Here we go again – another set of “folk” awards. Last week the Grammy Awards announced their folk catagories and this week the Folk Alliance has announced their award nomineess.

I am sitting on the fence about the Folk Alliance’s efforts. To me, choosing a winner in these catagories is like choosing my favorite child – should my son or my daughter win this year?

There is also a regional aspect to these awards that makes it difficult to choose why one venue should receive an award over the others. The Folk Alliance has never defined what folk music is, yet they are now offering catagories in traditional, contemporary and world music. Some of the nominees seem to fly in the face of how most people would define these terms.

Still, there is a good reason to have these awards. Unlike the Grammy Awards, the Folk Alliance has an interest in perpetuating folk and acoustic music. By honoring individuals and organizations, there is hope that these awards can be a help in terms of publicity and promotion. Wouldn’t it be nice to advertise that a local coffeehouse is presenting the 2007 Contemporary Folk Artist of the year to a potential audience that never heard of the individual? Perhaps the media might pick up on these awards and run articles or do interviews with the winners. In that spirit, I fully support these awards.

Let’s hear your choices. Please enter a comment and tell us who you would vote for – or why you would not vote at all!

Here is the press release from the Folk Alliance:

(Memphis, Tenn.) — Nominees Announced for the Second Annual Folk Alliance Awards. The Folk Alliance Awards are to honor merit and achievement within the Folk Music field. The award recipients will be recognized at the 19th annual North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance’s international business conference in Memphis, Wednesday, February 21, 2007 at the Cook Convention Center.

The final nominees for the Second Annual Folk Alliance Awards are:

Folk Alliance Mission: The North American Folk Music And Dance Alliance exists to foster and promote traditional, contemporary and multicultural folk music, dance, and related performing arts in North America. The folk Alliance seeks to strengthen organizational and individual initiatives in folk music and dance through education, networking, advocacy, and professional and field development.