• Folk Music Awards Announce Nominees, Honor Those Carrying Folk’s Flame

    Stacy Chandler Posted On April 7, 2022
    0


    Nanci Griffith, shown here at the Cambridge Festival in 2007, will posthumously receive a lifetime achievement award at this year's International Folk Music Awards. (Photo by Bryan Ledgard)

     

    Folk Alliance International announced its International Folk Music Awards Best of 2021 nominees and lifetime achievement awards this afternoon in a YouTube broadcast.

    Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards, named for Folk Alliance’s co-founder, will be presented to accordionist Flaco Jiménez, the late Nanci Griffith, and Denver folk music center Swallow Hill Music. Jason Mraz will receive The People’s Voice Award, an honor for an individual who has embraced political and social commentary in their careers.

    Spirit of Folk awards, which honor people and organizations working to promote and preserve folk music, will go to Eugene Rodriguez of Los Cenzontles, artist and Red Hot Records vice president Lilli Lewis, NPR Tiny Desk Contest winner and disability rights activist Gaelynn Lea, Canadian Live Music Association leader Erin Benjamin, Bolivian-American artist and instrument maker Amado Espinoza, and Sound Diplomacy Founder Shain Shapiro.

    Lula Wiles member and executive director of the Bomazeen Land Trust nonprofit Mali Obomsawin will receive the Rising Tide Award, launched in 2021 to recognize artists under 30 advancing folk music and ideals.

    Planet Bluegrass, which presents the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, RockyGrass, and the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, will receive the Clearwater Award, which recognizes festivals that model environmental stewardship.

    Here are the finalists for the Best of 2021 awards. All of the awards will be presented on May 18, opening night of the 34th annual Folk Alliance International Conference taking place in Kansas City.

     

    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

     




    • ADVERTISEMENT

    • SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

    • SUBSCRIBE NOW


    Enjoy this article? Support No Depression.

    Help us continue to keep our web content free and accessible to all – without paywalls or invasive pop-up ads.

    Your support is important because it helps us cover our costs so that we can continue bringing you the independent music journalism you know and trust. Please consider subscribing or donating to No Depression now.

    Related Stories

    Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings, and Iris DeMent Honored at International Folk Music Awards

    By Stacy Chandler on February 21, 2024

    FAI Announces Honorees and 2023 Nominees for International Folk Music Awards

    By Stacy Chandler on January 17, 2024



    Your Support is Essential

    As one of the last resources dedicated to covering roots music and related stories, we need the support of our readers. While No Depression is read in print and digital by over a million people annually, only a small percentage support us through subscriptions or donations.
    Your support is vital in keeping No Depression’s website free and our coverage independent. Please consider becoming a subscriber or providing a donation. With your help, No Depressioncan continue to grow and cover roots music the way it deserves.

    Please consider becoming a subscriber or providing a donation. With your help, No Depression can continue to grow and cover roots music the way it deserves.