Tim O’Brien – AcousticMusicScene.com

FAI Folk Radio Charts – September 2025

Michael Kornfeld — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 17:23:38 +0000

Long Journey Home: A Century After the 1925 Mountain City Fiddlers Convention by various artists was the top album on folk radio during September 2025, while Molly Tuttle’s rendition of “I’ve Always Been a Rambler” from the album was the month’s top song. Canadian singer-songwriter Connie Kaldor was the most played artist in September. So say charts compiled by Folk Alliance International based on radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in folk-based music on the radio.

A 17-song tribute compilation, Long Journey Home: A Century After the 1925 Mountain City Fiddlers Convention celebrates the centenary of the iconic gathering of nearly 100 musicians in rural Mountain City, Tennessee. Produced by John McCutcheon (who also sings and plays banjo and fretless banjo on it), the album on Appalsongs showcases old-time fiddling and old time music with a number of today’s most celebrated old-time and bluegrass artists performing their own renditions of ballads, reels and tunes that have stood the test of time. Featured artists, in addition to McCutcheon and Tuttle, include Jake Blount, Old Crow Medicine Show, Tim O’Brien, Sparky & Rhonda Rucker, Becky Buller, Trey Wellington & Victor Furtado, Stuart Duncan, Cathy & Marcy’s Old Time Coalition, Kody Norris Show, Earl White Stringband, and Bruce Molsky.

Molly Tuttle, who is joined by Ketch Secor (who fronts and co-founded Old Crow Medicine Show) on “I’ve Always Been a Rambler,” is an acclaimed guitarist known for her prowess at flatpicking and cross-picking, as well as a singer- songwriter and banjo player. At age 24, she became the first woman to win the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Guitar Player of the Year Award in 2017 and did so again the following year when the Americana Music Association also named her Instrumentalist of the Year. Tuttle has been the recipient of two Grammy Awards for Best Bluegrass Album for Crooked Tree and City of Gold in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Crooked Tree also was named Album of the Year in the International Bluegrass Music Awards, while its title track was feted as Song of the Year and she was named Female Vocalist of the Year. City of Gold, also recorded with her band Golden Highway, also was named Album of the Year during the 2023 International Folk Music Awards presented by Folk Alliance International.

Connie Kaldor is a three-time Juno Award-winning singer songwriter who has been writing and performing her songs for more than 45 years and has recorded 19 albums. Her new release, Wide Open Space, was the #2 album on the FAI Folk Chart in September. A member of the Order of Canada and a Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award recipient, she also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Woodstock Folk Festival in Woodstock, Illinois earlier this year. Kaldor is based in Montreal and tours extensively. She is frequently joined in concert by her husband Paul Campagne and sons Aleksi and Gabriel Campagne. She will be among the official showcase artists during the Northeast Regional folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference in Albany, NY in November.

The September 2025 top albums, songs and artists charts are based on 10, 565 airplays reported on 347 playlists submitted by 93 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 September 2025

1.Long Journey Home: A Century After the 1925 Mountain City Fiddlers
Convention by Various Artists (131)

2. Wide Open Spaces by Connie Kaldor (71)

3. Look to the Moon by Patty and Craig (51)
3. Stone by Stone by Friction Farm (51)
5. Connected by Darryl Purpose (48)
6. Song of the Bricoleur by Rags Rosenberg (42)
7. Lost & Found by Becki Davis (40)
8. Mother Mind by Tekla Waterfield & Jeff Fiedler (39)
9. Hummingbird Highway by Dar Williams (38)
9. Stay Put by Elexa Dawson (38)
9. The Last Bough by Kyle Carey (38)
12. Kentucky Queen by Carla Gover (34)
12. Songs That Sing Me by Becky Buller (34)
12. Now Then by Robbie Fulks (34)
15. Sweet Resilence by Jane Fallon (32)
16. So Long Little Miss Sunshine by Molly Tuttle (30)
17. Heavy on the Blues by Rory Block (29)
18. The Light Still Shines on the Main by Jory Nash (28)
19. The Ghost of Sis Draper by Shawn Camp (27)
20. The America Chronicles by Kemp Harris (25)
21. Drum School Dropout by Christine Lavin (24)
22. Time Out #3 by The Accidentals (23)
23. New Skin by Judy Kass (22)
23. NERFA Songwriters, Vol. 1 by Various Artists (22)
25. Perennial by Kate MacLeod (21)
25. You Climb the Mountain by The Onlies (21)
27. Bridging Divides by Billy Jonas (20)
28. Wild and Clear and Blue by I’m With Her (19)
28. Squirrels by Jubal Lee Young (19)
30. One Hour Mama: The Blues of Victoria Spivey by Maria Muldaur (18)
30. Crown of Rose by Patty Griffin (18)
30. Callin’ Me Back by Petunia & the Vipers (18)
30. The Woods Have Shown Us by Ponyfolk (18)
30. Seeds of Dreaming by Diyet and the Love Soldiers (18)
35. Bones of Trees by Tim Grimm (17)
35. Personal History by Mary Chapin Carpenter (17)
35. Hard Headed Woman by Margo Price (17)
38. Ghost of the Old West by George Mann and Mick Coates (16)

38. Lost & Found Highway by Joselyn & Don (16)
38. Lift Up the Old World by Hilary Hawke (16)
38. Dark Ages by Eliza Gilkyson (16)
42. Riding High in Texas by Asleep at the Wheel (15)
42. The Way I Tell the Story by David Wilcox (15)
42. American Romance by Lukas Nelson (15)
42. Kerrville Covers by Janet Feld (15)
42. Shadows of a Ghost Town by Meghan Clarisse (15)
47. American Portraits by Marty Cooper (14)
47. Airline Highway by Rodney Crowell (14)
47. Arcadia by Alison Krauss and Union Station (14)
47. The Way the West Was Won by Dallas Burrow (14)
47. We’re Only Human by Hayes Carll (14)

Top Songs of September 2025

1. “I’ve Always Been a Rambler” by Molly Tuttle (23)
2. “No Kings Here” by Tom Paxton (18)
3. “Love, Surround Me” by Patty and Craig (15)
4. “Cuckoo” by John McCutcheon (14)
4. “Me & Robbie Erenberg” by Darryl Purpose (14)
6. “Louder Than Guns” by Friction Farm (13)
7. “Hummingbird Highway” by Dar Williams (12)
7. “900 Miles” by Tim O’Brien (12)
9. “Goodnight America” by Kemp Harris (11)
9. “Bullfrogs” by Rags Rosenberg (11)
11. “It Ain’t Gonna Go Away (Ode to the Epstein Files)” by Cathy Fink
& Marcy Marxer (10)
11. “Memory of August” by Anne Hills (10)
11. “What You Gonna Do With the Baby” by Old Crow Medicine Show (10)
11. “Returning to Myself” by Brandi Carlile (10)
11. “The Last Bough” by Kyle Carey (10)
11. “Tennessee Mountain Fox Chase” by Cathy and Marcy’s Old Time Coaltion (10)
17. “Open All the Doors and Windows” by Billy Jonas (9)
17. “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down” by Sparky and Rhonda Rucker (9)
17. “Oh, Little One” by Jory Nash (9)
17. “House Carpenter” by Jake Blount (9)
17. “At Our Best” by Judy Kass (9)
17. “Dear Time” by Alison Brown and Steve Martin (9)
17. “Wide Open Spaces” by Connie Kaldor (9)
24. “Baling Hay” by Elexa Dawson (8)
24. “Early Fields” by Kate MacLeod (8)
24. “Millworker” by Becky Buller (8)
24. “The Edge” by Becki Davis (8)
24. “Something My Own” by Tekla Waterfield & Jeff Fiedler (8)
24. “Rocky Road to Dinah’s House” by Becky Buller (8)
24. “Bridget O’Brien” by Maggie’s Wake (8)
24. “Feel What Our Hearts Feel” by Darryl Purpose (8)
24. “Savannah Is a Devilish Girl” by Robbie Fulks (8)
24. “American Dream” by Friction Farm (8)
24. “This Car” by Connie Kaldor (8)
24. “Bright Side of the Blues” by Bryan Titus (8)

Top Artists of September 2025

1. Connie Kaldor (71)
2. Molly Tuttle (57)
3. Friction Farm (53)
4. Patty and Craig (51)
4. Darryl Purpose (51)
6. Becky Buller (50)
7. Dar Williams (49)
8. Tom Paxton (48)
9. John McCutcheon (44)
10. Rags Rosenberg (43)
11. Becki Davis (41)
12. Tekla Waterfield & Jeff Fiedler (39)
12. Elexa Dawson (39)
14. Kyle Carey (38)
15. Woody Guthrie (36)
16. Bruce Springsteen (35)
16. Robbie Fulks (35)
18. Carla Gover (34)
19. Jane Fallon (33)
19. John Prine (33)
21. Christine Lavin (31)
22. Jory Nash (30)
22. Cheryl Wheeler (30)
24. Rory Block (29)
25. Eliza Gilkyson (28)
26. Joni Mitchell (27)
26. Shawn Camp (27)
28. Tim O’Brien (26)
29. Kemp Harris (25)
29. Tim Grimm (25)
31. Kate MacLeod (24)
31. Mary Chapin Carpenter (24)
33. Guy Clark (23)
33. Pete Seeger (23)
33. The Accidentals (23)
36. Willie Nelson (22)
36. Judy Kass (22)
36. The Onlies (22)
39. The Kennedys (21)
39. Bill Monroe (21)

Barry Poss, Co-Founder of Sugar Hill Records, 1945-2025

Michael Kornfeld — Mon, 19 May 2025 15:17:14 +0000

Barry Poss, co-founder and longtime owner of Sugar Hill Records –- an influential independent label whose roster included numerous notable bluegrass, Americana, old-time and roots music artists –- died on May 13, 2025. He was 79 and had been battling cancer for years.

Barry Poss, who co-founded and led Sugar Hill Records for many years, died on may 13, 2025.

Born on September 7, 1945, the Brantford, Ontario (Canada) native, whose family moved to Toronto in the mid-1950s, Poss relocated to North Carolina in 1968 to pursue graduate studies in sociology at Duke University as a James B. Duke Graduate Fellow after graduating from Toronto’s York University. While still a student at Duke, he became enamored with the clawhammer banjo and began learning it from a number of traditional, old-time musicians. That, coupled with his attendance at the Union Grove Fiddler Convention about two hours west of the university’s Durham campus, helped to spur Poss to take his life in a different direction.

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.”

FAI Folk Radio Charts – September 2024

Michael Kornfeld — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 15:52:12 +0000

Bluegrass Sings Paxton (Various Artists) was the top album, while Tom Paxton’s classic “I Can’t Help But Wonder (Where I’m Bound)” — featuring the folk icon and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award-winner himself and the noted female bluegrass ensemble Della Mae — was the month’s most-played song on folk radio during September 2024. House of Hamill and Kate McDonnell were the month’s most-played artists. So say charts compiled by Folk Alliance International based on radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in folk-based music on the radio.

Bluegrass Sings Paxton is a multi-artist collection of a dozen select songs penned by Paxton and performed by a wide array of bluegrass singers and pickers assembled by producers Cathy Fink and Jon Weisberger. “I Can’t Help But Wonder (Where I’m Bound)” is the album’s lead-off track. Other Paxton songs on the Mountain Home Music recording – seven of which were among September’s most-played songs on folk radio — include current IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year Greg Blake’s rendition of “Leaving London,” previous three-time IBMA Male Vocalist Award recipient Danny Paisley’s take on the classic “Ramblin’ Boy,“ and past IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year Claire Lynch’s rendition of “I Give You the Morning.” Sister Sadie’s interpretation of “The Last Thing On My Mind” closes out the album, which also features selections, old an new, recorded by Laurie Lewis (Central Square”), Bluegrass Hall of Famer Alice Gerrard (“The Things I Notice Now”), Grammy Award-winner Tim O’Brien (“You Took Me In,” a new gospel-tinged song co-written by Paxton, O’Brien and bandmate Jan Fabricius), Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer (“All I Want”), Aaron Burdett of The Steep Canyon Rangers (“The Same River Twice”), Chris Jones (“The Last Hobo”), and Sav Sankaran (“Looking for the Moon”).

[Here’s a link to enjoy a five-minute video featuring Tom Paxton discussing Bluegrass Sings Paxton and its songs, along with a few musical excerpts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUU8haC-nmU.]

House of Hamill, a self-described upcycled Celtic folk band, was the most played artist on folk radio for a second consecutive month – this time tying with singer-songwriter Kate McDonnell. Featuring Rose Baldino (fiddle and vocals), Brian Buchanan (fiddle, vocals and guitar), and Caroline Browning (bass, mandolin and piano), House of Hamill is a Pennsylvania-based, nationally touring trio that has performed at music festivals and established folk venues. Its fourth full-length release, Wildfire, topped the folk album charts in August, while its rendition of Jimmy Webb’s “The Highwayman” was that month’s top song. House of Hamill’s tight vocal harmonies, sophisticated instrumental arrangements, and acoustic pop sensibilities are evident on Wildfire. Like its live shows and previous releases, the album features a mix of original numbers, modern takes on centuries-old folk ballads, and choice covers. Recorded in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina, Wildfire also features House of Hamill’s original song “Banks of the Brandywine.” An ode to folklore that surrounds a notorious location on the Brandywine River in Chester County, PA, the song was recently selected as the grand-prize winner in the folk category of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest – 2024 Session 1.

[Here’s a link to listen to the title track of House of Hamill’s new album, Wildfire:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grwhwUutYiA.]

Kate McDonnell is an award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a gifted guitarist with a propensity to play the instrument differently than most. According to her official bio, she taught herself how to play the guitar, strung for a right-handed player, left-handed “upside down and backwards,” using her stronger right hand for chording and ignoring the customary positioning of the guitar strings. Part of a musically-inclined family, McDonnell began writing her own songs in 1989 and gained recognition in the early 1990s as both a Kerrville New Folk finalist and a finalist in the Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, as well as being voted the #1 singer-songwriter in a New Haven (Connecticut) Advocate readers’ poll following the release of her-self-produced debut album, Broken Bones. Since then, she has earned much critical acclaim and praise from such noted songwriters as Jonathan Edwards and the late Bill Staines, recorded five more albums, and toured internationally. Although she took a hiatus from performing for a decade to focus on working as a child therapist in day treatment programs, residential programs, and inner city schools, McDonnell never gave up songwriting. She returned to the studio in 2020 to record her fifth album, Ballad of a Bad Girl. Her sixth album, Trapeze, was released in September. It features 14 songs that she wrote over the past three years.

[Here’s a link to enjoy a recent video of Kate McDonnell performing her song “Pretty Good Day”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nUfNS26c6k.]

The September 2024 top albums, songs and artists charts are based on 10,787 airplays reported on 362 playlists submitted by 101 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 September 2024

1.Bluegrass Sings Paxton by Various Artists (124)
2. Labor Day: A Tribute to Hardworking People Everywhere by Si Kahn and
George Mann (103)
3. Trapeze by Kate McDonnell (58)
4. Wildfire by House of Hamill (56)
5. From China to Appalachia by Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer and Chao Tian (53)
6. The Legend of Sugarbelly by Guy Davis (52)
7. Ten Good Sermons by Eugene Ruffolo (51)
8. Manos Pan Americanos by Larry and Joe (45)
8. Boarding Windows in Paradise by Rebecca Frazier (45)
10. Everything Must Go by Donal Hinely (44)
11. Back to the Light by Heather Pierson (43)
12. Woodland by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (33)
12. The Set by Jerry Douglas (33)
14. The American Dream by Amy Speace (31)
14. Bloom Where You Fall by Hana Zara (31)
16. Dan Tyminski: Live From the Ryman by Dan Tyminski (30)
17. Carved in the Bark by Nick Carter (29)
17. A Prosperous Gale by Open the Door for Three (29)
19. Blessed by the West by Sarah Pierce (28)
19. Heart on a Wire by Carolyn Shulman (28)
19. Now, O Now by Rakish (28)
22. Terra Madre by Beppe Gambetta (27)
23. Earl Jam by Tony Trischka (26)
24. Willie Watson by Willie Watson (25)
25. Live at Steelstacks by River Drivers (24)
26. City of Glass by Aj Lee and Blue Summit (23)
27. “The Great Northwest by Steve Lundquist (22)
28. The First Day of December by Ivan Strunin (21)
29. Harbortowne by Jim Patton and Sherry Brokus (20)
29. Lessen the Blue by Larry Folk (20)
31. The Light Years by The Magnolia Janes (19)
32. Blame It on Eve by Shemekia Copeland (18)
33. The Unspeakable Milo Binder by Milo Binder (17)
33. The Two of Us by Janie Rothfield and Allan Carr (17)
33. Thus Spoke the Fool by Pony Bradshaw (17)
33. Bluegrass Tracks by Andy Statman (17)
33. Weird Wild Wonderful by Emily Hicks (17)
33. Quiet Town by Mindy Smith (17)
33. Hanging at the Luna Star by Lou Dominguez (17)
40. Wasted Luck by Tiffany Williams and Dalton Mills (16)
40. Goldenrod by Teni Rane (16)
40. One of These Days by Cris Jacobs (16)
40. Trail of Flowers by Sierra Ferrell (16)
44. Soliloquy by Craig Bickhardt (15)
44. Long Way Home by Ray Lamontagne (15)
46. Driven to Drive by Joe Ely (14)
47. Phthalo Blue by Andrew Marlin (13)
47. Polaroid Lovers by Sarah Jarosz (13)
47. More Than a Whisper: Celebrating the Music of Nanci Griffith by
Various Artists (13)
50. Western Chill by Robert Earl Keen (12)
50. Diamond Days by Brooks Williams (12)
50. Daylight Savings Time by Steve Forbert (12)
50. The Price of Happiness by Miranda Hardy (12)
50. “weet Critters by Caleb Caudle (12)
50. Trees by Laurie Lewis (12)
50. Atlantic Sounds by Miscellany of Folk (12)
50. 20 by The Grascals (12)

Top Songs of September 2024

1. “I Can’t Help but Wonder (Where I’m Bound)” by Tom Paxton and Della Mae (27)
2. “I Give You the Morning” by Claire Lynch (17)
3. “Canaan” by Danny Schmidt (16)
4. “The Old Labor Hall” by Joe Jencks (13)
5. “Banks of the Brandywine” by House of Hamill (12)
5. “The Same River Twice” by Aaron Burdett (12)
5. “The American Dream” by Amy Speace (12)
5. “Central Square” by Laurie Lewis (12)
5. “Something You Got” by Jerry Douglas (12)
10. “You Took Me In” by Tim O’Brien (11)
10. “Ramblin’ Boy” by Danny Paisley (11)
10. “It Takes All Kinds” by Mark Stepakoff (11)
10. “Everything Must Go” by Donal Hinely (11)
10. “Up Here in the Mountains” by Heather Pierson (11)
10. “The Last Thing on My Mind” by Sister Sadie (11)
16. “Back to the Light” by Heather Pierson (10)
16. “A World Minus One” by Eugene Ruffolo (10)
16. “Wildfire” by House of Hamill (10)
19. “Long Way to Harlan” by Si Kahn and Laurie Lewis (9)
19. “The Things I Notice Now” by Alice Gerrard (9)
19. “High on a Mountain” by Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer and Chao Tian (9)
19. “Gone Gonna Rise Again” by Michael Johnathon and Odetta (9)
19. “Late Bloomer” by Eugene Ruffolo (9)
19. “Back When Times Were Hard” by Si Kahn (9)
19. “No Child Should Ever Go Hungry” by Tret Fure (9)
19. “Pretty Good Day” by Kate McDonnell (9)
19. “Beautiful You” by Tom Prasada-Rao (9)
19. “Ain’t That Me and You” by Nick Carter (9)
19. “What’s Gonna Become of Me” by Jerron Paxton (9)
19. “Lawrence Jones” by Kathy Mattea (9)

Top Artists of September 2024

1. Kate McDonnell (60)
1. House of Hamill (60)
3. Highwaymen (55)
4. Guy Davis (54)
5. Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer and Chao Tian (53)
6. Eugene Ruffolo (51)
7. Heather Pierson (48)
8. Donal Hinely (47)
9. Larry and Joe (45)
9. Rebecca Frazier (45)
11. Bob Dylan (39)
11. Amy Speace (39)
13. Jerry Douglas (38)
14. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (36)
15. Laurie Lewis (34)
16. Hana Zara (31)
16. Open the Door for Three (31)
16. Rakish (31)
19. Dan Tyminski (30)
19. Tony Trischka (30)
21. John McCutcheon (29)
21. Leonard Cohen (29)
21. Nick Carter (29)
21. Beppe Gambetta (29)
25. Willie Watson (28)
25. Carolyn Shulman (28)
25. Sarah Pierce (28)
28. Tom Paxton and Della Mae (27)
28. Willie Nelson (27)
28. Tim O’Brien (27)
31. River Drivers (26)
31. Si Kahn (26)
31. Danny Schmidt (26)
34. John Gorka (24)
34. Dar Williams (24)
34. Joe Jencks (24)
37. Aj Lee and Blue Summit (23)
37. Nanci Griffith (23)
37. Joni Mitchell (23)
37. Tim Grimm (23)

Winners Named in IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards

Michael Kornfeld — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 13:48:26 +0000

Billy Strings was the recipient of the coveted Entertainer of the Year Award, the top honor in the 32nd Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards, presented September 30, 2021 at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Duke Energy Center for the Arts.

Billy Stringswas voted Entertainer and Guitarist of the Year for 2021 by the professional membership of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA).

The Lansing, Michigan-born and Nashville, Tennessee-based genre-bending flatpicker and singer also was honored as Guitar Player of the Year, received the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album (Home) earlier this year, and was named Pollstar’s Breakthrough Artist of the Pandemic. He was previously named both Guitar Player and New Artist of the Year in the 2019 IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards.

Billy Strings, who turns 29 on Oct. 3, grew up playing traditional bluegrass with his dad. In the years since, he has been among the artists who have helped to expand the boundaries of the genre, widening its appeal. His latest album, Renewal, features 16 songs (mostly originals), that while primarily acoustic, transcends bluegrass via incorporating elements of jam band, psychedelic music, classic rock, and even heavy metal.

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

A complete list of winners in 17 categories appears below, while information about the three previously announced Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductees (acclaimed artist Alison Krauss, trailblazing bandleader and banjoist Lynn Morris and early bluegrass influencers the Stoneman Family) and five Distinguished Achievement Awards recipients, as well as a listing of all the category nominees can be found at https://acousticmusicscene.com/2021/07/21/ibma-bluegrass-music-awards-nominees-named/.

Entertainer of the Year:

Billy Strings

Vocal Group of the Year

Sister Sadie

Instrumental Group of the Year

Appalachian Road Show

New Artist of the Year

Appalachian Road Show

Song of the Year

“Richest Man”
Artist: Balsam Range
Songwriters: Jim Beavers/Jimmy Yeary/Connie Harrington
Producer: Balsam Range
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

Album of the Year

Industrial Strength Bluegrass: Southwestern Ohio’s Musical Legacy
Artist: Various Artists
Producer: Joe Mullins
Label: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Gospel Recording of the Year (Tie)

“After Awhile”
Artist: Dale Ann Bradley
Songwriter: Public Domain
Producer: Dale Ann Bradley
Label: Pinecastle Records

“In the Resurrection Morning”
Artists: Sacred Reunion featuring Doyle Lawson, Vince Gill, Barry Abernathy, Tim Stafford, Mark Wheeler, Jim VanCleve, Phil Leadbetter, Jason Moore
Songwriter: Mark Wheeler
Producers: Barry Abernathy, Jim VanCleve, Dottie Leonard Miller
Label: Billy Blue Records

Instrumental Recording of the Year

“Ground Speed”
Artists: Kristin Scott Benson, Skip Cherryholmes, Jeremy Garrett, Kevin Kehrberg, Darren Nicholson
Songwriter: Earl Scruggs
Producer: Jon Weisberger
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

Collaborative Recording of the Year

“White Line Fever”
Artists: Bobby Osborne with Tim O’Brien, Trey Hensley, Sierra Hull, Stuart Duncan, Todd Phillips, Alison Brown
Songwriters: Merle Haggard/Jeff Tweedy
Producers: Alison Brown, Garry West
Label: Compass Records

Female Vocalist of the Year

Dale Ann Bradley

Male Vocalist of the Year (Tie)

Del McCoury
Danny Paisley

Banjo Player of the Year

Scott Vestal

Bass Player of the Year

Missy Raines

Fiddle Player of the Year

Bronwyn Keith-Hynes

Resophonic Guitar Player of the Year

Justin Moses

Guitar Player of the Year

Billy Strings

Mandolin Player of the Year

Sierra Hull

IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Winners Named

Michael Kornfeld — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 06:25:53 +0000

Sister Sadie was voted Entertainer of the Year.

Sister Sadie –- a female quartet featuring Tina Adair, Dale Ann Bradley, Gena Britt and Deannie Richardson –- was the recipient of the coveted Entertainer of the Year award during the 31st annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards on October 1, 2020. The reigning IBMA Vocal Group of the Year also retained that distinction, while Richardson was named Fiddle Player of the Year and was also part of the Collaborative Recording of the Year (The Barber’s Fiddle).

Hosted by Sierra Hull, Joe Newberry, Tim O’Brien and Rhonda Vincent, the awards show was the centerpiece of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Virtual World of Bluegrass week. Considered the genre’s annual industry gathering and family reunion. World of Bluegrass has taken place in Raleigh, North Carolina since 2013. However, concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the nonprofit professional organization for the global bluegrass community to shift to online presentation of its professional development seminars, artist showcases and awards this year.

A list of award winners in 17 categories as determined by votes cast by IBMA’s professional members follows:

Entertainer of the Year: Sister Sadie
Vocal Group of the Year: Sister Sadie
Instrumental Group of the Year: Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper (its sixth win in his category)
Song of the Year: “Chicago Barn Dance” – Special Consensus with Michael Cleveland & Becky Buller (artists), Becky Buller/Missy Raines/Alison Brown (writers), Compass Records, Alison Brown (producer)
Album of the Year: Live In Prague, Czech Republic – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Billy Blue Records, Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek (producers)
Gospel Recording of the Year: Gonna Rise And Shine – Alan Bibey & Grasstowne (artist), Mark Hodges (producer), Mountain Fever Records (label)
Instrumental Recording of the Year: Tall Fiddler – Michael Cleveland (artist), Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan (producers), Compass Records (label)
New Artist of the Year: Mile Twelve
Collaborative Recording of the Year: The Barber’s Fiddle – Becky Buller with Shawn Camp, Jason Carter, Laurie Lewis, Kati Penn, Sam Bush, Michael Cleveland, Johnny Warren, Stuart Duncan, Deanie Richardson, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Jason Barie, Fred Carpenter, Tyler Andal, Nate Lee, Dan Boner, Brian Christianson, and Laura Orshaw (artists), Stephen Mougin (producer), Dark Shadow Recording (label)
Female Vocalist of the Year: Brooke Aldridge (her fourth win in this category)
Male Vocalist of the Year: Danny Paisley
Banjo Player of the Year: Scott Vestal
Bass Player of The Year: Missy Raines (her ninth win in this category)
Resophonic Guitar Player of the Year: Justin Moses
Fiddle Player of the Year: Deanie Richardson
Guitar Player of the Year: Jake Workman
Mandolin Player of the Year: Alan Bibey (who also won in this category last year)

Here’s a link to view the official video for “Chicago Barn Dance,” the Song of the Year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmDoxyuRM60

Momentum Awards Also Presented During Virtual World of Bluegrass

Earlier in the week, the IBMA recognized artists and business professionals in the early years of their bluegrass music careers with Momentum Awards. A veteran bluegrass professional who has made significant contributions in fostering excellence in young bluegrass performers and members of the industry also received a Mentor Award.

2020 Momentum Awards recipients include:

Kris Truelsen (Industry Involvement)
Annie Savage (Mentor)
Thomas Cassell (Instrumentalist)
Tabitha Agnew (Instrumentalist)
Melody Williamson (Vocalist)
The Slocan Ramblers (Band)

Green River Festival On The Air, July 10-12

Michael Kornfeld — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 13:42:41 +0000

Although the 34th Green River Festival that features music and hot air balloons has been postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, festival organizers have partnered with Northampton, Massachusetts-based radio station 93.9 The River (WRSI.com) to present Green River Festival On The Air, July 10-12, 2020.

Jim Olsen, the festival’s director, expressed gratitude that 84% of fans who purchased tickets for this year’s festival opted to hold onto them for 2021 and forgo refunds. ”We want to show our appreciation and bring together our festival community by offering an incredible weekend of performances,” Olsen said. Noting that streaming live musical performances will be interspersed artist interviews and fan reflections on festivals past on the campus of Greenfield Community College, he added: “We’re envisioning mini-listening parties in backyards and parks and hope to bring the spirit of the festival into homes everywhere.”

Artists slated to perform include the Avett Brothers, Billy Strings, Birds of Chicago, Deer Tick, Dustbowl Revival Samantha Fish,Michael Franti, I’m With Her, Eilen Jewell, Pokey LaFarge, Lake Street Drive, Heather Maloney, Mandolin Orange, The Mavericks, NRBQ, Old Crow Medicine Show, Chuck Prophet, Josh Ritter, Todd Snider, Mavis Staples, The Suitcase Junket, Tedeschi-Trucks Band, Toots & The Maytals, Lucinda Williams, and The Wood Brothers, among others.To view the full lineup and schedule, visit https://greenriverfestival.com/.

Olsen is also the co-founder and president of Signature Sounds, an indie label on whose roster many of the festival’s artists appear. Earlier this year, the label also established The Parlor Room Home Sessions — a live-streaming portal for its artists and others to share their music online at https://signaturesounds.com/homesessions. Next up are Tracy Grammer & Jim Henry on Saturday, July 18 at 9 p.m. EDT.

A video archive of past performances, dating back to late March, may also be found on the website. Included are such artists as Brooke Annibale, AJ Croce, Kris Delmhorst, Mark Erelli, Melissa Ferrick, Mary Gauthier & Jaimee Harris, Rhiannon Giddens, Caroline Herring, Charlie Hunter, Freedy Johnston, Amythyst Kiah, Sonny Landreth, Patty Larkin, Liz Longley, Leyla McCalla, James McMurtry, Miss Tess & Amanda Anne Platt, Bruce Molsky, Ryan Montbleau, Peter Mulvey, Tim O’Brien, Parsonsfield, Amy Rigby, Chris Smither, Anna Tivel, Twisted Pine, and several of the artists who will be part of Green River Festival On The Air.

Top Albums, Songs and Artists – April 2019 (FOLKDJ-L)

Michael Kornfeld — Thu, 09 May 2019 00:01:49 +0000

For a second consecutive month, Songs of Our Native Daughters (featuring modern roots artists Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, Allison Russell and Amythyst Kiah) was the top album on folk radio during April 2019.”There’s a Bright Side Somewhere” by Molsky’s Mountain Drifters was the month’s most-played song, edging out Danny Schmidt’s “Just Wait Til They See You,” March’s #1 song. John McCutcheon was the most-played artist of the month, followed by Schmidt, Tim O’Brien, and Our Native Daughters. So say charts compiled by Folk Alliance International from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in folk-based music on the radio.

As Smithsonian Folkways Recordings states on its website, “Songs of Our Native Daughters shines new light on African-American women’s stories of struggle, resistance, and hope. Pulling from and inspired by 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century sources, including slave narratives and early minstrelsy, kindred banjo players Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell reinterpret and create new works from old ones. With unflinching, razor-sharp honesty, they confront sanitized views about America’s history of slavery, racism, and misogyny from a powerful, black female perspective. These songs call on the persistent spirits of the daughters, mothers, and grandmothers who have fought for justice – in large, public ways – only now being recognized, and in countless domestic ways that will most likely never be acknowledged.”

Giddens, who co-produced the album with Dirk Powell, was formerly with Carolina Chocolate Drops – as was McCalla. Russell, a multi-instrumentalist, is also known as part of Birds of Chicago and Po’ Girl, while Kiah is an alt-country and blues singer-songwriter.

Molsky’s Mountain Drifters’ tagline is “tradition steeped in possibility, and that aptly describes the old-time and American roots music trio. The bad is fronted by Bruce Molsky, a Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist (fiddle, guitar and banjo) and a visiting scholar at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. It also features genre-bending guitarist Stash Wyslouch (of The Deadly Gentlemen) on guitar and vocals and master of the clawhammer banjo Allison de Groot (of The Goodbye Girls and Oh My Darling) – whose self-entitled album with Tatiana Hargreaves was the third most-played album on folk radio in April.

Molsky maintains that the trio is creating a new sound within the traditional music genre through its audacious approach. “I was looking for a new voice,” says Molsky, “a new avenue of expression using old time mountain music as the jumping-off point, but not being constrained by hard core traditionalism. Allison and Stash are showing me the way, just where the music is headed, in directions I never would have imagined when I started my own journey into the mountains a long time ago.” “There’s a Bright Side Somewhere” appears on Molsky’s Mountain Drifters’ new album, Closing the Gap.

John McCutcheon, April’s most-played artist on folk radio, is a much-revered folksinger-songwriter and a multi-instrumentalist. He was also the most-played artist and had both the top album (To Everyone in All the World: A Celebration of Pete Seeger) and the top song (“Sailing Down My Golden River”) on folk radio during February 2019. On his 40h album, he pays tribute to the music of his friend and mentor — the late folk icon Pete Seeger.

Of his friend, Seeger had said: “John McCutcheon is not only one of the best musicians in the USA, but also a great singer, songwriter, and song leader. And not just incidentally, he is committed to helping hard-working people everywhere to organize and push this world in a better direction.”

McCutcheon, a performing and recording artist since the mid-1970s, is a longtime labor and social activist. He is a founder and former president of Local 1000, the traveling acoustic musicians’ local of the American Federation of Musicians. He has keynoted conferences for several regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International. His previous release, Ghost Light, was the #2 album on folk radio in 2018 and also features three of last year’s 25 most-played songs (“This Road,” “She Just Dances,” and “The Machine”). McCutcheon’s classic “Christmas in the Trenches” tied for the most-played song on folk radio last December and has been among the most-played songs during the holiday season for years.

The April 2019 Top Albums, Songs and Artists charts are based on 14,198 airplays reported on 526 playlists submitted by 130 different DJs. The number of reported spins is shown below in parentheses. The charts are compiled by Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org), a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion.

The monthly top albums and songs charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission.

Top Albums of April 2019

1. Songs of Our Native Daughters by Our Native Daughters (87)
2. Standard Deviation by Danny Schmidt (77)
3. Allison De Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves by Allison De Groot and
Tatiana Hargreaves (72)
4. To Everyone in All the World by John McCutcheon (70)
5. Tim O’Brien Band by Tim O’Brien (68)
6. When You’re Ready by Molly Tuttle (67)
6. Patty Griffin by Patty Griffin (67)
8. Closing the Gap by Molsky’s Mountain Drifters (66)
9. The Great Irish Songbook by Dervish (64)
10. What Will We Do by Lula Wiles (57)
11. The Bull Moose Party by Jackson Grimm (56)
12. In Sevens by Kora Feder (51)
13. Once a Day by April Verch (50)
14. The Hard Way by Dale Ann Bradley (49)
15. It’s a Hard Life by Ruby Lovett (48)
15. Hummingbird by John Smith (48)
17. I Walked in Them Shoes by Adam Carroll (46)
17. The Butcher Shoppe EP by Della Mae (46)
19. What if This Is All There Is by Rj Cowdery (45)
20. Ten: The Errant Night by Runa (43)
21. The Point of Arrival by Carrie Newcomer (41)
22. Dirigo Attitude by Sara Trunzo (40)
22. Who I Am by Andrew Adkins (40)
24. Better by Now by Benjamin Dakota Rogers (39)
24. The Songs of Mother Jones in Heaven by Vivian Nesbitt and John Dillon
(39)
26. Heartache Town by Eric Lee (38)
26. Hide and Hair by Trials of Cato (38)
28. Monroe Bus by Andy Statman (35)
29. Facets of Folk by Mara Levine (34)
30. Rise Sun by Infamous Stringdusters (33)
30. Smoke and Ashes by Lonely Heartstring Band (33)
32. Driver by Michael Braunfeld (30)
32. Nola: Susan Werner Goes to New Orleans by Susan Werner (30)
34. Up Against the Sky by Dave Gunning (28)
34. Time and Truth by Joel Mabus (28)
34. October in the Railroad Earth by Tom Russell (28)
34. Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3 by Todd Snider (28)
38. Guy by Steve Earle and the Dukes (27)
39. Valley of the Bones by Jane Kramer (26)
39. Master Key by Elizabeth Lockhart (26)
41. Pack Up the Moon by D.C. Bloom (24)
41. Avalanche by Imar (24)
41. Tides of a Teardrop by Mandolin Orange (24)
44. Unfortunate Point of View by Katherine Rondeau (23)
44. Black Horse Motel by CC Railroad (23)
44. Pseudomyopia by Rachael Sage (23)
47. Please Don’t Tell Me How to Dance by Cindy Ruenes (22)
47. Off to Here Land by Ashley and Simpson (22)
47. Roll On, Clouds by Frank Lee and Allie Burbrink (22)
50. Love and Revelation by Over the Rhine (20)
50. Sparks by Rachel Hair and Ron Jappy (20)
50. Worthy Cause by Chad Richard (20)
50. The Smithsonian Folkways Collection by Pete Seeger (20)
50. Common Chords by Robert Jones and Matt Watroba (20)
50. The Sky in Between by Ky Burt (20)
50. Baked Not Fried by Paul Chet and the Whiskey Chickens (20)
50. Tentation by Yves Lambert Trio (20)
58. The Best of Live by Livingston Taylor (19)
58. Pictures of Us by Braden Gates (19)
58. Caffeine and Nicotine by David Glaser (19)
58. A List of Names by Karyn Oliver (19)
62. The Long Road by Beth Wood (18)
62. Lucky Lucky by Safe as Houses (18)
62. Tex by Terry Klein (18)
62. The Question by Anna Tivel (18)
62. The Tree of Forgiveness by John Prine (18)
67. Steel Blossoms by Steel Blossoms (17)
67. What It Is by Hayes Carll (17)
67. Anyone Can See by Honey Dewdrops (17)
67. We Will Sing by Lizzy Plotkin (17)

Top Songs of April 2019

Molsky’s Mountain Drifters (Photo: Kate Orne)

1. “There’s a Bright Side Somewhere” by Molsky’s Mountain Drifters (22)
2. “Just Wait Til They See You” by Danny Schmidt (20)
3. “Food and Medicine” by Sara Trunzo (19)
4. “Middle America Blues” by Jackson Grimm (18)
5. “The High Road” by Molly Tuttle (17)
6. “I Knew I Could Fly” by Our Native Daughters (15)
6. “Where I Come From” by Patty Griffin (15)
8. “Music and Joy” by Our Native Daughters (14)
8. “Fragile Heart” by Andrew Adkins (14)
8. “Please Don’t Tell Me How to Dance” by Cindy Ruenes (14)
8. “River” by Patty Griffin (14)
8. “Sixteen Tons” by Della Mae (14)
8. “Take Me Home” by Sofia Talvik (14)
14. “You’re Not Alone” by Our Native Daughters (13)
14. “In the Bend of the Cumberland” by Sara Trunzo (13)
16. “Walked in Them Shoes” by Adam Carroll (12)
16. “The Galway Shawl” by Dervish (12)
16. “Hummingbird” by John Smith (12)
19. “Monroe Bus” by Andy Statman (11)
19. “Court and Spark” by Norah Jones (11)
19. “I Don’t Want to Get Married” by Allison De Groot and Tatiana
Hargreaves (11)
19. “Million Miles” by Molly Tuttle (11)
19. “Bourbon Hound” by Della Mae (11)
19. “Take the Journey” by Molly Tuttle (11)
25. “Well May the World Go” by John McCutcheon (10)
25. “Appalachia Calling” by Jackson Grimm (10)
25. “The Garden” by Eric Lee (10)
25. “Last Man Standing” by Danny Schmidt (10)
25. “Dance With Me” by Kora Feder (10)
25. “Meditation Song” by Kora Feder (10)
25. “Pastures of Plenty” by Tim O’Brien (10)
25. “Down by the Sally Gardens” by Dervish (10)
25. “Ripple” by Dale Ann Bradley (10)
25. “Who Wouldn’t Be Lonely” by Allison De Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves (10)

Top Artists of April 2019

John McCutcheon (Photo: Irene Young)

1. John McCutcheon (95)
2. Tim O’Brien (88)
2. Danny Schmidt (88)
4. Our Native Daughters (87)
5. Pete Seeger (84)
6. Allison De Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves (76)
7. Dervish (74)
8. Patty Griffin (71)
9. Molly Tuttle (69)
10. Molsky’s Mountain Drifters (67)
11. Lula Wiles (58)
12. Jackson Grimm (56)
13. April Verch (55)
14. John Smith (53)
14. Carrie Newcomer (53)
16. Dale Ann Bradley (52)
16. Kora Feder (52)
18. Tom Russell (51)
19. Runa (50)
20. Della Mae (49)
20. Ruby Lovett (49)
22. Adam Carroll (46)
23. Rj Cowdery (45)
23. Dave Gunning (45)
25. Sara Trunzo (40)
25. Trials of Cato (40)
25. John Prine (40)
25. Vivian Nesbitt and John Dillon (40)
25. Andrew Adkins (40)
25. Susan Werner (40)
31. Benjamin Dakota Rogers (39)
32. Eric Lee (38)
32. Infamous Stringdusters (38)
32. Mara Levine (38)
35. Bob Dylan (37)
36. Lonely Heartstring Band (35)
36. Andy Statman (35)
36. Cathy Barton and Dave Para (35)
39. Joel Mabus (34)
40. Eliza Gilkyson (33)
40. Todd Snider (33)

AcousticMusicScene.com Hosts Showcases at 2018 SERFA Conference in North Carolina

Michael Kornfeld — Sat, 12 May 2018 15:06:43 +0000

A view of Lake Susan at the Montreat Conference Center in North Carolina (Photo: Michael Kornfeld)
More than 250 people will converge on the Montreat Conference Center in Montreat, North Carolina, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Asheville and Black Mountain, May 16-20, 2018 for the 11th annual Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) Conference. An extended weekend of contemporary and traditional folk music, networking and learning opportunities, the conference will be keynoted by Jim Rooney and features two-dozen juried official showcases.

The official showcases take place Thursday-Saturday evenings from 7:15-10:30 p.m., with each artist/act performing a 15-minute set. In addition, the conference will include late-night guerilla showcases hosted by AcousticMusicScene.com and others from 10:40 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Also on the agenda are daytime informational seminars and workshops, a Wisdom of the Elders session, one-on-one mentoring, The SERFA Awards, two-dozen exhibitors, and plenty of opportunities to learn, share and network.

Conference attendees also can enjoy strolling around the beautiful grounds and hiking along the trails at Montreat. Indeed, Don Baker, president of SERFA’s board of directors expresses hope that attendees “will also get outside to relax and rejuvenate in the bucolic surroundings.” Built-in mid-afternoon breaks in the programming afford conference-goers opportunities to do just that.

SERFA is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org), a 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. SERFA (www.serfa.org) exists to promote, develop and celebrate the diverse heritage of roots and indigenous music, dance, storytelling and related arts in the southeastern United States. Its annual conference is a primary means of doing that. This is the eighth consecutive year that it is being held at the same location — a beautiful and tranquil spot nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This year’s conference opens with a barbecue, followed by a barn dance and an open mic on Wednesday night, and concludes on Sunday morning with a farewell breakfast.

Here’s a link to a short video that provides an introduction to SERFA and its annual conference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COOjr5I0TkM“>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COOjr5I0TkM

Jim Rooney to Deliver Keynote Address

Jim Rooney will deliver a keynote on Friday afternoon, May 18. A musician, club and festival presenter, recording producer and engineer, author, music publisher, and songwriter, Rooney traces his love for bluegrass back to Massachusetts in the 1950s – when he heard a band called the Confederate Mountaineers on radio station WCOP. Before long, he was on WCOP himself and hooked on performing. While at Amherst, Rooney met Bill Keith, who would be a friend and musical partner for much of the next 60 years. In 1962, they recorded “Devil’s Dream” and “Sailor’s Hornpipe, the first documentation of Bill’s chromatic style shortly before he joined the Blue Grass Boys. Over the years, Rooney and Keith collaborated frequently – including with the Blue Velvet Band, Mud Acres, and in concert tours with many others. Rooney also helped to bring such bluegrass luminaries as Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs to the attention of northern, urban audiences when he managed the legendary Club 47 in Cambridge. He also helped program the Newport Folk Festival, launched the event that evolved into New Orleans’ Jazz & Heritage Festival, and helped build Albert Grossman’s Bearsville Studio. As an author, Rooney penned the first biography of both Bill Monroe and Muddy Waters (Bossman), the first history of the Boston folk scene (Baby Let Me Follow You down, with Erik von Schmidt), and a memoir (In It For the Long Run: A Musical Odyssey). As a producer and studio engineer, he’s worked on projects with Iris DeMent, Don Edwards, Nanci Griffith, Hal Ketchum, Carl Perkins, Peter Rowan, and Ian Tyson, among others. He also helped to build a successful artist-oriented publishing house (Forerunner) with songwriters like Pat Alger, Shawn Camp, Tim O’Brien, and Barry & Holly Tashian turning out a number of country radio chart-hits. Camp and O’Brien also occasionally perform with Rooney at Nashville’s Station Inn as Rooney’s Irregulars.

Rooney, Ginny Hawker & Tracy Schwarz, and Michael Stock to Receive Awards

An Americana Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award and IBMA Distinguished Service Award recipient, Rooney also will be among the recipients of awards from SERFA in recognition of extraordinary contributions to folk music and the folk music community in the Southeast.

Also being honored are traditional folk artists Ginny Hawker & Tracy Schwarz and longtime folk DJ Michael Stock.

Ginny Hawker & Tracy Schwarz are longtime West Virginia residents who have performed traditional folk music separately and together. Since meeting 30 years ago at Ashokan Fiddle and Dance Camp in upstate New York, they have wrapped their songs in stories of the people and places of the music – transporting audiences to another time when life was simpler and families were held close. They have appeared in concert and at festivals throughout the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom and also teach southern traditional singing a several music camps during the summer. Hawker & Schwarz have released two albums together. Hawker, who grew up in rural Virginia as part of large extended family of singers and musicians, has recorded six albums — four of them with Kay Justice. Schwarz, who was born in New York City and grew up in New Jersey and New England, has more than 30 album credits. A multi-instrumentalist and singer, he was part of the New Lost City Ramblers, a vocal and instrumental folk group that helped popularize traditional string band music and introduce urban audiences to southern rural music during the 1960s and 1970s. Schwarz also joined with bandmate Mike Seeger, Alice Gerrard, Hazel Dickens and Lamar Grier – all of whom had been friends since the mid-1950s — to form the Strange Creek Singers in the late 1960s. Named after Strange Creek, WV, the group performed a mix of traditional and original songs in old-time and bluegrass styles.

Michael Stock, one of the 120 people who gathered in Malibu, California in 1989 to form what would become Folk Alliance International, has produced and hosted “Folk & Acoustic Music” every Sunday afternoon since 1981 on public radio station WLRN 91.3 FM in Miami, Florida. The show features a wide range of folk music — from bluegrass, blues and old-time to contemporary singer-songwriter and Americana — along with local and touring artist interviews and in-studio performances. Videos of more than 500 of these may be found on his YouTube channel. Stock also has been a concert promoter, operated a folk nightclub, and hosted folk music programs on cable television.

Workshops and Panel Discussions Organized by Tracks

Some three-dozen 75-minute workshops during the conference will be organized by tracks: Activism, Business for Musicians Media, Performing and Recording, Presenting, Songwriting, and Roots and Sources. Workshops and panel discussions will delve into such topics as the art of community jams and song swaps, the art of record-making, backwoods Appalachian songs and new generations, DIY touring, the folk music community and social responsibility, how to grow your audience, learning from the old songs, music in healing environments, promoting to radio, sharpening the tools in your promotional tool kit, social media, Texas country blues-style guitar, and using music for tourism development. Several workshops will focus on house concerts, while there also will be forums for presenters.

A Wisdom of the Elders session will feature Rooney, Hawker & Schwarz, and award-winning songwriter Billy Edd Wheeler. A West Virginia native, Wheeler has lived in North Carolina since 1963 — apart from a short stint in Nashville managing United Artists Music Group. His songs have been recorded by nearly 100 artists – including Johnny Cash, Judy Collins, Bobby Darin, Elvis, The Kingston Trio, Kenny Rogers, and Neil Young. Among his songs are “Coal Tattoo,” “Coward of the Country,” “Jackson,” “Ode to the Little Brown shack Out Back,” “The Coming of the Roads,” and “The Rev. Mr. Black.” Wheeler also has written a dozen plays (including four outdoor dramas) and penned or co-authored several books of humor – including Laughter in Appalachia, which is now in its 13th printing. He was recently inducted into both the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Association International’s Hall of Fame and is a recipient of Distinguished Alumnus awards from Warren Wilson College and Berea College.

Besides the workshops and panel discussions, there will be one-on-one mentoring sessions, yoga, two-dozen exhibit tables, communal meals, and, of course, a lot of music. Grady Ormsby of Down East Folk Arts will host several open mics that are being dedicated to the memory of singer-songwriter Robert Bobby (Joe Milsom), a frequent conference attendee, who died earlier this year after a battle with brain cancer.

Official and Guerilla Showcases Abound

Slated to present official showcases on Thursday, May 17, are ilyAIMY, James Lee Stanley, Sarah Peacock, Rough & Tumble, The Belle Hollows, Jacob Johnson, Ernest Troost, and Suzie Vinnick. Friday’s official showcase lineup features Alan Barnosky, Jon Byrd, Beth Snapp, Escaping Pavement, Ed Snodderly, Tret Fure, Matthew Sabatella, and Piper Hayes. Saturday’s showcase artists include Louisa Branscomb with Jeanette & Johnny Williams, Rupert Wates, Brian Ashley Jones, Bill and the Belles, Edgar Loudermilk Band (featuring Jeff Autry), Jane Kramer, Greg Klyma, and David Jacobs-Strain and Bob Beach.

To listen to a sampler featuring songs from each of the 24 official showcase artists, click on the following link:

https://noisetrade.com/serfaartists/serfa-showcase-artists-2018

Following the official showcases, late-night guerilla showcases will take place in various meeting rooms between 10:40 p.m. and 2 a.m. AcousticMusicScene.com, which has had a presence at the SERFA Conference for the past seven years, will host late-night showcases on Thursday and Friday, May 17 and 18, overnight. These will primarily take the form of song swaps.

Here’s the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase schedule:

Thursday Night, May 17:

10:40: Friction Farm

11:00: Tennessee: Claudia Nygaard, Erin O’ Dowd and Taylor Pie

11:30: O Canada: Linda McRae, Suzie Vinnick and Noah Zacharin

12:00: Guys of Note: Alan Barnosky, Paul Helou and Chuck McDermott

12:30: Women’s Voices: Kala Farnham, Jane Kramer and Tret Fure

1:00: A Pair of Duos: Dan & Faith and Jubilant Bridge

1:30: Tunes by Todds: Todd Burge and Todd Hoke

The Belle Hollows, a Nashville-based contemporary folk trio, will kick-off the Friday overnight musical festivities in the AcousicMusicScene.com room.
Friday Night, May 18:

10:40:The Belle Hollows

11:00: Marylanders: Domenic Cicala and Teghan Devon (with Emily Matteson)

11:30: Mara Levine, Dennis McDonough and Susan Shann

12:00: Guys of Note: Jacob Johnson and James Lee Stanley

12:30: Women’s Voices: Gina Holsopple, Beth Snapp and Heather Styka

1:00: Keystone Staters: Antonio Andrade and Meghan Cary

1:30: Acoustic Blues: David Jacobs-Strain & Bob Beach, Jon Shain & FJ Ventre and Ruth Wyland

Editor’s Note: Besides hosting AcousticMusicScene.com showcases, I will facilitate and participate in a panel discussion on social media. I will also again be a mentor offering advice and counsel on various aspects of public relations and strategic communications. An elected board member of Folk Alliance International, I also serve as board president for the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA). I have been an active participant at SERFA conferences since 2011.

Bluegrass Gets International Exposure in NYC

Michael Kornfeld — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 21:56:14 +0000

Balsam Range, Allison Brown, DePue Brothers Band, The Gibson Brothers, Sierra Hull, The Kruger Brothers, Matuto, Mipso, Tim O’Brien, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, Bryan Sutton and The Travelin’ McCourys were among the bluegrass artists who showcased their talents during the 58th annual conference of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP), held in New York City, Jan. 9-13.

The global performing arts marketplace and conference featured more than 1000 artist showcases (music, theatre, dance, comedy and more), a large EXPO Hall with nearly 400 exhibitors, daily plenary sessions and keynote speakers, and a wide array of professional development workshops and forums. It is hosted by APAP, a Washington, D.C.-based national service, advocacy and membership organization dedicated to developing and supporting a robust performing arts presenters field and the professionals who work within it. 9Last year’s APAP Conference featured a professional development session on Presenting Bluegrass: Engaging New Audiences. An article on that is archived on AcousticMusicScene.com and may be viewed by clicking on this link:

Presenting Bluegrass is Panel’s Focus at 2014 APAP Conference

Balsam Range
Marc Pruett, banjo player for Balsam Range, the reigning IBMA Entertainers and Vocal Group of the Year, summed up the reason that all of the bluegrass artists were in New York: “I hope that we make some new friends. We’re the reason they’re here, and they’re the reason we’re here. We want to be able to connect our music to their audience.”

From the moment Balsam Range kicked off its showcase at the New York Hilton, the conference’s host hotel, with “Moon Over Memphis,” it seemed clear that the group that has headlined concert halls, theaters and festivals throughout North America since its formation eight years ago was doing just that.

Commenting on the accolades and success that Balsam Range has achieved to date, Tim Surrett (bass and dobro) said: “It’s amazing. We would have laughed if you would have told us eight years ago that this would happen.” Surrett, who also co-founded the Mountain Home Music Company (the label for which Balsam Range records) noted that although the group’s members all hail from the same county and live just 15 minutes from each other in western North Carolina, they had been playing in different bands and touring all over the world. “We just got together to pick a little.” The group takes its name from a mountain range in NC’s Smoky Mountain region.

Frank Solivan performs during the 2015 APAP Conference (Photo: Michael Kornfeld)
The impressive virtuosic playing of Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen during its 20-minute showcase at the Hilton was evidence of why this progressive bluegrass band has helped broaden the appeal of the genre to younger audiences and was named as IBMA’s Instrumental Group of the Year in 2014. Fronted by lead vocalist, mandolinist and fiddler Solivan, the Washington, D.C. area quartet also features bassist Dan Booth, banjoist Mike Munford (2013 IBMA Banjo Player of the Year) and guitarist Chris Luquette (recipient of IBMA’s 2013 Momentum Award for Instrumental Performance). Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen’s third album, Cold Spell, is among the nominees for Best Bluegrass Album in the 57th annual Grammy Awards to be announced Feb. 8.

The Depue Brothers Band, Matuto, and Mipso mixed things up a bit during their respective showcases. The DePue Brothers Band perform what they call “Grassical” music – fusing bluegrass and classical, along with elements of jazz, blues and rock. Matuto is a New York City-based ensemble fronted by guitarist Clay Ross. The band plays what it calls Brazilian bluegrass — a lively and very danceable blend of northeastern Brazil’s infectious folkloric rhythms and rootsy Americana (including bluegrass, swampy Louisiana two-steps and spirituals). Besides Ross on guitar and vocals, Matuto features violin, accordion, bass, drums and various Brazilian percussive instruments. The band has been an international musical ambassador through American Music Abroad – a partnership between American Voices and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Mipso, which bills itself as North Carolina’s renegade traditionalists performing ‘dark holler pop,’ is comprised of four recent college graduates – three of whom grew up with the bluegrass tradition but who, along with their fiddler, give it a little bit of a twist. The quartet’s sound is a blend of bluegrass, contemporary country, folk, gospel and pop.

Bluegrass Sampler Platter Showcase Provides Some Tasty Morsels

The Gibson Brothers, Sierra Hull, Tim O’Brien, Bryan Sutton and The Travelin’ McCourys were part of an extended four-hour Bluegrass Sampler Platter showcase that drew a large crowd (not limited to APAP attendees) to Manhattan’s City Winery.

Opening the show, top-notch guitarist Bryan Sutton, who hails from the mountains of western North Carolina near Asheville, exclaimed: “It sort of feels like a New York City on Sunday night – a place where I don’t have to worry and don’t have to hurry.” Sutton showed off the guitar chops and intricate finger-play that have earned him much critical acclaim and numerous awards (including a Grammy and being named three times as IBMA Guitarist of the Year). Although best known for his flat-picked acoustic guitar playing, Sutton also played banjo on a couple of numbers – while Rob McCoury joined him on banjo on another.

Next up was Sierra Hull, a classy young mandolinist with a beautiful, crystalline voice. Accompanied by Ethan Jodziewicz on stand-up bass, she moved effortlessly between instrumentals and songs during her set. Now in her early 20s, Hull has gravitated more towards the singer-songwriter side of Americana roots music from the more traditional bluegrass of her teen years – although her repertoire reflects a wide range of musical styles. Like Matuto, she was an international cultural ambassador last year through the American Music Abroad program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

Hailed in bluegrass music circles for their tight vocal harmonies, The Gibson Brothers have received numerous International Bluegrass Music Awards – including Entertainer of the Year (2012 and 2013) and Vocal Group of the Year (2011 and 2013). Although guitar-playing brothers Eric and Leigh Gibson perform a lot of original material with band-mates Mike Barber (bass), Jesse Brock (mandolin) and Clayton Campbell (fiddle), their set was heavily sprinkled with renditions of songs by such other notable brother acts as The Everly Brothers, The Louvin Brothers (whom Leigh calls “kind of the gold standard of brother acts in terms of country music”) and the Monroe brothers. The Gibson Brothers signed to Rounder Records last summer and their first release for the label, Brotherhood, due out in February, pays homage to the brother acts that have inspired them since growing up on a diary farm in upstate New York.

Tim O’Brien has been a key player on the American roots music scene for years. An acclaimed singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, the Grammy Award-winner and two-time IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year also has had his songs recorded by numerous other artists. But this was his night to shine, and so he did – primarily on guitar and vocals. Noted mandolinist, clarinetist and composer Andy Statman joined him for a few songs from a new Superstring Theory album featuring The Andy Statman Trio with O’Brien and fiddler Michael Cleveland. A lightning-fast-paced number featuring dueling mandolins was among the set’s highlights.

The Travelin’ McCourys – featuring the sons of Del McCoury and their band-mates – closed out the evening with a varied set of music that ranged from songs with four-part harmonies and a high & lonesome sound to more straight-ahead bluegrass and break-neck speed instrumentals during which each player was afforded an opportunity to lead. Enhancing the sound throughout the set was Bryan Sutton on guitar, while all of the evening’s artists were invited on stage to close out the night with a little pickin’ party.

Old Settler’s Music Festival Set for April 10-13, 2014 in Texas Hill Country

Michael Kornfeld — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 15:47:08 +0000

The Texas Hill Country comes alive with the sounds of Americana and roots music of all varieties, April 10-13, 2014. That’s when the Old Settler’s Music Festival returns to the Salt Lick BBQ Pavilion and Camp Ben McCulloch in Driftwood, Texas, just south of Austin. Now in its 27th year, the festival also takes place during what’s usually the height of bluebonnet and wildflower season.

Although Old Settler’s has grown in popularity over the years, it retains a more casual and laid-back down-home Texas vibe than a couple of other notable Austin area music festivals. Among the diverse array of talented performers on the 2014 lineup are Big Head Todd & The Monsters, The Black Lillies, Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges & The Abiders, The Deadly Gentlemen, The Del McCoury Band, Della Mae, Donna The Buffalo, Elephant Revival, John Fullbright, Gaelic Storm, The Gibson Brothers, Sarah Jarosz, Lake Street Dive, Parker Millsap, North Mississippi Allstars, Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Peter Rowan, Bob Schneider, Shinyribs, Shovels & Rope, Ralph Stanley & His Clinch Mountain Boys, and more.

In addition to concerts on four stages, there will be workshops, sing-a-longs and impromptu jam sessions, a youth talent competition and children’s activities, a market area featuring arts and crafts, specialty foods and craft brews, and lots of tasty barbecue.

Discounted admission wristbands are available online until March 31. For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.oldsettlersmusicfest.org or call 888-512-SHOW.