QuickTips Index

Nominees and Winners for the 2009 IBMA Bluegrass Awards
The International Bluegrass Music Association gathers each year in Nashville, Tenn., to celebrate bluegrass music, discuss issues facing the bluegrass community, and to honor its membership with an awards and honors ceremony at the Grand Ole Opry. The 2009 conference and Fan Fest will be held Sep. 28-Oct. 4, 2009. The awards ceremony will be held on Oct. 1, and following are the nominees and winners for 2009 IBMA Awards and Honors:

2009 Americana Music Awards Winners
The Americana Music Association held its 10th Annual festival and conference in Nashville this September 16-19, with a Sep. 17 awards ceremony at the Ryman Auditorium. Buddy Miller, who received five nominations from the AMA, was musical director of the ceremony. Singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale hosted.

Open Mic Nights in New York City
Open Mic Nights are a great way of meeting other musicians, scoping your local community of folksingers, and just staying in good form as a performer. In New York, I found open mic nights to be an essential part of getting acquainted with the scene and learning how to get booked around town. There are literally hundreds (if not thousands) of clubs all over New York, but this list will keep you busy at least six days a week.

Open Mic Nights in Seattle
Seattle's open mic circuit is growing by the minute. Seattle has a burgeoning folk and roots music scene, and you can find plenty of opportunities to join not only open mic nights, but also community jam sessions, song circles, hootenannies and song swaps. Here's a guide to the open mic scene in Seattle, Wash.

"Peace Train" - Cat Stevens
"Peace Train" originally appeared on Cat Stevens' 1971 album 'Teaser and the Firecat'. It was a Top 10 hit for Stevens in the year of the album's release, peaking at number seven on the Billboard chart.

2009 SPBGMA Bluegrass Music Award Winners
Each year, the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) presents awards to some of the most notable artists in contemporary and traditional bluegrass music from the past year. Here are the nominees for the 2009 SPBGMA Bluegrass Music Awards. Winners will be announced during the 26th Annual SPBGMA National Convention in Nashville, Tenn., on Feb. 15, 2009.

"Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" - Traditional
Based on the classic hymn "Hold On" (a.k.a. "Gospel Plow"), this song's exact origins are unknown. However, it was adapted for the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s by an activist named Alice Wine. Wine added verses and changed some lyrics to adapt it specifically to the plight of Civil Rights activists.

2009 Folk Music Grammy Award Winners
The nominees for the 51st Annual Grammy Awards were announced on December 3, 2008. The awards were presented in ceremonies on February 8, 2009, which was televised on CBS.

"Oh Freedom"
"Oh Freedom" is thought to date back to the newly-post-Civil War era, though no specific author is known. It was recorded by Odetta in 1956 and became an important anthem during the Civil Rights movement of the mid-20th Century.

"This Little Light of Mine"
"This Little Light of Mine" made it into the American folk music tradition when it was found and documented by John Lomax in 1939. Even though it's become a great anthem of the Civil Rights movement, it's not believed to have hailed from slave spirituals.

"My Country Tis of Thee" - Samuel Francis Smith
According to the U.S. Library of Congress, the origin of the tune behind "My Country Tis of Thee" is highly debatable in terms of what year it was composed and by whom. At any rate, it was printed in England in 1744 as "God Save the King."

"Little Brown Jug" - Joseph Winner
"Little Brown Jug" Was written by Joseph Winner in 1869, and was originally intended as a drinking song. Although it was written in the mid-19th Century, it enjoyed new popularity during prohibition when people were sneaking illegal alcohol. Several big band versions were recorded, bringing the old folk song further into the mainstream.

"Michael Row the Boat Ashore" - Traditional
"Michael Row the Boat Ashore" is an old American folk song that hails from the slave era. Its existence was first noted in the early 1860s, although the song itself is probably much older. The man responsible for notating the song was an abolitionist named Charles Pickard Ware, who heard it when he was living on St. Helena Island in South Carolina.

"Sunday Morning Coming Down" - Kris Kristofferson / Johnny Cash
"Sunday Morning Coming Down" is an American folk and country song written by Kris Kristofferson while he was working as a janitor at a recording studio. While Kristofferson recorded the song for his debut album, Johnny Cash took the tune to Number One in 1970. Learn more about the history and lyrics of "Sunday Morning Coming Down."

"Auld Lang Syne" - Robert Burns
"Auld Lang Syne" started its life as a poem written by Scottish poet Robert Burns that was set to the tune of an old Scottish folk song. It wasn't long before the song became traditional in Scotland and the British Isles as a folk song to be sung to commemorate the New Year.

"Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" - Johnny Marks
The story of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus' special ninth reindeer, was written in 1939 by Robert L. May. He was an employee of Montgomery Ward, and the store created a book about Rudolph to give away to children on Christmas.

"O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum)" - Ernst Anschütz
"O Christmas Tree" (a.k.a. "O Tannenbaum") is a German Christmas carol whose earliest lyrics date back to the mid-16th Century. The melody is a traditional German folk melody whose origin is unknown, but the most popular lyrics come from a 19th Century composition by Ernst Anschütz.

"Silent Night"
"Silent Night" is actually an Austrian hymn titled "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht." The lyrics were a poem composed by a young priest named Joseph Mohr in 1816. It was two years later when Franz Gruber wrote the melody and a guitar part so that Mohr could have the song played at Christmas mass. The carol was first sung in America by an Austrian family singing group in 1839.

"Jingle Bells" - James Lord Pierpont
"Jingle Bells" was written by James Lord Pierpont in 1857, and was originally titled "One Horse Open Sleigh." Learn more about the history of "Jingle Bells."

"Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" - Bob Dylan
"Don't Think Twice It's Alright" is a song from Bob Dylan's 1963 album, [i]The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan[/i]. The melody is said to have been taught to Dylan by folksinger Paul Clayton, from whom Dylan also borrowed a few lyrics that were originally in Clayton's "Who's Goin' to Buy You Ribbons When I'm Gone?"

"Home on the Range"
"Home on the Range" was adapted from a poem by Dr. Brewster M. Higley called "My Western Home," first published in the [i]Smith County Pioneer[/i] in 1873.

"I Shall Not Be Moved" - Traditional
"I Shall Not Be Moved" is a traditional American folk song whose lyrics probably stretch back to the slave era, although there is no indication of when the song was written or who wrote it. It has been used in worship as well as several socio-political movements. Learn more about "I Shall Not Be Moved."

The Immigrants' Movement and Folk Music
A century ago, immigrant workers hit the streets to demand fair work conditions and protection under the law, singing the songs of their labor unions. Today, as immigrant workers demonstrate for the right to work in America as they strive for citizenship, their protest songs take a different direction.

"Swing Low Sweet Chariot," Traditional
"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," while no certain composer is known, is often credited to Choctaw freedman Wallis Willis during mid- to late-19th Century. The earliest known recording was made by the Fisk Jubilee Singers in the late 1800s.

Playing the Spoons
Musical spoons are one of the oldest traditional instruments on the planet. When did people start playing musical spoons? How are they played? Learn more about the history of musical spoons in American folk music.