The nominees for this year’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards have been unveiled by Mark Radcliffe on The Radio 2 Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe.
Nominees for this year’s awards include Cara Dillon, Bellowhead, Nancy Kerr and 9Bach.
The event will also feature the Radio 2 Folk Awards Hall of Fame, which recognises the special contribution of an individual to the world of folk music; someone whose impact and influence has had a lasting impression. This year’s inductee will be the influential Ewan MacColl. The awards show will also include the presentation of Lifetime Achievement and Good Tradition Awards.
Making the announcement, Mark Radcliffe said, “We’ve had another fantastic year in folk music, filled with excellent releases and exciting music from many well-loved and respected acts. But looking through the nominations, I’m particularly happy to see nods for acts that are almost completely unknown to mainstream audiences: The Gloaming, 9Bach, Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker, Ange Hardy, Stick In The Wheel, Cruinn, The Furrow Collective… We know how superb these people are, so it’s wonderful to take this opportunity to shine a bright light on them. And we always say it, but do check out the nominees in our Young Folk Award – the sheer talent in that category is frightening.”
The winners will be announced on Wednesday 22nd April 2015 at the Folk Awards ceremony at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. Yusuf / Cat Stevens will be headlining the event with Loudon Wainwright III, 9Bach and Kate Rusby also performing. More acts will be announced in the coming weeks.
The ceremony will be hosted by Mark Radcliffe and singer Julie Fowlis and tickets are available now from bbc.co.uk/radio2/folkawards.
The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards will be broadcast live from 7.30pm-10pm on Radio 2.
Those in the running include:
Folk Singer of the Year
Cara Dillon
Julie Fowlis
Nancy Kerr
Jez Lowe
Best Duo
Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker
O’Hooley & Tidow
Greg Russell & Ciaran Algar
Chris While & Julie Matthews
Best Group
Bellowhead
The Furrow Collective
The Gloaming
The Young ‘Uns
Best Album
Fair Warning – The Rails
Nothing Can Bring Back The Hour – Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker
Sweet Visitor – Nancy Kerr
The Moral Of The Elephant – Martin & Eliza Carthy
Tincian – 9Bach
Horizon Award
Ange Hardy
Maz O’Connor
Stick In The Wheel
The Rails
Musician of the Year
Martin Green
Will Pound
Sam Sweeney
Kathryn Tickell
Best Original Song
Swim To The Star – Peggy Seeger/Calum MacColl (performed by Peggy Seeger)
The Necklace Of Wrens – Michael Hartnett (performed by The Gloaming)
The Pitmen Poets – Jez Lowe
The Spider And The Wolf – Paul Simmonds (performed by Naomi Bedford)
Best Traditional Track
Bedlam – Stick In The Wheel
Handsome Molly – The Furrow Collective
Manus Mo Rùin – Cruinn
Samhradh Samhradh – The Gloaming
BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award
Cup O’Joe
Roseanne Reid
Talisk
Wildwood Kin
