The Savannah Music Festival has announced its chosen participants for the 2nd Annual Acoustic Music Seminar (AMS), a mentorship program involving five days of hands-on instruction for promising and talented young musicians (ages 15 to 22) in acoustic music. Led by acclaimed mandolin player Mike Marshall, this year’s students will also study with world-class musicians and artists such as jazz guitarist and composer Julian Lage, bluegrass fiddler Darol Anger, multi-instrumentalist Bruce Molsky and cellist Rushad Eggleston.

Of the 2013 AMS participants, Associate Director Mike Marshall says, “I was overwhelmed by the caliber of the applicants this year. The sixteen students we have chosen really do represent some of the finest young musicians I’ve seen, some of them right at the cusp of their careers taking off. I can’t wait to see what they bring to the program, and I know Savannah is going to be blown away.”

The AMS 2013 participants, in alphabetical order, are: Sterling Abernathy, 19, Nashville, TN (Mandolin); Erik Alvar, 22, Tallahassee, FL (Double Bass)l David Benedict, 20, Clemson, SC (Mandolin); Catherine (BB) Bowness, 22, Koitiata, New Zealand (Banjo); Mairi Chaimbeul, 19, Skye, Scotland (Lever harp); Xavier Foley, 18, Marietta, GA (Double Bass); Tatiana Hargreaves, 17, Corvallis, OR (Violin); Gary Hultman, 19, Johnson City, TN (Dobro); Ethan Jodziewicz, 20, Olympia, WA (Double Bass); John Mailander, 22, San Diego, CA (Violin); Mila Phelps-Friedl, 15, Arlington, MA (Cello); Chase Potter, 20, Columbus, OH (Violin); Matthew Taylor, 16, Maryville, TN (Guitar/Mandolin); Molly Tuttle, 20, Palo Alto, CA (Guitar/Banjo); Leah Wollenberg, 20, Canyon, CA (Violin) and Matthew Witler, 21, La Crescenta, CA (Mandolin).

After a week of master classes also including Dobro master Jerry Douglas, British violinist Daniel Hope and mandolinist David Grisman, along with workshops and jam sessions, AMS culminates in a sensational showcase for festival audiences, entitled Stringband Spectacular. The production includes premieres of new work by AMS participants, performed by breakout ensembles including the clinicians. Tickets are $15-50 for the April 6th production at the Lucas Theatre for the Arts, and can be purchased online or by phone at 912-525-5050. More information on the AMS can be found on the AMS page.

The 2013 Savannah Music Festival takes place from March 20th through April 6th in intimate venues throughout Savannah’s historic district.

The Wailin Jennys picked up first prize in the Group/Duo category at the International Acoustic Music Awards for “Bird Song,” on the Bright Morning Stars album. Ruth Moody, a member of the group, was runner-up in the Folk category for the title song on her album The Garden. The Folk first prize went to William Michael Dillon for “Chasing a Dream,” on Black Robes and Lawyers–the expression of decades of experience as a wrongly convicted prisoner before William’s release in 2008 with the help of the Innocence Project.

Lizzy Hoyt took top honors in the Best Female Vocalist category for “Vimy Ridge,” a ballad (on the Home album) commemorating a World War I battle involving Canadian soldiers. Lizzy Hoyt and Ruth Moody were also nominees in last year’s Canadian Folk Music Awards.

The complete list of winners is available on the IAMA site.

Lydia and Laura Rogers, aka the Secret Sisters, are among the nominees announced on Monday for the annual Americana Music Association Honors and Awards to be given in October. The sisters, along with Jessica Lea Mayfield, The Civil Wars, and the British group Mumford and Sons, have been nominated for the New/Emerging Artist of the Year award. Mumford and Sons and The Civil Wars are also candidates in the Duo/Group category.

Justin Townes Earle‘s “Harlem River Blues” is up for both Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Lucinda Williams‘s album “Blessed” is another Album of the Year nominee. Elizabeth Cook, Buddy Miller and Robert Plant are nominees in multiple categories. The full list of nominees is available on the American Songwriter, Country Music Television and Music Row sites.

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….

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.

Leonard Cohen is one of several artists scheduled to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June. Cohen, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys in January, recently postponed his tour due to health issues.

Bonnie Raitt will be inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in May.

American folk musician Nanci Griffith and Scottish musician Dick Gaughan received Lifetime Achievement Awards at Monday night’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards ceremony at The Brewery in London. Other winners included Jon Boden, Folksinger of the Year; John Kirkpatrick, Musician of the Year; Bellowhead, Best Live Act; Show of Hands (Steve Knightley and Phil Beer), Best Duo; Lau, Best Group; Hill of Thieves, by Cara Dillon, Best Album; “Arrogance Ignorance and Greed,” by Steve Knightley, Best Original Song and “Sir Patrick Spens,” by Martin Simpson, Best Traditional Track. The Horizon Award, given to an emerging artist, went to Sam Carter.

In Sunday night’s Grammy Awards ceremony, Loudon Wainwright III was awarded Best Traditional Folk Album for High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project, and Steve Earle took home the Best Contemporary Folk Album title for Townes, an album of songs written by Townes Van Zandt. Steve Martin’s The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo, mentioned in an earlier post, was named Best Bluegrass Album. Electric Dirt, recorded by Levon Helm, earned the Best Americana Album award, beating out Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel, Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams and Wilco.