The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and

acoustic music Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the ad ...

. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British radio station

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content ...

. Award recipients have included

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music g ...

The Dubliners The Dubliners were an Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personn ...

Martin Carthy Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such ...

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...

Shirley Collins Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935) is an English folk singer who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s. She often performed and recorded with her sister Dolly, whose accompaniment on pi ...

Kate Rusby Kate Anna Rusby (born 4 December 1973) is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, and is one of the be ...

Cara Dillon Cara Elizabeth Dillon (born 21 July 1975, in Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish folk singer. In 1995, she joined the folk supergroup Equation and signed a record deal with Warners Music Group. After leaving ...

Eliza Carthy Eliza Amy Forbes Carthy, MBE (born 23 August 1975) is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing the fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson. Life and c ...

Bellowhead Bellowhead is an English contemporary folk band, active from 2004 to 2016, reforming in 2020. The eleven-piece act played traditional dance tunes, folk songs and shanties, with arrangements drawing inspiration from a wide range of musical styl ...

June Tabor June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband. Early life June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. ...

Oysterband Oysterband (originally The Oyster Band) is a British folk rock and folk punk band formed in Canterbury around 1976. History Early history The band formed in parallel to Fiddler's Dram, and under the name "Oyster Ceilidh Band" played purely as ...

, Aly Bain, Richard Thompson, Nancy Kerr,

Seth Lakeman Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. ...

Show of Hands Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots/ folk duo formed in 1986 by singer-songwriter Steve Knightley (guitars, mandolin, mandocello, cuatro) and composer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer (vocals, guitars, violin, viola, mandolin, man ...

, Lau,

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter who has had a music career spanning more than fifty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1971 hit song " American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early ...

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott Ramblin' Jack Elliott (born Elliot Charles Adnopoz; August 1, 1931) is an American folk singer and songwriter. Life and career Elliott was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of Florence (Rieger) and Abraham Adnopoz, an ...

Nic Jones Nic Jones (born Nicolas Paul Jones; 9 January 1947) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Regarded as a prominent figure of the British folk revival, he has recorded five solo albums and collaborated with various musicians. Biograph ...

Bella Hardy Bella Hardy (born 24 May 1984) is an English contemporary folk musician, singer and songwriter from Edale, Derbyshire, England, who performs a combination of traditional and self-penned material. She was named Folk Singer of the Year at the 20 ...

Rhiannon Giddens Rhiannon Giddens (born February 21, 1977) is an American musician. She is a founding member of the country, blues and old-time music band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she is the lead singer, fiddle player, and banjo player. Giddens ...

Norma Waterson Norma Christine Waterson (15 August 1939 – 30 January 2022) was an English singer and songwriter, best known as one of the original members of The Watersons, a celebrated English traditional folk group. Other members of the group included ...

The Chieftains The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymou ...

Joan Armatrading Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, (, born 9 December 1950) is a Kittitian-English singer-songwriter and guitarist. A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Armatrading has also been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist. She receive ...

and

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, hav ...

History

The awards are managed by independent production company Smooth Operations, now part of

7digital 7digital Group Plc is a British publicly listed company that offers access to music, tracking and reporting for clients. London-based, 7digital provides end-to-end music services for the fitness, social media, DSPs, and gaming industries with b ...

Kellie While Kellie While is an English folk singer-songwriter. Early career Born in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, she is the daughter of singer-songwriter Chris While and pianist-songwriter Joe While. She began performing with her mother in local folk ...

of Smooth Operations has stated that the idea of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards was conceived by the company in 1999, inspired by the

Country Music Awards Country music awards may refer to: American Music Awards * American Music Award (1973–present), created by Dick Clark * American Music Award for Favorite Country Album * American Music Award for Favorite Country Band/Duo/Group * American Music ...

, and brought to the BBC, and

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

has attributed their creation to John Leonard, who formed Smooth Operations in 1995. The awards event has been staged in different regions of the United Kingdom, including The Brewery in London,

The Lowry The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex ope ...

theatre in

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, the

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is a concert and arts venue located in Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned by Glasgow City Council and operated by Glasgow Life, an agency of Glasgow City Council, which also runs Glasgow's City Halls and Old Fruitmarket ...

during the 2013

Celtic Connections The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of tra ...

festival, the

Bridgewater Hall The Bridgewater Hall is a concert venue in Manchester city centre, England. It cost around £42 million to build in the 1990s, and hosts over 250 performances a year. It is home to the 165-year-old Hallé Orchestra as well as to the Hallé ...

during the 2019 Manchester Folk Festival, the Wales Millennium Centre,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

in 2015, and the

Belfast Waterfront Belfast Waterfront is a multi-purpose conference and entertainment centre, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. The hall is located in Lanyon Place, the flagship development of the Laganside Cor ...

in 2018. In 2014, 2016 and 2017, the event was held at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

in London. Reviewing the 2014 Royal Albert Hall event, Colin Irwin remarked on how much more glamorous it had become since the first event fifteen years earlier. Between 2000 and 2012 the Folk Awards were hosted by

Mike Harding Mike Harding (born 23 October 1944) is an English singer, songwriter, comedian, author, poet, broadcaster and multi-instrumentalist. Harding has also been a photographer, traveller, filmmaker and playwright. Early life and education Harding's ...

, and broadcast on

. Mark Radcliffe and Scottish Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis took over presenting the ceremony in 2013. In 2004 the awards were shown on television for the first time, on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

. The event has been streamed live in audio and video on the

website, the BBC iPlayer and/or the

BBC Red Button BBC Red Button is a brand used for digital interactive television services provided by the BBC, and broadcast in the United Kingdom. The services replaced Ceefax, the BBC's analogue teletext service. BBC Red Button's text services were due to ...

TV service. The BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award has been included in the award event since 2011, having previously been awarded in a separate ceremony, but its selection process remains independent. In 2016,

became the first non-British winner of the 'Folk Singer of the Year' award. In 2020, there was no award ceremony due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

Selection

The controlling body is the Folk Awards Committee, comprising two BBC staff, two from the production company 7digital Creative, and one external expert. Two Nominated Representatives, one from 7digital and one from the BBC oversee the process. The Folk Awards Committee selects a panel of 150 representatives from the British folk world, including broadcasters, journalists, record producers, festival organisers, venue bookers, record company directors, agents and promoters. The panellists vary slightly from year to year, with new panellists being invited (or self-applying) each year. The nominations in most categories are made by the panel. The four most-nominated artists go through to the second round. The winner is then selected from the nominees by a second vote among the same panellists. Since 2013, following criticism of the lack of transparency of the selection process, there have been some exceptions to this general process. The second round of the "Best Album" category is determined by a public vote, hosted on the BBC website. The two track categories, "Best Original Track" and "Best Traditional Track" were removed from the main panel. They are now voted by a much smaller specialist panel of judges, appointed by the Folk Awards committee, whose identities are published. Broader categories, including the "Lifetime Achievement Award" and the "Good Tradition Award" are chosen by two rounds of votes by the Folk Awards committee only. These may not be awarded every year. The BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award, although presented at the Folk Awards ceremony since 2011, has its own independent selection process. The selection process has been the subject of criticism, with accusations of bias, cronyism, and lack of transparency. In 2012

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

reported that there had been at least two

Freedom of Information Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, Indigeno ...

requests to identify the panellists, which have been rejected by the BBC. The BBC and 7digital have responded that the panellists are kept secret to avoid lobbying and bribery.

Compilation album

A Folk Awards double-album, featuring music by most of the nominees, was released annually by the event's producers in collaboration with

and the record label and distribution company,

Proper Music Proper may refer to: Mathematics * Proper map, in topology, a property of continuous function between topological spaces, if inverse images of compact subsets are compact * Proper morphism, in algebraic geometry, an analogue of a proper map f ...

Hall of Fame

In 2014, a posthumous award was introduced to celebrate the contribution of significant figures in folk music's past. * 2019 inductee:

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

(with tribute performance by

Thea Gilmore Thea Eve Gilmore (born 25 November 1979), also known as Afterlight, is an English singer-songwriter. She has released more than twenty albums since her 1998 debut ''Burning Dorothy''. She has had three Top 40 entries on the UK Albums Chart and ...

) * 2018 inductee:

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter known for his acoustic guitar-based songs. He did not find a wide audience during his lifetime, but his work gradually achieved wider notice and recognit ...

(with tribute performance by Olivia Chaney) * 2017 inductee:

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, American socialism and anti-fascism. He ...

(with tribute performance by

) * 2016 inductee:

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". After briefly w ...

(with tribute performance by

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and se ...

and original members of

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started ...

) * 2015 inductee:

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...

(with tribute performance by

Guy Garvey Guy Edward John Garvey (born 6 March 1974) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and BBC Radio 6 Music presenter. He is the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Elbow. Early life Garvey grew up in Bury, Lancashire. His father was ...

and the MacColl family) * 2014 inductee:

Cecil Sharp Cecil James Sharp (22 November 1859 – 23 June 1924) was an English-born collector of folk songs, folk dances and instrumental music, as well as a lecturer, teacher, composer and musician. He was the pre-eminent activist in the development of t ...

Award winners

2019

* Folk Singer of the Year: Ríoghnach Connolly * Best Duo / Group:

Catrin Finch Catrin Ana Finch is a Welsh harpist, arranger and composer. She was the Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales from 2000 to 2004 and is visiting professor at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Royal Academy of Music in London. ...

& Seckou Keita * Horizon Award: Brìghde Chaimbeul * Best Traditional Track: '' The Foggy Dew'' -

Ye Vagabonds Ye Vagabonds is an Irish traditional music, Irish folk music duo consisting of Dublin-based brothers Diarmuid and Brían Mac Gloinn. Having been described as "being at the fore of a new wave of Irish folk", they won three awards at the 2019 RTÉ R ...

* Best Original Track: ''I Burn but I Am Not Consumed'' -

Karine Polwart Karine Polwart ( ) (born 23 December 1970) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide. She has been most recognised f ...

* Best Album: ''Hide and Hair'' -

The Trials of Cato The Trials of Cato are a Welsh/English folk band that originally consisted of Tomos Williams, Will Addison and Robin Jones. Their 2018 debut album ''Hide and Hair'' won Best Album in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2019. In 2020, Will Addison le ...

* Musician of the Year: Seckou Keita * Young Folk Award: Maddie Morris * Lifetime Achievement Awards:

Dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage ...

and

Wizz Jones Raymond Ronald Jones (born 25 April 1939), better-known as Wizz Jones, is an English acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Thornton Heath, Surrey, England and has been performing since the late 1950s and recording from 196 ...

* Hall of Fame:

Presenter Mark Radcliffe was also presented with a special Folk Award to celebrate his 40 years in radio. Venue:

, Manchester

2018

* Folk Singer of the Year:

* Best Duo:

Chris Stout Chris Stout (born 1976) is a Scottish fiddle/violin player from Shetland, now based in Glasgow. Stout grew up in Fair Isle and lived there until 8 years of age before moving to Sandwick on the Shetland Mainland, then on to Glasgow in the 1990s ...

Catriona McKay Catriona McKay is Scottish harpist and composer. She is a contemporary explorer on the Scottish harp ( Clàrsach), having collaborated with folk and experimental musicians, as well as co-designing the Starfish McKay harp. She is a member of the ...

* Best Group: Lankum * Best Album: ''Strangers'' -

The Young'uns The Young'uns are an English folk group from Stockton, County Durham, England, who won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards "Best Group" award in 2015 and 2016 and “Best Album” for ''Strangers'' in 2018. They specialise in singing unaccompanied, an ...

* Horizon Award:

Ímar Ímar ( non, Ívarr ; died c. 873), who may be synonymous with Ivar the Boneless, was a Viking leader in Ireland and Scotland in the mid-late ninth century who founded the Uí Ímair dynasty, and whose descendants would go on to dominate the ...

* Musician of the Year: Mohsen Amini * Young Folk Award: Mera Royle * Best Original Song: ''The Granite Gaze'' - Lankum * Best Traditional Track: ''

Banks of Newfoundland A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becau ...

'' - Siobhan Miller * Lifetime Achievement Award:

Dónal Lunny Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays left-handed guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozai ...

* Hall of Fame:

* Good Tradition: Armagh Pipers Club Venue:

2017

* Folk Singer of the Year: Kris Drever * Best Duo: Ross Ainslie & Ali Hutton * Best Group: The Furrow Collective * Best Album: ''Songs of Separation'' - Songs of Separation * Horizon Award:

Daoirí Farrell Daoirí Farrell (b. November 21, 1982) is an Irish folk singer and player of the Irish bouzouki. Career Farrell was born in Dublin. He became a member of the Góilín Singers Club. He spent ten years working as an electrician before deciding to ...

* Musician of the Year: Rachel Newton * Young Folk Award: Josie Duncan & Pablo Lafuente * Best Original Song: ''If Wishes Were Horses'' - Kris Drever * Best Traditional Track: ''

Van Diemen’s Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

'' -

* Lifetime Achievement Awards:

Al Stewart Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945) is a Scottish born singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock so ...

and

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, ...

* Hall of Fame:

Venue:

, London

2016

Best Original Track- The Rheingans Sisters (26452430800)

* Folk Singer of the Year:

* Best Duo:

Kathryn Roberts Kathryn Roberts is an English folk singer, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Early career Roberts' first released recordings were on the album ''Intuition'', a collection of songs by various South Yorkshire folk artists which also included he ...

and Sean Lakeman * Best Group:

* Best Album: '' Mount the Air'' -

The Unthanks The Unthanks (until 2009 called Rachel Unthank and the Winterset) are an English folk group known for their eclectic approach in combining traditional English folk, particularly Northumbrian folk music, with other musical genres."They may cal ...

* Horizon Award: Sam Kelly * Musician of the Year:

Andy Cutting Andy Cutting (born 18 March 1969) is an English folk musician and composer. He plays melodeon and is best known for writing and performing traditional English folk and his own original compositions which combine English and French traditions ...

* Young Folk Award: Brìghde Chaimbeul * Best Original Song: ''Mackerel'' - The Rheingans Sisters * Best Traditional Track: ''Lovely Molly'' - Sam Lee * Lifetime Achievement Awards:

and

* Good Tradition Award:

John McCusker John McCusker (born 15 May 1973) is a Scottish folk musician, record producer, and composer. An accomplished fiddle player, he had a long association as a member of the Battlefield Band beginning in the 1990s and was later a band member and ...

* Hall of Fame:

Venue:

, London

2015

* Folk Singer of the Year: Nancy Kerr * Best Duo: Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker * Best Group:

* Best Album: ''Tincian'' - 9Bach * Horizon Award:

The Rails The Rails is a folk rock band from London, England, composed of husband and wife James Walbourne and Kami Thompson. Thompson and Walbourne first met during the recording sessions for ''Versatile Heart'' by Thompson's mother Linda Thompson in 2 ...

* Musician of the Year: Sam Sweeney * Young Folk Award: Talisk * Best Original Song: ''Swim to the Star'' -

Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American folk singer. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years, and was married to the singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. First American period Seeger's father ...

/Calum MacColl * Best Traditional Track: ''Samhradh Samhradh'' - The Gloaming * Lifetime Achievement Awards: Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens and

Loudon Wainwright III Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...

* Good Tradition Award: Meredydd Evans * Hall of Fame:

Venue: Millennium Centre, Cardiff

2014

* Folk Singer of the Year:

* Best Duo: Phillip Henry & Hannah Martin * Best Group: The Full English * Best Album: ''The Full English'' - The Full English * Horizon Award: Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar * Musician of the Year: Aidan O'Rourke * Young Folk Award: The Mischa Macpherson Trio * Best Original Song: ''Two Ravens'' - Lisa Knapp * Best Traditional Track: '' Willie of Winsbury'' -

Anaïs Mitchell Anaïs Mitchell (; born March 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and playwright. Mitchell has released eight studio albums, including '' Hadestown'' (2010), ''Young Man in America'' (2012),

and Jefferson Hamer * Lifetime Achievement Awards:

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...

and

* Good Tradition Award: Cambridge Folk Festival * Hall of Fame:

Venue:

, London

2013

* Folk singer of the year:

* Best Duo:

and Sean Lakeman * Best Group: Lau * Best Album: '' Broadside'' -

* Horizon Award: Blair Dunlop * Musician of the year: Kathryn Tickell * Young Folk Award: Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar * Best Original Song: ''Hatchlings'' - Emily Portman * Best Traditional Track: ''Lord Douglas'' -

Jim Moray Jim Moray (born 1981) is an English folk singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Recording artist While studying classical composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Moray released the home-recorded ''I Am Jim Moray'' EP. During ...

* Lifetime achievement awards: Aly Bain and

Roy Harper Roy Harper may refer to: * Roy Harper (character), DC Comics character *Roy Harper (footballer) (born 1929), Australian footballer *Roy Harper (referee) (died 1969), English football referee * Roy Harper (singer) (born 1941), English musician * Roy ...

* Lifetime achievement award for contribution to songwriting: Dougie MacLean * Roots Award:

Venue:

2012

*Folk Singer of the year:

* Best Duo: Tim Edey & Brendan Power * Best Traditional Track: ''

Bonny Bunch of Roses "The Bonny Bunch of Roses" ( Roud 664, Laws J5) is a folk song written in the 1830s by an unknown balladeer from the British Isles, perhaps with Irish sympathies. The earliest known version of the tune is in William Christie's ''Tradition Ballad ...

'' -

* Best Group:

* Young Folk Award: Ioscaid * Musician of the year: Tim Edey * Best Original Song: ''The Herring Girl'' -

and The Reckoning – Steve Tilston * Horizon Award: Lucy Ward * Best Album: ''Ragged Kingdom'' –

* Lifetime achievement awards:

and

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1971 hit song " American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early ...

* Best Live Act: The Home Service * Good Tradition Award: Ian Campbell and

Bill Leader Bill Leader (born 26 December 1929) is an English recording engineer and record producer. He is particularly associated with the British folk music revival of the 1960s and 1970s, producing records by Paddy Tunney, Davey Graham, Bert Jansch, John ...

* Roots Award: Malcolm Taylor Venue:

, Salford

2011

* Folk Singer of the year: Chris Wood * Best Duo: Nancy Kerr & James Fagan * Best Traditional Track: ''

Poor Wayfaring Stranger Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income

'' -

* Best Group:

* Young Folk Award:

Moore Moss Rutter Moore Moss Rutter is a contemporary folk music trio formed in the UK in 2009. The group consists of Tom Moore ( violin), Archie Churchill-Moss ( Melodeon), and Jack Rutter ( guitar/vocals). Their material is often developed from traditional Eng ...

* Musician of the year:

* Best Original Song: ''Hollow Point'' - Chris Wood * Horizon Award: Ewan McLennan * Best Album: ''Gift'' –

* Lifetime achievement award:

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world musi ...

* Best Live Act:

* Good Tradition Award:

Fisherman's Friends The Fisherman's Friends are a folk music group from Port Isaac, Cornwall, who sing sea shanties. They have been performing locally since 1995, and signed a record deal with Universal Music in March 2010. Whilst essentially an a cappella group ...

* Roots Award:

Levellers The Levellers were a political movement active during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populi ...

Venue: The Brewery, London

2010

* Folk Singer of the Year: Jon Boden * Best Duo:

* Best Group: Lau * Best Album: ''

Hill of Thieves ''Hill of Thieves'' is the fourth solo album by Irish folk singer Cara Dillon. It is her first full-length release on Charcoal Records, the label formed in 2008 with her musical partner and husband Sam Lakeman. The album was recorded and produce ...

'' by

* Best Original Song: ''

Arrogance Ignorance and Greed ''Arrogance Ignorance and Greed'' is the fourteenth studio album by English folk duo Show of Hands. Released in 2009 on the band's label Hands on Music, the album was produced by Stu Hanna of the English folk duo Megson, with additional producti ...

'' by

Steve Knightley Steve Knightley (born 1954) is an English singer, songwriter and acoustic musician. Since 1992 he has been one half of folk/roots duo Show of Hands along with Phil Beer. Knightley was named "Songwriter of the Nineties" by BBC Radio 6 Music in ...

(performed by

) * Best Traditional Track: ''

Sir Patrick Spens "Sir Patrick Spens" is one of the most popular of the Child Ballads (No. 58) ( Roud 41), and is of Scottish origin. It is a maritime ballad about a disaster at sea. Background ''Sir Patrick Spens'' remains one of the most anthologized of Briti ...

'' by Martin Simpson * Horizon Award: Sam Carter * Musician of the Year: John Kirkpatrick * Best Live Act:

* Lifetime Achievement Award:

Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program '' Austin City Limits'' starting in 1985 (season 10). In 1994 she won a Grammy Award ...

* Lifetime Achievement Award:

Dick Gaughan Richard Peter Gaughan (born 17 May 1948) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs. He is regarded as one of Scotland's leading singer-songwriters. Early years Gaughan was born in Glasgow ...

* Folk Club Award: The Magpies Nest * Good Tradition Award: Transatlantic Sessions

2009

* Folk Singer of the Year: Chris Wood * Best Duo: Chris While and Julie Matthews * Best Group: Lau * Best Album: ''Trespasser'' by Chris Wood * Best Original Song: ''All You Pretty Girls'' by

Andy Partridge Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who founded the rock band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writing and singi ...

(performed by

) * Best Traditional Track: ''

The Lark in the Morning The Lark in the Morning ( Roud 151) is an English folk song. It was moderately popular with traditional singers in England, less so in Scotland, Ireland and the United States. It starts as a hymn to the ploughboy's life, and often goes on to recou ...

'' by

Jackie Oates Jackie Oates is an English folk singer and fiddle player. Life Oates was born in Congleton in Cheshire in 1983 but grew up in Staffordshire. At the age of 18, she moved to Devon to study English literature at Exeter University and was base ...

* Horizon Award:

* Musician of the Year:

Tom McConville Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

* Best Live Act: The Demon Barbers * Lifetime Achievement Award:

* Lifetime Achievement Award:

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ...

* Folk Club Award: Black Swan Folk Club, York

2008

* Folk Singer of the Year: Julie Fowlis * Best Duo:

John Tams John Tams (born 16 February 1949) is an English actor, singer, songwriter, composer and musician born in Holbrook, Derbyshire, the son of a publican. He first worked as a reporter for the '' Ripley & Heanor News'' later working for BBC Radio De ...

and Barry Coope * Best Group: Lau * Best Album: ''

Prodigal Son The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the parable of the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father, or of the Forgiving Father) is one of the parables of Jesus Christ in the Bible, appearing in Luke 15:11–32. Jesus shares the parable wi ...

'' by Martin Simpson * Best Original Song: ''Never Any Good'' by Martin Simpson * Best Traditional Track: ''Cold Haily Rainy Night'' by The Imagined Village * Horizon Award: Rachel Unthank and the Winterset * Musician of the Year:

* Best Live Act:

* Lifetime Achievement Award:

* Good Tradition Award:

* Folk Club Award:

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock ...

Folk Club

2007

* Folk Singer of the Year:

* Best Duo:

and

Dave Swarbrick David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. His style has been copied or developed by almost every British and many world folk violin players who have followed him. He was ...

* Best Group:

* Best Album: '' Freedom Fields'' by

* Best Original Song: ''Daisy'' by

* Best Traditional Track: '' Barleycorn'' (performed by Tim van Eyken) * Musician of the Year:

Chris Thile Christopher Scott Thile (; born February 20, 1981) is an American mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality, best known for his work in the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the acoustic folk and progressive blue ...

* Horizon Award: Kris Drever * Best Live Act:

* Lifetime Achievement Award: Pentangle * Lifetime Achievement Award:

Danny Thompson Daniel Henry Edward Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Mar ...

* Good Tradition Award:

* Folk Club Award: The Ram Club * Favourite Folk Track Award (public vote): Who Knows Where The Time Goes (performed by

)

2006

* Folk Singer of the Year:

* Best Duo:

John Spiers and Jon Boden Spiers and Boden are an English folk duo. John Spiers plays melodeon and concertina, while Jon Boden sings and plays fiddle and guitar while stamping the rhythm on a stomp box. Spiers and Boden were founding members of the folk band Be ...

* Best Group:

Flook Flook may refer to: People with the surname * Adrian Flook (born 1963), British politician * Chris Flook (born 1973), Bermudan swimmer * John Gurley Flook (1839–1926), American politician * Maria Flook, American writer Other uses * Flook (app), ...

* Best Album: ''The Reckoning'' by

* Best Original Song: ''One In A Million'' by Chris Wood and Hugh Lupton * Best Traditional Track: '' Bitter Withy'' (performed by

) * Horizon Award: Julie Fowlis * Musician of the Year:

Michael McGoldrick Michael McGoldrick (born 26 November 1971, in Manchester, England) is a folk musician who plays Irish flute, uilleann pipes, low whistle and bodhran. He also plays other instruments such as acoustic guitar, cittern, and mandolin. Bands M ...

* Lifetime Achievement Award:

Paul Brady Paul Joseph Brady (born 19 May 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Strabane, Northern Ireland. His work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age. Initially popular for playing ...

* Lifetime Achievement Award: Richard Thompson * Best Live Act:

* Good Tradition Award:

Ashley Hutchings Ashley Stephen Hutchings, MBE, sometimes known in early years by his nickname, "Tyger" Hutchings (born 26 January 1945) is an English bassist, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founding member of ...

* Folk Club Award: Red Lion,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

* Most Influential Folk Album of All Time (public vote): '' Liege and Lief'' by

2005

* Folk Singer of the Year:

* Best Duo: Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham * Best Group:

The Big Session * Best Album: '' Faultlines'' by

* Best Original Song: ''The Sun's Comin' Over The Hill'' by

* Best Traditional Track: ''

Famous Flower Of Serving Men The Famous Flower of Serving-Men or The Lady turned Serving-Man (Child 106, Roud 199) is a traditional English language folk song and murder ballad. Child considered it as closely related to the ballad "The Lament of the Border Widow" or "The Bor ...

'' (performed by

) * Horizon Award:

* Musician of the Year: Kathryn Tickell * Lifetime Achievement Award:

Ramblin' Jack Elliott Ramblin' Jack Elliott (born Elliot Charles Adnopoz; August 1, 1931) is an American folk singer and songwriter. Life and career Elliott was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of Florence (Rieger) and Abraham Adnopoz, a ...

* Lifetime Achievement Award (Songwriting):

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter who has had a music career spanning more than fifty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.Bellowhead Bellowhead is an English contemporary folk band, active from 2004 to 2016, reforming in 2020. The eleven-piece act played traditional dance tunes, folk songs and shanties, with arrangements drawing inspiration from a wide range of musical styl ...

* Best Dance Band: Whapweasel * Good Tradition Award:

Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and we ...

* Folk Club Award:

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce people, a tribe holding 300 ...

Folk Club

2004

* Folk Singer of the Year:

* Best Duo:

* Best Group:

Danú Danú is an Irish traditional music band. The founding members of Danú (Donnchadh Gough, Dónal Clancy, Daire Bracken, and Benny McCarthy) met in Waterford in Ireland in 1994, and consolidated as a band after performing in the Festival Inter ...

* Best Album: ''Sweet England'' by

* Best Original Song: ''Co. Down'' by Tommy Sands (performed by

) * Best Traditional Track: '' Hughie Graeme'' (performed by

) * Horizon Award:

* Musician of the Year: Martin Simpson * Lifetime Achievement Award:

* Lifetime Achievement Award (Songwriting):

* Best Live Act:

* Good Tradition Award:

* Folk Club Award: Rockingham Arms, Wentworth

2003

* Folk Singer of the Year:

* Best Duo: Nancy Kerr and James Fagan * Best Group:

Altan Altan may refer to: * Altan (name) * Altan (band), a folk music group from Donegal * Altan (album), ''Altan'' (album), a 1987 album by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Frankie Kennedy * Altan Jalab, a village in Afghanistan * Altan (river), stretch of th ...

* Best Album: ''Anglicana'' by

* Best Original Song: ''No Telling'' performed by

Linda Thompson Linda Diane Thompson (born May 23, 1950) is an American songwriter, former actress and beauty pageant winner. Thompson began her acting career as a " Hee Haw Honey" on the American television variety show '' Hee Haw''. She was also a girlfrien ...

* Best Traditional Track: ''Worcester City'' performed by

* Horizon Award:

* Instrumentalist of the Year:

* Lifetime Achievement Award:

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Ireland, Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first ...

* Lifetime Achievement Award (Songwriting):

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

* Best Live Act: Roy Bailey and

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. A member of the Labour Party, ...

* Good Tradition Award:

* Folk Club Award:

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

2002

* Folk Singer of the Year:

* Best Album: ''The Bramble Briar'' by Martin Simpson * Best Original Song: ''Lullabye'' by

* Best Traditional Track: '' Black Is the Color'' performed by

* Best Group: Cherish the Ladies * Horizon Award:

* Instrumentalist of the Year: Martin Simpson * Lifetime Achievement Award:

* Lifetime Achievement Award (Songwriting):

Ralph McTell Ralph McTell (born Ralph May, 3 December 1944) is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s. McTell is best known for his song " Streets of London" (196 ...

* Lifetime Achievement Award:

* Folk Club Award: Nettlebed * Best Live Act: Rory McLeod

2001

* Folk Singer of the Year:

* Best Album: ''Unity'' by

* Best Original Song: ''Harry Stone (Hearts of Coal)'' by

* Best Group:

* Horizon Award: Bill Jones * Instrumentalist of the Year:

* Lifetime Achievement Award:

Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter ...

* Radio 2 Special Roots Award:

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

* Good Tradition Award:

Bob Copper The Copper Family are a family of singers of traditional, unaccompanied English folk song. Originally from Rottingdean, near Brighton, Sussex, England, the nucleus of the family now live in the neighbouring village of Peacehaven. The family fi ...

* Folk Club Award: The Davy Lamp * Best Live Act: Vin Garbutt

2000

* Folk Singer of the Year:

* Best Album: ''Sleepless'' by

* Best Original Song: ''A Place Called England'' by

Maggie Holland Maggie Holland (born 19 December 1949) is an English singer and songwriter. She was born and raised in Alton, Hampshire, England, and became involved in the local folk club scene in the late 1960s. She has played in a number of bands and formed ...

* Best Traditional Track: '' Raggle Taggle Gypsy'' performed by Waterson–Carthy * Best Group: Waterson–Carthy * Horizon Award: Nancy Kerr and James Fagan * Instrumentalist of the Year: Martin Hayes * Radio 2 Special Award:

* Radio 2 Special Roots Award:

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...

* Andy Kershaw Roots Award:

Joe Boyd Joe Boyd (born August 5, 1942) is an American record producer and writer. He formerly owned Hannibal Records. Boyd has worked on recordings of Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, The Incredible String Ba ...

and Lucy Durán * Good Tradition Award:

Topic Records Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.M. Brocken, ...

* Folk Club Award:

Westhoughton Westhoughton ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southwest of Bolton, east of Wigan and northwest of Manchester.La Bottine Souriante La Bottine Souriante is a folk band from Canada. The band specializes in traditional French Canadian folk music, often with a modern twist. Formed in 1976 by Yves Lambert, Andre Marchand, and Mario Forest, they have toured extensively through ...

References

External links

The BBC's 2019 Folk Awards SiteThe BBC's 2018 Folk Awards SiteThe BBC's 2017 Folk Awards SiteThe BBC's 2016 Folk Awards SiteThe BBC's 2015 Folk Awards siteThe BBC's 2014 Folk Awards siteThe BBC's 2013 Folk Awards siteThe BBC's 2012 Folk Awards siteThe BBC's 2011 Folk Awards siteThe BBC's 2010 Folk Awards site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bbc Radio 2 Folk Awards BBC Radio 2 programmes BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Awards established in 2000 Lifetime achievement awards 2000 establishments in the United Kingdom Folk music awards

History

Selection

Compilation album

Hall of Fame

Award winners

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

See also

References

External links