Angélique Kidjo nominated for International Folk Music Award

The awards, produced by Folk Alliance International (FAI), will mark the start of the non-profit’s 35th international annual conference in Kansas City on 1 February. The forum claims to be the preeminent gathering of the worldwide folk music community and a hub for new music discovery.

The five-time Grammy-winning Kidjo, who has 16 albums to her name, was nominated alongside French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf for their joint project Queen of Sheba. They face competition from Mexican singer Silvana Estrada (Marchita) and US acts Anaïs Mitchell (Anaïs Mitchell), Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder (Get on Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee) and Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway (Crooked Tree).

The finalists for the 2022 Artist of the Year Award include Jake Blount, Janis Ian, Leyla McCalla and Aoife O’Donovan, all from the US, as well as Prateek Kuhad from India, while the Song of the Year nominees include ‘Udhero Na’ by Arooj Aftab featuring Anoushka Shankar, ‘Vini Wè’ by Leyla McCalla, ‘Bright Star’ by Anaïs Mitchell, ‘How’ by Marcus Mumford featuring Brandi Carlile and ‘B61’ by Aoife O’Donovan.

Other trophies to be presented include the Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Award (Janis Ian [living], Josh White [legacy], Oh Boy Records [business/academic]), the People’s Voice Award (Leyla McCalla), presented to an individual who embraces social and political commentary in their creative work and public career, and the Rising Tide Award (Alisa Amador) celebrating a new generation of artist under 30 years who inspire others by embodying the values and ideals of the folk community through their creative work, community role and public voice.

The rest are the Clearwater Award (Shambala Festival, UK), presented to a festival that prioritises environmental stewardship and demonstrates public leadership in sustainable event production, the Spirit of Folk Award (Steve Edge, Amy Reitnouer Jacobs, Marcy Marxer, Adrian Sabogal, Pat Mitchell Worley), presented to honour and celebrate people and organisations actively involved in the promotion and preservation of folk music through creative work, community building and leadership, and the Folk DJ Hall of Fame (Robert Resnik, Marilyn Rea Beyer, John Platt, Harry B Soria Jr).

FAI was founded in 1989 to connect folk music leaders aiming to sustain the community and genre. It boasts a network of more than 3 000 members including artists, agents, managers, labels, publicists, arts administrators, venues, festivals and concert series presenters.