Song of the Year honors went to Dan Navarro and Janiva Magness’ recording of “$20 Bill (for George Floyd) by the late singer-songwriter Tom Prasada-Rao. In accepting the award, Navarro (a singer-songwriter and voice actor perhaps best known for co-writing the hit song “We Belong”) noted that more than 100 artists recorded a version of Prasada-Rao’s song in 2020 “but because of the impact and the challenges of the pandemic, it never really had a proper release and we decided we would do something about that.“ Dedicating the award to Prasado-Rao, who died last year, Navarro said: “This is not just the song of the year; it’s the song of the century and the song of a lifetime.”

Here’s a link to view a video of Dan Navarro and Janiva Magness performing “$20 Bill (for George Floyd)”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeHdq817B7Y

Susan Werner’s Halfway to Houston was named Album of the Year. A prolific and versatile singer-songwriter who accompanies herself on both guitar and piano and is known for her sassy wit and classy Midwest charm, Werner was unable to be in Montreal to accept the award and sent a short video, while fellow singer-songwriter Dar Williams picked up the award on her behalf.

In addition to these FAI member-voted awards – which were open to recordings released between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024 – a number of special awards and honors were presented.

The People’s Voice Award recognizing an artist who embraces social and political commentary in his/her songs was presented to Gina Chavez, an Austin, Texas-based singer-songwriter who has helped to amplify the voices of the marginalized.

The River Roads Festival received The Clearwater Award, honoring a festival that — like its Pete Seeger-founded namesake –- exhibits sound leadership in environmental stewardship and sustainable event production. A one-day event presented by Dar Williams and held in Easthampton, Massachusetts for the past two years, the next River Roads Festival is set for July 5 at Heuser Park in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Williams said that she was “so excited” to accept the award. She noted that, like Seeger was, she is a resident of New York’s Hudson Valley and recalled being on Conan O’Brien’s late-night TV talk show with him in 1998. Said Williams: “Music is an incredible force … The culture around the music can be a powerful vehicle for justice.”

The Rising tide Award, which is bestowed on an emerging artist/act of an age, went to OKAN, a female-led, Afro-Cuban roots and jazz duo.

Spirit of Folk Awards recognizing people and organizations actively engaged in the promotion and preservation of folk music were presented to Annie Capps, Innu Nikamu festival, Tom Power, and Alice Randall. Capps is a Michigan-based singer-songwriter and a longtime leader with Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM), who has served as both its board president and conference director. Innu Nikamu is a Quebec-based festival of Indigenous music and culture that has taken place for more than 30 years. Power, best known as the host of CBC Radio One’s Q program, is also a musician who performs and records with The Dardanelles, a Canadian folk band. Randall is a hit-making country music songwriter who has been a trailblazer in folk and country music. She’s also a college lecturer and the author of My Black Country, which she describes as both a memoir and a history.

“I owe my sanity to folk music,” said Randall in accepting the award. “In My Black Country, I tell the story of climbing out of the hell of being raped by holding on to the sound of John Prine singing “Angel From Montgomery.” Prine’s label, Oh Boy! Records, also released a collection of songs entitled My Black Country. Randall noted that her book “is about the Black folk, including Black folk musicians, who made country country.”

2025 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients included the folk-rock duo Indigo Girls (whose eponymous debut album won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording 35 years ago), the late Black Appalachian musician Lesley Riddle, and the global roots magazine Songlines. During the awards show, singer-songwriters Rose Cousins and Mary Bragg performed “Galileo,” one of the Indigo Girls’ hit songs, in tribute to the duo, while Black indigenous Canadian singer-songwriter Julian Taylor performed “Red River Blues” in tribute to Riddle.

Accepting the Legacy Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of Riddle, who died in 1980 at age 75, Randall referred to him as a founder of country music and a practitioner of folk who collected and taught the Carter Family a lot of songs. “Tonight, Folk Alliance corrects an almost 100 year-old wrong” by recognizing him.

“We need folk music now more than ever,” said the Indigo Girls’ Emily Saliers in a pre-recorded video. “This Folk Alliance is a group that honors diversity, equity, inclusion, and access for all. Folk music is the music of truth telling. Amy [Ray] and I are, especially in this time, particularly honored to accept this award.” Echoing her sentiments, Ray urged folks to “Please stand up with us and make your voices heard in these times … Day by day, song by song, we can make this world a better place.”

Accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of Songlines, James Anderson-Hanney, its publisher, said: “I think we’re the last world music magazine on the planet.” The UK-based, glossy bimonthly that comes with CD is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary.Leading Quebecois folk ensemble Le Vent Du Nord, a 2023 Songlines award recipient, performed in honor of the magazine.

Five Inducted Into Folk Radio Hall of Fame

Eight years ago, Folk Alliance International established a Folk Radio Hall of Fame in order to recognize folk DJs and music directors for the vital role that they play by sharing the music with their listeners. Wanda Fischer, Longtime host of The Hudson River Sampler on WAMC Radio in Albany, New York and herself an inductee in the Hall of Fame, recognized this year’s inductees, while a video featuring visuals and information about them was also screened. The 2025 inductees include Taylor Caffery, Matthew Finch, Archie Fisher, MarySue Twohy, and Chuck Wentworth.

Taylor Caffery, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, has been the host Hootenanny Power of WRKF Public Radio in Baton Rouge, LA since it began airing in 1981. He’s also been recognized with WRKF’s Founder’s Award (2022) and with the Kari Estrin Founding President’s Award during the 2024 Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) Conference.

Matthew Finch, who left our world unexpectedly in July 2024, was a beloved figure in New Mexico’s music scene, who devoted more than 20 years to KUNM in Albuquerque as its music director, and as a tireless advocate for local musicians. Through the programs Ear to the Ground and Studio 55, he created platforms for regional artists to share their music, showcasing live performances and celebrating the diversity of the state’s music community.

Archie Fisher hosted BBC Radio Scotland’s award-winning Traveling Folk program for 27 years – promoting artists and musicians of the folksong revival throughout the British Isles. A talented artist in his own right, he also hosted studio sessions and interviews with such notable American and Canadian artists as Joan Baez, Judy Collins, David Francey, and James Keelaghan. Queen Elizabeth II presented him with a MBE in 2006 for his services to music.

MarySue Twohy is a program director at SiriusXM, who currently manages The Village, its folk channel, among others. She conducts artist interviews and produces a wide array of radio programs. Formerly an artist herself, she moved into broadcasting by hosting a two-hour program 20 years ago and quickly rose to PD. She also served on the FAI board of directors for seven years and continues to serve on national music committees, and to participate in conference panels and as a songwriting contest judge.

Chuck Wentworth, who passed away last year, was a revered figure on the New England music scene – best known for his long-standing contributions as both a radio show host and a festival producer. He began hosting a folk radio show on WRIU-FM, the college radio station at the University of Rhode Island, while he was a student and Traditions aired for 38 years. He also served as the station’s folk and roots music director and expanded its folk programming from one show to five nights a week. Wentworth was also the founder and producer of the Rhythm & Roots Festival, a three-day music and dance festival in Rhode Island.

[Here’s a link to view the International Folk Music Awards Show, which also was livestreamed via YouTube and was available for viewing via Folk Alley and NPR Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVE29BZ6fBg

The International Folk Music Awards was just one part, albeit an important one, of the 37th annual Folk Alliance International Conference that extended from February 19-23 and drew nearly 2,500 attendees. In addition to more than 2,700 showcases featuring more than 700 acts (including 183 juried official showcases plus many more showcases extending into the early morning hours), the conference included a keynote conversation with Allison Russell and Ann Powers [see below], Black American Music and International Indigenous Music Summits, a one-day legal summit, 45 panel discussions and workshops, a number of affinity and peer group sessions, six film screenings and discussions, lobby jams, meetings of FAI’s regional affiliates, a town hall meeting on P2 Visas – Working Through Parity at the Canada/US Border, a popular Meet the Folk DJs session, morning yoga, an exhibit hall, agent-presenter speed networking sessions, and lots of other networking opportunities.

Artist & Activist Allison Russell Engages in Keynote Conversation with Music Journalist Anne Powers

Allison Russell — a widely acclaimed singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and activist –- returned to her hometown to engage in an hour-long keynote conversation with Anne Powers, a critic and correspondent for NPR Music. A soulful, Nashville, Tennessee-based, Montreal-born Scottish Grenadian Canadian, Russell is the recipient of more than a dozen awards. These include a Grammy Award for Best American Roots Music Performance for Eve Was Black,” a single off of her sophomore solo recording, Returner released in September 2023), Juno Awards for Contemporary Album of the Year (for her solo debut, Outside Child – 2022) and Music Video of the Year (for “Demons,” 2024), six UK Americana Music Awards, four Canadian Folk Music Awards, and two Americana Music Honors & Awards. In 2022, Folk Alliance International members voted Russell’s solo debut as Album of the Year and her as Artist of the Year. Outside Child was also named Contemporary album of the Year in the 2022 Canadian Folk Music Awards, while she was named Songwriter of the Year and New/Emerging Artist of the Year in recognition of the emotion-laden album featuring 11 original songs “about resilience and survival, transcendence and the redemptive power of art, community, connection, and chosen family.”

Russell has previously spoken of the abuse and trauma that she faced in her youth and the major role that music has played in helping her to overcome it .In her conversation with Powers, she recalled how, at age 15, while unhoused, she slept in the pews at a church just a few blocks from Le Sheraton Centre.

Asked about her latest album, 2023’s The Returner, she noted how she had been a challenged, broken yet brave girl. “”We come from long, broken lines of survivors. We’re all miracles. We’re all returners. We are all overcoming things.”

Much of her on-stage conversation with Powers focused on her recent portrayal of Persephone in Anais Mitchell’s award-winning Broadway musical, Hadestown. Russell noted that it was her first professional acting role and that she had not acted since performing in a Shakespearean play while in high school.

Sharing her reflections on Hadestown just days after she concluded her 50-week run as Persephone and in keeping with the “Illuminate” theme of the conference, she said: Persephone is Hades’ only source of light, of illumination in the underworld. She was the light in his life.”

Playing a mythic goddess in this time took on new connotations, she acknowledged, citing “the current fear-mongering administration in Washington” and “the bigotry and bias that can really harm communities.”

Referring to herself as “a geriatric millennial,” Russell said: “When I came up 24 years ago, there weren’t too many others who looked liked me.” Acknowledging that “our [folk] community is growing more diverse,” she spoke of being a curator during the 2021 Newport Folk Festival tasked with featuring Black and Black & queer women and their allies in the center of a 90-minute set focused on roots and revolution. ”What could be more beautiful than to be conscious, to be mindful [woke],” said Russell, noting that she’s “a queer woman who somehow married a white man with a guitar.”

Prior to embarking on her solo career, Russell was a co-founder of Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago and was part of Po’ Girl.

[Here’s a link to view a video recording of the keynote conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_ne2-baY8g.]

Folk Alliance International (folk.org) is a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“For more than two decades, the New Bedford Folk Festival has been enjoyed by both locals and visitors who love food, music and artisan markets, so it was very much missed during the pandemic,” said Rosemary Gill, executive director of the Zeiterion PAC, the festival’s presenter since 2016.

The festival schedule includes a plethora of talented artists and acts — 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 walking briskly 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 “Meet the Performer” area at the historic Seamen’s Bethel (which figures In Herman Melville’s classic novel, Moby Dick) and the National Park Garden Stage to the majestic 1200-seat Zeiterion Performing Arts Center. Besides nearly 75 musical performances on those stages, there will be non-ticketed areas open to the public – including six blocks of craft vendors, a gourmet food court & beer garden, and a Southcoast Stage featuring local performers.

“We continue to attract high-caliber musicians who are the best in their genre,” maintains Alan Korolenko, who originated the festival as New Bedford Summerfest in 1996 and currently serves as its artistic director, along with his wife Helene. “Our loyal audience look forward to the artists they know, as well as those they haven’t yet experienced, like at the workshops [featuring three of four artists/acts on stage at the same time] that match unlikely musicians,” he said. “These unique performances have helped New Bedford Folk Festival to become the gem it is today.” This summer’s song swap-style workshops include “A Change is Gonna Come: Topical Songs Then and Now,” “The Great American Songbook: What’s In It, What Should Be In It,” and “Now I Long for Yesterday: Songs I Wish I had Written.”

Local artists Back Porch, Butch McCarthy, Chuck Williams, Dori Rubbicco, Eric Kilburn, Fourteen Strings, Gary Fish and Red Fish, Jeff Angeley and the Pebbles of Rain, Joanne Doherty, MaryBeth Soares and Dave Perreira, Mike Laureanno, Molly O’Leary, New Bedford Harbor Sea Chantey Chorus, Putnam Murdock, Sacred Harp with The Beans, The Harper and The Minstrel, and The Jethros will showcase their talents on the Southcoast stage, the only stage open to the public without tickets.

Besides the music, many artisans and crafts makers will set up booths along the cobblestoned streets between the performance tents and venues. Among them will be jewelers, instrument makers, tie dyeers, local honey purveyors, ceramic artists, vendors selling handmade health and beauty products, and more.

Admission to the festival is quite affordable at $50 for the weekend or $40 for one-day. Weekend and single-day passes are available for purchase at Zeiterion.org, by calling 508-994-2900, or in person at the box office at 684 Purchase Street. Children under 12 will be admitted free with an adult.

For more information and to see complete schedules for the weekend, visit newbedfordfolkfestival.com.

2021 Artist, album, and Song of the Year winners were selected by FAI’s voting membership from among groups of finalists based on U.S., Canadian, and international industry year-end lists, as well as folk radio airplay. As previously reported on AcousticMusicScene.com and recounted below, Lifetime Achievement and Spirit of Folk Awards were also presented, as were several other awards.

A co-founder of Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago, and formerly part of Po’ Girl, Russell was recognized for her debut solo album, Outside Child. The album was also recently named Contemporary Roots Album of the Year in the Juno Awards and Contemporary Album of the Year in 2022 Canadian Folk Music wards, while she was named English Songwriter of the Year and New/Emerging Artist of the Year in recognition of it. Outside Child also was nominated for a Grammy for Best Americana album and is among the Americana Honors & Awards nominees for album of the year. Wrought with emotion, its 11 original songs are “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.

Here’s a link to view the official video for “Nightflyer, one of the tracks on Russell’s award-winning debut album Outside Child: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNJgwj8d9eo.

Social Justice Songwriter Crys Matthews’ “Changemakers” Named “Song of the Year” for 2021

“Changemakers,” the title track of Crys Matthews’ 2021 release, the fourth most-played album of the year on folk radio according to the FAI Folk Charts, was named Song of the Year.

Frequently described as a social justice songwriter, Matthews is a prolific lyricist, composer and multi-instrumentalist whose music blends Americana, blues, bluegrass, folk, funk, and jazz, along with socially conscious themes. Joined by Heather Mae on harmony vocals, she performed “Changemakers” during the International Folk Music Awards Show. Here’s a link to view that performance: https://youtu.be/zVSvYScUtnU?t=6856. And here’s one to view a World One Video recording of the song by JB Nuttle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZbJk-WXaSw.

As the daughter of an A.M.E. preacher, in a small town in southeastern North Carolina, Matthews, who is now based in Nashville, grew up singing in her family’s church and witnessed the power of music from an early age. She won the 2017 NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition and also was named the winner of the People’s Music Network’s Social Justice Songs Showcase during that year’s Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference.

“Thank you all so much for all of your love and support in helping to make “Changemakers” the International Folk Music Awards’ Song of the Year,” said Matthews. I could not be more humbled, pleased and overjoyed in having such an important song recognized in that way and that would have never happened if it were not for you – and that’s everyone from the fans who fell in love with that album and listened to it nonstop to, especially, the folk DJs who made sure that that song was in their rotation from the moment it came out well into now and just never let up and just kept showing the album in general so much love, especially “Changemakers,” the title track. I’m so grateful to all of you… This little Aries right here is humbled and in an absolute puddle of love and joy because of all of you.I am so filled with gratitude.”

Jason Mraz, Planet Bluegrass and Mali Obomsawin Honored

Jason Mraz, a multi-platinum Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter known for his positivity and commitment to conservation, ending world hunger, human rights, and LGBTQIA+ issues, received 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.

Mraz could not be in Kansas City and expressed thanks for the honor via a pre-recorded video. “I was a little shy at first, thinking I’m too young for this award, that I haven’t done or said enough,” he stated. “Then I realized those thoughts and feelings never go away, that nagging thought that I haven’t done enough. But it’s that nagging thought that is indication that we still have energy to give and want to and will,” Mraz continued. “In my few years lapping the planet, I found solace in seeing political and geographic borders dissolve when the lights go down and a concert begins – a clear reminder that we are all just humans connected by stories and/or the energy and vibe of a song… It’s always good to inspire in a song because you never know who’s listening… Thank you for this acknowledgement. It really means a lot.”

Steve Szymanski, vice president and co-founder of Lyons, Colorado-based Planet Bluegrass accepted 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 Festivals, 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 accepted the Rising Tide Award via a pre-recorded video. The award 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.

Flaco Jiménez, Nanci Griffith and Swallow Hill Music 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.

Nanci 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”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgGG61nQX0w.]

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.

Six Individuals Receive Spirit of Folk Awards

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. Recipients included 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).

In addition to the awards, Angela Page (host of Folk Plus on hydro-powered WJFF 90.5 FM Radio Catskill in Jeffersonville, New York since the early 1990s) and Dr. Jonathan Overby (a DJ and Wisconsin Public Radio host who is also an internationally recognized ethnomusicologist and scholar) were inducted into the Folk DJ Hall of Fame.

Folk Alliance International (folk.org) 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. Founded in 1989 to connect folk music leaders aiming to sustain the community and genre, it is currently led by Aengus Finnan, who steps down as its executive director next month. “It’s been the personal and professional honor of my life to serve this community and this organization,” he said during the awards show. Finnan, himself, was honored the previous week with the SERFA Founders’ Award during the annual Southeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Editor’s Note: As a Folk Alliance International board member, it was my pleasure to join my friend and board colleague Rosalyn Dennett, executive director of Folk Music Ontario, in presenting the Spirit of Folk Awards to Amado Espinoza and Gaelynn Lea.

The official showcases take place Friday and Saturday evenings from 7:15-10:15 p.m., with each artist/act performing a 15-minute set. Unplugged guerrilla showcases follow from 10:40 p.m. to 2 a.m. Also on the agenda are daytime panel discussions and workshops, a Wisdom of the Elders session, a couple of film screenings and Q & A sessions, several thematic song circles, an open mic, peer group and one-on-one mentoring sessions, an awards presentation, an exhibit hall, communal meals, and plenty of other opportunities to learn, share and network –- including during built-in afternoon breaks in the programming.

SERFA is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International (folk.org), a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion. Formed in 2002, SERFA (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. SERFA has produced an annual conference since 2008. Its conference’s move to Black Mountain this year marks a return of sorts. Prior to the event’s move to Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2019, it had taken place for eight consecutive years at the Montreat Conference Center, a few miles down the road and also nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted SERFA– like other FAI regional affiliates – to pivot to an online event last year, SERFA in Session: A Virtual Gathering.

Acclaimed Songwriter Thomm Jutz to Deliver Keynote Address

Named Songwriter of the Year in 2021 by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Thomm Jutz (pronounced “Yootz”) has written a number of bluegrass hits and his songs have been recorded by Balsam Range, Nanci Griffith, John Prine, and The SteelDrivers, among others. A native of Germany who has called Nashville home for many years, Jutz toured with such artists as Griffith, Mary Gauthier, David Olney, and Kim Richey; built a recording studio and produced albums for other artists – including Country Music Hall of Famers Bill Anderson and Mac Wiseman. He received a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album in 2020 for To Live in Two Worlds, Volume 1 and is featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame’s American Currents exhibit, which is slated to extend from 2022-2023.

Afternoon Programming Includes Workshops, Film Screenings, Song Circles, Wisdom of the Elders, and More

Nearly 20 workshops and panel discussions will delve into such topics as African-American contributions to Southern Appalachian music and dance, basics of piedmont picking, creating in community: the Jack Hardy Songwriters Exchange method, expanding our folk community, free-range folklore: an introduction to the Music Maker method, getting the gig and being invited back, the magic of collaboration, media coverage and strategy, music off the radar: making money and making a difference, simple measures for drastic guitar playing improvement, social media & fan engagement, songwriter residencies, and trends in folk radio and radio promotion.

Besides the workshops and panel discussions, there will be screenings of two recent music documentaries – The Mountain Minor and Nobody Famous – followed by Q & A sessions, as well as a Wisdom of the Elders session, several thematic song circles (songs of joy, struggle, place, and the environment), and one-on-one mentoring sessions during the afternoons.

The Mountain Minor is an award-winning narrative feature film that provides an authentic and respectful glimpse of Appalachian culture, music and history; of the joys and challenges experienced by the folks who have kept traditional mountain music alive. Loosely based on a true story, the film follows five generations of a family from their roots in eastern Kentucky in 1932 to a stage in Cincinnati, Ohio today as told by a man who yearns to return to his Kentucky home after migrating with his family to southwest Ohio during the Great Depression. Written-and directed by Dale Farmer (himself an old-time musician) and produced by Susan Pepper, a Cincinnati native now based in North Carolina, the film notably features traditional Appalachian musicians in acting roles. Among them are The Tillers, Smithsonian Folkways artist Elizabeth LaPrelle, banjoist and fiddler Dan Gellert, and Pepper herself. Following a series of festival screenings, The Mountain Minor had a limited theatrical run in late 2019-early 2020 due to the pandemic. It has aired on some public television stations and is available for home viewing.

Named Best Documentary in the 2021 New Jersey Film Festival and Best Music Documentary in the Seattle Film Festival earlier this year, Nobody Famous is set against the backdrop of the socially and politically volatile 1960s and traces the quick rise and ready fall of the folk-pop trio Pozo Seco Singers as folk music’s zeitgeist gives way to the heavy rhythm of rock & roll. Nobody Famous features Taylor Pie (Susan Taylor), who helped form the trio with Don Williams in the early 1960s and has been a solo singer-songwriter and musician since it disbanded. As Taylor Pie – then fresh from her first year in college – recounts today, while Williams went on to become one of the most successful country music artists of the 20th century, she shied away from fame and fortune, instead choosing to “go where the folk wind blows” – embracing her own path, her own unique artistry, and her own individual identity in the process.

Dozens of Artists to be Featured in Official and Guerilla Showcases

Following the official showcases (as well as on Thursday overnight), late-night guerilla showcases will take place in various rooms for several hours. AcousticMusicScene.com, which has had a presence at the SERFA Conference since 2011, will host late-night song swaps and a midnight hoot (featuring two-dozen artists/acts – each performing one song) on Thursday, May 12, overnight. The AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot is a pre-arranged, round-robin song swap, a three-plus-hour version of which has been a popular staple at Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conferences since 2007, will feature two-dozen artists/acts – each performing one song. The Midnight Hoot is intended to provide concert and festival presenters, folk DJs and others with an opportunity to get a small sampling of the music of a lot of artists in a short period of time on the conference’s opening night. It also enables artists to enjoy each other’s company and music before the conference really gets into full swing on Friday.

Here’s the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase schedule:

11 p.m. PuffBunny Records Songswarm: Taylor Pie, Nancy K. Dillon,Nicholas Edward Williams

11:30 p.m. Texas!: Andrew Delaney, Claudia Gibson, Scott Martin

12:00 a.m. AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot, Part 1:

(one song each, not necessarily in order of appearance)

Antonio Andrade, Ashley & Simpson, Meg Braun, Matt Burke, Cheryl

Cawood, Emerald Rae, Kala Farnham, Alice Hasen, Lara Herscovitch,

Lucy Isabel, Rob Lytle, Karyn Oliver

1:00 a.m. AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot, Part 2:

(one song each, not necessarily in order of appearance)

Amy & Mike Aiken, Crowes Pasture, Dan & Faith, Paul Helou,

Letters To Abigail, Crys Matthews, Brant Miller, Halley Neal, Sam

Robbins, Hank Stone, Annette Wasilik, Elly Wininger

Editor’s Note: In addition to hosting the AcousticMusicScene.com guerrilla showcase and moderating the Q & A session with Taylor Pie following the screening o the award-winning documentary Nobody Famous that features her, I will be assisting PuffBunny Records (Taylor Pie’s label, for which I handle public relations) with its Friday night guerrilla showcase and an exhibit hall table. I will also again be a mentor offering advice and counsel on various aspects of PR, social media and strategic communications. A board member of Folk Alliance International, I’m a past president of Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) and continue to serve on its board of directors. I have been an active participant at SERFA conferences since 2011.

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.

“The Broward Folk Club is dedicated to keeping folk and acoustic music alive and vibrant into the future, and we’re confident that this virtual festival can do just that,” say festival organizers. Since its inception, the festival has been a combination of a music fest, family reunion, community gathering, and weekend musical retreat. Although it generally features nearly 50 Florida-based and national touring artists/acts performing and leading workshops on two stages, this year’s online festivities have been scaled back a bit. However, unlike past festivals, this virtual one is free to enjoy from the comfort of your own home. Donations are welcome and appreciated.

Featured performers include (in alphabetical order, not order of appearance) The Currys (Port St. Joe, FL), Friction Farm (Greenville, SC), Dave Gunning (Pictou, Nova Scotia), Lara Herscovich (Durham, CT), Joe Jencks (Dekalb, IL), Zoe Lewis (Provincetown, MA), Cara Luft (Winnipeg, Manitoba), Rod MacDonald (Lake Worth, FL), Crys Matthews (Washington, DC), Deirdre McCalla (Atlanta, GA), Mean Mary (Nashville, TN), Sofia Talvik (Sweden and Spain), and Twin Flames (Ottawa, Ontario and Nunavik, Quebec).

“Some art forms can’t pivot to online the way music is able to,” Herscovitch continued. “A big silver lining is that being online makes it all more accessible; it has been fun and amazing to connect at my own and others’ concerts with people from around the globe, and those who aren’t able to attend in person for other reasons. So, I’m just going with it, learning my own corner of the studio technology as fast as I can, and witnessing the ways that the heart and soul of music can still be delivered though a wi-fi connection. I figure it’s all just perfectly imperfect.”

Christine Stay and Aidan Quinn of Friction Farm shared similar sentiments.“ The South Florida Folk Festival was the first festival that Friction Farm played as a duo. We were recovering from the dread of being in a rock band, and the South Florida folk community was, and continues to be, unbelievably supportive and nurturing,” Stay told AcousticMusicScene.com. “We will certainly miss the late night song circles, hugs, musical spontaneity and that inexplicable energy that surrounds live music. But we can’t wait to hear our friends perform online, to celebrate the songwriter competition winners, and to see the faces of our beloved Florida friends and fans. Plus, we won’t get rained out and there won’t be a line for the bathroom.”

The Festival’s 2020 Singer-Songwriter Competition Winners Will Also Perform

Also slated during the virtual festival is a winners’ round featuring the three winners of last year’s South Florida Folk Festival Singer-Songwriter Compet ition: Pamela Machala (Boulder, CO), Aaron Nathans (Chester Heights, PA) and Karyn Oliver (Fort Worth, TX). They were selected by a panel of judges from among the 12 finalists who kicked-off last February’s musical festivities during the 2020 South Florida Folk Festival in Davie. Each received the Vic Heyman Songwriting Award, $200 cash prize and the opportunity to perform during this year’s event.

The songwriting competition is co-presented by Reba Heyman. Along with her late husband, Vic, Reba has been an integral part of the folk community in South Florida and nationally for many years. The couple, known for decades for their generous financial backing of folk festivals and artists, formerly ran a concert series in Rockville, Maryland known as Vic’s Music Corner. They also served on the boards of several music festivals and established a scholarship fund for performing artists.

The full schedule for the virtual 2021 South Florida Folk Festival appears on the Broward Folk Club’s Facebook page.

“This virtual confab will satisfy both our bylaws’ requirements for an annual general membership meeting, and our yen for the live performances we have come to love through our official and private guerilla showcases,” according to a Sept. 24 news release issued by the nonprofit organization. “The show, and the love, must go on.”

The organization’s annual general membership meeting kicks off the day at 11:30 a.m. PDT. In addition to a brief discussion of board and organizational business, the meeting will afford members of Folk Alliance International who reside in the western United States and Canada an opportunity to ask questions and make comments.

A two-hour FAR-West Livestream Concert Revue is slated to start at 12:45 p.m. PDT via the FAR-West YouTube channel. It will feature live performances by well-known acts from the West and beyond, as well as a few up-and-coming artists.

Performers include Grammy® winners and nominees Laurence Juber, John McEuen, Danny O’Keefe and Wendy Waldman; up-and-comers The Black Feathers, Crys Matthews and Raye Zaragoza; storyteller Tim Hernandez; stalwarts Joe Craven, David Jacobs-Strain, Joel Rafael and Beth Wood and David Jacobs-Strain. Tom Prasada-Rao will sing his much-covered social justice anthem, “$20 Bill” (For George Floyd), a poignant and heartbreakingly powerful song that he wrote in the days following the senseless murder of a 46 year-old black man by a Minneapolis, MN police officer after he allegedly bought cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. To cap off the musical festivities, Dan Navarro will perform a newly-written version of the classic song “We Belong” that he co-wrote with his late musical partner Eric Lowen; Pat Benatar’s recording of “We Belong” was a best-selling hit.

Here are the online links for the meeting and the concert:

Zoom Meeting: www.zoom.us or on the Zoom app • Meeting ID: 927 0725 3654 / Passcode: 945043

YouTube Concert:
www.youtube.com/user/farwestconference

One of five North America-based regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International, FAR-West (far-west.org) seeks to foster and promote traditional, contemporary and multicultural folk music, dance, storytelling and related performing arts in the Western United States and Canada. 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.

96 acoustic, folk, roots, traditional, and world music artists from 14 countries are taking part in what could be the largest online matchmaking of musicians ever undertaken, according to Sounds Australia, a founding partner with Showcase Scotland Expo and Canada’s East Coast Music Association (ECMA), along with 11 other export organizations and showcase events.

Breaking artists/acts into a new territory or country can be a challenging process during the best of times and is even more difficult now. As envisioned by its founders, the Global Music Match program is designed as a unique response to the limitations imposed on the music industry – particularly the live music sector – at this time. It makes use of one of the only available platforms – social media and peer-to-peer collaboration – to increase networks, exposure and audiences for export-ready artists internationally – helping to lay the groundwork for future international touring opportunities.

The Global Music Match program (globalmusicmatch.com, hashtag #globalmusicmatch) will also support participating artists to enhance and improve their social media and interviewing activity, as well as encourage cross-border collaboration by connecting musicians from around the world, according to Folk Alliance International, a Kansas City-MO-based nonprofit organization that is also taking part in the new initiative.

Participating artists have been grouped into 16 teams, and no two acts from the same country are paired together. Aided by music industry coaches, one artist/band from each country will introduce another artist /band from their team to their social media followers each week to cross-promote each other’s music and careers to their respective audiences, until all of the artists have been presented.

“I’m so incredibly excited to be participating in this groundbreaking global initiative,” said Lisa Schwartz, festival & artistic director for the Philadelphia Folk Festival and president of the Folk Alliance International board of directors. She is coaching a team comprised of MariTe K from Italy, Cemelesal from Taiwan, Riley Pierce from Australia, RURA from Scotland, Lady Nade from England, and 9Bach from Wales. “What an incredible way to make new friends, invite new fans, and use music as the connective tissue,” she added. Schwartz urges people to “follow #globalmusicmatch and discover new artists and their music, and see firsthand how we can all be together even when forced to be apart.”

Matthews is one of six Folk Alliance International (FAI) alumni artists based in the U.S. who have been selected and placed on different global teams. The others are Sean Ardoin. Calvin Arsenia, Gina Chavez, Charlie Lowry, and SaulPaul. FAI aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion.

In addition to ECMA, FAI, Showcase Scotland Expo, and Sounds Australia, Global Music Match is supported by the following export organizations: Catalan Arts (Spain), English Folk Expo, FOCUS Wales, LUCfest Taiwan, Music Estonia, Music Finland, Music Norway, Puglia Sounds (Italy), and Spectacle vivant Bretagne (Brittany, France).

The festival usually features dozens of artists performing on several stages (including a dance tent), children’s music and activities, and a wide array of crafts, food and other vendors. For the past several years, a Pre-Fest Tastings Day & Farm Market has taken place on Thursday and featured locally grown food, drink and artisanal items, along with performances by a number of artists from the late afternoon through the evening on the Lounge Stage curated by Tribal Mischief. Those camping at Falcon Ridge and staying up through the early morning hours have enjoyed an array of informal jams, mini-showcases and after-hours song circles that help foster a sense of “folk” community. This year’s virtual festival will be quite a different experience to be enjoyed from the comfort of your own home.

The Falcon Ridge 2020 Share & Shelter In Place Fest will be shown on the festival’s Facebook and YouTube pages: facebook.com/FalconRidgeFest and http://youtube.com/channel/UCgoYgzUgfFhTc_EXhNeC_ng? from 1:30-4:30 p.m. each day and will also be archived for replay and future viewing. The audio stream from the virtual festival may also be heard on FolkMusic Notebook.com, the 24/7 online music channel.Live streams from virtual camps, song swaps and mini-showcases — including The Lounge Stage on Thursday night (see details below), Big Orange Tarp, Dave Carter Song Circle, Night Owl Song Swap, Pirate Camp and more will also be shared at later times via various online platforms.

Evocative archival footage from past festivals and special messages from previous festival artists, longtime vendors, radio sponsors, dancers, campers, and others in the festival commUNITY will be interspersed among performance videos by 30 confirmed participating artists/acts and an abbreviated Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase.

Scott Cook (a Canadian prairie roots balladeer), Zoe Mulford (a transatlantic singer-songwriter) and South For The Winter (a Nashville-based, genre-bending trio) were the artists who were voted “Most Wanted” to return by festival attendees following last year’s Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase.

More information on Cook and the other Most Wanted artists, as well as video links, may be found in an article that was published in February and may be found at https://acousticmusicscene.com/2020/02/12/falcon-ridge-most-wanted-artists-named-2/.

Although 24 artists/acts usually showcase their talents on Friday afternoon, this year’s abbreviated edition of the Emerging Artist Showcase includes 11: Andy Baker, John Beacher, Randy Lewis Brown, Buffalo Rose, Kala Farnham, Lynne Hanson, Indian Summer Jars, Karyn Ann, The Levins, The Real Sarahs, and Shanna in a Dress. The Emerging Artists Showcase is not a contest, and artists won’t be judged per se, although the audience is surveyed as to which showcase artists they’d like to see return the following year to participate in a Most Wanted Song Swap.

Lounge Stage at Falcon Ridge Streams Via Twitch on Thursday, July 30

Another highlight of the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival has been The Lounge Stage. For the past 10 years, many festivalgoers have flocked to it on Thursdays for an early musical fix before the festival formally gets underway on Friday.

Curated by Tribal Mischief (the brainchild of Ethan Baird and Jake Bush, who are also the mainstays of the band Pesky J. Nixon) with tech support by Scott Jones, what began as a special event on the festival’s campgrounds now customarily takes place in the Dance Tent. This year, The Lounge Stage will stream live on Thursday evening, July 30, from 7p.m.-12 a.m. EST at http://twitch.tv/tribalmischief.

Artists slated to perform, in order of appearance, include Pete Mancine, Izzy Heltai, Zoe Mulford, Brian and Katie (We’re About 9), Mya Byrne, Kirsten Maxwell, Dinty Child, Sol y Canto, Mike McKenna Jr., Annie Sumi, Tragedy Ann, Rachael Kilgour, Crys Matthews, Heather Mae, and Vance Gilbert.

Baird noted that the Lounge Stage at Falcon Ridge was launched to afford the weeklong attendees at the festival and select artists an opportunity to more intimately engage with each other when the festival was forced to shorten its schedule after a couple of really challenging years due to weather. Over the last decade, the Lounge Stage has presented more than 200 artists. “This year, the stage has really been split into two entities,” said Baird. “ One run by Scott Jones — our initial partner in putting the Lounge Stage together as the technical director and master of lighting, sound, and recording – will feature a retrospective of the last 10 years of material from the Lounge Stage’s evolution from hillside show to a festival mainstay. Jake and I are taking what we have built with the Tribal Mischief network of conversational programming and music presentation and are hoping to present the best amalgamation of virtual and live events.

Baird acknowledged that while multiple musicians can share a stage via the platform that Tribal Mischief is using, current technology won’t allow for them to play together live simultaneously. “However,’ he added, “they can cheer for each other, comment, speak, and interact. That interaction has always been the principle on which the Lounge Stage was built, and to be able to facilitate that means a lot to us.”

Baird noted that “Tribal Mischief is in the middle of a high-risk experiment in which we are betting on technologies and online tools that the folk community hasn’t really embraced as of yet — namely YouTube and Twitch. There are millions of people out there on these platforms actively and desperately looking for good content, for something different. We are betting that this is something that the remarkable creators in our community may not have realized they were missing.”

In addition, but of equal importance, according to Baird, “both of these platforms offer creators the opportunity to earn money passively through advertising.” He said that “while we welcome the subscriptions of our fans and want to encourage community building and engagement, we are trying to move away from a fundraising mechanism that is 100% reliant on donations. We hope to be able to build that through efforts like this.” Accordingly, this will be the first Lounge Stage for which donations will be accepted. It will also be the first one for which all the participating artists will be paid, while 20 percent of the funds raised will go to help ensure that the continuation of the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.

“We won’t take a penny raised through this show – making sure that the artist community has an opportunity to make some money this year –considering all the shows and performances that have been lost is really important to us, “ Baird added.

Tribal Mischief (http://tribalmischief.com) seeks to assist worthy causes and build community through music. Baird and Bush host weekly conversational broadcasts with music makers and others in the music industry each Sunday on Tribal Mischief’s Twitch channel.

To stream or download past Lounge Stage performances, visit http://theloungestage.com.

Although there is no cost the stream the Falcon Ridge 2020 Share & Shelter in Place Festival, Saunders noted that donations — via paypal.me/FalconRiidgeFolkFest or venmo.com/FalconRidgeFolks or from the venmo app: @FalconRidgeFolks –will be much appreciated.”One of our goals in presenting this virtual fest, as far as contributions raised,is to come as close as we can to paying all of our confirmed artists their entire fee for this year because, for many of them, it may be the only fee they will get for a very long time,” she said. “Along with that, we hope to give something substantial to Dodds Farm [where the festival usually takes place] so that they can continue to hold on as well.”