Poss frequently acknowledged that he didn’t have a very conventional career path. “I used to joke that I had the perfect qualifications for being in the music business,” Poss once wrote. “I had no business training; in fact, no formal music background either but I teach Sociology of deviant Behavior.”

After graduating from Duke, he took a position with County Records in Floyd, Virginia. Poss and its owner, Dave Freeman, launched Sugar Hill Records in 1978, embracing what Poss called “contemporary music grounded in traditional music roots.” A self-described “wayward academic in an entrepreneurial role,” Poss assumed full control of the label in 1980, and moved it to Durham. He operated the label from there until its sale to Welk Music Group 20 years later. He became the group’s chairman in 2002. It’s now part of Concord Music, which also owns Rounder Records.

Among the many artists of note who recorded for Sugar Hill Records during Poss’ tenure were Pat Alger, Byron Berline, Ronnie Bowman, Sam Bush, Guy Clark, Mike Cross, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Douglas, Sara Evans, Cathy Fink, Butch Hancock, Hot Rize, The Infamous Stringdusters, Chris Hillman, Wanda Jackson, Sarah Jarosz, Robert Earl Keen, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Lonesome River Band, Lyle Lovett, Nashville Bluegrass Band, Nickel Creek, Tim O’Brien, Dolly Parton, Dirk Powell, The Red Clay Ramblers, Peter Rowan, Ricky Skaggs, Darrell Scott, Marty Stuart, Bryan Sutton, Chris Thile, Townes Van Zandt, Doc Watson, and Jesse Winchester.

“The identity peg for Sugar Hill is having that traditional connection to contemporary music,” Poss Told Blue ridge Outdoors in 2008. “Some have taken to describing a ‘Sugar Hill Sound,” but I am not going to try to define that. To me, it’s what connect Doc Watson to Chris Thile, ricky skaggs to Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt to dolly Parton. They all exhibit a rootedness in their contemporary expressions of music. I like it because the music comes from a place. It’s not prefabricated or manufactured.”

Douglas and Skaggs had been part of a bluegrass group called Boone Creek, whose One Way Track album was Sugar Hill’s first release in 1978. In a May 18 Facebook post, Douglas wrote of Poss: “His dream was to have a label that mirrored the same idea as Sam Phillips and his famous Sun label, which catered to a specific audience and created a new genre, Rockabilly Plus. Barry knew an audience was there for a specific form of music (bluegrass) and there were certain bands who could grow that audience and the music would evolve with the growth of that audience.”

Douglas, who also produced a number of recordings for Sugar Hill Records, noted that he and Poss were “very close friends. Confidants really. He was like my wingman and brother at any event we collided with. We would spend hours talking about the direction of the music and the parameters he wanted his label to maintain no matter the current climate.” Poss was also godfather to Douglas’ daughter Nola. “Barry loved my family, and Jill and I, along with our children, will forever press his memory closer to our hearts.”

In addition to spending many years at the helm of Sugar Hill Records, Poss was a founding board member of the Bluegrass Hall of Fame & Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky and helped to launch the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA).

“Barry Poss was not just a champion of roots music and the artists that made it, but he was instrumental in the founding of our organization,” Ken White, IBMA’s executive director, said in a statement. “For that and so much more, we will always be grateful.”

Poss was a recipient of the IBMA’s Distinguished Achievement Award in 1998. The Americana Music Association also honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006 in recognition of Sugar Hill’s pivotal role in both preserving and reinvigorating traditional music, while he was inducted into the Oak Ridge Music Hall of Fame in 2023.

Closer to home, Poss also served on the boards of the Carolina Theater, the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, MerleFest, the North Carolina, Folklife Institute, and WUNC-FM.

While many artists and others have shared tributes to Poss since his passing, for his part Poss once said: “It’s the artists who make the music to which I’m the most indebted. They had something important to say. They needed to be heard. And I wanted to be part of their creative lives – because it mattered.”

Young — who cited folksinger Pete Seeger and country blues artists Mississippi John Hurt and Lightnin’ Hopkins among his influences — formed The Youngbloods in the 1960s along with Jerry Corbitt (guitar, vocals) Lowell “Banana” Levinger (guitar, keyboards) and Joe Bauer (drums). The group drew international fame for its recording of “Get Together,” which was used in a public service commercial by the National Council of Christians and Jews and became an anthem for the civil rights movement.

After The Youngbloods disbanded in 1972 following the November release of its final album, High on a Ridge Top, Young –- who was born Perry Miller on November 22, 1941 in Queens, New York and adopted his stage name in the early 1960s after leaving college to become a full-time musician — resumed a solo career. Then living in California’s San Francisco Bay Area, he released a number of critically acclaimed albums for Warner Brothers Records. Among them were Together (1972), Song for Juli (1973, which remained on the Billboard 200 for nearly a year), Light Shine (1974), Songbird (1975), On the Road (1976 live album), and Love on the Wing (1977). He signed with Elektra Records in 1978, releasing American Dreams that year and The Perfect Stranger (featuring collaborations with Carly Simon and Michael McDonald) in 1982. The Highway for Heroes, his 1987 recording for Cypress Records was not as commercially successful. He and his wife Connie launched their own label, Ridgetop Music, out of their own home in Inverness, California in 1993 — both to re-release his 1970s catalog on CD as well as some new music — Makin’ It Real (1993), Swept Away (1994, featuring solo slack-key acoustic songs), and Crazy Boy (1995 compilation album).

After a forest fire destroyed their house in October 1995, Young, his wife and their two children re-located to a coffee plantation in Hawaii that he had purchased years earlier. His son Cheyanne Young, godson Ethan Turner, and former Youngbloods partner Lowell “Banana” Levinger joined Young on the album Walk the Talk (2001). That was followed by Songs for Christmas (2002) and the Hawaii-influenced album Living In Paradise on Artemis Records (2004). Young and his family moved to Aiken, South Carolina – Connie’s hometown – in 2006.

A prolific songwriter – whose songs often focused on themes of environmental awareness, peace, unity and social justice – Young was also an activist who was committed to making the world a better place. Among other things, he joined such notable artists as Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Bonnie Raitt, and James Taylor and Crosby, Stills & Nash in performing as part of a number of No Nukes concerts in the late 1970s organized by Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE). Other artists have also covered several of his songs. These include “Darkness, Darkness,” which Robert Plant recorded in 2002 and for which he received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance and “Sunlight,” which Three Dog Night included on its 1970 release Naturally. Both songs previously appeared on The Youngbloods third album, Elephant Mountain (1969), which was produced by Charlie Daniels.

Although he experienced chronic Lyme disease and other health challenges in his later years, after taking a hiatus of a few years following the Lyme disease diagnosis in 2012, Young continued to perform and record until 2023. His last releases were Dreamers (2019) and Highway Troubadour (2020), both on BMG. Dreamers features topical songs on immigration and the #Me-too movement, among others, while Highway Troubadour is a solo acoustic live in-studio recording whose 11 tracks include two songs from Dreamers and reworked arrangements of a number of his classics. Although Young continued to perform live into 2023, Highway Troubadour was his final recording.

During his later years, Young also launched a podcast series called Tripping On My Roots featuring interviews, musical performances, collaborations with some of his musical peers, and lots of storytelling. He also released a series of videos called One Song at a time featuring him performing songs that spanned his entire career, while accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. Episodes of his podcast may be found on his website, jessecolinyoung.com.

Jesse Colin Young leaves behind family, friends, a legion of fans, and a vast catalog of songs and recordings.

[Here’s a link to enjoy the official video for “American Dreaming” by Sierra Ferrell: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V8e9nbsq-18.]

“It’s so unusual for anyone to win four Grammys in any category,” Larry Groce, producer of the nationally syndicated radio show Mountain Stage on which Ferrell appeared in 2020, told Charleston, WV television station WSAZ3. “We watched her grow up and watched her perform when she was a teenager and watched her grow into what she is now.”

For a profile in Rolling Stone magazine last year, Ferrell –- whose music is an eclectic mix of bluegrass, folk, gypsy jazz, honky-tonk country, and old-time — said: “I want to let other people know, younger generations coming up, that you can do whatever you want… Don’t think you only have to be one way. You can be it all.”

Ferrell’s interest in music was stirred at an early age. Raised by a single mom, she played clarinet and sang in her school choir as a child and was a vocalist with a Grateful Dead cover band during her teens. However, she particularly enjoyed 90s folk-rock while growing up and also picked up the guitar and fiddle. While in her 20s, Ferrell, now 36, traveled cross-country by train — playing freight-train boxcars, truck stops and alleyways, and busking on the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana and Seattle, Washington.

After self-releasing two albums – Pretty Magic Spell (2018) and Washington by the Sea (2019), which she sold while busking and via Bandcamp, she drew the attention of producer Gary Paczosa during one of her frequent live performances during Honky Tonk Tuesdays at Nashville’s American Legion Post 82. With his assistance, she signed to Rounder Records in 2019. Trail of Flowers, released last March, is her second full-length recording for the label following 2021’s critically acclaimed Long Time Coming, an album that also featured Billy Strings and Sarah Jarosz. In addition to those two notable artists, Ferrell has collaborated with The Black Keys, Zach Bryan, Lukas Nelson (Willie’s son), Old Crow Medicine Show, Margo Price, and Post Malone (with whom she is slated to open some shows later this year).

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Billy Strings, Kacey Musgraves, and Chris Stapleton Also Win Grammys.

Besides Ferrell, winners in the Grammy Awards’ American Roots Music Field included Gillian Welch & David Rawlings for Best Folk album (Woodland), Billy Strings for Best Bluegrass Album (Live Vol. 1, and Kalani Pe’a for Best Regional Roots Music Album (Kuini). Other roots artists awarded Grammys included Kacey Musgraves for Best Country Song (“The Architect”), Chris Stapleton for Best Country Solo Performance (“It Takes a Woman”), and Ruthie Foster for Best Contemporary Blues Album (Mileage). Musgraves and Stapleton also were among the nominees for Best Country Album, an award that went to Beyonce for Cowboy Carter, while Musgraves also was in the running for Country Solo Performance and with Madi Diaz for Best Americana Performance.

Also featured will be Buddy Miller, the show’s musical director, leading his Americana All-Star Band comprised of Don Was, The McCrary Sisters. Bryon Owings, Jerry Pentecost, Jen Gunderman, Jim Hoke, and Larry Campbell. Check your local TV listings or click on the link that follows (https://www.pbs.org/tv_schedules/), insert your zip code and search for “Americana” to find out when the show airs in your area.

Winners in the 2024 Americana Honors and Awards were recognized during an awards show in Nashville, Tennessee in September that is a highlight of AMERICANAFEST, a six-day festival and conference celebrating American roots-inspired music that is hosted by the Americana Music Association.

Sierra Ferrell’s Trail of Flowers (produced by Eddie Spear and Gary Paczosa) was named Album of the Year, while Ferrell was named Artist of the Year. The Duo/Group of the Year award was bestowed on Larkin Poe, while The Red Clay Strays were named Emerging Act of the Year and Grace Bowers was named Instrumentalist of the Year. “Dear Insecurity” by Brandy Clark& featuring Brandi Carlile (written by Clark and Michael Pollack) was named Song of the Year.

In addition to the six awards that were voted on by members of the Americana Music Association, Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Dave Alvin, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Rev. Gary Davis, Shelby Lynne, Don Was, and Dwight Yoakam

AMERICANAFEST annually draws thousands of artists, fans and music industry professionals to Nashville. It features daytime panel discussions and seminars and evenings chock-full of showcases throughout the Music City. The Americana Music Association (americanamusic.org), which produces the event, is a professional not-for-profit trade association whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music around the world.

Adam Ezra Group, Alison Brown, Joe Crookston The Mammals, Mustard’s Retreat, The Nields, Joan Osborne, Shanna in a Dress, The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Uprooted Band, and Susan Werner are among the artists slated to appear. Also showcasing their talents will be Allison Leah, John John Brown, Ian Campbell (the festival’s artistic director), Riley Cotton, The Currys, Nick Depuy & The Big Fly, Deirdre Flint, Girl Blue, Phil Henry, Kirsten Maxwell, The Midnight Anthem, Adelaide Punkin & Something Simple, Tall Travis, Shawn Taylor, Tracy Walton, Sierra West, and more. A number of artists will also conduct workshops.

“I’m excited for this year. We feel like we are just making this space for others to bring their magic,” said Ian Campbell, who has curated the festival since its inception in 2018. “We are so excited to see how many things are growing organically in the festival … jam tents are doing so many great things … “the “art” part of the festival has a life of its own … so many things to do, and people just keep ‘bringing it’ more than the year before … It’s like we have a space where a community is being built, and it’s beautiful.”

Although still relatively small, the festival has grown each year – with new elements and layers being added to it. In addition to dozens of musical acts on several stages, hour-long Sunset Song Swaps will take place each evening, while daytime classes and workshops are also on the festival schedule. Workshops will focus on such topics as photography, busking, jamming, ukulele, songwriting, hand-drumming, stories and art, and studio pre-production, guitar maintenance and set-up. “We’ll also have a bunch of art workshops – ranging from painting, to prints and book prints, to “immortal jellyfish umbrella” making (conducted by Tink from The Slambovian Circus of Dreams), to pumpkin carving, and more,” said Campbell. Shanna in a Dress leads a songwriting workshop, while John John Brown hosts one on Stories and Art: Lessons from Strangers, and Joe Crookston leads a special print workshop. “Ace Hardware is creating a very cool lounge, and there will also be games and hula hoops and carnival acts,” Campbell added.

“What is most exciting for me is that people are taking it upon themselves to simply make this event cooler, warmer, nicer, kinder,” he said. “We are all making a beautiful community that we get to live in and enjoy, even if just for a few days.”

For his part, Walton, a multi-instrumentalist who also owns a recording studio near Goshen, told AcousticMusicScene.com last year “Black Bear has quickly become one of my favorite festivals in New England.” He performed as half of the duo Belle of the Fall during the festival’s inaugural year (2018), returned to perform a solo set, participate in a songwriters’ round, and lead a workshop last year. In addition to showcasing his own talents again this year, he looks forward to seeing performances by West and Cotton, two of the artists whom he has recorded and played with.

Festivalgoers who opt to camp at Goshen Fairgrounds can also enjoy late-night musical revelry in the campgrounds.

After coming to the Black Bear Americana Music Fest for the first time last year, Alan Rowoth will again host unplugged, late-night song circles under the Big Orange Tarp beginning after the music ends on the main stage on Friday and Saturday nights, as well as one on Thursday night preceding the annual start of the festival.
Inspired by the late-night song circles that he experienced at the Kerrville Folk Festival in the Texas Hill Country, Rowoth has sought to replicate what he calls “the incredibly intimate nature of this listening experience” at other festivals. His Big Orange Tarp has been a late-night staple at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (which now also takes place at the Goshen Fairgrounds) and at Planet Bluegrass-sponsored festivals in Colorado.

Stuart Kabak, an upstate New York-based singer-songwriter, who has curated and hosted late-night music at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival for years, brings Pirate Camp’s large canopy tent and its esprit de corps to Black Bear for the first time this fall. The less-structured, more informal Jubilee Jam Tent also returns this year, while singer-songwriter Adelaide Punkin hosts a jam area during the festival as well.

For Tickets and More Information on the Festival

Day tickets and multi-day camping tickets for the Black Bear Americana Music Festival may be purchased online at blackbearmusicfest.com, where you will also find more information on the festival – including the complete artist lineup and schedule.

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.

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

Best Folk Album: Revealer – Madison Cunningham

Best American Roots Performance: “Stompin’ Ground” – Aaron Neville With The Dirty Dozen Brass Band

Best American Roots Song: “Just Like That” – Bonnie Raitt, songwriter (Bonnie Raitt)

Best Americana Album: In These Silent Days – Brandi Carlile

Best Bluegrass Album: Crooked Tree – Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

Best Traditional Blues Album: Get On Board – Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder

Best Contemporary Blues Album: Brother Johnny – Edgar Winter

Best Regional Roots Music Album: Live At The 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival – Ranky Tanky

Best Americana Performance: “Made Up Mind” – Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Raitt also was the winner of the coveted Song of the Year award for “Just Like That” in the general field, while Brandi Carlile was recognized for Best Rock Performance for “Broken Homes” and Best Rock Song (“Broken Homes”) along with her co-writers Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth. Also of possible interest to AcousticMusicScene.com readers: Willie Nelson received Grammy Awards for Best Country Solo Performance (“Live Forever”) and Best Country Album (A Beautiful Time), while Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition) was named Best Historical 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 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.

Janis Ian, Molly Tuttle, Aoife O’Donovan, and Anais Mitchell Named 2023 International Folk Music Award Winners

A few nights prior to the Grammy Awards, Molly Tuttle & The Golden Highway’s Crooked Tree was named Album of the Year in the International Folk Music Awards presented by Folk Alliance International on the opening night of its annual conference in Kansas City, Missouri. In addition to winning the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass album, Tuttle was among the nominees for Best New Artist.

Although she did not win any of the three Grammy Awards for which she was nominated, Aoife O’Donovan – who also is part of the trio I’m With Her (with Sara Watkins and Sarah Jarosz) and formerly co-founded and fronted the string band Crooked Still – shared the International Folk Music Awards’ Song of the Year honors with Anais Mitchell. O’Donovan was recognized for “B61,” while Mitchell, who created the hit Broadway musical Hadestown, was recognized for “Bright Star.”

Here’s a link to view the official video for Aoife O’Donovan’s “B61” and a link to view the official video for Anais Mitchell’s “Bright Star.”

Janis Ian was named Artist of the Year. The singer-songwriter best known for her early hits “Society’s Child” and “At 17,” also was a recipient of an Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Award (Living) — along with the late Josh White (Legacy) and Oh Boy Records (Business/Academic). Ian was present in Kansas City to accept the award and share some remarks, while Josh White, Jr. accepted the award on behalf of his father – the most popular and influential Black folk singer of the 1930s and 1940s. Fiona Prine and her son accepted the award on behalf of their late husband/father John Prine, the revered, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and label co-founder. Following their remarks, Iris DeMent (who previously sang with Prine) and The Milk Carton Boys performed a couple of Prine’s songs.

In addition to the album, song and artist of the year awards that were voted on by FAI members, a number of other International Folk Music Awards were presented.

Singer-Songwriter Alisa Amador, a winner of NPR Music’s prestigious Tiny Desk Contest, was the recipient of the Rising Tide Award that was launched in 2021 to celebrate a new generation (under 30) artist who inspires others by embodying the values and ideals of the folk community through his/her creative work, community role, and public voice.

The Clearwater Award recognizing a festival that prioritizes environmental stewardship and demonstrates public leadership in sustainable event production was presented to the Shambala Festival — a four-day contemporary performing arts festival in Northamptonshire, England.

The People’s Voice Award was bestowed upon Leyla McCalla for unabashedly embracing social and political commentary in her creative work and career. The New Orleans-based artist, who grew up as part of a Haitian family in New York, is a multi-instrumentalist and composer. Besides being a solo artist, she has been a member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Our Native Daughters.

A recording of the International Folk Music Awards show appears on Folk Alliance International’s YouTube channel. Here’s a direct link to it.

Founded in 1999, 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.

Editor’s Note: As a Folk Alliance International board member (2014-2023), it was my pleasure to present a Spirit of Folk Award to Steve Edge, a veteran folk DJ on CITR and longtime concert & festival presenter in Vancouver, Canada. Other Spirit of Folk Award recipients included Amy Reitnouer Jacobs (the executive director of The Bluegrass Situation and a former FAI board president), Marcy Marxer (a multi-Grammy Award nominee and recipient, along with her partner Cathy Fink), Adrian Sabogal (a musician, producer, researcher, and founder of Marimbea – an organization dedicated to the well-being of the Afro-Colombian communities from Colombia’s South Pacific coast), and Pat Mitchell Worley (the longtime co-host of the syndicated roots radio show Beale Street Caravan, as well as the president and CEO of the Memphis-based Soulsville Foundation that seeks to perpetuate the soul of Stax Records).

As previously reported on AcousticMusicScene.com (click here), winners in the 2022 Americana Honors & Awards were recognized during an awards show in Nashville, Tennessee on September 14 that is a highlight of AMERICANAFEST, a six-day festival and conference celebrating American roots-inspired music that is hosted by the Americana Music Association. Outside Child by Allison Russell was named Album of the Year, while “Right On Time” performed by Brandi Carlile (and written by her, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth) won Song of the Year. Billy Strings was named Artist of the Year, while The War And Treaty was tapped as Duo/Group of the Year. Sierra Ferrell took home Emerging Act of the Year honors, while Larissa Maestro was named Instrumentalist of the Year.

In addition to the six awards that were voted on by members of the Americana Music Association, several lifetime achievement and other special awards were presented. Fairfield Four were the recipients of the Legacy of Americana Award, while lifetime achievement awards for performance and executive went to Chris Isaak and Al Bell, respectively. The folk-rocking Indigo Girls received the Spirit of Americana/ Free Speech in Music award, while the President’s Award went to the late country music great Don Williams.

Circle Network is included in many U.S. cable providers’ channel line-ups or via your TV’s digital antenna. Circle is also available on such streaming platforms as Peacock, the Roku Channel and XUMO. In addition, ACL Presents: The 21st Annual Americana Honors, a special episode of Austin City Limits featuring performance highlights, will air on PBS stations in early 2023. Check your local listings for dates and times.

AMERICANAFEST annually draws thousands of artists, fans and music industry professionals to Nashville. It features daytime panel discussions and seminars and evenings chock-full of showcases throughout the Music City. The Americana Music Association (americanamusic.org), which produces the event, is a professional not-for-profit trade association whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music around the world.

Adam Ezra Group, Shawn Colvin, Vance Gilbert, Martin Sexton, and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams are among the artists slated to appear. Also showcasing their talents will be Allison Leah, John John Brown, Ian Campbell (the festival’s artistic director), Bruce T. Carroll, Scott Cook with Pamela Mae, KJ Denhert, Kala Farnham, Deidre Flint, Abbie Gardner, Goodnight Moonshine, Kyle Hancharick, Phil Henry, Mike Horyczun, The McKrells, The Meadows Brothers, Matt Nakoa, Shanna in a Dress, Victor Wainwright and the Train, Tracy Walton, and more. Artists will also conduct workshops.

Ian Campbell, who curates the festival, said that Black Bear Americana Music Fest was borne out a conversation with his now partner, Beth, who told him that she was thinking of creating a festival and asked if , with his experience in the music business, would he be interest. “She called another friend, Evan Dobos, who mis a whiz at web design and branding – and then I called some old friends who I knew from 1984 when they were a small DJ company,” he said, noting that “the now huge” Powerstation Events partnered with them in producing the festival.

He acknowledged that the festival drew a “pretty scant attendance” its first year. “We tease that all six people who were there had an amazing time,” Campbell said. “Artists like Vance Gilbert and Joe Crookston stood on the stage and told the small crowd: ‘You can say you were here in the beginning of what is going to be a huge festival.’”

From its humble beginnings, the festival has grown each year. Although still relatively small, Campbell and his team keep adding new elements and layers to the festival. “This year will have 50+ acts, all kinds of workshops – from songwriting and studio pre-production to guitar, open tuning, ukulele and hand drums all the way to [making] bourbon-candied bacon and Slambovian jellyfish umbrellas,” he noted. “We have showcase and jam tents, and just all kinds of things going on all the time. There won’t be a dull moment, if you don’t’ want one. Then again, you can kick back at your campsite with a fire and have all the dull moments you want,” Campbell added. Participating artists appear to share his enthusiasm for the festival.

Performing Songwriters Share Their Reflections on the Festival

A studio owner, as well as performing songwriter, Walton is also pleased to see a number of artists who he is currently recording are part of this year’s festival lineup. “Sierra West is really amazing, and the Meadows Brothers have been favorites of mine for years, so getting to produce them has been special,” he said. “Seeing acts like Shawn Colvin and Martin Sexton headlining this year is super exciting,” he added.

Calling Litchfield County “one of the prettiest places on the planet in the fall,” Walton maintains “it’s the perfect setting for what should be an amazing weekend. It feels like this is going to be the year that Black Bear really arrives as a big player on the festival circuit.”

Kyle Hancharick, an upstate New York-based singer-songwriter, is also “excited” to be returning to the festival. Like Walton, Hancharick performed at the first festival in 2018, while he came as a listener and participated in a few workshops that he called “incredible” last year. “It’s such a supportive environment with incredible talent,” he said. “Ian Campbell and his team have grown this festival in the very best of ways,” he noted, while also expressing appreciate for the audience it draws. “The festival has grown since its beginnings but it still has that intimate feel between performers and listeners. They’re true folk fans,” he added.

“I love Black Bear Fest – with the exception of the temperature making my stage name a little more difficult to execute,” she said. Besides showcasing her performance and songwriting chops that have earned her accolades as a winner of the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Competition and the Great River Folk Fest Song Competition in 2020, as well as of the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase in August, Shanna will lead songwriting workshops including Let’s Write a Funny Song.

Late-Night Song Circles to Take Place Under the Big Orange Tarp

New to the Black Bear Americana Music Fest this year will be unplugged, late-night song circles under the Big Orange Tarp hosted on the campgrounds by Alan Rowoth beginning after the music ends on the main stage on Friday and Saturday nights, as well as a housewarming circle on Thursday night preceding the actual start of the festival.

Inspired by the late-night song circles that he experienced at the Kerrville Folk Festival in the Texas Hill Country beginning in 1992, Rowoth sought to replicate what he calls “the incredibly intimate nature of this listening experience” at other festivals.” Noting that campground music was virtually unheard of at other folk festivals around the country at the time, Rowoth decided “to try to spread the germ” by taking his Big Orange Tarp to campgrounds at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (which now also takes place at the Goshen Fairgrounds), Planet Bluegrass in Colorado, Sonoma Valley in California, and other spots. “I honed the performer quality and fine-tuned the circle format to maximize the listener experience to try and stimulate interest in the house concert scene that was just beginning to take off. Audience response was incredible. Other festival camps began to emulate us.”

Having engaged in this labor of love for more than 30 years now as he seeks to create opportunities for musicians by connecting them with listeners and presenters, Rowoth is pleased to bring the Big Orange Tarp to Goshen, CT this year. “Black Bear is a great fit for us,” he said. “Ian Campbell’s love of music and the community festival experience is exactly what the Big Orange Tarp is all about. We could not be more excited about partnering with Ian.”

As at Falcon Ridge, Rowoth plans to start each night with established performers — including some who are part of the official festival lineup and others who are not — and eventually transition to an open circle. “We have no scheduled closing time; it ends when everyone leaves,” he added. Although Rowoth often livestreams performances from the Big Orange Tarp via his Facebook page to create even greater accessibility, he believes that “Nothing feels as good as being there in person.”

For Tickets and More Information on the Festival

Day tickets and multi-day camping tickets for the Black Bear Americana Music Festival may be purchased online at blackbearmusicfest.com, where you will also find more information on the festival – including the complete artist lineup and schedule.

Outside Child by Allison Russell was named Album of the Year, while “Right On Time” performed by Brandi Carlile (and written by her, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth) won Song of the Year. Billy Strings was named Artist of the Year, while The War And Treaty was tapped as Duo/Group of the Year. Sierra Ferrell took home Emerging Act of the Year honors, while Larissa Maestro was named Instrumentalist of the Year.

The award for Album of the Year continued an impressive winning streak for Russell, a soulful Nashville-based, Montreal-born Scottish Grenadian Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, multi-instrumentalist, producer and activist who is also a co-founder of Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago and was part of Po Girl. Outside Child, her solo debut album, was named Album of the Year in the International Folk Music Awards presented by Folk Alliance International and Contemporary Roots Album of the Year during Canada’s 2022 JUNO Awards ceremonies in May and Contemporary Album of the Year in the 2022 Canadian Folk Music Awards earlier in the year. Russell also accepted the award for Artist of the Year in the International Folk Music Awards and was named English Songwriter of the Year and New/Emerging Artist in the 2022 Canadian Folk Music Awards. Wrought with emotion, Outside Child features 11 original songs “about resilience and survival, transcendence and the redemptive power of art, community, connection, and chosen family,” says Russell, who faced abuse and trauma during her youth that music has helped her to overcome.

Having her song “Right On Time” awarded Song of the Year was yet another in a string of Americana Honors and Awards for Carlile. A folk-rock and Americana singer-songwriter who was named Artist of the Year in 2019 and also is part of The Highwomen, an all-female group that was the big winner in the 2020 Americana Honors & Awards. Its self-titled debut release won Album of the Year, while one of its tracks (“Crowded Table”) took Song of the Year honors that year and The Highwomen was also named Duo/Group of the Year. Carlile herself was the big winner in the American Roots Music Field during the 61st annual Grammy Awards presented by the Recording Academy in 2020 at which her album By The Way, I Forgive You, was named “Best Americana Album, while one of its tracks (“The Joke”) was named both Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song.

[Here’s a link to view the official video for Brandi Carlile’s “Right On Time.”]

Artist of the Year Billy Strings has been forging a reputation in recent years as one of the standout emerging artists across all musical genres. The genre-bending, bluegrass- and acoustic music-inspired artist — whose latest album, Renewal, also incorporates elements of classic rock, heavy metal, jam band and psychedelic music –- previously received a Grammy Award for his album Home, was named Pollstar’s Breakthrough Artist of the pandemic and the International Bluegrass Music Association’s New Artist of the Year and Guitar Player of the Year.

The War and Treaty, this year’s Duo/Group of the Year, is the husband and wife team of Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter. The two have been performing together since 2014. Their musical repertoire features a mix of Americana, blues, country, folk, rock, and soul. The duo, who signed to Universal Music Group in Nashville earlier this year, was named Artist of the Year in the 2020 International Folk Music Awards and Emerging Artist of the Year in the 2019 Americana Honors and Awards.

Emerging Act of the Year Sierra Ferrell is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music is an eclectic blend of bluegrass, country, folk, gypsy jazz, and Latin stylings. Ferrell, who records for Rounder, is a West Virginia native who now calls Nashville home.

Instrumentalist of the Year Larissa Maestro is a Filipinx multi-instrumentalist, arranger, composer, producer, recording artist, and Star Trek-related podcast co-host. Born in Ames, Iowa and raised in Ithaca, New York, she is now based in Nashville.

In addition to the six awards that were voted on by members of the Americana Music Association, several lifetime achievement and other special awards were presented. Fairfield Four were the recipients of the Legacy of Americana Award, while lifetime achievement awards for performance and executive went to Chris Isaak and Al Bell, respectively. The folk-rocking Indigo Girls received the Spirit of Americana/ Free Speech in Music award, while the President’s Award went to the late country music great Don Williams.

For those who missed or want to view the Americana Honors & Awards show again, it will air on Circle Network on Wednesday, November 23 at 9 p.m. CT. In addition, ACL Presents: The 21st Annual Americana Honors, a special episode of Austin City Limits featuring performance highlights, will air on PBS stations in early 2023. Check your local listings for dates and times.

AMERICANAFEST annually draws thousands of artists, fans and music industry professionals to Nashville. Besides the annual honors and awards show, it features daytime panel discussions and seminars and evenings chock-full of showcases throughout the Music City. The Americana Music Association (americanamusic.org), which produces the event, is a professional not-for-profit trade association whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music around the world.