International Folk Music Awards Reveal Nominees and Honorees

Folk Alliance International has announced its nominees for the 2023 International Folk Music Awards.

The ceremony honors the best song, album, and artist of 2022, along with sharing several lifetime achievement awards. The show will issue its awards via a live online broadcast on February 1 at the alliance’s conference in Kansas City.

The show will also feature appearances by keynote speaker Valerie June, The Milk Carton Kids, Leyla McCalla, and Sam Lee.

Check out the nominees below:

Album of the Year 

Silvana Estrada – Marchita
Angélique Kidjo & Ibrahim Maalouf – Queen of Sheba
Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder – Get on Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee
Anaïs Mitchell – Anaïs Mitchell
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway – Crooked Tree

Artist of the Year

Jake Blount
Janis Ian
Prateek Kuhad
Leyla McCalla
Aoife O’Donovan

Song of the Year

Arooj Aftab featuring Anoushka Shankar – “Udhero Na” (written by Aroof Aftab)
Leyla McCalla – “Vini Wè” (written by Leyla McCalla)
Anaïs Mitchell – “Bright Star” (written by Anaïs Mitchell)
Marcus Mumford featuring Brandi Carlile – “How” (written by Marcus Mumford and Brandi Carlile)
Aoife O’Donovan – “B61” (written by Aoife O’Donovan)

Artists and other members of the folk music community to be honored at the show:

Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards, named for the co-founder of FAI, will honor singer-songwriter Janis Ian, musician and civil rights activist Josh White, and John Prine-founded Oh Boy Records.

People’s Voice Award (presented to honor social and political commentary in creative work and public careers): Leyla McCalla

Rising Tide Award (presented to an artist under 30): Alisa Amador

Clearwater Award (presented to a festival that prioritizes environmental stewardship): Shambala Festival in Northamptonshire, England

The Spirit of Folk Awards (presented to people and organizations who promote and preserve folk music):

— Steve Edge, DJ at Vancouver’s CiRT and co-founder of the Rogue Folk Club
— Amy Reitnouer Jacobs, founder and the executive director of the Bluegrass Situation
— Marcy Marxer, musician and creator of musical theater production All Wigged Out
— Adrian Sabogal, musician, producer, and founder of Marimbea, an organization supporting Afro-Colombian communities from the country’s South Pacific coast
— Pat Mitchell Worley, president and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, which oversees the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Stax Music Academy, and The Soulsville Charter School

Also during the show, the following will be inducted into the Folk DJ Hall of Fame:

— Robert Resnik, host of All the Traditions on Vermont Public Radio
— Marilyn Rea Beyer, host of radio shows The Midnight Special and Folkstage at Chicago’s WFMT
— John Platt, host of the Sunday Supper at WFUV in New York, curator of monthly emerging artist showcase On Your Radar at New York’s Rockwood Music Hall, and founder of the not-for-profit New Folk Initiative
— Harry B. Soria Jr., host of the radio show Territorial Airwaves and Hawaiian music authority (Soria died in 2021)

Photo by Tadin Brown/Sacks & co.