AcousticMusicScene.com

Balloting in the Third Annual Folk Alliance Awards ended on Friday, Jan. 25.  The award winners in more than a dozen categories will be named during a Feb. 20 awards program on the opening night of the 20^th Annual International Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis, Tennessee that runs through Feb. 24.  The awards program will be broadcast live over XM Satellite Radio. 

A listing of the nominees in 11 categories appears below.  In addition to these categories, in which votes were cast by Folk Alliance members, Song of the Year and Album of the Year awards will be presented based on airplay reports.  

Contemporary Artist of the Year: Peter Case, Lucy Kaplansky, Anais Mitchell, Tom Russell, Susan Werner

Traditional Artist of the Year: David Bromberg, John Wort Hannam, Levon Helm, Joel Mabus, Uncle Earl 

Emerging Artist of the Year: Carolina Chocolate Drops, Anthony da Costa, Eilen Jewell, Devon Sproule, Twilight Hotel

World Music Artist: Cheick Hamala Diabate and Bob Carlin, Kobo Town, Loreena McKennitt, Mighty Popo, Sones de Mexico Ensemble

Booking Agency: Concerted Efforts, Folklore Productions, Mongrel Music, The Roots Agency, Skyline Boooking 

Broadcaster: Susan Forbes Hansen, Ron Olesko, John Platt, Mike Regenstreif, Rich Warren

(Editor’s Note: A separate article on these nominees appears in the Acoustic Radio Waves section.)

Small Folk Venue: Café Lena (Saratoga Springs, NY), Freight & Salvage (Berkeley, CA), Hugh’s Room (Toronto, Ontario), Iron Horse (Northampton, MA), Tin Angel (Philadelphia, PA)

Large Folk Venue: The Ark (Ann Arbor, MII), The Birchmere (Arlington, VA), Cedar Cultural Center (Minneapolis, MN), Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (Washington, DC)

Festival: Boston Folk Festival, Edmonton Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Ottawa Folk Festival

Legacy Recording: Woody Guthrie – The Lone Wire – Woody Guthrie Live in Performance 1949, Various Artists – People Take Warning! Murder Ballads and Disaster Songs, Various Artists – Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys, Various Artists – Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook, Vols. 2 and 3

New Media: iTunes, MySpace, SonicBids, YouTube, Amazon Digital, Video Ranch

In addition to the awards, the Conference will include four days of panel discussions and workshops and four nights of artist showcases and feature performances, as well as a large exhibit hall and plenty of opportunities for networking and jamming.

Folk Alliance (www.folk.org ) aims to foster and promote multicultural, traditional and contemporary folk music, while strengthening and advancing organizational and individual initiatives in folk music and dance through education, networking, advocacy, and professional and field development.

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