At the recent National Folk Festival in Canberra, the Australia Council for the Arts presented the Don Banks Music Award to folk artist and publisher Warren Fahey. The award is given only once to a particular artist. Among Fahey’s many accomplishments are the founding of the Larrikin folk music label and the Folkways music retail business, the writing of numerous books and the collection and recording of bush folk songs and folk stories….

Concord Music Group, home of an already-wide variety of jazz, rock, pop, R&B, world and classical music, recently announced its acquisition of Rounder Records, the roots label whose better-known artists include Alison Krauss, Willie Nelson and Mary Chapin Carpenter. Rounder was celebrating its 40th year in business this year.

Southern folk singer Caroline Herring was recently given a 2010 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters award in the Popular Music Composition category for her album Golden Apples of the Sun. Herring will be performing at the All Good Cafe in Dallas on Friday evening.

The Old Settler’s Music Festival will be held Thursday, April 15 through Sunday, April 18 near Austin, Texas. Among the scheduled artists are Green Mountain Grass, The Joe Ely Band, Jimmy LaFave, The Wronglers, Ruthie Foster, The Special Consensus, Mindy Smith, Elizabeth Cook and many others including Patty Griffin with Buddy Miller.