I've never been to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival but, from what I understand, it's one of the best folk and roots festivals in the country. Tucked away in a little mountain town in Colorado, the Telluride festival grounds are famous for feeling like their own little pocket of string-pickin' heaven. And, having experienced the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, I feel confident in saying that the events put on by the fine folks at Planet Bluegrass are well worth it.

This year, the Telluride lineup will be headlined by Alison Krauss & Union Station, featuring Jerry Douglas. Other acts on the bill include bluegrass mainstays like Del McCoury Band, Hot Rize, and Sam Bush Band, as well as more contemporary folk and Americana troupes like Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Josh Ritter Band, and more.

Telluride 2010 will be held June 17-20. For a full lineup and more information about Telluride 2010, visit the festival's website.

photo: Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images

Now that the Grammy Awards are out of the way, it's apparently time for the folk/Americana world to shift its focus to the Academy Awards. This year, two music icons are nominated for Oscars for their work on major films.

Singer-songwriter extraordinaire Randy Newman received two nominations for the same category - Best Original Song - for "Almost There" and "Down in New Orleans," which he wrote for The Princess and the Frog.

Superstar Americana producer T Bone Burnett (O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack, Raising Sand), who was just shafted by NARAS for the Producer of the Year Grammy, will compete against Newman for Best Original Song. Burnett's contribution was a co-write with Ryan Bingham on "The Weary Kind," which was featured in Crazy Heart. Though Crazy Heart is about a country singer, it's an outstanding representation of the life of a traveling troubadour, and Burnett & Bingham's song already won the Golden Globe.

The 2010 Academy Awards will be presented in ceremonies telecast live on ABC on March 7. Tune in to (hopefully) see some folk/Americana folks represent!

photo: Frederick M. Brown/Stringer / Getty Images

Let me just get out of the way the acknowledgement that NARAS isn't exactly a bluegrass-focused organization, and their selections in this category tend to follow the lines of the best-known artist and not necessarily always the best. Of course, it's hard to argue with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder having taken the category so often, but that outfit and Alison Krauss & Union Station have easily dominated the category since it was introduced in 1989. So, following that logic, I'm going to guess that Steve Martin will walk away with this award this year for his album The Crow.

However, I'll assert that Bryan Sutton's Almost Live was my favorite bluegrass album by a long shot from 2009, and it would be difficult for me to pick any other nominee in this category whose artistry was so outstanding and consistent from album opener to the final song. Check out my full review of Bryan Sutton's Almost Live, the full list of 2010's folk/Americana Grammy nominees, or leave your prediction(s) in the comments.

image © Sugarhill

This will be the first year where the Grammy Awards will feature a category for Americana music. In the past, the Grammys have honored Americana music in concert with contemporary folk (the category used to be Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album). This year, however, contemporary folk and Americana music get separate award categories, and there's plenty of buzz and anticipation surrounding the Americana nominees.

Before I announce my prediction for who will win this category, let me say I think Bob Dylan would have been better served under contemporary folk, and Neko Case (nominated in the contemporary folk category for Middle Cyclone) would be better categorized under Americana. But, that's entirely subjective and I applaud both those albums' nominations for 2010.

And now, for my prediction. I hereby predict the first ever Americana Grammy Award will go to Levon Helm for his album Electric Dirt. Helm, best known as drummer/vocalist for The Band, took the Best Traditional Folk Album Grammy two years ago, and Electric Dirt was a widespread favorite throughout the Americana community, sitting at No. 1 for several weeks. NARAS is fond of its musical legends and, while each of this category's nominees could fall under the "legend" umbrella, I believe Helm will take the trophy this year. Check out this full list of 2010 folk/Americana Grammy nominees, and stay tuned this week for more predictions.

image © Vanguard Records