Besides several jam-packed days and nights of music showcases, song swaps/in-the-rounds, open mics and informal jam sessions, the NERFA conference will also feature, informative panel discussions and workshops, one-on-one mentoring and peer & affinity group sessions, communal meals, awards presentations, an exhibit hall, a very special film screening, a reception, communal meals, a community meeting with NERFA’s volunteer board of directors, and lots of opportunities for schmoozing and networking. Singer-songwriters Flamy Grant and Janis Ian (best known for her early hits “Society’s Child” and “At 17”) will keynote the conference on Friday and Saturday nights, respectively.

Booking gigs may be the primary objective of some performers who attend the conference; and many presenters and folk DJs do scout out new artists and those whom they have not previously heard and seen in live performance. However, the conference experience is much more than that; it’s really about forging connections, building community, and taking advantage of learning opportunities that can help enhance and enrich your professional and personal lives.

The conference’s programming committee, under the leadership of Ron Olesko, a NERFA board member and the creator and director of Folk Music Notebook (a 24/7 online radio station and community hub), has arranged a diverse array of workshops, panel discussions and special events.

“We are excited to present a special pre-release screening of a new film You Got Gold: A Celebration of John Prine,“ said Olesko. Filmed during a star-studded two-night tribute to the legendary songwriter at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium in October 2022, its national theatrical release is slated for later in November. Prine’s widow, Fiona Whelan Prine, president of Oh Boy! Records and a producer of the film will engage in a Q & A session following the screening. Anna Canoni, president of Woody Guthrie Publications, will give a presentation about her grandfather and the newly released Woody at Home: Woody Guthrie’s Home Recordings, 1951-1952. Buskin & Batteau, Christine Lavin, John Forster, and Carla Ulbrich — who occasionally perform together as the April Fools –will share some very funny folk songs. Also slated is a Friday morning production of Ms. Music: The Jackie Alper Story, a folk musical written and directed by Andy Spence and Sarah Dillon, that honors the late folk music legend in the New York Capital Region and an influential figure in the folk revival.

Also on the conference schedule are the ever-popular On the Griddle instant critique session during which a panel of folk DJs listen to the first 60 seconds of a number of songs and provides snap feedback. Sonny Ochs, a longtime folk DJ and sister of the late troubadour and activist Phil Ochs, will again host a Wisdom of the Elders session. It will feature acclaimed singer-songwriters Janis Ian and Tom Chapin a, along with Terry Thai (Bob Dylan’s first manager and former wife of Dave Van Ronk). Olesko joins Ochs in posing questions to them in a conversational format. A number of workshops and panel discussions designed to help artists and presenters as they try to navigate the challenges currently faced by the folk community are also on the agenda.

Juried Showcases Slated for Friday and Saturday Nights      

Taking center stage during the conference will be 14 artists/acts selected by a panel of judges from among more than 160 submissions – with each to perform a 15-minute formal showcase set on Friday and Saturday nights – the most coveted performance opportunity at the conference. Showcasing their talents on Friday night will be Phil Henry, Judy Kass, Weary Ramblers, Connie Kaldor, Taylor Abrahamse, Elise Leavy, and Cassie and Maggie. Saturday night’s featured artists include The Levins, Sadie Gustafson-Zook, Beecharmer, Louie Lou Louis, Mystery Loves Company, Paul Colombino, and The Honey Badgers.

Judges for this year’s official juried showcases were Richard Cuccaro (publisher of Acoustic Live! in New York City & Beyond), Aaron Nathans (singer-songwriter and recording artist), and Mary Stewart (artistic director of Hugh’s Room Live in Toronto, Ontario)

On Thursday evening, the conference’s opening night, a Presenters Showcase will feature short performances by 14 artists/acts chosen by select folk DJs and concert & festival presenters. Listed in order of appearance, they are Haunted Like Human, Nico Padden, Christine Baillargeon, Nora Meier, Selena Tibbert, Halley Neal, Mirabelle Skipworth, Marc Apostoides, Sam Edelston, Ben Diamond (AKA Son Stone), Allison Strong, Francesca Panetta, Sam Berquist, and Mark & Jill.

Following the juried and curator’s showcases each evening, a number of presenters, performers and others will host private showcases in first floor hotel rooms that extend from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. AcousticMusicScene.com will host a series of song swaps in place of its longtime popular Midnight Hoot on Thursday overnight.

Here’s the AcousticMusicScene.com Showcase lineup:

10:30 p.m             Songs of Social Justice: Dan & Faith, Hank Stone

11:00 p.m.            Reggie Harris & Pat Wictor

11:30 p.m.            Long Island Sounds: James O’Malley, Roger Street Friedman

12:00 a.m.             Americana Folk: Lynn Crossett, Susan Kane, Carolann Solebello

12:30 a.m.             Mixed Bag: Miles & Mafale, Arielle Silver

1:00 a.m.                Funny Folk: Mark Allen Berube, Barry Rabin, Carla Ulbrich

1:30 a.m.                Tunes from Texas: Claudia Gibson, Mystery Loves Company

2:00 a.m.              Doug Mishkin, Stuart Markus

NERFA Leaders Share Their Thoughts on the Conference

“We are thrilled about our new location, nore central to our region in a beautiful and spacious hotel that offers ample opportunity for gathering on a single floor, which will encourage interaction and socializing,” Olesko told AcousticMusicScene.com. “It’s perfect for encouraging collaborations and sharing of best practices.”

Echoing his sentiments, Cheryl Prashker, president of NERFA’s board of directors, said:

“I am excited that we have brought the conference to Albany, New York for the first time. The Desmond Hotel is a perfect space for our community that gathers each year to share their music, their knowledge, and their passion for giving to each other. I cannot think of a more important thing at this time.” Expressing gratitude for a music community of which she’s been a part for more than 25 years, she said: “It has shaped who I am as a musician and a person. All I hope to be able to do is offer the young musicians coming up some love and support as they navigate the business of folk music.”

NERFA is one of five North American regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International (folk.org), a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion. Although folks from throughout North America attend its annual conference, NERFA’s geographic boundaries extend from the eastern provinces of Canada south to the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. More extensive information on the organization and its annual conference may be found online at www.nerfa.org and www.nerfaconference.org. The four other North American regions – Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM), Folk Alliance Region – West (FAR-West), Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA), and Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA) already held their 2025 conferences. Folk Alliance International’s next conference is set for January — — in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Editor’s Note: Besides hosting a late-night song swap-style artist showcase during the conference, as I have under the banner of AcousticMusicScene.com most years since the online publication’s inception in 2007, I will be assisting two of my artist PR clients (Lynn Crossett and James O’Malley) and offering some one-on-one mentoring sessions on artist bios and one-sheets, EPKS, social media promotion, and various other aspects of public relations and strategic communications. As president of the Folk Music Society of Huntington (a nonprofit presenting organization on Long Island, NY), I also curated and will co-host a private showcase under its banner on Friday overnight. As a past president and former 15-year board member of NERFA who was not at last year’s conference, I really look forward to this one.

The Accidentals are a female-fronted, high-energy, indie folk-pop-Americana power trio of multi-instrumentalists and singer-songwriters whose previous recordings have also charted — including “Wildfire,” the #1 song on the FAI Folk Charts in 2021.

Sav Madigan and Katie Larson front the band that was formed in Traverse City, Michigan in 2012 (and since 2023 has also included Katelynn Corll on drums). Madigan and Larson expressed thanks to the folk DJ community for spinning songs from their new album, which is officially released in August. “Growing up listening to radio (especially our local public radio station in Northern Michigan) exposed us to so many important music voices from around the world, alongside the voices in our community. We appreciate you for keeping the tradition alive. We co-wrote the songs on Time Out 3 with legends we admire, who taught us to write about truth and when things are hard – to lean into our community and create, create, create.

“Sommer” Is an upbeat and danceable Danish singing tune performed on fiddle, guitar, pump organ and double bass. It is the opening track on The Woods Have Shown Us, the debut album by Minnesota-based ensemble Ponyfolk that pays homage to old time American and Nordic music traditions with a mix of fiddle tunes and original songs, –both instrumental and vocal. Formed in 2014 by Clifton Nesseth (vocals, fiddle) and Paul Sauey (vocals, guitar, bass pedals), the chamber ensemble performs in a variety of configurations and includes Alex Jakob Nelson (keyboards, vocals), Mikey Marget (cello, vocals), Lewis Franti (percussion) and Aaron Hays (drums)

Here’s a link to listen to “Sommer” performed by Ponyfolk:

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

The July 2025 top albums, songs and artists charts are based on 10, 663 airplays reported on 354 playlists submitted by 96 different folk DJs. The number of reported spins is shown below in parentheses.

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.

Top Albums of July 2025

1. Time Out 3 by The Accidentals (72)
2. The Woods Have Shown Us by Ponyfolk (63)
3. Best Of by Steve Gillette (60)
4. New Skin by Judy Kass (50)
5. Personal History by Mary Chapin Carpenter (49)
6. Perfume Like a Full Moon by Ray Lambiase (44)
7. The Shape of a Sway by Eli West (43)
8. Wild and Clear and Blue by I’m With Her (42)
9. Saltwater Country by Grace Morrison (41)
10. Beautiful You: The Songs of Tom Prasada-Rao by Tom Prasada-Rao (40)
11. Gold and Coal by Cassie and Maggie (38)
11. Dark Ages by Eliza Gilkyson (38)
13. The Time That Remains by Mike Ward (34)
14. Little Songs by Rrinaco (31)
14. Lift Up This Old World by Hilary Hawke (31)
16. Bones of Trees by Tim Grimm (29)
16. Better Than I Was by Sara Trunzo (29)
18. In the West by The Horsenecks (27)
19. Been All Around This World by Special Consensus (26)
20. Burden of Hope by Peter Campbell (25)
20. Rituals by Watchhouse (25)
20. Signs of Life by My Politic (25)
23. Colored Edge of Memory by From the Dirt (24)
23. Shelby Means by Shelby Means (24)
25. House of the Dog by Grain Thief (23)
26. Paper Flowers by Tim O’Brien and Jan Fabricius (22)
26. Homegrown by Cole Quest and the City Pickers (22)
28. So Much I Still Don’t See by Sam Robbins (21)
29. Arcadia by Alison Krauss and Union Station (20)
30. Room on the Porch by Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo (19)
30. Reverie by Amble (19)
30. The Ballad of Charlie Avalon by Stillhouse Junkies (19)
33. Shelter From the Storms by Lennie Gallant (18)
33. Winged Victory by Willi Carlisle (18)
33. Cruel Joke by Ken Pomeroy (18)
33. The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy by James McMurtry (18)
33. Old Growth by Brad Kolodner (18)
33. A Teacher, a Preacher, and a Bad Farmer by Ernie Palmer (18)
33. A Tip Toe High Wire by Sierra Hull (18)
33. One Hour Mama -The Blues of Victoria Spivey by Maria Muldaur (18)
41. The Agonist by Leslie Jordan (17)
42. Tip of the Spear by Doug Mishkin (16)
43. Never Been Home by Sweet Megg (15)
43. Songs Worth Saving by Suzie Brown (15)
45. Kentucky Queen by Carla Gover (14)
45. What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow by Rhiannon Giddens &
Justin Robinson (14)
45. Oubliette by Jez Lowe (14)
45. Life Behind Bars by Vandoliers (14)
49. All I Got and Gone by Chris Walz (13)
49. An Inch of This New York Mile by Christian Rutledge (13)
49. Every Ghost by Kelsey Waldon (13)
49. We All Dream by Terry Kitchen (13)
49. Story the Crow Told Me by Ketch Secor (13)

Top Songs of July 2025

1.  “Sommer” by Ponyfolk (21)
2. “Woody’s Children” by Doug Mishkin (15)
3. “Someday We Won’t Live Here Anymore” by The Accidentals (14)
3. “We Are the Power” by Emma’s Revolution (14)
3. “Girl and Her Dog” by Mary Chapin Carpenter (14)
6. “Fly Away” by The Accidentals (13)
6. “Dark Night of the Soul” by Eliza Gilkyson (13)
8. “Grapes on the Vine” by Steve Gillette (12)
8. “The Old Trail” by Steve Gillette (12)
8. “No Kings in America” by Lisa Bastoni (12)
8. “Instrument for Good” by Mike Ward (12)
12. “Around the Horn” by Ray Lambiase (11)
12. “Better Than Me” by The Accidentals (11)
12. “Why Not” by Mike Ward (11)
12. “Thank the Stone” by Judy Kass (11)
16. “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)” by Colleen Kattau (10)
16. “Masters of War” by Abbie Gardner (10)
16. “Burden of Hope” by Peter Campbell (10)
16. “Honeybees” by Steve Kunzman (10)
16. “Cranberry Blossoms” by Grace Morrison (10)
16. “Shenandoah” by Ponyfolk (10)
16. “That Song About the River” by Steve Gillette (10)
16. “Letter to America” by Cindy Kallet (10)
24. “Look at Us Marching Now” by Judy Kass (9)
25. “Get Along Somehow” by Rrinaco (8)
25. “Too Good to Be True” by The Accidentals (8)
25. “Wild and Clear and Blue” by I’m With Her (8)
25. “One Small Step” by Sara Trunzo (8)
25. “Home Is a Song” by Mary Chapin Carpenter (8)
25. “Pastures of Plenty” by Cole Quest and the City Pickers (8)
25. “Five Alarm Fire on the 4th of July” by Ellis Paul (8)
25. “Radio Silence” by The Sharar Sisters (8)

Top Artists of July 2025

1. The Accidentals (74)
2. Woody Guthrie (66)
3. Ponyfolk (64)
3. Steve Gillette (64)
5. Mary Chapin Carpenter (58)
6. Eliza Gilkyson (55)
7. Ray Lambiase (52)
8. Judy Kass (50)
9. Nanci Griffith (49)
10. Eli West (44)
10. Tom Prasada-Rao (44)
12. I’m With Her (43)
13. Grace Morrison (41)
14. John McCutcheon (39)
15. Cassie and Maggie (38)
16. Mike Ward (35)
17. Bob Dylan (33)
18. Pete Seeger (32)
18. Tim Grimm (32)
20. Rrinaco (31)
20. Special Consensus (31)
20. Hilary Hawke (31)
23. Sara Trunzo (29)
23. Alison Krauss and Union Station (29)
25. The Horsenecks (28)
26. My Politic (26)
26. Watchhouse (26)
28. Bruce Springsteen (25)
28. Peter Campbell (25)
30. Grain Thief (24)
30. Maria Muldaur (24)
30. From the Dirt (24)
30. Shelby Means (24)
34. Beppe Gambetta (23)
34. Emma’s Revolution (23)
34. John Prine (23)
34. Amadou and Mariam (23)
34. Tim O’Brien and Jan Fabricius (23)
34. Cole Quest and the City Pickers (23)
40. The Heart Collectors (22)
40. Sam Robbins (22)

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.

A modern honky-tonk country roots harmony duo, Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms are based in the Pacific Northwest and have been touring together for years. Inspired by classic country, bluegrass, old-time, and Cajun music, the duo performs and records primarily original songs (many of which have been covered by others), along with some choice covers.

Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms performed live on WVDX Blue Plate Special in Knoxville, TN last fall. Here’s a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a0g-r6RIv. And here’s a link to enjoy the official video for “Gold in Your Pocket,” the title track from the month’s most-played folk album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6tWzoItEI8.]

Tom Prasada Rao, who died last year, was a gifted Maryland-based singer-songwriter. Although perhaps best-known for “$20 Bill (for George Floyd);” a widely covered song that he wrote in the wake of protests following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, his rendition of Chris Rosser’s “Christmas in the Ashram” has also drawn much radio airplay. Here’s a link to listen to that song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u8C5m7LKz4.

The December 2024 top albums, songs and artists charts are based on 12,269 airplays reported on 395 playlists submitted by 106 different folk DJs. The number of reported spins is shown below in parentheses.

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. Its 37th annual conference takes place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, February 19-23.

Top Albums of December 2024

1. Gold in Your Pocket by Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms (74)
2. The American Dream by Amy Speace (38)
3. Hydra by Eamon O’ Leary and Nuala Kennedy (37)
4. Last Leaf on the Tree by Willie Nelson (36)
4. Woodland by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (36)
6. Deep Feeler by Liv Greene (34)
7. Things Done Changed by Jerron Paxton (33)
8. Highway Prayers by Billy Strings (28)
9. Ride in the Light by Cindy Kallet (26)
10. Can’t Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney by Various Artists (25)
10. Now, O Now by Rakish (25)
12. Pathways by Julian Taylor (24)
13. In the Real World by Eric Bibb (23)
13. A Pinecastle Christmas Celebration by Various Artists (23)
15. Golden by Genevieve Racette (22)
15. Nowhere Next by Yonder Mountain String Band (22)
15. Storm Season by Tania Elizabeth (22)
15. Brighter Days by Dwight Yoakam (22)
19. Bluegrass Sings Paxton by Various Artists (21)
19. Trail of Flowers by Sierra Ferrell (21)
19. Backbone by Kasey Chambers (21)
19. Everything Must Go by Donal Hinely (21)
23. Thirteen by Colin O’Brien (19)
23. Love Your Mind by Twisted Pine (19)
23. Christmas in the Ashram by Tom Prasada-Rao (19)
23. Love, Dan by C. Daniel Boling (19)
27. Back on Track by Pure Prairie League (18)
27. Quiet Town by Mindy Smith (18)
29. Far Away With You by Woody Platt (17)
29. Earl Jam by Tony Trischka (17)
29. Come Darkness, Come Light: Twelve Songs of Christmas by Mary
Chapin Carpenter (17)
29. Lonesome Road by Joel Mabus (17)
29. Blue by Joni Mitchell (17)
34. Yule Like This by Mark Stepakoff (16)
34. Christmas by Bruce Cockburn (16)
34. Lantern in the Dark: Songs of Comfort and Lullabies by Edie
Carey and Sarah Sample (16)
34. Wintertide by Brittany Jean (16)
38. American Noel by Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer (15)
38. This Hen’s Gonna Crow by Colleen Kattau (15)
38. With a Guitar and a Pen by Tish Hinojosa (15)
38. Postcards of the Reckoning by Sean Kiely (15)
38. Woodbird by Jenny Burtis (15)
43. Waiting for Inspiration by Socks in the Frying Pan (14)
43. Just One Angel by Various Artists (14)
43. Where the Islands Overflow by Susan Graham Pepper (14)
43. Willie Watson by Willie Watson (14)
47. Ten Good Sermons by Eugene Ruffolo (13)
47. Heart of the Swan by Carla Sciaky (13)
49. As Above Now So Below by Crow and Gazelle (12)
49. Songs of the Celtic Winter Ii by Ashley Davis (12)
49. Ordinary Elephant by Ordinary Elephant (12)
49. Midwinter by Peter Mayer (12)

Top Songs of December 2024

1. “Christmas in the Ashram” by Tom Prasada-Rao (21)
2. “First United Methodist Day Care Christmas Show” by Amy Speace (16)
3. “Gold in Your Pocket” by Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms (15)
3. “River” by Joni Mitchell (15)
5. “Christmas on the Mekong” by Scott Cook (13)
6. “He’s Gone” by Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms (11)
6. “Christmas in the Trenches” by John McCutcheon (11)
8. “At Christmas” by Sofia Talvik (10)
9. “The Rites of Christmas” by Bett Padgett (9)
9. “Empty Trainload of Sky” by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (9)
9. “Silver Bells Ring” by Ana Egge (9)
9. “Wild Geese” by Liv Greene (9)
9. “Flowers” by Liv Greene (9)
14. “Shame Shame Shame” by Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms (8)
14. “Same Little Heart” by Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms (8)
14. “Celebration” by David Mallett (8)
14. “The American Dream” by Amy Speace (8)
14. “Must Be Santa” by Bob Dylan (8)
14. “Last of My Kind” by Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms (8)
14. “The Welcome Song” by Jan Aldridge Clark (8)
14. “Ride in the Light” by Cindy Kallet (8)
22. “Last Leaf” by Willie Nelson (7)
22. “Brown’s Ferry Blues” by Tony Trischka (7)
22. “Just Go to Bethlehem” by Chris Haddox (7)
22. “Keep Me in Your Heart” by Willie Nelson (7)
22. “The Christians and the Pagans” by Dar Williams (7)
22. “Auld Lang Syne” by Ed Sweeney (7)
22. “Lighthouse” by Sierra Ferrell (7)
22. “Alice’s Restaurant (The Massacree Revisited)” by Arlo Guthrie (7)
22. “Silent Night” by Jesse Lynn Madera (7)

Top Artists of December 2024

1. Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms (74)
2. David Mallett (61)
3. Bob Dylan (48)
4. John McCutcheon (45)
5. Amy Speace (44)
6. Willie Nelson (41)
6. Joel Mabus (41)
8. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (37)
8. Eamon O’ Leary and Nuala Kennedy (37)
10. Billy Strings (34)
10. Liv Greene (34)
12. Jerron Paxton (33)
13. Mary Chapin Carpenter (30)
13. Tony Trischka (30)
13. Cindy Kallet (30)
13. Joni Mitchell (30)
17. Pete Seeger (29)
17. Tom Prasada-Rao (29)
19. Eric Bibb (28)
20. Mark Stepakoff (27)
20. Brittany Jean (27)
22. Rakish (26)
23. Julian Taylor (25)
23. Bruce Cockburn (25)
25. Phil Ochs (24)
25. Paul and Mary Peter (24)
27. Judy Collins (23)
27. Genevieve Racette (23)
27. Stan Rogers (23)
27. John Prine (23)
27. Dwight Yoakam (23)
27. Carrie Newcomer (23)
27. Sierra Ferrell (23)
34. Willie Watson (22)
34. Mindy Smith (22)
34. Yonder Mountain String Band (22)
34. Tish Hinojosa (22)
34. Kasey Chambers (22)
34. Tania Elizabeth (22)
34. Bett Padgett (22)

Peter, Paul and Mary’s music and social activism helped to shape a generation. Through the years, the popular and inspirational folk trio who frequently sang out against war and injustice touched the hearts and consciences of millions of people worldwide, won five Grammy Awards, received eight gold and five platinum records, released six Billboard top 10 singles, had two #1 Billboard chart-topping albums and a dozen top 40 hits, and have been the subject of five PBS documentaries.

Peter Yarrow was born on May 31, 1938 in New York City. Although he took violin lessons as a child, inspired by folks like Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, he later switched to guitar. After graduating from Cornell University in 1959 with a degree in Psychology (although he also was a teaching assistant in an American folklore class), Yarrow returned to NYC and began playing the folk clubs and basket houses of Greenwich Village. After meeting music impresario Albert Grossman (who managed Dylan, Janis Joplin, Odetta, and others) who was eager to work with a folk harmony group, Yarrow set about with Grossman to launch one.

Peter, Paul and Mary – featuring Yarrow (guitar and tenor vocals), Noel Paul Stookey’s (guitar and gentle baritone vocals) and Mary Travers’ (contralto vocals) — formed in 1961, having made its first public appearance that fall at the Bitter End on Bleecker Street in New York City’s Greenwich Village. The trio’s eponymous debut album, released on Warner Brothers Records in May 1962, topped the charts that summer, remained in the Billboard magazine top 10 for ten months and the top 20 for two years, sold more than two-million copies, and featured the Grammy Award-winning hit single, “If I Had a Hammer.” That song, penned by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays of The Weavers (whom Yarrow viewed as early mentors), became an anthem of the civil rights movement and was performed by the trio on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, along with its rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” during the historic 1963 March on Washington at which the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

Peter, Paul and Mary’s rendition of “ Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” was released in the summer of 1963 and also became a big hit for the trio. Archival footage of the trio performing the song during the march appears in the 2014 PBS documentary 50 Years with Peter, Paul and Mary, produced and directed by Emmy Award-winner Jim Brown. As Yarrow observes in the documentary, it was time when “music began to inspire America, tweak its conscience, and articulate its dreams.”

Besides “Blowin’ in the Wind,” the trio also recorded Dylan’s “When the Ship Comes In” and Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” with its rendition of the latter song also landing in Billboard’s top 10. Yarrow served on the board of the Newport Folk Festival and helped to emcee the event in 1965 when Dylan went electric. Famously, as recreated in the widely acclaimed Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown that is currently screening at movie theaters, Dylan borrowed Yarrow’s guitar to play “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.”

Although Peter, Paul and Mary performed together over the span of 50 years, there were times when the trio was on hiatus with each of its members pursuing solo careers and projects. The first such break came in 1970, shortly after the release of the trio’s cover of John Denver’s “Leavin’ on a Jet Plane” and Yarrow’s conviction after pleading guilty to taking “indecent liberties” with an under-age girl who had come to his dressing room seeking an autograph in 1969, for which he served three months in prison.

While “Leavin’ on a Jet Plane” was its last number one hit, Yarrow penned “Light One Candle” for the trio in 1982 – while war was raging in Lebanon – that has since become a popular Chanukah song. Peter, Paul and Mary performed “Light One Candle” — whose lyrics commemorate a war of national liberation fought by the Maccabees, while also calling for peace in the Middle East – for several years before recording it on its 1986 studio album No Easy Walk to Freedom. Its moving lyrics include: “Light one candle for the terrible sacrifice justice and freedom demand. Light one candle for the wisdom to know when the peacemaker’s time is at hand.” The 1986 album’s title track is a civil rights anthem that Yarrow co-wrote with Margery Tabankin.

An anti-war activist, Yarrow helped to organize and produce a number of large events including peace concerts at NYC’s Madison Square Garden and Shea Stadium, as well as the 1969 “Celebration of Life” march and demonstration in Washington, DC during which some 500,000 people demanded an end to America’s involvement in Vietnam.

Yarrow was a major champion of other songwriters who particularly sought to nurture the talents of new and emerging ones who, as he put it, “write from the heart.” A founding board member of the Newport Folk Festival, he also developed and hosted a Sunday afternoon concert focused on emerging folk artists and songwriters – providing earl opportunities to such artists as Eric Anderson, Tim Hardin and Buffy St. Marie. Ten years later, in 1972, he partnered with Rod Kennedy, the late founder-producer of the Kerrville Folk Festival to establish what’s now the Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. The Kerrville New Folk Concerts have become a highlight of the annual festival that is geared towards singer-songwriters of various musical styles and is the longest continuously running festival of its kind in North America.

Yarrow believed that music could be a transformative tool for informing the ethical sensibilities of children. In 1999, he established Operation Respect — an educational nonprofit organization and program that seeks to teach children about tolerance and respect for each other’s differences – using music, video, and conflict resolution curricula developed by Educators for Social Responsibility. In an interview with AcousticMusicScene.com in 2010, Yarrow maintained that “all kids deserve to grow up accepting each other,” expressing concern that 160,000 American children refuse to go to school because of cruelty, according to the American Association of School psychologists. Citing “our need to inherit a peaceful world,” he noted that peace education was regarded as “seditious” when the Operation Respect program was launched. It has since been incorporated into the curriculum of some 22,000 U.S. elementary and middle schools.

A former board member of the Connecticut Hospice, where he also periodically sang for patients and staff, he was long active on behalf of the hospice movement.

Last April, Yarrow joined Stookey in in performing in Boston during a Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Peter, Paul and Mary were among the inaugural class of inductees.

As Yarrow told AcousticMusicScene.com in 2010: “”Music can be used as a powerful force in a world where we desperately need it … Music is something that binds the hearts and can bring us together.” Here’s a link to read that article: https://acousticmusicscene.com/2010/11/27/the-peter-yarrow-sing-along-special-airs-on-pbs-stations/

Many of Peter Yarrow’s songs and those by other songwriters that Peter, Paul and Mary covered over the decades have a timeless quality to them and multigenerational appeal. For Peter Yarrow, “Day is Done,” yet his music and that of Peter, Paul and Mary lives on. So too do his widow Mary Beth (the niece of the late Sen. Eugene McCarthy (D-MN), whom he met during a 1968 Democratic presidential primary campaign event and married the following year), his daughter Bethany, son Christopher, granddaughter Valentina, and lots of adoring fans.

Our folk community mourns his passing, as well as the recent deaths of Mike Brewer (a Missouri-based folk-rock singer-songwriter who, with his musical partner Tom Shipley, recorded the hit song “One Toke Over the Line”), David Mallet (the Maine-based singer-songwriter best known for “Garden Song”), and Josh White, Jr. (a Michigan-based singer and guitarist who followed in his late father’s folk and blues footsteps for decades).

The festival will feature more than 50 musical artists and acts performing daily from 11 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Sunday. Seven stages –including the shady, family-oriented Dulcimer Grove — will offer a diverse array of international, regional and hyper-local performers, daytime workshops, in-the-round sets featuring several artists/acts, and more. As in years past, many artisans will display and sell their crafts, while a wide array of food and beverages will be available for purchase.

This year’s festival headliners are, Gangstagrass (a group whose innovative sound is a fusion of bluegrass and hip hop) John Oates (formerly of the popular Philadelphia-based pop-soul duo Hall & Oates), and virtuosic banjo player Tony Trischka’s EarlJam – A Tribute to Earl Scruggs (in which the acclaimed bluegrass artist and backing band trace the musical story of the American bluegrass legend known for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style).

Among the other notable artists slated to perform during the festival are Adam Ezra Group, Calvin Arsenia, Cajun band Beausoleil avec Michael Doucet, Craig Bickhardt with Aislann Bickhardt, Johnathan Byrd, Ellis Paul, The Faux Paws, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, Dom Flemons, John Flynn, John Gallagher, Jr., The Great Groove Band, Alice Howe & Freebo, Jess Klein, A.J. Lee & Blue Summit, Crys Matthews, Pete Muller and the Kindred Souls, Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt, Celtic roots ensemble RUNA, The Secret Sisters, Shanna in a Dress, Alexis P. Suter Band, Stephen Wade, Nigel Wearne, and Windborne. A number of talented Canadian artists are on the bill – including Angelique Francis Band, Cassie & Maggie, J.P. Cormier, Dave Gunning, Miss Emily, and Genevieve Racette.

John Flynn, a Delaware-based singer-songwriter and social justice activist & troubadour, has been a frequent performer at the festival and closes it out this year on the Main Stage. “When people ask me how I’m doing I often say ‘better than I deserve.’ They always think I’m joking but I’m really not,” he told AcousticMusicScene.com. “I am so grateful for the chances I’ve been given in this life and that’s kind of how I feel about the Philadelphia Folk Festival. These folks have supported my music from the very beginning, and it’s a real honor to be getting a chance to appear with so many wonderful artists on the final night of this year’s fest.”

Artists Affiliated with Music Artists Cooperative (MAC) and Xtreme Folk Scene Also Slated to Perform

The Philadelphia Folk Festival also will feature performances by members of the Philadelphia Folksong Society’s Musical Artists Cooperative (MAC) and from The Xtreme Folk Scene, a Philadelphia-based music community dedicated to supporting dynamic and innovative folk music that pushes the boundaries of tradition and celebrates the fusion of various genres.

The Musical Artists Cooperative (MAC) is an initiative designed to support professional musicians who perform regularly in the local area, with many touring nationally as well. Slated to perform on the Lobby Stage on Friday, Aug, 16, between 1-5:30 p.m. are Last Chance, CubiZm, Jefferson Berry & the UAC, Bethlehem and Sad Patrick, Jersey Corn Pickers, Kicking Down Doors, The Hoppin Boxcars, and Meghan Cary. On Saturday morning, Aug. 17, Mara Levine and Gathering Time will perform on the Craft Stage from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., and on Sunday morning, Aug. 18, The Honey Badgers and The Edgehill Rounders play the Tank Stage from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Other MAC-affiliated artists set to perform during the festival include Emily Drinker, Aaron Nathans, David C. Perry, Jackson Pines, and Two of a Kind.

The Xtreme Folk Showcase, entitled “Anger, Hope, and Outrage,” will feature performances by Sug Daniels, Anarkkhipov, Persistent Resonators, A Day Without Love, and Matt Pless on the Tank Stage on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Xtreme Folk Scene also presents Xfest, an annual music festival featuring some of the edgiest folk artists in the greater Philadelphia area.

There’s also a festival within the festival for those who opt to camp onsite and enjoy some late-night musical revelry. The 40-acre campground – chock-a-block with tents – is home to a unique late-night scene, with singing by campfires and jamming into the early morning hours, as well as a Thursday night Camp Stage kickoff performance for campers only.

For more information about the Philadelphia Folk Festival – including stage schedules — and to order tickets, visit folkfest.org.

Anne Saunders, the festival’s artistic director, expressed delight that Falcon Ridge stalwarts Vance Gilbert, Nerissa & Katryna Nields, and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams are returning –along with Family Stage faves The Storycrafters — while Woodstock, NY-based husband & wife Americana duo Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams will make their Falcon Ridge debut. So too will Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and country-rock pioneer Richie Furay — who was a founding member of Buffalo Springfield, Poco and Souther, Hillman & Furay.

Among the other artists and acts slated to perform are the Adam Ezra Group, Annie & the Hedonists, The Black Feathers, The Ebony Hillbillies, Tret Fure. The Gaslight Tinkers, Craig Harris, Alice Howe & Freebo, David Jacobs-Strain & Bob Beach, Steve Postell, Sam Robbins, South For Winter, Amilia K. Spicer, and Annie Wenz.

The popular festival, which will feature four stages of music, officially kicks off on Friday afternoon, July 27, at noon. That’s when 13 artists have been invited to perform in the 2024 Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase on the festival’s Mainstage. Appearing in this year’s showcase are (listed alphabetically by last name, not in order of appearance) are Carlyle, Allie Chip, Heather Anne Lomax, Louie Lou Louis, Nan MacMillan, Sean Magwire, MQ Murphy, Alex Radus, Tina Ross, Ida Mae Specker, Mark Stepakoff, Tracy Walton, and Dylan Patrick Ward. Although there is no compensation for showcasing artists, each receives full admission, on-site camping and meals during the festival plus a guest pass

The Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase is not a contest, and artists won’t be judged per se during the festival, although the audience is surveyed as to which showcase artists they’d like to see return the following year to participate in a Most Wanted Song Swap. In evaluating submissions, a panel of three judges looked for high-quality performances of interesting, well-crafted, acoustic-based material. This year’s judges were Ron Olesko of Folk Music Notebook, singer-songwriter Carolann Solebello and Hannah Stritzker from Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Katie Dahl, Kemp Harris and The Honey Badgers –three of the four top audience-voted showcase performers from last year — will showcase their talents during this year’s Most Wanted Song Swap, as well as in other performance slots during the festival.

An Activities 4 Kids Area, Circle of Song acoustic community stage, Family and Workshop Stages, and Dance Barn also will begin on Friday afternoon, July 26, while evening Mainstage performances and nightly dancing are slated to follow the daytime programming. Mainstage performances extend until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, while Sunday’s musical festivities wrap up at 6 p.m. For those camping on the fairgrounds, there will be some late-night musical revelry featuring an array of informal jams, artist showcases and song circles that help foster a sense of “folk” community and a different kind of festival experience.

Tret Fure, a Virginia-based singer-songwriter also making her maiden flight at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, shares their excitement. “I’m delighted to be part of the lineup,” she said. “It’s gonna be a very moving weekend, I feel, on the heels of the recent passing of Tom Prasada Rao [a much-adored member of the folk and singer-songwriter community]. I know that there’ll be a lot of love for him there, so I’m just delighted to be part of the weekend.”

While live music may be Falcon Ridge’s main draw, festivalgoers also can enjoy a variety of ethnic and good ole Americana cuisines with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, while and array of international craft vendors will be plying and selling their wares.

Thursday Night Music Stage Precedes the Festival and Features Nine Talented Acts

Prior to the start of the actual festival, the aforementioned Pre-Fest Tastings & Farmers Market will take place on Thursday afternoon, while Scotten Jones (a co-founder of the Lounge Stage that hosted live music on Thursdays for many years) and Kathy Sands-Boehmer of Harbortown Music host a Thursday Night Music Stage beginning at 5 p.m.

“Being given the opportunity to present some artists on the Thursday Night Music Stage is a real labor of love,” said Sands-Boehmer, a former concert presenter who curates it. “So many folks come to the fest a day or two early so this is a great chance to experience music together before the actual festival begins on Friday.”

Artists slated to appear on the Thursday Night Music Stage include Mya Byrne, Goodnight Moonshine, Honeysuckle, Eva James, Kat and Brad, Heather Maloney, Miles and Mafale, Grace Morrison, and The Rough and Tumble.

“We are thrilled to be playing the Thursday Night Music Stage this year,” said Eben Pariser who, with his wife Molly Venter, is part of the New Haven, CT-based guitar & vocal duo Goodnight Moonshine. “Molly and I are old-school Falcon Ridge alums, having both won the emerging artist showcase with our respective bands, Red Molly and Roosevelt Dime,” He noted. “Even as everything changes, it’s nice to know that some things stay the same – like the feeling we get when we reunite with our Falcon Ridge community.”

Three-day festival tickets are $250 with camping or $175 without camping. Single -day tickets also are available for $65. All three-day tickets include Pre-Fest Thursday admission, while tickets for Pre-Fest Thursday also can be purchased for $20 at the gate. Children ages 12 and under will be admitted free, while tickets are heavily discounted for teens. The campgrounds will open by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24. More information on the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival can be found at falconridgefolk.com.

Alice Di Micele is a New Jersey-born and Oregon-based independent folk artist. Interpretations: Volume 1, released last month on her own independent label, is her 17th solo recording and features covers of songs by artists who have inspired her as performers and songwriters. These include Rev. Gary Davis, The Grateful Dead, Abbey Lincoln, Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Sting, Kate Wolf, and Neil Young. Di Micele released her first solo recording (Make a Change) in 1988 and also appears on a number of compilations. An environmental and peace activist, many of Di Micele’s own songs reflect on those themes as she seeks to uplift the human experience through her music.

[Here’s a link to view a video of Alice Di Micele performing her rendition of Kate Wolf’s “Give Yourself to Love”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm65iQs7taA.]

Natalia Zukerman, whose song “The Great Forgetting” appears on Hudson Harding Music’s Folk Now: Songs For These Times (Jan. 2024) compilation, is a musician, painter and educator. A daughter of violist –conductor Pinchas Zukerman and flutist-writer Eugenia Zukerman), she grew up in New York City, studied art at Oberlin, started a mural business in San Francisco, began her songwriting career in Boston, and now resides, writes, plays, teaches and paints in New York’s Hudson Valley. She has released eight independent albums and has toured internationally as a solo performer since 2005. Zukerman also developed and performs a multimedia one-woman show, The Women Who Rode Away. She was a Cultural Diplomat for the U.S. Department of State — playing concerts and conducting workshops with her trio.

[Here’s a link to listen to “The Great Forgetting” by Natalia Zukerman:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GeJa_fhz7k&list=PLhIof2GTkkV11AhZYVVYZ9rDlfieNzWoU&index=6&pp=iAQB8AUB.]

The January 2024 top albums, songs and artists charts are based on 12, 269 airplays reported on 414 playlists submitted by 108 different folk DJs. The number of reported spins is shown below in parentheses.

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.

Top Albums of January 2024

1 Interpretations: Volume 1 by Alice Di Micele (70)
2 More Than a Whisper: Celebrating the Music of Nanci Griffith by Various Artists (62)
3 Never Too Late: Duets With My Friends by Jim Kweskin (60)
4 By Request by Mustard’s Retreat (54)
5 Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90 (Live at the Hollywood Bowl) by Various Artists (48)
6 So Strong by Jaspar Lepak (42)
7 The Lonesome Chronicles by Kathy Kallick Band (41)
8 Dark Harvest by Malcolm MacWatt (38)
8 Together by Tom Paxton and John McCutcheon (38)
10 I Kept These Old Blues by Muireann Bradley (34)
11 Wanderlust by Elexa Dawson and Stanley Hotel (31)
11 Simple Motion by Eric Brace and Thomm Jutz (31)
13 Even Better on the Bad Days by Scott Sean White (29)
14 Old Ghosts by Diane Coll (28)
14 The Songs of Tom Gala by Free Wheelin’ Fools (28)
16 Two Singing Songs by Ben Gage (26)
17 American Patchwork Quartet by American Patchwork Quartet (25)
18 Fear of Falling Stars by Kristen Grainger and True North (24)
19 At the End of the Day by Sylvia Tyson (23)
19 The Breath Between by David Francey (23)
19 Ozark Symphony by Kelly Hunt (23)
22 A Recipe for Hope by Linda Marks (22)
22 Do You Recall by Dori Freeman (22)
24 Songs to Fight Oppression by Scott Free (21)
24 Ever Onward by Bob and Sarah Amos (21)
24 A Great Wild Mercy by Carrie Newcomer (21)
27 Au Coeur De l’Aube by Genticorum (20)
27 Colors and Covers by Brittany Jean (20)
29 City of Gold by Golden Highway and Molly Tuttle (19)
29 Lavender Moonshine by Tret Fure (19)
29 The Little in Between by Tim Grimm (19)
32 Old Cane Back Rocker by Darrell Scott String Band (18)
32 Endless Turn of Day Into Night by Last Birds (18)
32 Home by Eliza Gilkyson (18)
32 Under a Cathedral Sky by Ynana Rose (18)
36 Honeysuckle Switches: The Songs of Lucinda Williams by Amos Lee (17)
36 Weathervanes by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (17)
36 Praying’ for Sunshine by Suzy Bogguss (17)
36 Born Again Bluegrass by Marty Falle (17)
40 Bigger Than in Between by Sam Robbins (16)
40 I’m the Only One Who Will Tell You, You’re Bad by Goodnight Moonshine (16)
42 New Old Friends by C. Daniel Boling (15)
42 Songs for the Canyon by John Vincent Iii (15)
42 Mile 77 by Jody Stecher and Mile Twelve (15)
42 1988 by Lori McKenna (15)
46 Constellations by Meredith Moon (14)
46 Leaning In by Open Book (14)
46 Love and Rain by Annie and Rod Capps (14)
46 You’re the One by Rhiannon Giddens (14)
46 Rants and Romance by Rod MacDonald (14)
46 Folktown by Mark Leggett (14)

Top Songs of January 2024

Top Artists of January 2024

Tyler Childers’ Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven? was named Album of the Year, while Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That” was named Song of the Year. Billy Strings is 2023’s Artist of the Year, while The War and Treaty is the year’s Duo/Group of the Year, and S.G. Goodman is its Emerging Act of the Year. Americana Music Association members also voted SistaStrings as Instrumentalist of the Year.

Tyler Childers (Album of the Year – Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?) is a 32-year-old singer-songwriter whose music blends neo-traditional country, bluegrass and folk. Although the crooner released his first album independently in 2011, it wasn’t until 2017 that he started to get international attention with the release of Purgatory, a breakout album that helped to prompt invites to perform at Bonnaroo, the Grand Ole Opry, Lollapalooza, Merlefest, and the Newport Folk Festival. His latest release is 2023’s Rustlin’ in the Rain. [Here’s a link to enjoy Tyler Childers’ official video for “In Your Love”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II-L8Hq0_i4.]

Bonnie Raitt (Song of the Year) is an acclaimed singer-songwriter and guitarist. A ten-time Grammy Award-winner, she has been performing and recording for more than 50 years. “Just Like That” is the title track of her 21st album — her first new release in more than six years. It also was the recipient of a coveted Grammy Award for Song of the Year, as well as Best American Roots Song in the 65th annual Grammy Awards presented by The Recording Academy earlier this year. [Here’s a link to view the official lyric video for Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skd0XR3twCA.]

The War and Treaty (Duo/Group of the Year), the husband and wife team of Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, was named Duo/Group of the Year for a second consecutive year. The two, who are signed to Universal Music Group, have been performing together since 2014. Their musical repertoire features a mix of Americana, blues, country, folk, rock, and soul. The War and Treaty was previously named Artist of the Year in the 2020 International Folk Music Awards presented by Folk Alliance International and Emerging Artist of the Year in the 2019 Americana Honors and Awards. [Here’s a link to enjoy the official music video for The War and Treaty’s “Have You A Heart”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw9VYGlhQAQ.]

S.G. Goodman (Emerging Artist of the Year) is a Kentucky-born and based singer-songwriter who is signed to Verve Forecast Records. She performed at the Newport Folk Festival in 2021 and has released two albums that feature a mix of Americana, folk, country, and rock.

SistaStrings (Instrumentalist of the Year) is a duo comprised of sisters Monique (cello) and Chauntee Ross (violin), who have seen their musical fortunes rise since moving to Nashville from Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2011. As the daughters of two ministers, they grew up playing gospel and classical music in church, later expanding their musical horizons to include work on country, folk and hip-hop pr0jects. Last year, SistaStrings collaborated with Milwaukee-based singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey on his Righteous Babe album, Love Is the Only Thing – lending both their instrumental talents and vocal harmonies. They have also toured with both Allison Russell and Brandi Carlisle. [Here’s a link to enjoy the classic folk song “Shenandoah,” as performed by Peter Mulvey and SistaStrings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mLSPsKBXB0.]

Lifetime Achievement Honorees Also Recognized

Recognized as Lifetime Achievement, Trailblazer and Legacy Award honorees were The Avett Brothers, George Fontaine, Sr., Patty Griffin, Bettye LaVette, and Nickel Creek. The Avett Brothers are folk rocking’ North Carolina-based roots music icons and four-time Americana Award winners. George Fontaine, Sr. is co-founder and owner of New West Records, an indie label that has released nearly 500 albums – including many by Americana artists, as well as CDs and DVDS from the PBS television program Austin City Limits. Austin, Texas-based singer-songwriter Patty Griffin is a two-time Grammy Award-winner and 2007 Americana Artist of the Year, who has released nearly a dozen albums and been an inspiration to many other artists – a number of whom have covered her songs. Bettye LaVette, the 2023 Legacy Award recipient, is a soulful singer- and interpreter of American song, whose musical career spans more than 60 years. Nickel Creek is a multiple Grammy Award-winning, innovative and virtuosic acoustic Americana, bluegrass and folk-rock band.

“This year’s Lifetime Achievement honorees represent the diverse sounds that contribute to the American roots music canon,” said Jed Hilly, the Americana Music Association’s executive director. “Our honorees have inspired this community individually and have collectively changed the landscape of the music industry.”

Musical performance highlights from the 22nd Annual Americana Honors & Awards show will be featured on a special episode of Austin City Limits that is set to air on PBS television stations on November 25.

AmericanaFest, which began Sept. 22 and continues through Sept. 25, is a festival and conference filled with daytime panel discussions and seminars and evenings chock-full of artist showcases at venues throughout the Music City. Established in 1999, the Americana Music Association is a professional not-for-profit trade association whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music around the world. Visit americanamusic.org for more information.

The Grammy Award-nominated harmonic duo of Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan look forward to bringing a folk festival to their hometown. “For more than a decade, participating in folk festivals around the world has been far and away the most enriching and meaningful part of our careers,” they note in a news release announcing plans for the new festival in California’s largest and the U.S.’ second-most populous city. “We’ve come to believe in the modern folk festival as one of the most powerful tools for bringing a community together. So, for many years now we’ve been dreaming of bringing a folk festival to our hometown of Los Angeles, one of the epicenters of folk music.”

While acknowledging that “The tradition of folk music in LA — from Woody Guthrie’s radio days in the late 1930s, to the famously collaborative Laurel Canyon of the 1960s, to the alchemic community of musicians and comedians working here today — far exceeds the capacity of any event to properly capture,” the two describe the Los Angeles Folk Festival as their “attempt to present a vibrant snapshot of a national folk scene that draws deeply from its LA roots,” expressing hope that “it can grow into something that represents our rich and evolving community.”

Joining The Milk Carton Kids in performing at the festival will be Sierra Ferrell, Davíd Garza & Freaklórico, Haley Heynderickx, Tré Burt, Valerie June, Willie Watson, Waxahatchee, and other special guests. Tickets for and more information about the two-night event may be found online at theford.com.