Here’s a complete listing of the nominees in the American Roots Music Field, while select nominees in other categories of particular interest to readers of AcousticMusicScene.com are mentioned in a paragraph following that:

Best Americana Album:

Big Money – Jon Baptiste
Bloom – Larkin Poe
Last Leaf On The Tree – Willie Nelson
So Long Little Miss Sunshine – Molly Tuttle
Middle – Jesse Welles

Best Americana Performance:

“Boom” – Sierra Hull
“Poison In My Well” – Maggie Rose & Grace Potter
“Godspeed” – Mavis Staples
“That’s Gonna Leave A Mark” – Molly Tuttle
“Horses” – Jesse Welles

Best American Roots Performance:

“Lonely Avenue” — Jon Batiste (featuring Randy Newman)
“Ancient Light” – I’m With Her
“Crimson And Clay” – Jason isbell
“Richmond On The James” – Alison Krauss & Union Station
“Beautiful Strangers” – Mavis Staples

Best American Roots Song:

“Ancient Light” – Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan & Sara Watkins, songwriters (I’m With Her)

“Big Money” – Jon Baptiste, Mike Elizondo & Steve McEwan, songwriters (Jon Baptiste)                                                              “Foxes In The Snow” – Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell)                                                                                                              “Middle” – Jesse Welles, songwriter (Jesse Welles)                                                                                                                                  “Spitfire” – Sierra Hull, songwriter (Sierra Hull)

Best Bluegrass Album:

Carter & Cleveland – Michael Cleveland & Jason Carter Carter                                                                                                           A Tip Toe High Wire – Sierra Hull                                                                                                                                                  Arcadia – Alison Krauss & Union Station
Outrun – The Steeldrivers                                                                                                                                                                Highway Prayers –- Billy Strings

Best Folk Album:

What Did The Blackbird Say To The Crow – Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson
Crown of Roses – Patty Griffin                                                                                                                                                              Wild And Clear And Blue – I’m With Her
Foxes In The Snow – Jason Isbell                                                                                                                                                      Under The Powerlines April 24-September 24 – Jesse Welles

Best Contemporary Blues Album:

Breakthrough – Joe Bonamassa                                                                                                                                                          Paper Doll – Samantha Fish
A Tribute To LJK – Eric Gales                                                                                                                                                        Preacher Kids – Robert Randolph                                                                                                                                                      Family – Southern Avenue

Best Traditional Blues Album:

Ain’t Done With The Blues – Buddy Guy
Room On The Porch – Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’                                                                                                                                      One Hour Mama: The Blues of Victoria Stivey – Maria Muldaur                                                                                                Look Out Highway – Charlie Musselwhite                                                                                                                                      Young Fashioned Ways – Kenny White Shepherd & Bobby Rush

Best Regional Roots Music Album:

Live At Vaughan’s – Corey Henry & The Treme Funktet
For Fat Man – Preservation Brass & Preservation Hall Jazz Band                                                                                            Church Of New Orleans  – Kyle Roussel                                                                                                                                            Second Line Sunday – Trombone Shorty And New Breed Brass Band                                                                                               A Tribute To The King Of Zydeco – Various Artists

Also of note: Nominees for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album include Bella Fleck, Edgar Castaneda & Antonio Sanchez for BEATrio, while Sierra Hull’s “Lord, That’s A Long Way” is in the running for Best Instrumental Composition. Angelique Kidjo’s “Jerusalema” is among the nominees for Best Global Music Performance. The soundtrack for A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic, is nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, while Joni Mitchell Archives – Volume 4: The Asylum Years – 1976-1980 is among the nominees for Best Historical album. Alison Krauss & Union Station’s Arcadia is up for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Nominees for Best Country Solo Album include Chris Stapleton’s Bad As I Used To Be and Tyler Childers’ Nose On The Grindstone. Stapleton also snagged a nominations for Best Country Song for both “A Song To Sing” (with Miranda lambert) and “Honky Tonk Hall of Fame” (with George Strait), while Childers is also nominated for Best Country Song for “Bitin’ List” and with Margo Price for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Love Me Like You Used To Do.” In total, nominees were named in 95 categories on November 7 from among recordings released between August 31, 2024 – August 30, 2025.

Voting members of the Recording Academy (grammy.com), who represent all genres and creative disciplines, select the GRAMMY Award winners. These members include recording artists, songwriters, composers, producers, mixers, and engineers. 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.

The GRAMMY Awards show will be broadcast live from Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, February 1, 2026 on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+ from 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5-8:30 p.m. PT. However, the winners in the American Roots Music Field and select others will be recognized prior to the telecast during the GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony at the Peacock Theater that will be streamed live on live.GRAMMY.com and the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. ET.

Editor’s Note: Please excuse the formatting issues with the listing of nominees in some categories.

Hailed as “The songwriter laureate of modern city folk” (The Boston Globe), Lucy Kaplansky is a New York City-based contemporary folk singer-songwriter with a luminous voice whose recordings frequently topped folk and Americana radio charts. The Lucy Story, her 10th album, is a collection of mostly unreleased tracks that form a retrospective /history of her musical life. It features songs performed in a variety of musical styles — both self-penned and ones by Richard Shindell, Robbie Robertson, Townes Van Zandt, John Lennon, Lyle Lovett and Jack Hardy, as well as demos and album outtakes, and live recordings with some of her favorite collaborators (Shawn Colvin, Shindell, and Dar Williams among them).

Kaplansky, who began singing at Chicago folk clubs as a teenager, moved to NYC after high school, where she performed frequently with Shawn Colvin on and around the Greenwich Village folk scene during the early to mid 1980s. Before leaving the music scene to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology. After earning her degree, she worked with chronically mentally ill adults at a New York hospital as well as in private practice. However, she continued to sing and was frequently asked to add harmony vocals to albums by friends including Colvin and Nanci Griffith and film soundtracks with Griffith and Suzanne Vega. Her voice could also be heard on Chevrolet’s popular “The Heartbeat of America” commercial jingle. She left her career as a psychologist in the 1990s after signing with Red House Records, which released her critically acclaimed debut album, The Tide (primarily produced by Colvin) in 1994. She signed with a booking agency and began touring extensively.

In addition to her solo recordings and tours since, Kaplansky has frequently collaborated with other singer-songwriters on recording projects and concert tours over the years. She joined with Shindell and Dar Williams in 1998 to form the folk trio Cry Cry Cry, recorded some of their favorite songs written by other songwriters, and toured nationally in support of it – as they did in 2017-2018 to celebrate its 20th anniversary. She and Shindell have also contributed harmony vocals to most of each other’s albums, recorded an album as The Pine Hill Project, and have frequently shared concert stages. In 2010, Kaplansky, John Gorka and Eliza Gilkyson teamed up to record an album as Red Horse on which they performed each other’s songs. The album topped the folk radio charts for several months that year. Kaplansky has also been part of a recurring On A Winter’s Night Tour with Gorka, Cliff Eberhardt and Patty Larkin.

“Which Side Are You On?” is a reworked and updated version of the famed folk and labor song originally penned Florence Reece in 1931. Artists for Action is an international folk supergroup comprised of 16 artists who teamed up to raise their voices in response to the global rise of far-right politics and the resurgence of fascism. Initially recorded in September 2022 and recently re-released, the track features Black Umfalosi (Zimbabwe), Ray Bonneville (Canada), Bruce Cockburn (Canada), Chris Corrigan (Canada), Guy Davis (U.S.), Ani DiFranco (U.S.), Maria Dunn (Canada), Adam Hill (Canada), Bob Jensen (Canada), James Keelaghan (Canada), Richard Knox (Canada), Lucy MacNeil (Canada), Tony McManus (Scotland/Canada), Moulettes (England), Oysterband (England), Richard Perso (Australia), Heather Rankin (Canada), Martin Simpson (England), and Jon Weaver (Canada).

Although the project’s primary goal is conveying its message and raising people’s consciousness, rather than raising funds, proceeds from the single – for which none of the artists were paid — will be donated to a registered charity in aid of Ukraine. For more information, visit whichsideareyouon.ca.

The March 2025 top albums, songs and artists charts are based on 11.385 airplays reported on 382 playlists submitted by 103 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 March 2025

1. The Lucy Story: Unreleased and Rare Tracks 1976-2023 by Lucy Kaplansky (94)
2. All I Got and Gone by Chris Walz (78)
3. Maybe New Mexico by Helene Cronin (76)
4. Alice Howe and Freebo (Live) by Alice Howe and Freebo (74)
5. So Much I Still Don’t See by Sam Robbins (58)
5. A Tip Toe High Wire by Sierra Hull (58)
7. Foxes in the Snow by Jason Isbell (52)
8. Remains to Be Scene by The Seldom Scene (49)
9. Field of Stars by John McCutcheon (46)
10. I Made It This Far by Deborah Holland (45)
11. Reclamation by Crys Matthews(43)
12. The Monkey in the Crown by HuDost (42)
13. Looking for the Thread by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Julie Fowlis, Karine Polwert (38)
14. Be Real With Me by Chatham Rabbits (37)
14. Daggomit by Max Wareham (37)
16. Beneath Your Skin by Kim Beggs (35)
17. I’m From Here by Rob Siegel (31)
17. Burnished by Amelia Hogan (31)
19. Arcadia by Alison Krauss and Union Station (28)
20. The Wind Will Change Again by The Twangtown Paramours (26)
21. Dear Meadowlark by The Wildwoods (25)
22. We Were Wood by Barry Oreck and Friends (24)
23. Spirits by The Devil Makes Three (23)
24. The Boy From Bluegrass by The Boy From Bluegrass (22)
25. Exploding Star by Heather Maloney (20)
25. Dark Country by Gary Louris (20)
25. Some Kind of Truth by Kora Feder (20)
25. To Fly So Low by Leo DiSanto (20)
29. Glimmer by Carol Crittenden (19)
30. Take It Easy Greasy by Jim Brewer (17)
30. Winterbirds by Boreal (17)
30. Gold in Your Pocket by Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms (17)
33. Sea Salt and Sawdust by Marian Mastrorilli (16)
34. The Purple Bird by Bonnie Prince’ Billy (15)
34. Life Is a Wonder by Kevin Whalen (15)
36. Waiting for Inspiration by Socks in the Frying Pan (14)
36. Racing Down the Valley by Sam Bergquist (14)
36. Paris by Louise Coombe (14)
36. Face the Day by Will Branch (14)
36. Silver Rounds by Olivia Wolf (14)
36. Hear My Call by Cristina Vane (14)
36. Songs of a Younger Man by Michael Melia (14)
36. Life Is Just a Vapor by Paul Thorn (14)
36. Cher Reve by Miss Tess (14)
45. Julia Belle: The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, Vol. 2 by Various Artists (13)
45. Porcelain Angel by Rees Shad (13)
45. The Empathist by Stephen Fearing (13)
45. Besos Kisses by Colleen Kattau (13)
45. Cold Feet by Mark Freeman (13)
45. Peace With a Lion by David Lindes (13)
45. Red Camel Collective by Red Camel Collective (13)

Top Songs of March 2025

1. “Which Side Are You On?” by Artists for Action (30)
2. “Elephant” by Annie Gallup (23)
3. “Home by Bearna” by Amelia Hogan (22)
4. “Maybe New Mexico” by Helene Cronin (21)
5.”Come Out of My Blues” by Sierra Hull (19)
6. “Onward Through the Fog (America Is Bleeding)” by Rob Siegel (15)
6. “You Are Not God” by Emma’s Revolution (15)
8. “Piles of Sand” by Sam Robbins (14)
9. “Circling the Drain” by Deborah Holland (13)
9. “Wind Behind the Rain” by Jason Isbell (13)
9. “Man at the Crossroads” by The Seldom Scene (13)
12. “Fields of Athenry” by Carol Crittenden (12)
12. “Bury Me” by Jason Isbell (12)
12. “Granite Mills” by Alison Krauss and Union Station (12)
12. “Hard Times Come Again No More” by Chris Walz (12)
12. “Blue Ridge Mountain Blues” by Chris Walz (12)
17. “Dangerous Women” by Colleen Kattau (11)
17. “What a Little Love Can Do” by Sam Robbins (11)
17. “Angel From Montgomery” by Alice Howe and Freebo (11)
20. “Twilight” by Alice Howe and Freebo (10)
20. “Delia” by Chris Walz (10)
22. “Forget Me Not” by Lucy Kaplansky (9)
22. “Mother Tongue” by Jean Rohe and Sean Kiely (9)
22. “Copperhill” by Helene Cronin (9)
22. “Thankful (Thanksgiving (2023)” by Deborah Holland (9)
22. “Alabama Bound” by Chris Walz (9)
22. “Big Fish, Small Pond” by Chatham Rabbits (9)
22. “We Won’t Let It Die (Without a Fight)” by Len Seligman (9)

Top Artists of March 2025

1. Lucy Kaplansky (99)
2. Chris Walz (78)
3. Helene Cronin (77)
4. Alice Howe and Freebo (74)
5. John McCutcheon (63)
6. Sierra Hull (59)
7. Sam Robbins (58)
8. The Seldom Scene (55)
9. Jason Isbell (52)
10. Crys Matthews (51)
11. Deborah Holland (47)
12. Bob Dylan (45)
13. HuDost (44)
14. Amelia Hogan (38)
14. Mary Chapin Carpenter, Julie Fowlis, Karine Polwert (38)
16. Max Wareham (37)
16. Chatham Rabbits (37)
18. Kim Beggs (36)
19. Alison Krauss and Union Station (34)
20. Rob Siegel (31)
21. Artists for Action (30)
22. Jesse Colin Young (29)
23. The Twangtown Paramours (27)
23. Tim Grimm (27)
25. Chuck Brodsky (26)
26. Guy Clark (25)
26. Joni Mitchell (25)
26. The Wildwoods (25)
29. Barry Oreck and Friends (24)
29. Joan Baez (24)
31. Eliza Gilkyson (23)
31. The Boy From Bluegrass (23)
31. Annie Gallup (23)
31. The Devil Makes Three (23)
31. John Prine (23)
36. Emma’s Revolution (22)
37. Heather Maloney (21)
37. Colleen Kattau (21)
37. Gary Louris (21)
37. Karan Casey (21)

Anne Saunders, the festival’s artistic director, expressed delight that Falcon Ridge stalwarts Vance Gilbert, Nerissa & Katryna Nields, and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams are returning –along with Family Stage faves The Storycrafters — while Woodstock, NY-based husband & wife Americana duo Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams will make their Falcon Ridge debut. So too will Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and country-rock pioneer Richie Furay — who was a founding member of Buffalo Springfield, Poco and Souther, Hillman & Furay.

Among the other artists and acts slated to perform are the Adam Ezra Group, Annie & the Hedonists, The Black Feathers, The Ebony Hillbillies, Tret Fure. The Gaslight Tinkers, Craig Harris, Alice Howe & Freebo, David Jacobs-Strain & Bob Beach, Steve Postell, Sam Robbins, South For Winter, Amilia K. Spicer, and Annie Wenz.

The popular festival, which will feature four stages of music, officially kicks off on Friday afternoon, July 27, at noon. That’s when 13 artists have been invited to perform in the 2024 Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase on the festival’s Mainstage. Appearing in this year’s showcase are (listed alphabetically by last name, not in order of appearance) are Carlyle, Allie Chip, Heather Anne Lomax, Louie Lou Louis, Nan MacMillan, Sean Magwire, MQ Murphy, Alex Radus, Tina Ross, Ida Mae Specker, Mark Stepakoff, Tracy Walton, and Dylan Patrick Ward. Although there is no compensation for showcasing artists, each receives full admission, on-site camping and meals during the festival plus a guest pass

The Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase is not a contest, and artists won’t be judged per se during the festival, 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. In evaluating submissions, a panel of three judges looked for high-quality performances of interesting, well-crafted, acoustic-based material. This year’s judges were Ron Olesko of Folk Music Notebook, singer-songwriter Carolann Solebello and Hannah Stritzker from Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Katie Dahl, Kemp Harris and The Honey Badgers –three of the four top audience-voted showcase performers from last year — will showcase their talents during this year’s Most Wanted Song Swap, as well as in other performance slots during the festival.

An Activities 4 Kids Area, Circle of Song acoustic community stage, Family and Workshop Stages, and Dance Barn also will begin on Friday afternoon, July 26, while evening Mainstage performances and nightly dancing are slated to follow the daytime programming. Mainstage performances extend until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, while Sunday’s musical festivities wrap up at 6 p.m. For those camping on the fairgrounds, there will be some late-night musical revelry featuring an array of informal jams, artist showcases and song circles that help foster a sense of “folk” community and a different kind of festival experience.

Tret Fure, a Virginia-based singer-songwriter also making her maiden flight at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, shares their excitement. “I’m delighted to be part of the lineup,” she said. “It’s gonna be a very moving weekend, I feel, on the heels of the recent passing of Tom Prasada Rao [a much-adored member of the folk and singer-songwriter community]. I know that there’ll be a lot of love for him there, so I’m just delighted to be part of the weekend.”

While live music may be Falcon Ridge’s main draw, festivalgoers also can enjoy a variety of ethnic and good ole Americana cuisines with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, while and array of international craft vendors will be plying and selling their wares.

Thursday Night Music Stage Precedes the Festival and Features Nine Talented Acts

Prior to the start of the actual festival, the aforementioned Pre-Fest Tastings & Farmers Market will take place on Thursday afternoon, while Scotten Jones (a co-founder of the Lounge Stage that hosted live music on Thursdays for many years) and Kathy Sands-Boehmer of Harbortown Music host a Thursday Night Music Stage beginning at 5 p.m.

“Being given the opportunity to present some artists on the Thursday Night Music Stage is a real labor of love,” said Sands-Boehmer, a former concert presenter who curates it. “So many folks come to the fest a day or two early so this is a great chance to experience music together before the actual festival begins on Friday.”

Artists slated to appear on the Thursday Night Music Stage include Mya Byrne, Goodnight Moonshine, Honeysuckle, Eva James, Kat and Brad, Heather Maloney, Miles and Mafale, Grace Morrison, and The Rough and Tumble.

“We are thrilled to be playing the Thursday Night Music Stage this year,” said Eben Pariser who, with his wife Molly Venter, is part of the New Haven, CT-based guitar & vocal duo Goodnight Moonshine. “Molly and I are old-school Falcon Ridge alums, having both won the emerging artist showcase with our respective bands, Red Molly and Roosevelt Dime,” He noted. “Even as everything changes, it’s nice to know that some things stay the same – like the feeling we get when we reunite with our Falcon Ridge community.”

Three-day festival tickets are $250 with camping or $175 without camping. Single -day tickets also are available for $65. All three-day tickets include Pre-Fest Thursday admission, while tickets for Pre-Fest Thursday also can be purchased for $20 at the gate. Children ages 12 and under will be admitted free, while tickets are heavily discounted for teens. The campgrounds will open by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24. More information on the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival can be found at falconridgefolk.com.

In the running for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year are The Returner (Allison Russell), We Will Never Be The Same ((Good Lovelies), Beyond the Reservoir (Julian Taylor), A Light in the Attic (Logan Staats), and Stand in the Joy (William Prince). Traditional Roots Album of the Year nominees include Paint Horse (Benjamin Dakota Rogers), The Breath Between (David Francey), Roses (Jackson Hollow), Second Hand (James Keelaghan), and Resilience (Morgan Toney)

Also of potential interest to AcousticMusicScene.com readers are the nominees for Blues Album of the Year. These include SoulFunkin’Blues (Blackburn Brothers), Scream, Holler & Howl (Blue Moon Marquee), One Step Closer (Brandon Isaak), The Big Battle of Joy (Matt Andersen), and Gettin’ Together (Michael Jerome Browne).

In addition to her Contemporary Roots Album of the Year nomination for The Returner, Allison Russell –- whose debut solo release, Outside Child, was named 2022 Contemporary Roots Album of the Year — is among the nominees for Songwriter of the Year and Music Video of the Year (for “Demons”). Russell also was nominated in three categories in the 66th GRAMMY Awards and received one received one on February 4 for Best American Roots Performance (“Eve is Black.”)

A soulful Nashville, Tennessee-based, Montreal-born Scottish Grenadian Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and activist, Allison Russell is also a co-founder of Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago and was part of Po’ Girl. Her debut solo album, Outside Child, was chosen as Contemporary Album of the Year in the 2022 Canadian Folk Music Awards, while she was named English Songwriter of th
e Year and New/Emerging Artist of the Year in recognition of it. She also accepted awards for both Album and Artist of the Year in the International Folk Music Awards presented by Folk Alliance International in May 2022.

Besides his nomination for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year, William Prince is also in the running for Songwriter of the Year for songs from his album Stand in the Joy. A Winnipeg, Manitoba-based country-folk singer-songwriter from Peguis First Nation, Prince previously received a Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year in 2017 for his debut release, Earthly Days, which was also a finalist for Indigenous Music Album of the Year. His album Reliever was among the nominees for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year in the Juno Awards of 2021, while he won awards for Contemporary Album of the Year and English Songwriter of the Year during that year’s Canadian Folk Music Awards.

A complete list of JUNO Awards nominees can be found, along with additional information, online at junoawards.ca.

Here’s a link to listen to Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s “When We Were Close”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF141kKZ-nc

Established in 1999, the Americana Music Association is a professional not-for-profit trade association whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music around the world. In addition to publishing the weekly Americana Airplay Chart, it hosts an annual AmericanaFest in Nashville, Tennessee each September, of which its Americana Honors & Awards is a highlight. Visit americanamusic.org for more information.

1 Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit/Weathervanes
2 Charley Crockett/The Man From Waco
3 Lukas Nelson + POTR/Sticks and Stones
4 The Band of Heathens/Simple Things
5 Margo Price/Strays
6 Lucinda Williams/Stories From a Rock N Roll Heart
7 Turnpike Troubadours/A Cat in the Rain
8 Rodney Crowell/The Chicago Sessions
9 Slaid Cleaves/Together Through the Dark
10 Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway/City of Gold
11 Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives/Altitude
12 The Wood Brothers/Heart is the Hero
13 Josh Ritter/Spectral Lines
14 Devon Gilfillian/Love You Anyway
15 Hiss Golden Messenger/Jump for Joy
16 Tyler Childers/Rustin’ in the Rain
17 Plains/I Walked With You a Ways
18 Sunny War/Anarchist Gospel
19 The Revivalists/Pour It Out Into the Night
20 The Teskey Brothers/The Winding Way
21 Nikki Lane/Denim & Diamonds
22 Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors/Strangers No More
23 Sunny Sweeney/Married Alone
24 Charley Crockett/Live from the Ryman
25 Brent Cobb/Southern Star
26 The Shootouts/Stampede
27 Rhiannon Giddens/You’re the One
28 Eilen Jewell/Get Behind the Wheel
29 Nickel Creek/Celebrants
30 Black Pumas/Chronicles of a Diamond
31 Billy Strings/Me/And/Dad
32 Old Crow Medicine Show/Jubilee
33 Deer Tick/Emotional Contracts
34 Brandy Clark/Brandy Clark
35 Chris Stapleton/Higher
36 Eddie 9V/Capricorn
37 Allison Russell/The Returner
38 Grace Potter/Mother Road
39 The Lone Bellow/Love Songs for Losers (Deluxe Edition)
40 Flatland Cavalry/Songs to Keep You Warm – EP
41 Brennen Leigh/Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet
42 Iris Dement/Workin’ on a World
43 Parker Millsap/Wilderness Within You
44 The Lone Bellow/Love Songs for Losers
45 Colter Wall/Little Songs
46 Melissa Carper/Ramblin’ Soul
47 Jaime Wyatt/Feel Good
48 Emily Nenni/On the Ranch
49 Pony Bradshaw/North Georgia Rounder
50 The War and Treaty/Lover’s Game
51 Various Artists/More Than a Whisper: Celebrating the Music of Nanci Griffith
52 Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley/Living in a Song
53 Son Volt/Day of the Doug
54 Margo Cilker/Valley of Heart’s Delight
55 The Arcs/Electrophonic Chronic
56 Tyler Childers/Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?
57 Shakey Graves/Movie of the Week
58 Kyle Nix & the 38’s/After the Flood
59 Natalie Merchant/Keep Up Your Courage
60 Abraham Alexander/Sea/Sons
61 Trampled by Turtles/Alpenglow
62 Tommy Emmanuel/Accomplice Two
63 Jobi Riccio/Whiplash
64 Wilder Woods/Fever
65 Caamp/Lavender Days
66 Ryan Bingham/Watch Out for the Wolf – EP
67 Randy Rogers Band/Homecoming
68 Bonnie Raitt/Just Like That…
69 Bahamas/Bootcut
70 Jaimee Harris/Boomerang Town
71 Vince Herman/Enjoy the Ride
72 Miko Marks & the Resurrectors/Feel Like Going Home
73 Duane Betts/Wild & Precious Life
74 Zach Bryan/American Heartbreak
75 Lucero/Should’ve Learned by Now
76 Gov’t Mule/Peace… like a River
77 Gabe Lee/The Hometown Kid
78 Brit Taylor/Kentucky Blue
79 Carter Simpson/Gold
80 Willie Nelson/Bluegrass
81 Bruce Cockburn/0 Sun 0 Moon
82 Sam Bush/Radio John: Songs of John Hartford
83 Charles Wesley Godwin/Family Ties
84 Dom Flemons/Traveling Wildfire
85 Joshua Ray Walker/What Is It Even?
86 Robbie Fulks/Bluegrass Vacation
87 Jason Carter/Lowdown Hoedown
88 Zach Bryan/Zach Bryan
89 Will Hoge/Wings on My Shoes
90 Darrell Scott String Band/Old Cane Back Rocker
91 JD Clayton/Long Way From Home
92 Amy Grant/If All Goes South
93 The Great Divide/Providence
94 Seth Avett/Seth Avett Sings Greg Brown
95 Adeem the Artist/White Trash Revelry
96 William Prince/Stand in the Joy
97 Various Artists/One Night in Texas: the Next Waltz’s Tribute to the Red Headed Stranger
98 Lori McKenna/1988
99 The Watson Twins/Holler
100 Tedeschi Trucks Band/I Am the Moon: IV. Farewell

An iconic artist, who sold more than 50-million records worldwide, Whittaker was best known for his 1969 hit “Durham Town (The Leavin’)” as well as “New World in the Morning” (1970), and “The Last Farewell,” which, although released in 1971, reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975. With his smooth baritone voice, his ability to sing in several languages, and his prowess in whistling, Whittaker developed a worldwide following, and was particularly popular in Germany.

[Here’s a link to listen to Roger Whittaker’s “Durham Town:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OYySY-6dKw.]

Born on March 22, 1936 to British parents who were then living in Kenya, Whittaker began learning guitar at age 7 and also sang in his school choir. However, he wouldn’t pursue music professionally until he was in his 20s after initially studying medicine and, later, teaching. He moved to Britain in 1959, where he played the workingmen’s clubs of northeast England and released his first singles in the early 1960s. He began touring internationally in the late 1960s and had radio hits across Europe and the U.S.

Whittaker was formerly signed to RCA Records; however, the label dropped him in the mid-1970s. This prompted Whittaker, who made frequent television appearances worldwide, to turn to the medium to independently promote his 1977 album, All My Best, which sold one-million copies. With assistance from Natalie, his wife of 59 years, Whittaker published an autobiography entitled So Far, So Good in 1986.

The couple retired to southern France in 2012. It was there “in peace in the presence of his family” that Whittaker passed away on Sept. 13, according to a statement from his family that was issued earlier this week. “His legacy will forever live on in our hearts and in his art,” the statement read in part.

It seems appropriate to end this article with a link to listen to Roger Whittaker’s well-known song “The Last Farewell:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uqo1KC1PXs.

Born in Orillia, Ontario on November 17, 1938, Lightfoot reportedly began singing on a local radio station at age five and sang in his church choir as a child, He penned his first song (“The Hula Hoop Song”) in 1955, while still in high school. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles, California to further his education before returning to Canada in 1959. Inspired, at least in part, by the songs of Bob Dylan (who similarly admired him), Lightfoot became part of and was among the best-known and most widely acclaimed singer-songwriters to emerge from Toronto’s burgeoning folk music scene of the 1960s that was centered around the folk clubs of the city’s Yorkville neighborhood. His first album, entitled Lightfoot!, was released in 1966. The following year, he performed the first of what was to become an annual tradition of concerts at Toronto’s famed Massey Hall and did so continuously until the mid-1980s when it became a once every 18 months or so affair before resuming them annually in 2005.

A prolific songwriter and a beloved chronicler of Canadian culture and history, Lightfoot’s own personal experiences and Canada’s national identity figured prominently in his songs. His 1976 hit “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” one of his most well-known and oft-covered ballads, poignantly tells the story of the last hours of 29 crew members aboard a freighter that sank in a storm on Lake Superior the previous November in one of the most famous Great Lakes shipwrecks. “Canadian Railroad Trilogy,” another of his well-loved songs, paid tribute to those who constructed Canada’s national railroad.

A globetrotting artist, Lightfoot toured throughout the U.S. and Europe, as well as his native Canada. During the 1980s, he beat alcoholism. However, he was to face other serious health challenges – including suffering from Bell’s pPalsy, a disease of the peripheral nervous system. In September 2002, Lightfoot also suffered severe stomach and abdominal pains while preparing to take the stage for a concert in his beloved hometown. He was airlifted to hospital, where doctors determined that he had ruptured an artery that required multiple surgeries. He was in a coma for six weeks and spent nearly three months in the hospital.

With his indefatigable spirit, Lightfoot released a new album, Harmony, in 2004 and made his comeback live performance at Ontario’s famed Mariposa Festival that summer.

Lightfoot’s songs have been covered by such other musical luminaries as Johnny Cash, Judy Collins, Bob Dylan, Richie Havens, Ian and Sylvia (who were part of the 1960s Toronto folk scene with him), Sarah MacLachlan, Anne Murray, and Peter, Paul & Mary (who had hits with “Early Morning Rain” and “For Lovin’ Me”). In the liner notes for his own 1985 box set, Biograph, Bob Dylan wrote: “ Gordon Lightfoot, every time I hear a song of his, it’s like I wish it would last forever.” Lightfoot released his last studio album, Solo, in 2020.

Despite his serious health challenges and a distinctive, warm tenor voice that had grown thinner over the years, Lightfoot was a road warrior who loved to tour and perform live. Indeed, he continued to do so until several weeks before his death. On April 11, he cancelled his remaining tour dates for the year, citing health reasons.

Hailing Lightfoot as “one of our greatest singer-songwriters,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he “captured our country’s spirit in his music – and in doing so, he helped shape Canada’s soundscape.”

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

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

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

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

[Here’s a link to a 1967 live performance video of Judith Durham singing “Georgy Girl” with The Seekers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsIbfYEizLk.}

Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister, called Durham “a national treasure and an Australian icon,” tweeting “Judith Durham gave voice to a new strand of our identity and helped blaze a trail for a new generation of Aussie artists. Her kindness will be missed by many, the anthems she gave to our nation will never be forgotten.”

The Seekers were the first major pop music group from the Land Down Under to achieve mainstream success in the UK and the United States –- both in terms of radio charting and record sales (having sold 50 million records). Durham joined The Seekers in 1962 and became the group’s lead singer the following year at age 20. Although The Seekers later reunited to perform and record on multiple occasions through 2014, the group officially disbanded in 1968. Durham embarked on a solo career at that time and released several studio albums. Among numerous honors, she received the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to music in 1995 and the Centenary Medal in 2003. Durham was also named Victorian of the Year by the Australian state of Victoria in 2015.

In a post on The Seekers’ Facebook page, Athol Guy — writing on behalf of bandmates Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley and himself — stated: “ “Our lives are changed forever losing our treasured lifelong friend and shining star. Her struggle was intense and heroic – never complaining of her destiny and fully accepting its conclusion. Her magnificent musical legacy Keith, Bruce and I are so blessed to share.”

Click on the link below to enjoy a video of The Seekers performing “I’ll Never Find Another You:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZf41UudAbI.

Hailed as one of the defining voices of English traditional music “in a January 31 tweet by folk-rocker Billy Bragg and as the matriarch of the “royal family of British folk music” in The New York Times, Waterson was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in Queen Elizabeth’s 2003 New Year Honours for her contributions to folk music. She also received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 2016.

As part of The Watersons with her younger brother and sister Mike and Lal, and their cousin John Harrison, she helped to usher in the British folk revival of the 1960s. The critically acclaimed family group, whose repertoire was largely comprised of traditional folk songs, was known for its close and stirring vocal harmonies, often sung a cappella with little or no accompaniment. Melody Maker named its debut album, Frost and Fire, Album of the Year. The group, which Waterson also managed, disbanded in 1968 and reformed a few years later, with renowned singer and guitarist Martin Carthy, a two-time winner of BBC Radio 2’s Folk Singer of the Year award, whom Waterson married in 1972, replacing Harrison. The Watersons continued recording through the 1980s. Mike Waterson’s daughter Rachel also was part of the group during the mid-late 1980s. In the mid-1990s, Waterson, Carthy, and their daughter Eliza (a singer and fiddler who was named after Waterson’s maternal grandmother) formed Waterson-Carthy, while Waterson also released several solo albums in the late 1990s-early 2000s. With songs by the likes of Elvis Costello, The Grateful Dead and Ben Harper, her 1996 self-titled, Mercury Prize-nominated debut album extended far beyond the British traditional folk stylings for which she was renowned, while her final album with Eliza, 2018’s Anchor, featured traditional ballads, along with songs by Nick Lowe, Tom Waits and Monty Python’s Eric Idle. Her two other solo recordings are more traditional.

Waterson was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England on August 15, 1939. She and her younger siblings, both of whom predeceased her, were raised by their maternal grandmother, Eliza Ward, following the deaths of their parents at a young age. Several of their uncles were musicians, and they may have been destined to follow in heir footsteps – first forming a skiffle band before turning to traditional folk. Waterson was also a radio DJ for a few years on the Caribbean island of Montserrat.

Although Waterson continued performing well into her 70s, illness left her unable to do so for years. She recovered from a four months–long coma in 2010 but had to learn how to walk and talk again.

The voice of the last of the singing Watersons has been stilled, but her recorded music lives on to be enjoyed for generations to come. As Eliza Carthy wrote in a Facebook post: “Our only hope is that she is with Lal and Mike and her mam and dad now, being held and welcomed and finally without pain.”