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Here you will find recent "roots-related" stories on the internet. Keep in mind that the links (date of article) go directly to the story or article that is mentioned.

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May 23rd - The Americana Music Association saluted the year’s best today as Rosanne Cash announced the list of 2011 Americana Music Association Honors & Awards nominees in New York City. Elizabeth Cook and Robert Plant lead the pack with three nominations each: Cook’s Welder was tapped in the Album of the Year field, while her “El Camino” earned a Song of the Year nomination. Robert Plant and the Band of Joy will compete for Duo/Group of the Year, while their effort Band of Joy received an Album of the Year nod. Both Cook and Plant are also up for Artist of the Year. Two recent New/Emerging Artist of the Year honorees are fulfilling that award’s prophecy: 2009 recipient Justin Townes Earle garnered two nods, including Album of the Year for Harlem River Blues and Song of the Year for the album’s title track, while last year’s winner Hayes Carll received taps for Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for “Kmag Yoyo.” The Civil Wars and Mumford and Sons each earned nominations in both the New/Emerging Artist and Duo/Group of the Year categories, while Buddy Miller also secured two nods: Artist and Instrumentalist of the Year. The Album of the Year field also includes Lucinda Williams’ Blessed, while the Song of the Year category is rounded out by The Decemberists featuring Gillian Welch’s “Down by the Water.” The Avett Brothers are up for Duo/Group of the Year—an honor the band took home in 2010—while Sarah Jarosz, Will Kimbrough, Gurf Morlix and Kenny Vaughan will all also compete for Instrumentalist of the Year.

March 20th - RIP RALPH MOONEY, The Best Steel Guitar Player Ever... he was the man responsible for the “sound” of early Merle Haggard, of heyday Waylon Jennings, and just last year for the great steel guitar work on Marty Stuart’s award-winning Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions, which included a song Ralph Mooney wrote himself, “Crazy Arms”. If it wasn’t for Ralph Mooney, country music would be something very different than we consider it today, if it even still existed.

March 17th - FERLIN HUSKY, whose recordings of "Gone" and "Wings of a Dove" each spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's country singles chart, died Thursday (March 17) at age 85. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010.

March 1oth - EMMYLOU HARRIS does not seem to have any plans to slow down in the near future. Nonesuch Records has recently announced that she will release Hard Bargain in late April. At age 63, this album will stand as her 21st studio record to date. Harris’s follow-up to 2008’s All I Intended to Be will include 13 songs—11 originals and two covers. Producer JAY JOYCE (Cage the Elephant, Patty Griffin) worked with Harris on Hard Bargain in both overseeing the record as well as accompanying the 12-time Grammy winner as a supporting musician. “We did the whole record in about a month, which is quite unusual for me. But I had all the material beforehand. I’d written 11 of the 13 songs and I really wanted to include two more by other writers,” Harris says. “One of the covers is Ron Sexsmith’s ‘Hard Bargain,’ which I absolutely love. The other is by Jay Joyce, called ‘Cross Yourself.’”Hard Bargain will be released on April 26th. In addition, Harris will likely perform many of these songs at some of her upcoming tour dates, including a lone SXSW performance at Antone’s on March 17. See below for her tracklist and full list of tour dates.

Feb. 13th - The Grammy awards are in and PATTY GRIFFIN beat out a bunch or "real" gospel artists for Best Traditional Gospel Album for her Downtown Church. Similarly, MAVIS STAPLES' You Are Not Alone won over WILLIE NELSON, ROSANNE CASH and others for Best Americana Album. PATTY LOVELESS' Mountain Soul II was picked for Best Bluegrass Album over PETER ROWAN, STEELDRIVERS, DEL McCOURY and SAM BUSH. The CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS' Genuine Negro Jig got Best Traditional Folk Album, (which I'm OK with). The Best Contemporary Folk Album Grammy went to RAY LaMONTAGNE AND THE PARIAH DOGS for God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise over GUY CLARK, RICHARD THOMPSON and MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER. Those are the only awards that interested me..

Jan. 24th - Billboard.com has an interview with Steve Earle who explores mortality on his new album and novel, both entitled "I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive"

Dec. 2nd - The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) announced the nominees for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards (to be held February 13th, 2011.) Here listed are the nominees in the Americana, Roots categories as well as similar artists in other categories (for a full list of nominees of the Grammy.com) Any surprises? Who’s missing? BEST AMERICANA ALBUM nominees are... Rosanne Cash The List, Los Lobos Tin Can Trust, Willie Nelson Country Music, Robert Plant Band of Joy and Mavis Staples You Are Not Alone. Check out Kim Ruehl’s blog at No Depression for a more complete list of friends and family who also received nominations in various categories.

Sept. 22nd - According to his website, Justin Townes Earle, son of Steve Earle, has cancelled his fall US and UK tour dates and is entering a rehabilitation facility. Earle is strongly committed to confronting his on-going struggle with addiction and thanks his family, friends and fans for their continued support through this difficult time.

July 16th - Tickets for the 9th Annual Americana Honors & Awards ceremony will go on sale Saturday, July 24. Slated for Thursday, September 9 at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, the roots music revival will feature tongue-wagging performances by the Emmylou Harris, The Avett Brothers, Rodney Crowell, Wanda Jackson,Rosanne Cash, Patty Griffin, Sam Bush, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Ryan Bingham,Corb Lund, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Joe Pug, Will Kimbrough and many more, to be announced in the coming months.

July 15th - Hank Cochran, a consummate songwriter who composed a string of hits including "Make the World Go Away" for Eddy Arnold, has died. He was 74. Martha E. Moore, his publicist, said Cochran died Thursday morning at his home in Hendersonville, Tenn.He had been in declining health in recent years, and suffered an aortic aneurysm in March. He wrote these No. 1 hits: "I Fall to Pieces" by Patsy Cline; "Ocean Front Property" by George Strait; "Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me" by Ronnie Milsap; "He's Got You" by Cline and Loretta Lynn; "I Want to Go With You" by Arnold; "Set 'em Up Joe" by Vern Gosdin and "That's All That Matters to Me" by Mickey Gilley.

July 13th - Billy Joe Shaver recovering after minor heart surgery, ncluding a stent procedure yesterday. Shaver, 71, famously suffered a heart attack on stage in 2001 at the Gruene Hall while playing a New Year’s Eve show. He is expected to make a full recovery and will resume performing in August, said manager Greg Henry.“He’s scheduled for a bunch of shows in August, and we’ll take stock but we don’t intend to cancel anything at this point,” said Henry. “He even thought he could do his show in Luckenbach on the 17, but we decided it was better to have him rest for a while.”

May 20th - Music Saves Mountains Concert at the Ryman Calls Attention to Destruction in Appalachia... Dave Matthews Joins Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Patty Griffin and other Nashville Stars in rallying rgainst Mountaintop Removal Mining.

May 12th - The Americana Music Association announced the nominees for the organization’s 2010 Honors and Awards. The show, in its 9th year, will be held September 9th at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Longstanding Americana supporters Emmylou Harris and Todd Snider read the list of award candidates to a crowd of industry executives, artists and tastemakers, while Duo/Group nominee Carolina Chocolate Drops performed. Dave Rawlings received four nominations, Texas songwriters Ray Wylie Hubbard and Ryan Bingham received three and Patty Griffin, The Avett Brothers and Hayes Carll garnered two nominations. Slated for Wednesday, September 8 through Saturday, September 11, the 11th Annual Americana Festival and Conference will offer daily seminars, panels and networking opportunities at the Sheraton Nashville Downtown Hotel. The event brings more than 100 stacked musical showcases to key venues throughout Nashville. Approximately 1,000 industry professionals attended the 2009 conference and more than 12,000 fans experienced the Festival's musical events.

April 22nd - Robert Plant has announced plans to tour with a new group, resurrecting the name of the band he formed before joining Led Zeppelin. The Band of Joy will play 12 US dates before releasing an album later this year. "I'm enjoying such creativity and vitality," Plant said in a statement. The new project has little in common with Led Zeppelin, or even with the original Band of Joy. The rekindled Band of Joy is drawn from the Americana scene, including singer-songwriters Patty Griffin, Darrell Scott, bassist Byron House, drummer Marco Giovino and guitarist/singer Buddy Miller. Miller will also co-produce the group's debut.

March 26th – “Freedom Sings,” an evening celebrating the power of free speech in music and honoring the career of MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER, will be presented April 27 at the Newseum in downtown Washington. Carpenter will receive the “Spirit of Americana” Free Speech in Music Award from the Newseum’s First Amendment Center and the Americana Music Association. The award recognizes artists who have used their work to raise awareness and promote free speech through their music and other efforts. Past recipients include Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Joan Baez, Mavis Staples, Judy Collins, Charlie Daniels and Steve Earle. “Freedom Sings” will include a conversation with Carpenter about her music and career, and will feature guest musical performances by Grammy Award-winning artists Judy Collins and Rodney Crowell.