Folk Alliance International to Bestow Lifetime Achievement Award to Taj Mahal, Unveils 2026 Folk Music Awards Honorees, Nominees and More

Photo Credit: William Coupon

Folk Alliance International has shared the International Folk Music Awards recipients, the Best of 2025 nominees, and the programming for the 38th annual conference, which takes place January 21-25, 2026, in New Orleans. 

The impending Big Easy gathering will feature keynote speakers and city representatives, hip-hop artist and TV personality Big Freedia, and 2025 Grammy winner and Tank and the Bangas namesake, Tarriona “Tank” Ball. During the event, Lifetime Achievement Awards will be presented to five-time Grammy winner Taj Mahal and zydeco great and inspiration behind the Rolling Stones’ new box set, Clifton Chenier.

Nominees for the Best of 2025 awards, Artist of the Year status include Abbie Gardner, Carsie Blanton, I’m With Her, Ordinary Elephant, and Sam Robbins. Album of the Year features Arcadia (Alison Krauss & Union Station), CHURCH (Flamy Grant), Room On The Porch (Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’), Reclamation (Crys Matthews), Wild and Clear and Blue (I’m With Her), and Woody At Home: Volumes 1 + 2 (Woody Guthrie via Shamus Records). 

Featured Song of the Year nominees: “Ain’t Afraid To Die” (Written and Performed by Woody Guthrie), “Crying In The Night” (Written by Stevie Nicks; Performed by Andrew Bird & Madison Cunningham), “I BOUGHT ME A PRESIDENT” (Written by Cathy Fink & Tom Paxton), “Room On The Porch” (Written by Kevin R. Moore, Henry St. Claire Fredericks, Jr., Ruby Amanfu, Ahmen Mahal; Performed by Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo’, Ruby Amanfu), “Sleeves Up” (Written and Performed by Crys Matthews), and “Sisters Of The Night Watch” (Written by Aoife O’Donovan, Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz; Performed by I’m With Her). 

Moreover, conference programming will offer panels like Songs that Carry Us: Indigenous Perspectives on Folk Tradition, Beyond “Woke”: Rethinking Lead Belly in the Era of Cowboy Carter, Face the Music: Collective Power for Equitable Action, Harmonizing for Change: Organizing for Impact – Lessons from the Field, Radio Silence: Keeping Folk Music On-Air & In-Concert Despite Lost Federal Funding, and Human Art in a Generative AI Age. 

Folk Alliance International executive director Jennifer Roe comments via press release, “With all of the challenges in the world right now, we are finding that community is more necessary than ever, and we feel that theme is demonstrated over and over at the upcoming conference. I look forward to welcoming folks to our 38th conference, marking our return to New Orleans. It’s been so great to draw from Louisiana musicians, who have so much to share, in putting together the awards, showcases, keynotes, and other programming.”

Full schedule of programming at www.folk.org/conference/schedule.