Episode 279: feat. Sharon Goldman & More New Releases

Singer/songwriter Sharon Goldman from New Jersey joins us on this episode to chat about her latest album, “Kol Isha (A Woman’s Voice)”, an album that it takes as its theme, Sharon’s own life experience – growing up in an orthodox Jewish family on Long Island, New York. We also take our first look at the nominees for the Canadian Folk Music Awards starting off with the category of Contemporary Album of the Year.

Sharon Goldman started out playing open mics in New York City before finding her inner voice, and developing a strong reputation as a songwriter on a series of fine albums that married catchy and playful melodies to thoughtful lyrics on songs about love, life and the little things that make the world go round. “Kol Isha (A Woman’s Voice)” is quite the departure – a song cycle recounting her own personal journey to womanhood within an ancient and strict religious tradition, steeped in ritual. We were only able to play an abbreviated version of our interview with Sharon on this episode. You can find the full interview on the website HERE. For more information about Sharon’s music, visit sharongoldmanmusic.com.

The nominations for the 2016 Canadian Folk Music Awards have been announced. PEI bilingual trio Ten Strings And A Goat Skin lead the nominations this year with 4 nominations for their album “Auprès du Poêle”, Double nominees include: The Strumbellas, Whitehorse, Donovan Woods, Royal Wood, Danny Michel, David Francey, Big Little Lions, The Small Glories, William Prince, Nadia Gaudet & Jason Burnstick, Corin Raymond, Megan Bonnell, The Andrew Collins Trio, Beppe Gambetta & Tony McManus, Fásta, The Yves Lambert Trio, Hillsburn and Shannon Quinn. Check out the full list of nominees HERE.

On this episode we reviewed the category of Contemporary Album of the Year. Five great albums from some of the hottest properties on the Canadian folk scene. They’re going to have their work cut out to decide which of these albums wins the prize: Corin Raymond for “Hobo Jungle Fever Dreams” (2016, Local Rascal Records),  Donovan Woods for “Hard Settle, Ain’t Troubled” (2016, Meant Well), The Strumbellas for “Hope” (2016, Six Shooter Records), David Francey for “Empty Train” (2016, Laker Music) and Big Little Lions (Helen Austin and Paul Otten) for “Just Keep Moving” (2016, Far Flung/Riptide) .

We also included some clawhammer banjo from Arnie Naiman who received a nomination in the Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year category for his great 2016 album “My Lucky Stars”. If you love banjo, as much as we do – check out our interview with Arnie, from earlier this year, HERE. We’ll be previewing some of the other nominee categories on upcoming editions of Folk Roots Radio.

The Canadian Folk Music Awards take place in Toronto December 2-3, culminating in a bilingual gala awards presentation at the Isabel Bader Theatre on December 3, hosted by Newfoundland folk musician Jean Hewson and Benoit Bourque from La Bottine Souriante. Tickets for the gala are $45 (plus a $2 processing fee) and are available HERE. The Friday evening showcase and Saturday brunch showcases taking place at Hugh’s Room are $29 in advance and $32.50 at the door. More information about the showcase and gala line-ups will be announced shortly. For more information visit folkawards.ca.

We wrapped up the hour, with a couple of new releases. David LaMotte from Asheville NC with “Taste The Light” from “The Other Way Around” (2016, Lower Dryad), his first album in a decade – and definitely worth the wait, and Trevor Alguire with “My Sweet Rosetta” a haunting duet Prince Edward Island’s Juno & East Coast Music Award winning Catherine MacLellan from Trevor’s latest album “Perish In The Light” (2016, Self).

And that’s all we have time for this time around. You can check out the full playlist with artist links below. Please share your love for all the great folk and roots music out there.

Thanks to all the artists who share their music with us, and thank you for listening. We have a lot of great music to bring you on future shows. I hope you’ll join us!

You can listen to this episode again on Mixcloud by following the link below.

Nicolas & The Iceni (Theme)
Lucy She Rises (Demo)
Roll Right (expected 2016)

Corin Raymond
Morning Glories
Hobo Jungle Fever Dreams (2016, Local Rascal Records) CDN

Donovan Woods
My Good Friends
Hard Settle, Ain’t Troubled (2016, Meant Well) CDN

The Strumbellas
Shovels & Dirt
Hope (2016, Six Shooter Records) CDN

David Francey
Big Texas Moon
Empty Train (2016, Laker Music) CDN

Big Little Lions
What If
Just Keep Moving (2016, Far Flung) CDN

Arnie Naiman
South River Dam
My Lucky Stars (2016, Merriweather Records) CDN

Sharon Goldman
The Tribe
Kol Isha (A Woman’s Voice) (2016, Self)

Interview: Sharon Goldman

Sharon Goldman
Kol Isha (A Woman’s Voice)
Kol Isha (A Woman’s Voice) (2016, Self)

Sharon Goldman
Land Of Milk & Honey
Kol Isha (A Woman’s Voice) (2016, Self)

David LaMotte
Taste The Light
The Other Way Around (2016, Lower Dryad)

Trevor Alguire
My Sweet Rosetta (feat. Catherine MacLellan)
Perish In The Light (2016, Self) CDN