[The following is from the official press release.]
The International Folk Music Awards – presented by Folk Alliance International (FAI), a 501(c)3 and the foremost global nonprofit for folk music— took place last week as part of the opening of the conference and Best of 2023 awards were won by Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway (Album of the Year); Billy Strings (Artist of the Year); and Iris Dement (Song of the Year). NPR Music and World Cafe live-streamed the awards show.
The following have won awards at the ceremony (with the nominees listed), in addition to the below:
Album of the Year
Amatssou – Tinariwen (Wedge Records)
City Of Gold – Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway (Nonesuch)
False Lankum – Lankum (Rough Trade)
Stand in the Joy – William Prince (Six Shooter Records)
Welcome to Whatever – Rainbow Girls (self-release)
Artist of the Year (sponsored by the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame)
Billy Strings
Digging Roots
Gaby Moreno
Nickel Creek
Madi Diaz
Song of the Year
“Changes” written by Joy Oladokun & Dan Wilson, performed by Joy Oladokun
“Keep It On A Burner” written and performed by Margo Cilker
“Tears Run Dry” written by Abraham Alexander, Ian Barter, Leo Stannard, performed by Abraham Alexander
“The Returner” written by Allison Russell, Drew Lindsay, & JT Nero, performed by Allison Russell
“Workin’ On A World” written and performed by Iris Dement
Strings said, “I’m incredibly honored… The fact that my name even comes up in conversation with the other nominees just blows my mind. I made so many great friends at FAI in 2013-14 when I was ripping showcases and pickin’ all up and down them hallways and hotel rooms. I’d like to say thanks to Folk Alliance for giving us artists a place to come together and make lifelong friends, showcase our music, bump elbows, meet the right people, and start to grow our careers in an organic and natural way.”
Tuttle said, “I feel so lucky to be part of this folk music community. I draw so much inspiration from the folk tradition when I was writing this album, I imagined these songs being played by folks around the campfire. Music really is my City of Gold. I wish I was there with you all in Kansas City. I know we’d have a great time.”
The People’s Voice Award is presented to an individual who unabashedly embraces social and political commentary in their creative work and public careers. This year’s recipient is Alynda Segarra (of Hurray For the Riff Raff, which has released nine albums).
Segarra said, “I started writing songs as a way to have power in this world. I started a band to create a family. Since my first days playing music on the street in New Orleans, I’ve turned to the mysteries of songwriting to document, honor, and defend the people on the outskirts of society. Folk music drew me in because it tells the truth, it disgraces the warmongers, and it defends the innocent. It’s been enlivening to watch folk music become more visibly queer and radical.”
Lifetime Achievement Awards were granted to four-time GRAMMY Award-winner, thirteen-time GRAMMY nominee, and writer of a #1 Billboard Hot Country Song chart hit, Tracy Chapman; Chilean songwriter and activist Victor Jara; and McCabe’s Guitar Shop, which has been hosting concerts in southern California for over 50 years. (The Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards are presented each year to honor the cultural impact of legendary folk music figures: one Living, one Legacy, and one Business/Academic.)
Performances included:
- The Steel Wheels (also the house band)
- “star in the making” (Folk Alley) Kaia Kater singing Odetta’s “Moving It On”;
- Joy Clark, whose music is “pure magic to watch and hear” singing Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One Reason”;
- Latin GRAMMY winner Mireya Ramos singing Victor Jara’s “Manifiesto,” which was first released in 1974, shortly after Jara’s death by the Chilean military;
- and the finale, with founding member of Old Crow Medicine Show, Willie Watson in a tribute to McCabe’s Guitar Shop, singing Elizabeth Cotten’s “Freight Train” at which point, Malena Cadiz, who “has a voice that grabs you within seconds” (NPR), joined the stage to sing Jackson Browne’s “Rock Me On The Water.”
In addition to the IFMAs and presentations, over 2,000 artist performances are taking place under one roof this week. The 36th Annual Conference runs through Saturday in Kansas City, MO, representing a convening of some of the music industry’s leading authorities and creators to address the ability of folk music to galvanize and catalyze movements to advance our world.
More About the Conference
Official Showcases feature jury-selected, tour-ready musicians representing diverse cultures, languages, and sounds. These thirty-minute sets are performed on full production stages.
Private Showcases turn hotel rooms into listening rooms. These performances are more intimate, often without any amplification, and turn each floor of the hotel into its own festival.
The Folk Alliance International conference also offers various networking and mentoring opportunities, including Peer Sessions (for agents, labels, festivals, and artists), speed meetings, artist mentorship meetings, summits, and Affinity Group sessions for communities including BIPOC, LGBTQ2IA+, Women, Folks 55+, Folks with Disabilities, and more.
About Folk Alliance International
Founded in 1989, and governed by a 21-member board of directors, Folk Alliance International (FAI) is the world’s largest membership organization for the folk music industry and community. Its mission is to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation, and promotion.
FAI values diversity, equity, inclusion, and access, is committed to gender parity in all its programming, celebrates multiple languages and cultures, and actively welcomes participation from marginalized, disenfranchised, and underrepresented communities.
FAI defines folk broadly as “the music of the people” (reflective of any community they are from), and programs a diverse array of sub-genres including, but not limited to Appalachian, Americana, Blues, Bluegrass, Celtic, Cajun, Global Roots, Hip-Hop, Old-Time, Singer-Songwriter, Spoken Word, Traditional, Zydeco, and various fusions.
Past Artist in Residence partnerships include UNESCO, the International Rescue Committee, the WWI Museum, Kansas City Ballet, the Kansas City Police Department, the Topeka Women’s Correctional Facility, UMKC’s Mathematics Dept., the Kansas City Art Institute, and Friends of the Kaw River.
Additionally, FAI provides information, advocacy, education, and professional development for over 19,000 in its community and oversees an IRS Group Exemption program in support of over 50 US non-profits.
