Group)

In Session – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (Mountain Home Music Company)

Man Of Constant Sorrow – Ralph Stanley & Friends (Red River Entertainment)

The Muscle Shoals Recordings – The Steeldrivers (Rounder)

Descendants Of Hill Country – Cedric Burnside Project (Self)

Outskirts Of Love – Shemekia Copeland (Alligator Records)

Born To Play Guitar – Buddy Guy (RCA Records/Silvertone Records)

Worthy – Bettye LaVette (Cherry Red)

Muddy Waters 100 – John Primer & Various Artists (Raisin Music Records)

Wood, Wire & Words – Norman Blake (Plectrafone Records)

Béla Fleck And Abigail Washburn – Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn (Rounder)

Tomorrow Is My Turn – Rhiannon Giddens (Nonesuch)

Servant Of Love – Patty Griffin (PGM)

Didn’t He Ramble – Glen Hansard (Anti)

Go Go Juice – Jon Cleary (FHQ Records)

La La La La – Natalie Ai Kamauu (Keko Records)

Kawaiokalena – Keali’I Reichel (Punahele Productions)

Get Ready – The Revelers (Self)

Generations – Windwalker And The MCW (MCW Productions)

The theme for the 2016 conference is Makers – recognizing the craft and contributions of performing artists and all who are critical to the process of making art and bringing live performances to communities worldwide. The conference coincides with the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, and some sessions will focus on the performing arts as they relate to resolving societal challenges posed by conflict, violence social injustices, racial and religious discourse, poverty, and humanitarian crises, as well as opportunities for collaboration. Conference subthemes include Make Art, Make a Difference, Make Decisions, and Make Money.

“APAP members – artists, presenters and industry leaders – view APAP/NYC as an indispensible tool for conducting the business of performing arts, but when our members gather in New York city, non-members and enthusiasts wanting a glimpse inside the business of performing arts presenting also benefit,” said Mario Garcia Durham, APAP’s president and CEO. He cited pre-conference public events on Thursday and Friday (including the Wavelengths: APAP Global Music Pre-Conference featuring workshops, panels discussions and artist pitch sessions arranged by music PR firm Rock Paper Scissors) and the live streaming of select conference activities via Howlround.tv that began with last year’s conference. For information on the plenaries and other sessions to be live-streamed and to find a link to RSVP to them, visit www.apapnyc.apap365.org.

Folk and Roots Artists to Showcase Their Talents

As in years past, dozens of performers from the folk, roots and singer-songwriter communities in the U.S., Canada and several other countries will showcase their talents during the conference. Among them will be string-band duo The Aching Heart, Punjabi vocalist Kiran Ahlywolia, singer-songwriter Kristen Andreassen (with Jefferson Hamer), Asleep at the Wheel (masters of western swing), rollicking roadhouse blues singer and pianist Marcia Ball, Balsam Range (2014 IBMA Entertainers of the Year), Birds of Chicago, Blind Boys of Alabama, Grammy Award-winning banjo player Alison Brown, Buckwheat Zydeco, the rollicking Washington, DC-based roots music ensemble Bumper Jacksons, Caladh Nua from Ireland, Colcannon (Irish music), DakhaBraha (Ukrainian folkdrone Bjorkpunk quartet), indie-folk quartet Darlingside, Newfoundland harmonic duo Ennis Sisters, female international roots vocal trio EVA, Lauren Fox’s “The Songs of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen,” The Grahams, The Hillbenders Present The Who’s Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry, The Hunts (Virginia-based band of siblings), Isle of Lesbos (klezmer), Bettye LaVette, Los Llaneros (music of the Colombian and Venezuelan savannas), Makem & Spain (continuing the Irish tradition), Matuto (a NYC-based Brazilian bluegrass ensemble), Metropolitan Klezmer, David Orlowsky Trio (klezmer), singer-songwriter Eliza Paltouf, Americana band Parsonsfield, jig-rockers The Prodigals, singer-songwriter Carrie Rodriguez, Samite of Uganda, folk-rock jam band The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, New Orleans’ The Subdudes, Celtic-Americana duo Switchback, singer-songwriter Teddy Thompson, and the French-Acadian party music of Vishten.

Conference exhibition halls will again teem with booking agents and presenters eager to speak with them, and there’ll be a whole lot of networking opportunities.

A Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, APAP is a national service, advocacy and membership organization dedicated to developing and supporting a robust performing arts presenters field and the professionals who work within it.

I knew it could be dangerous to interview Vance Gilbert. He’s an outspoken person on and off the stage. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram got it right: “….the voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar playing of a god.” That sums up Vance Gilbert.. I attempted to ask some questions about race relations below and I admit . . . I come off looking like a naive and stupid white woman who has been living in a cave. Forgive me but heed what Vance has to say. If you’re not familiar with his catalog, do yourself a favor and check it out.

Do you have any favorite songs that you’ve written? If so, what is it about those songs that make you feel so attached to them?

I’ve never sung, played, or written better than I am doing right now. It’s odd to think that such improvement can happen in the span of five years or so, and for a post-50 individual. But I guess I’m simply a better student of songwriting and performing than I’ve ever been. So the past few years, the last song is always the one I’m closest to, and, I guess, the best — for that moment anyway. I have been writing in such a way that I constantly dare myself to place one of my songs up against one of most anyone else’s work that I admire — Richard Thompson’s, Joni Mitchell’s, Tom Waits’, Smokey Robinson’s, to extract from a monstrously long list. And I arrogantly expect to at least not look foolish. That’s where my songwriting currently has to live to come off of the notebook pages. And I think I’m wicked close. I rewrote Patty Griffins “Let Him Fly” with a second lyric from the guy’s point of view, and many have asked for the recording. I wrote an extra verse to Richard Thompson’s “Dimming of the Day” — and absolutely no one — has noticed.

Why shoot low? To close that gap between humility and “gosh, I’ll never quite be there,” is worth my potentially being seen as arrogant. So be it. If you throw no line you get no pickerel.

That said, “Unfamiliar Moon” seems to be sort of omnipresent on my and many other Vance fan lists.

You recently wrote a song called “26 Reasons” in response to the Newtown tragedy. It’s a very poignant story-song about a parent wanting to hold their child close because of the dangers outside their home. Have you gotten much reaction to this song since you released it on YouTube?

I’ve gotten some reaction. “Much reaction?” I’m not sure how relevant that question is. Did I get a lot of hits? Well, no, not like some other similarly posted yet far more amateur songs and tributes, some of which garnered ten times the “views” that mine did. I remind us all that that sort of tribute is not a contest. . . .

Did those who viewed “26 Reasons” and commented on it find it as poignant as you did, and, hopefully, healing? Yes, many, and still never ever enough.

Here’s a link to a YouTube video of Vance singing “26 Reasons”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY2ThyNzshA

I’m interested in the back story of “Old White Men.” Is it a true story about your friendships with some old white men when you were a kid?

Of course it is, and, of course, it isn’t. I made the song up. It’s poetry to express an idea in my brain. It would be pretty plebeian to answer whether it was real or not — simplistic really. It’s a movie put to a big poem. To honor our mentors is something we should all do at some point. To wonder whether there was an alpha situation that inspired the song is irrelevant reductionism. Look, I don’t mean to be any more acerbic about this than I am, but do we ask if “Millworker” actually happened to James Taylor?

What’s your favorite road story about touring with comedian George Carlin?

It was an education watching George work an audience. Particularly from behind him — from the stage curtain. You can see what he sees, and it was a true schooling. He was a tireless writer, a vociferous exploiter of the First Amendment, a genius adjudicator and distiller of human experience, and he was utterly unafraid of failure. Road stories? None. There was no time. What with looking at timing, the vocal diphthong, when to growl, rhythm, collapsing time (a technique where the artist does the exact same material but manages to tweak timing in such a way that a 60-minute show ends up 48 minutes and you don’t notice), school was always in session.

Vance, you were highlighted in many news stories in 2011 because your experience with racial profiling was an eye-opening experience. How did your experience on that flight affect your mindset about race relations in this country? [Writer’s Note: if you don’t know about the back-story here, do a search for Vance Gilbert airline incident.)

Eye opening to whom? I’d respectfully ask where that person has been.

See, many would view what happened as business as usual, black President or no. That’s pretty much me. Many people also think that because President Obama is in office means that woo hoo, racism is gone.

Driving from the airport in DC that afternoon in an impromptu rental car, where I couldn’t board that next flight because they had so delayed the connecting flight that I was “questioned” on, I saw a huge billboard, in southern Pa. — someone or some group spent a lot of money — questioning Obama’s citizenship, with “Show us a birth certificate.” A whole frigging billboard. How insulting is that? And please, anyone reading this, please don’t tell me that that’s not race relevant. OK, here comes a stretch, but Eisenhower is a pretty German name, you know, post WW2. No problem, no Sieg Heil worries as he went about offering help to the Middle East through the Eisenhower Doctrine, or worries about him instituting the Marshall Plan. But Obama?

The elephant in the room is dressed all Oooga Booga with Secret Muslim Spears and loin cloths. “What will happen to our women?” And if even saying that makes us all a little uncomfortable, then good.

Look, I’m not a total cynic. Look at what I do for a living. Things are terrifically different than they were just 20 years ago. But there’s no overnight flick switch from White Hoods to a Benneton all-colors commercial. We’re not there yet, I don’t care who’s in office. And I’m sure the other people of color you’ve spoken to have said the same, right? Do I see a colorblind world one day? Hell, I hope not. We all bring so much different good stuff to the table for the Big Life Meal. Problem is it’s the good stuff that gets overlooked.

Ellis Paul and You: There’s a seemingly unerring, ever sustained friendship. I have asked him about you. Now it’s your turn.

He is my litmus test. I judge what I do by what he has and hasn’t done, and divide by at least two.. Then you have my career. Superior poet, a true melodicist (I made that word up for him; he is it), an unendingly exploratory guitarist. And now you’ll see the true cynic in me — not about color, race, or any of that. The point is, I should have a very, very famous friend. It’s about timing. The “folk scene” didn’t really exist when Tracy Chapman or Suzanne Vega plied their trade at their beginnings. Then here we all come in a rush after them, mid-80s, and we create the loving little ghetto we are, many of us carving out broader careers than others, but getting by, with Ellis at the forefront. Dan Fogelberg (RIP), Jackson Browne, Stephen Bishop, none of them from the 70s could hold a candle to the package that is Ellis Paul. His songs are better stories than anyone who has done this — erudite, wry, wrenching. Right up there with the other underground noted writers who are at best “barely rich,” like Tom Waits and Loudon Wainwright III. There I go with the arrogant song placement thing again. Heed me here, he should be rich. But now there’s the Monsters of Folk and their albums. Know who these kids are? Most over 35 don’t. Spare me. They don’t hold a candle to Ellis Paul. I gleefully occupy his shadow.

And I hate him.

And as for friendship, he is the only one in the world I have ever told absolutely everything about me. Bar nothing.