[Here’s a link to enjoy the official video’s for Willie Nelson’s “Last Leaf:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NySpcFpPcQg.]

The November 2024 top albums, songs and artists charts are based on 10,648 airplays reported on 366 playlists submitted by 99 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 November 2024

1. Last Leaf on the Tree by Willie Nelson (73)
2. Hydra by Nuala Kennedy and Eamon O’ Leary (57)
3. Golden by Genevieve Racette (41)
4. Lonesome Road by Joel Mabus (40)
5. The American Dream by Amy Speace (39)
5. Bluegrass Sings Paxton by Various Artists (39)
7. Now, O Now by Rakish (35)
8. Storm Season by Tania Elizabeth (32)
9. Woodland by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (31)
10. Thirteen by Colin O’Brien (30)
10. Things Done Changed by Jerron Paxton (30)
10. Where the Islands Overflow by Susan Graham Pepper (30)
10. Highway Prayers by Billy Strings (30)
10. Can’t Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney by Various Artists (30)
15. Postcards of the Reckoning by Sean Kiely (27)
15. Deep Feeler by Liv Greene (27)
15. Gold in Your Pocket by Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms (27)
18. Fever Longing Still by Paul Kelly (26)
18. In the Real World by Eric Bibb (26)
18. This Hen’s Gonna Crow by Colleen Kattau (26)
18. Quiet Town by Mindy Smith (26)
18. Lantern in the Dark: Songs of Comfort and Lullabies by Edie
Carey and Sarah Sample (26)
23. Heart of the Swan by Carla Sciaky (25)
23. Life on Interstate 40 by Kurt Anderson (25)
23. Love, Dan by C. Daniel Boling (25)
26. With a Guitar and a Pen by Tish Hinojosa (24)
27. Nine Becomes One (Chapter 7) by Joe Crookston (23)
27. Pathways by Julian Taylor (23)
29. Everything Must Go by Donal Hinely (22)
30. The Sound of That by Mark Stepakoff (20)
31. Backbone by Kasey Chambers (19)
31. Hot Jazz, Cool Blues and Hard-Hitting Songs by Barbara Dane (19)
33. Who We Are by Dan and Faith (18)
33. Love Your Mind by Twisted Pine (18)
33. Trapeze by Kate McDonnell (18)
36. Still + Bright by Amythyst Kiah (17)
36. Smokey Mountain High by Mike McKenna Jr (17)
36. Dan Tyminski: Live From the Ryman by Dan Tyminski (17)
36. Purple Gas by Noeline Hofmann (17)
40. Heartbreak, Misery and Death by Grayson Capps (16)
40. Long Days and Short Stories by Daryl Mosley (16)
40. Snake Hollow by Tristan Israel Band (16)
40. Harbortowne by Jim Patton and Sherry Brokus (16)
44. Nowhere Next by Yonder Mountain String Band (15)
44. Bloom Where You Fall by Hana Zara (15)
46. Wall Dogs by Tim Stafford and Thomm Jutz (14)
46. Haunted by Steve Madewell (14)
46. The Set by Jerry Douglas (14)
46. Woodbird by Jenny Burtis (14)
50. Far Away With You by Woody Platt (13)
50. The Legend of Sugarbelly by Guy Davis (13)
50. The Light Years by The Magnolia Janes (13)
50. Never Too Late by Neale Eckstein (13)
50. Willie Watson by Willie Watson (13)
50. From China to Appalachia by Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer and Chao Tian (13)
50. Shady Lane by George Jackson and Brad Kolodner (13)

Top Songs of November 2024

1. “Last Leaf” by Willie Nelson (23)
1. “Oh Mercy, Where Are You Now?” by Joe Crookston (23)
3. “The American Dream” by Amy Speace (17)
4. “The Dark-Eyed Gypsy” by Nuala Kennedy and Eamon O’ Leary (16)
5. “Keep Me in Your Heart” by Willie Nelson (15)
6. “We Won’t Go Back” by Carla Ulbrich (12)
6. “Talkin’ About a Revolution/Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)” by
Chicks With Dip (12)
8. “American Insanity” by Mike Ward (10)
8. “Sing It Loud” by Kim Moberg (10)
8. “Love Along the Way (Live)” by Larry and Joe (10)
11. “Cherry Blossoms” by Doug Irwin (9)
11. “Put a Woman in Charge” by Raise the Vibration (9)
11. “Lining Track” by Women of Kelley (9)
11. “The Cuckoo” by Susan Graham Pepper (9)
11. “Are You Ready for the Country” by Willie Nelson (9)
11. “Willie-O” by Nuala Kennedy and Eamon O’ Leary (9)
11. “I Will Hang My Harp on a Willow Tree” by Nuala Kennedy and Eamon
O’ Leary (9)
11. “Love Them, Too” by The Rough and Tumble (9)
19. “My Way or the Highway” by Craig Werth (8)
19. “I Can’t Wait to Wake Up Tomorrow” by Mark Stepakoff (8)
19. “Irises” by Sean Kiely (8)
19. “Haunted” by Steve Madewell (8)
19. “One More” by Sean Kiely (8)
19. “Cotton Jenny” by Jane Fallon and Mike Worrall (8)
25. “I Will Rise” by Colleen Kattau (7)
25. “From Friends to Strangers” by Genevieve Racette (7)
25. “Thanksgiving Song” by Mary Chapin Carpenter (7)
25. “Big Dark’s Fancy” by Cindy Kallet (7)
25. “Wall Guitar” by Alison Brown and Steve Martin (7)
25. “Dance to the Manulenjo” by Noel Paul Stookey (7)
25. “Wild Geese” by Liv Greene (7)
25. “Weighing Down” by Julian Taylor (7)
25. “Broken Truth” by Tim Grimm (7)
25. “Thanksgiving” by Si Kahn (7)
25. “If I Could Only Fly” by Tish Hinojosa (7)
25. “Deep Feeler” by Liv Greene (7)
25. “Light in the Window” by Salamander Crossing (7)
25. “All Those Smiling Faces” by Paul Kelly (7)
25. “Baby Days Blues” by Jerron Paxton (7)
25. “The Pill” by Eilen Jewell (7)
25. “Backbone (The Desert Child)” by Kasey Chambers (7)
25. “I Will Not Go Down” by Amythyst Kiah (7)
25. “900 Miles” by Kurt Anderson (7)
25. “48 and Goal” by Kieran Kane (7)
25. “Slim and the Devil” by Willie Watson (7)

Top Artists of November 2024

1. Willie Nelson (86)
2. Nuala Kennedy and Eamon O’ Leary (57)
3. Joel Mabus (55)
4. Amy Speace (43)
5. Genevieve Racette (41)
6. Rakish (38)
7. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (37)
8. Billy Strings (36)
9. Bob Dylan (34)
9. Barbara Dane (34)
9. Tania Elizabeth (34)
12. Susan Graham Pepper (30)
12. Jerron Paxton (30)
12. Colin O’Brien (30)
15. Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms (29)
15. Joe Crookston (29)
17. Sean Kiely (28)
17. Stan Rogers (28)
17. Colleen Kattau (28)
17. Eric Bibb (28)
21. Mindy Smith (27)
21. Edie Carey and Sarah Sample (27)
21. Liv Greene (27)
24. Pete Seeger (26)
24. Grateful Dead (26)
24. Carla Sciaky (26)
24. C. Daniel Boling (26)
24. Paul Kelly (26)
29. John McCutcheon (25)
29. Kurt Anderson (25)
29. Joni Mitchell (25)
29. Donal Hinely (25)
33. Julian Taylor (24)
33. Tish Hinojosa (24)
35. Tom Russell (22)
35. Larry and Joe (22)
35. John Prine (22)
35. Mary Gauthier (22)
39. Dan and Faith (21)
39. Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway (21)

Here’s a complete listing of the nominees in the American Roots Music Field:

Best Americana Album:

• Brandy Clark — Brandy Clark
• The Chicago Sessions — Rodney Crowell
• You’re The One — Rhiannon Giddens
• Weathervanes — Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
• The Returner — Allison Russell

Best Americana Performance:

• “Friendship” — The Blind Boys of Alabama
• “Help Me Make It Through The Night” — Tyler Childers
• “Dear Insecurity” — Brandy Clark featuring Brandi Carlile
• “King of Oklahoma” — Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
• “The Returner” — Allison Russell

Best American Roots Performance:

• “Butterfly” — Jon Batiste
• “Heaven Help Us All” — The Blind Boys of Alabama
• “Inventing The Wheel” — Madison Cunningham
• “You Louisiana Man” — Rhiannon Giddens
• “Eve Was Black” — Allison Russell

Best American Roots Song:

• “Blank Page” — Michael Trotter Jr. & Tanya Trotter, songwriters (The War and Treaty)
• “California Sober” — Aaron Allen, William Apostol & Jon Weisberger, songwriters (Billy Strings featuring Willie Nelson)
• “Cast Iron Skillet” — Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit)
• “Dear Insecurity” — Brandy Clark & Michael Pollack, songwriters (Brandy Clark featuring Brandi Carlile)
• “The Returner” — Drew Lindsay, JT Nero & Allison Russell, songwriters (Allison Russell)

Best Bluegrass Album:

• Radio John: Songs Of John Hartford — Sam Bush
• Lovin’ Of The Game — Michael Cleveland
• Mighty Poplar — Mighty Poplar
• Bluegrass — Willie Nelson
• Me/And Dad — Billy Strings
• City Of Gold — Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

Best Folk Album:

• Traveling Wildfire — Dom Flemons
• I Only See the Moon — The Milk Carton Kids
• Joni Mitchell At Newport (Live) — Joni Mitchell
• Celebrants — Nickel Creek
• Jubilee — Old Crow Medicine Show
• Seven Psalms — Paul Simon
• Folkocracy — Rufus Wainwright

Best Contemporary Blues Album:

• Death Wish Blues — Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton
• Healing Time — Ruthie Foster
• Live In London — Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
• Blood Harmony — Larkin Poe
• LaVette! — Bettye LaVette

Best Traditional Blues Album:

• Ridin’ — Eric Bibb
• The Soul Side of Sipp — Mr. Sipp
• Life Don’t Miss Nobody — Tracy Nelson
• Teardrops For Magic Slim Live At Rosa’s Lounge — John Primer
• All My Love For You — Bobby Rush

Best Regional Roots Music Album:

• New Beginnings — Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. & The Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band
• Live At The 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers
• Live: Orpheum Theater Nola — Lost Bayou Ramblers & Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
• Made In New Orleans — New Breed Brass Band
• Too Much To Hold — New Orleans Nightcrawlers
• Live At The Maple Leaf — The Rumble Featuring Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr.

Also of Note: Among the nominees for Best New Artist are The War and Treaty. Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain & Edgar Meyer featuring Rakesh Chaurasia received nominations in three categories: Best Global Music Performance (for “Pashto”), Best Contemporary Instrumental Album (for As We Speak) and Best Instrumental Composition (for “Motion”). Tyler Childers’ “In Your Love,” Brandy Clark’s “Buried” and Chris Stapleton’s “White Horse” are among those in the running for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song (along with co-writers Geno Seale, Jessie Jo Dillon and Dan Wilson, respectively). Childers’ “In Your Love” also is vying for Best Music Video, while his Rustin’ In The Rain is among the nominees for Best Country Album. Clark’s Shucked is in the running for Best Musical Theater Album. “I Remember Everything” by Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves is in the running for both Best Country Song and Best Country Duo/Group Performance, while Bryan’s self-titled album vies for Best Country Album.

The Recording Academy (grammy.com) represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Academy honors music’s history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards.

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

Best Folk Album: Revealer – Madison Cunningham

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

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

Best Americana Album: In These Silent Days – Brandi Carlile

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

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

Best Contemporary Blues Album: Brother Johnny – Edgar Winter

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

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

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

The Recording Academy (grammy.com) represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Recording Academy honors music’s history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Founded in 1999, Folk Alliance International (folk.org) is a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion.

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

Carlile, a folk-rock and Americana singer-songwriter, whose eighth album has more pop sensibilities, is up for Best Americana Album (By The Way, I Forgive You), while one of its tracks (“The Joke”) is in the running for both Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song. Carlile is also among the nominees for three of the major Grammy Awards with By The Way, I Forgive You receiving one of the eight nods for Album of the Year and “The Joke” under consideration for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

Here’s a link to view the official video for Brandi Carlile’s “The Joke”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r6A2NexF88

Prine, an internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter who has been touring ad plying his craft for nearly 50 years, has received nominations for Best Americana Album (The Tree of Forgiveness) and Best American Roots Song for both “Knockin’ On Your Screen Door” and “Summer’s End.” Prine’s album topped the Folk DJ chart in April and also sported four of that month’s most-played songs on folk radio. The Tree of Forgiveness is Prine’s first collection of new material since his Grammy-winning 2005 release, Fair and Square.

To view the official video for John Prine’s “Knockin’ On Your Screen Door,” click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAYoWePzQ2c

Here’s a list of the Grammy Award nominees in the American Roots Music Field:

Best Folk Album

Whistle Down the Wind, Joan Baez
Black Cowboys, Dom Flemons
Rifles & Rosary Beads, Mary Gauthier
Weed Garden, Iron & Wine
All Ashore, Punch Brothers

Best Americana Album

By the Way, I Forgive You, Brandi Carlile
Things Have Changed, Bettye LaVette
The Tree of Forgiveness, John Prine
The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone, Lee Ann Womack
One Drop of Truth, The Wood Brothers

Best Bluegrass Album

Portraits in Fiddles, Mike Barnett
Sister Sadie II, Sister Sadie
Rivers and Roads, Special Consensus
The Travelin’ McCourys, The Travelin’ McCourys
North of Despair, Wood & Wire

Best Traditional Blues Album

Something Smells Funky ‘Round Here, Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio
Benton County Relic, Cedric Burnside
The Blues Is Alive and Well, Buddy Guy
No Mercy in This Land, Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite
Don’t You Feel My Leg (The Naughty Bawdy Blues of Blue Lu Barker), Maria Muldaur

Best Contemporary Blues Album

Please Don’t Be Dead, Fantastic Negrito
Here in Babylon, Teresa James and the Rhythm Tramps
Cry No More, Danielle Nicole
Out of the Blues, Boz Scaggs
Victor Wainwright and the Train, Victor Wainwright and the Train

Best Regional Roots Music Album

Kreole Rock and Soul, Sean Ardoin
Spyboy, Cha Wa
Aloha From Na Hoa, Na Hoa
No ‘Ane’I, Kalani Pe’a
Mewasinsational – Cree Round Dance Songs, Young Spirit

Best American Roots Performance

“Kick Rocks,” Sean Ardoin
“Saint James Infirmary Blues,” Jon Batiste
“The Joke,” Brandi Carlile
“All On My Mind,” Anderson East
“Last Man Standing,” Willie Nelson

Best American Roots Song

“All the Trouble,” Lee Ann Womack
“Build a Bridge,” Mavis Staples
“The Joke,”Brandi Carlile
“Knockin’ On Your Screen Door,” John Prine
“Summer’s End,” John Prine

Also of note: Kacey Musgrave’s Golden Hour is among the nominees for Album of the Year and Best Country Album, while the cuts “Butterflies” and “Space Cowboy” are up for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song, respectively. Kittel & Co.’s “Chrysalis” is vying for Best Instrumental Composition, while Betty LaVette’s “Don’ Fall Apart On Me Tonight” is in the running for Best Traditional R & B Performance. Among the Best New Artist nominees is Margo Price, an East Nashville, TN-based Americana-country singer-songwriter, who released her second full-length album in October 2017. The Decembrists’ I’ll Be Your Girl is nominated for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. Best Album Notes nominees include Trouble No More, The Bootleg Series Vol. 13/1979-1981 – Bob Dylan and Voice of Mississippi’s Artists And Musicians Documented By William Ferris — which was also nominated for Best Historical Album, as is At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight – Various Artists.