Flaco Jiménez, Nanci Griffith and Swallow Hill Music to be Recognized for Lifetime Achievement

The Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards are presented annually to honor the cultural impact of legendary folk music figures: one Living, one Legacy, and one Business/Academic. This year’s honorees are Conjunto accordionist Flaco Jiménez; the late singer-songwriter and interpreter Nanci Griffith; and folk music organization Swallow Hill Music.

Griffith, whose music straddled the line between folk and country, a style that she affectionately called “folkabilly,” died on August 13, 2021 at age 68. She was best known for her colorful, narrative tales of small town life that she sang in her warm, crystalline pure voice with a Texas twang. Many of her songs were covered and recorded by other notable artists. An early Kerrville New Folk Winner and a 1995 inductee into the Austin Music Hall of Fame, Griffith was honored by the Americana Music Association with its Lifetime Americana Trailblazer Award in 2008 and received a BBC Radio 2 Folk Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. She released her 18th and last studio album, Intersection, in 2012. Griffith’s1993 Elektra release Other Voices, Other Rooms – featuring interpretations of 17 songs by other songwriters who had inspired her – won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

Here’s a link to listen to Griffith’s poignant recording of “Love at the Five and Dime.”

Swallow Hill Music is a Denver, Colorado-based nonprofit music organization that provides music education, outreach, programming, and concerts for more than 138,000 people annually. Focused on diverse music traditions on stage and in the classroom, Swallow Hill’s organizational values promote inclusiveness. Its school offers music education to all ages, while Swallow Hill also hosts open stages and jams that are open to members and non-members alike. Its community and school outreach programs (including assemblies, field trips and in-school and after-school enrichment activities) have reached thousands of students in the Denver metro area.

Jason Mraz, Planet Bluegrass and Mali Obomsawin to be Honored

Jason Mraz, the multi-platinum Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter known for his positivity and commitment to conservation, ending world hunger, human rights, and LGBTQIA+ issues, will receive The People’s Voice Award, which is presented to an individual who unabashedly embraces social and political commentary in his/her/their creative work and public careers. Mraz took part in a nonprofit rescue mission in Ghana to liberate children sold into slavery, performed in Myanmar to raise awareness about human trafficking, Participated in Farm Aid, visited Antartica to help raise awareness about the environment and climate change, and was present at Standing Rock. His own foundation supports multiple organizations addressing issues to which he is committed and, in 2020, Mraz donated all profits from his Look for the Good album to Black Lives Matter and other groups working toward equality and justice.

Colorado-based Planet Bluegrass will receive the Clearwater Award, which is presented to a festival that prioritizes environmental stewardship and demonstrates public leadership in sustainable event production. For more than 30 years, the organization that produces Telluride Bluegrass, RockyGrass , and Rocky MTN Folks Festival has embraced a “Leave No Trace” ethic and demonstrated environmental leadership by engaging in strategic community-level plans and programs to center the idea of stewardship. Planet Bluegrass is a certified public benefit corporation— a legal entity recognized formally as committed to business practices that are sustainable and beneficial to society and the environment. At each of its respective festivals, Planet Bluegrass incentivizes reuse over recycling. This includes a reusable plate program, annually monitoring and reporting on waste diversion of more than 60% (twice that of the U.S. national average), employing solar power to offset more than 10 tons of CO2 emissions annually, providing composting and compostable bottles, offering free filtered water on site, and donating leftover festival food to local community organizations.

Mali Obomsawin will receive the Rising Tide Award that was established in 2021 to celebrate a new generation (under 30) artist who inspires others by embodying the values and ideals of the folk community through their creative work, community role, and public voice. An award-winning Smithsonian Folkways Recordings artist from Odanak Wabanaki First Nation, Obamsawin is a member of the band Lula Wiles, as well as a journalist and the founder and executive director of the Bomazeen Land Trust.

FAI Members to Determine Album, Song and Artist of the Year Award Recipients From Among 15 Finalists

A listing of the finalists for the 2021 album, song, and artist of the year awards based on US, Canadian, and international industry year-end lists, as well as folk DJ airplay, follows. Winners are determined by the voting membership of FAI (with the ballot open until April 15).

Album of the Year

They’re Calling Me Home by Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi
Wary + Strange by Amythyst Kiah
Un Canto por México, Vol. 2 by Natalia Lafourcade
Outside Child by Allison Russell
The Fray by John Smith

Song of the Year

“On Solid Ground” by Reggie Harris
“Painted Blue” by Sarah Jarosz
“We Believe You” by Diana Jones
“Call Me A Fool” by Valerie June
“Changemakers” by Crys Matthews

Artist of the Year

The Longest Johns
Kalani Pe’a
Allison Russell
Arooj Aftab
John Francis Flynn

Six Spirit of Folk Awards to be Presented

Spirit of Folk Awards honor and celebrate people and organizations actively involved in the promotion and preservation of folk music through their creative work, community building, and demonstrated leadership. The 2022 recipients will include Eugene Rodriguez (musician, educator, documentary producer, and founder of Los Cenzontles — both as a band and as a nonprofit music academy and community space for Latinx artists, youth, and families in the San Francisco Bay area); Lilli Lewis (composer, producer, performing artist, and vice president & head of A &R for Louisiana Red Hot Records); Gaelyn Lea (musician, disability rights activist, co-founder and vice president of RAMPD – Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities, 2016 NPR Tiny Desk Contest winner, and an in-demand speaker); Erin Benjamin (president & CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association, and formerly a singer-songwriter, label owner, and the first executive director of Folk Music Ontario); Amado Espinoza (Bolivian-American multi-instrumentalist, composer and instrument maker, and co-founder of Resonation Music and Arts — using educational programming to inspire curiosity and respect for world cultures through music, dance, and storytelling); and Shain Shapiro (Sound Diplomacy founder and CEO, whose work has influenced more than 75 cities and countries to invest in music and culture).

Folk Alliance International is a Kansas City, Missouri-based nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion. For more information on the organization, its annual conference, Artists in Residence program, online programming, and the International Folk Music Awards, visit folk.org. Click here to view a recording of the April 7 awards announcement.

Brandi Carlile, a folk-rock and Americana singer-songwriter who was named Artist of the Year for a second time during the awards show that was presented at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee last September 22, is among the artists whose performances were captured for this special episode. Also featured — in order of appearance — are performances by Fisk Jubilee Singers with Leon Timbo, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan and Joe Henry, Allison Russell, The Highwomen (Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hembry, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires) with Yola, Jason Isbell, Valerie June and Carla Thomas, Emerging Act Award-winner Charley Crockett, Amythyst Kiah, Buddy Miller (the show’s musical director), and The Mavericks. The Fisk Jubilee Singers, The Mavericks and “Queen of Memphis Soul” Carla Thomas were recognized as Lifetime Achievement Award honorees last September.

The Americana Honors & Awards show is a centerpiece of the annual AmericanaFest, a multi-day celebration of American roots-inspired music put on by the Americana Music Association each fall. A combination festival and conference, it is 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.

Here’s a link to an article about the Americana Honors & Awards that was posted on AcousticMusicScene.com on September 23, 2021.

“Caramoor is a nature paradise, and the music takes place in several locations on the grounds so that folks can experience some of the environmental beauty as well,” says Maggi Landau, the festival organizer. She notes that the daytime artists will be performing acoustic, unplugged sets in the Sunken Garden – “a quiet grove with the audience sitting on the ground literally at the feet of the artists” – as well as on the larger Friends Field.

The musical festivities at Caramoor begin at noon. Daytime performers include Anthony da Costa, Ali Dineen, Feral Foster, Front Country, Lily Henley, Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons, Amythyst Kiah, Night Tree, Ryanhood, and The Alexis P. Suter Band.

$30 daytime only tickets (excluding the evening performances) and full-festival tickets, priced at $35-$90 (including reserved seating for the evening concert) may be ordered by visiting www.caramoor.org.

Attendees are advised to bring their own chairs for the daytime performances. Although food and beverages will be available for purchase, folks also can bring their own and enjoy picnicking on Caramoor’s spacious lawns.

A platform for luminaries and rising stars, the annual conference is the world’s largest gathering of the folk music industry and community. Folk Alliance International’s Official Showcases are jury-selected nightly mini-concerts featuring emerging artists and touring legends from around the world. The performances are 30 minutes in length and are held concurrently on ten full-production stages throughout the host hotel over three nights.

More than 800 artists/acts applied for the opportunity to perform for hundreds of festival and venue bookers, agents, managers, labels, media, and music industry representatives. The curated showcases feature artists representing a diverse array of folk genres including Appalachian, Americana, bluegrass, blues, Cajun, Celtic, global roots, Indie-folk, indigenous, Latin, old time, traditional, singer-songwriter, spoken word, and every imaginable fusion.

Breakthrough artists from previous conferences include The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Darlingside, David Francey, John Fullbright, Kaia Kater, Lake Street Dive, The Milk Carton Kids, Nickel Creek, The Stray Birds, Valerie June, The Waifs, and The Wailin’ Jennys. Past showcase performances have also included guest appearances by Judy Collins, Béla Fleck, Rita Coolidge, Ron Sexsmith, Archie Fisher, Peggy Seeger, and more.

Bringing together musicians, educators, and music industry professionals from around the world, the Folk Alliance International Conference is known for its community atmosphere, business and networking opportunities, and as a hotspot for discovering new talent.

The 2018 conference will feature presentations by Mary Chapin Carpenter and Richard Thompson, the Louis Jay Meyers Music Camp, the International Folk Music Awards, and the third annual Kansas City Folk Festival. Celebrating 30 years of community and song, the conference will YEARS OF COMMUNITY AND SONG, honor the first three decades of the organization’s growth and activity, as well as the broader story of folk music during that time.

Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org) is a Kansas City, MO-based nonprofit organization that seeks to nurture, engage and empower the international folk music community – traditional and contemporary, amateur and professional – through education, advocacy and performance.

Editor’s Note: This article is based on a news release issued by Folk Alliance International, on whose board of directors I serve. I’m also board president of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA), one of its five regional affiliates, which holds it annual conference, Nov. 9-12, in Stamford, CT. I am not involved in the selection of Official Showcase artists.

New Bedford Folk Festival
In and around Whaling National Historic Park
New Bedford, MA
www.newbedfordfolkfestival.com

The New Bedford Folk Festival, formerly known as the Greater New Bedford Summerfest, is one of the Northeast’s most pleasant, refined and enjoyable music festivals. Slated for the Fourth of July weekend in New Bedford, the family-oriented festival, now marking its 20th anniversary, takes over the cobblestoned streets of this historic New England port city –- which is part of the Whaling National Historic Park. Visitors will soak in the area’s rich maritime history as they stroll its streets while listening to world-class contemporary and traditional acoustic performers under tents set up along them and in the air-conditioned comfort of the fabulous New Bedford Whaling Museum’s auditorium and the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center — where the popular Celtic Extravaganza closes out the festival on Sunday night.

As in years past, this year’s schedule includes a wealth of talented performers, many of them performing in song-swap style workshops with folks whom they may have never even met, making for unique musical pairings. It also poses a dilemma of choices that may have some attendees running from one stage to another nearby to catch certain artists.

There will be continuous music from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on seven sound stages, ranging from the intimate National Park Garden Stage to the 1200-seat Zeiterion Theatre. Among the more than 70 featured performers are Benoit Bourque, The Boxcar Lilies, Calan, Catie Curtis, Jeff Davis, Beppe Gambetta, Vance Gilbert, Seth Glier, Raymond Gonzalez, John Hammond, Kim and Reggie Harris, David Jacobs-Strain, James Keelaghan, The Kennedys, Jeremy Kittel, Yves Lambert Trio, Patty Larkin, Jez Lowe, Troy MacGilluray & Kimberley Fraser, Danielle Miraglia, Peter Mulvey, Mustard’s Retreat, Nerissa & Katryna Nields, Jane Rothfield & Allan Carr, Tom Rush, Claudia Russell, Art Tebbetts, Hiroya Tsukomoto, and Susan Werner. In addition, a number of local artists will play the Southcoast Stage.

Besides the music, there will be some 90-artisans and arts and crafts vendors. While in New Bedford, you can also enjoy fresh seafood and sample tasty cuisine at one of the whaling city’s many Portuguese restaurants. Parking is free at the municipal garage.

Admission to the festival is quite affordable at $25 for the weekend or $20 for one-day.

Green River Festival
Greenfield Community College
(I-91, Exit 26)
Greenfield, MA
www.greenriverfestival.com

Launched as a balloon festival in 1986, the Pioneer Valley’s largest outdoor festival has expanded over the years to include lots of musical entertainment.

In addition to three stages of music throughout the weekend, balloon illuminations and hot air balloon rides (weather permitting), the Green River Festival also features artisans exhibiting their original work, dancing, plenty of food vendors, and an array of children’s activities.

Independent recording label Signature Sounds, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary and whose roster features some of the most talented artists on today’s acoustic and roots music scene, has played a major part in the festival for years and took over management of it last year.

Among the artists slated to perform over the weekend are Antibalas, Kris Delmhorst, Steve Earle & The Dukes, Elephant Revival, Eilen Jewell, Langhorne Slim & The Law, Heather Maloney, Milk Carton Kids, Parker Millsap, Pine Hill Project (featuring Richard Shindell and Lucy Kaplansky), Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Joe Pug, Punch Brothers, Hayley Reardon, Red Baraat, The Stray Birds, Twisted Pine, Valerie June, and The Wood Brothers.

Discounted three-day passes may be purchased in advance for $99.99, while day tickets are also available. There is a fee for parking. As is the case with the New Bedford Folk Festival, there is no on-site camping associated with this festival.

Kicking off the festivities on Friday, Sept. 19 will be flatpicking guitarist Michael Daves and banjoist Tony Trischka. The artist lineup for FreshGrass 2014 also includes Sam Amidon, Darol Anger, Alison Brown, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Michael Cleveland, The Dukhs, The Gibson Brothers, Haas Kowert Tice, Hurray for the Riff Raff, The Infamous Stringdusters, Aoife O’Donovan, Railroad Earth, Martha Redbone Roots Project, Valerie June, and several local bands. There will be a mix of concerts, pop-up performances and jam sessions.

FreshGrass Award Finalists Named and Set to Perform

Fifteen up-and-coming bluegrass artists and acts who offer a fresh take on the genre have been named as finalists for this year’s FreshGrass Award and will perform in the museum’s indoor galleries throughout the festival.

In its sophomore year, the contest has expanded from one category to three – affording unsigned bands, duos and banjo players an opportunity to compete for cash prizes totaling $15,000, recording time at Compass Records’ studio in Nashville, and a main stage slot at FreshGrass 2015. Winners will be named on Sunday, Sept. 21. A panel of industry professionals that included Alison Brown, The Gibson Brothers and Chris Pandolfi of The Infamous Stringdusters selected the following finalists:

Band Finalists: Eastbound Jesus, Many Nights Ahead, Pert Near Sandstone, The Sons of Bluegrass, Twisted Pine

Duo Finalists: Chris Coole & Ivan Rosenberg, Tatiana Hargreaves & Ethan Jodziewicz, No Bones About It, Quiles & Cloud, Molly Tuttle & John Mailander

Banjo Finalists: Jordan Alleman, Douglas Jay Goldstein, Gabe Hirschfeld, Ricky Mier, Walker Turner

“It’s a thrill to watch the next generation of music-makers hunker down in this contest, while the top bluegrass musicians in the country are playing right outside the doors on festival stages, jamming in workshops, picking in the courtyards, and sometimes popping on to the contest stage to have a listen,” says FreshGrass producer Chris Wadsworth.

Clinics and Workshops Abound

FreshGrass 2014 also will feature an array of instrumental clinics and industry workshops. These will include a Banjo MegaJam led by Grammy Award-winning banjo virtuoso Alison Brown, a FreshGrass Fiddle Summit, and a fingerpicking workshop conducted by Happy Traum. Budding mandolinists will have an opportunity to practice new methods with mandolin mavens. Professors from the American Roots Music Program at Berklee College of Music will discuss various aspects of bluegrass and roots music. And luthiers will demonstrate their craft throughout the weekend.

Children’s programming and a bounty of Berkshire fresh food and spirits round out the menu for FreshGrass; while festivalgoers also can enjoy the contemporary art exhibitions in MASS MoCA’s galleries.

Tickets for the festival may be purchased online at www.freshgrass.com, where you’ll also find daily schedules and more information on the event.

In its sophomore year, the contest expands from one category to three – affording unsigned bands, duos and banjo players an opportunity to compete for cash prizes totaling $15,000, recording time at Compass Records’ studio in Nashville, and a main stage slot at FreshGrass 2015. Judged by a panel of industry professionals, the competition is held concurrently with the festival on September 19-21, 2014, with contest performances taking place on an indoor stage throughout the event.

“We want to hear musicians who know the rules well enough to break them,” says festival producer Chris Wadsworth. Entrants must submit two videos via the festival’s website (www.freshgrass.com) – one live performance of an original composition and one live performance of a traditional bluegrass number. The videos will be evaluated based on originality, instrumental/vocal skill, and bluegrass proficiency. Finalists will be notified in mid-August, while the winners will be announced on the festival main stage on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 21.

“It’s a thrill to watch the next generation of music-makers hunker down in this contest, while the top bluegrass musicians in the country are playing right outside the doors on festival stages, jamming in workshops, picking in the courtyards, and sometimes popping on to the contest stage to have a listen,” Wadsworth continues.

The artist lineup for FreshGrass 2014 includes Sam Amidon, Darol Anger, Alison Brown, Sam Bush, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Cricket Tell the Weather (2013 FreshGrass Award winner), Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, The Gibson Brothers, David Grisman Sextet, The Infamous Stringdusters, Claire Lynch, Aoife O’Donovan, Liam O Maonlai, Railroad Earth, Martha Redbone Roots Project, and Valerie June.

The family-friendly festival in the Berkshires of northwestern Massachusetts will be held rain or shine. Limited-time, early-bird, three day festival passes are available via the FreshGrass website, while single-day tickets may be offered closer to the event.