The Canadian Folk Music Awards will be presented on Sunday, Dec. 4, at the Isabel Bader Theatre in Toronto. You can be part of the celebration without leaving the comfort of your own home. Tomorrow’s awards gala, co-hosted by Benoit Bourque of La Bottine Souriante and CBC Radio’s Shelagh Rogers, as well as a Nominee Showcase from Hugh’s Room tonight at 8 p.m., will be streamed live online at http://rootsmusic.ca/. A list of nominees appears on http://folkawards.ca/.
Established in 2005, the Canadian Folk Music Awards celebrates and promotes the breadth and depth of folk music in Canada and recognizes outstanding achievements in 19 categories plus a new “Unsung Hero” category. Bruce Cockburn and Dave Gunning garnered the most nominations this year, with four apiece.
Nominees in more than 75 categories have been named for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, to be broadcast live from Los Angeles, California on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, on CBS television stations.
[To see a list of nominees in the American Roots Music Field -- including those for Best Folk Album, Best Americana Album, Best Bluegrass Album, Best Blues Album, and Best Regional Roots Music Album -- click on the headline.]
The 24th Annual International Folk Alliance Conference is slated for February 22-26, 2012 at the Downtown Marriott in Memphis, Tennessee. Financial savings are in the offing through early-bird registration that is open through Dec. 2, while forms also are available on the Folk Alliance International website (www.folk.org) until then for performing artists to apply for Performance Alley official showcase opportunities.
[To continue reading the conference preview, click on the headline.]
Terence Martin, a gifted New York-based singer-songwriter and published poet, has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. Martin, who succumbed to the disease on Nov. 7, was born in London, England, grew up in Los Angeles, California, and moved east in 1997 to become part of New York’s thriving acoustic music scene. He recorded and released six albums independently and was working on another one at the time of his passing.
[To read a short article, as well as personal remembrances and reflections from Jim Colbert, a fellow singer-songwriter, click on the headline.]