KANSAS CITY (CelebrityAccess) – Folk Alliance International (FAI), a nonprofit dedicated to keeping folk music alive, has announced the nominees and recipients for the 2023 International Folk Music Awards (IFMA). The ceremony is scheduled for February 1 in Kansas City on the opening night of the FAI’s 35th annual conference.
This year’s Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards will honor ten-time Grammy nominee Janis Ian. The award will also be given to Josh White and John Prine‘s Oh Boy Records.
The show will feature appearances from Grammy nominee and keynote speaker Valerie June, The Milk Carton Kids, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings artist Leyla McCalla, and Mercury Prize nominee Sam Lee.
Among the nominees for the 2023 album, artist, and song of the year are Brandi Carlile, Anaïs Mitchell, Molly Tuttle, Taj Mahal, Ry Cooder, Angélique Kidjo, Aoife O’Donovan, Jake Blount, Marcus Mumford, Prateek Kuhad, and more.
This year’s People’s Voice Award will be given to McCalla. The public voted for this award, and is a testament to the artist’s popularity. In addition, the Rising Tide Award, which recognizes artists under the age of 30, will go to Alisa Amador, and the Clearwater Award will go to Shambala Festival. The Levitt Foundation sponsors the Clearwater Award to reward environmental stewardship and leadership in sustainable event production.
See below to view the complete list of nominees and award recipients.
Album of the Year
Marchita by Silvana Estrada
Queen Of Sheba by Angélique Kidjo and Ibrahim Maalouf
Get on Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee by Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder
Anaïs Mitchell by Anaïs Mitchell
Crooked Tree by Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Artist of the Year
Jake Blount
Janis Ian
Prateek Kuhad
Leyla McCalla
Aoife O’Donovan
Song of the Year
“Udhero Na” written by Arooj Aftab, performed by Arooj Aftab featuring Anoushka Shankar
“Vini Wè” written and performed by Leyla McCalla
“Bright Star” written and performed by Anaïs Mitchell
“How” written by Marcus Mumford and Brandi Carlile, performed by Marcus Mumford featuring Brandi Carlile
“B61” written and performed by Aoife O’Donovan
The Spirit of Folk Awards Recipients:
Steve Edge
Amy Reitnouer Jacobs
Marcy Marxer
Adrian Sabogal
Pat Mitchell Worley
The Folk DJ Hall of Fame
Robert Resnik
Marilyn Rea Beyer
John Platt
Harry B. Soria Jr.
