Etelvina Maldonado, one of the leading Colombian bullerengue musicians, died January 26 of 2010 in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia). Although she was a popular musician in traditional music circles, she gained national recognition in recent years.

She was born in Santa Ana. During her childhood she spent a lot of time participating in carnivals, town celebrations, singing bullerengues, fandango de lenguas and accompanied by the constant sound of drums.

“Etelvina was one of the pillars of bullerengue and a woman that showed through music the power of the Caribbean region," said Paula Marcela Moreno Zapata, Colombia's Minister of Culture. "She was a voice capable of touching the most intimate fibers of the heart, generating profound emotions. The nation should remember her as a symbol of the musical heritage of the cantaoras [female folk singers]."

Canadian folk singer and song writer Kate McGarrigle died in Montreal, Canada on Monday January 18, 2010. Ms. McGarrigle died at her home after a long battle with cancer surrounded by her sisters Jane and Anna and her children Rufus and Martha. She was 63.
 
 Born in Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts on February 6, 1946, Kate McGarrigle would go on to become one of Canada's beloved folk artists with the likes of Judy Collins, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Nana Mouskouri and Maria Muldaur covering her songs. Along with her sister Anna, Kate got her start in the folk coffeehouse scene in Montreal with the group Mountain City Four with Jack Nissenson and Peter Weldon. The singing sister duo got a big break with Linda Rondstadt's featured the pair's song "Heart Like a Wheel" on her 1974 album of the same name, Heart Like a Wheel.

The Mexican American singer/songwriter Lhasa de Sela has died. After battling breast cancer Ms. de Sela passed away on Monday, January 1st at her home in Montreal, Canada. She was 37.

"An angel has left us," said Eugenio González of La Mar de Músicas world music festival in Spain. "Lhasa performed at La Mar de Músicas in 2004. It was her first concert in Spain. She was the hit of the festival. She presented her works The Living Road and La Llorona. A magical concert..."

Born on September 27, 1972 in Big Indian, New York, Ms. de Sela had an unconventional upbringing, largely living a nomadic life with her parents and siblings who traveled throughout the United States and Mexico in a converted school bus. This nomadic life sparked a fierce creativity and resulted in a rich musical force.

Tim Hart, one of the founders of legendary British folk group Steeleye Span, died of  lung cancer December 24 in La Gomera in the Canary Islands (Spain).

Hart was born in Lincoln (Lincolnshire, UK) in 1948. He grew up in St Albans, Hertfordshire. Hart met folk singer Maddy Prior at a folk music club in St. Albans. They recorded two albums together prior to forming Steeleye Span, Heydays and Summer Solstice.

Steeleye Span, one of the most influential English folk-rock groups of the 1970s, was formed in 1969 when Tim Hart and Maddy Prior got together with bass player Ashley Hutchings, a former member of Fairport Convention.

The Center for Traditional Music and Dance in New York announced the death of Colombian accordionist Eugenio Ortega. "It is with the saddest regret that I write to report of the passing of Eugenio Ortega, accordion master and founding director of the Colombian group Los Macondos," said Kaisha S. Johnson, Director of Touring Artists of the Center for Traditional Music and Dance. "On December 10, 2009 Eugenio suddenly fell ill and passed away in his beloved Colombia. It is with heartfelt sympathy that we send our sincerest condolences to Eugenio's immediate and extended family."

The Native American Music Awards (N.A.M.A.) organization reported the passing of Redbone's Anthony Bellamy, who died on Christmas morning, December 25th, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada with his family by his side. "Anthony, or Tony "T-Bone" Bellamy, who attended the 10th Annual Native American Music Awards and was inducted into the N.A.M.A. Hall of Fame with Redbone in 2008, was a Mexican-American Yaqui Indian who became the lead guitarist, pianist and vocalist for the Native American band," said the N.A.M.A. press release. "He was a beloved and endearing friend of the "Nammys" since its inception, and will be greatly missed."
 
 Redbone became established as a Native American rock group in the 1970s. They reached the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1974 with the hit song, "Come and Get Your Love."

Dominican folk and rock guitarist, singer and composer Luís Días Portorreal, better known as Luís Días and Luis "El Terror" Dias, died December 8 of 2009, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, of a heart attack. Luís Días was an influential musician in both the traditional and contemporary music area. He was known for his bold musical fusions and some call him the Father of Dominican rock. Dias' fusions mixed rock, reggae, jazz and blues with over 40 native rhythms of the Dominican Republic, including merengue, bachata and mangulina.

Luís Días Portorreal was born in Bonao, on June 21 of 1952. His father was a "tres" player and his mother was a singer.  In Bonao he studied music with Juan Zorrilla and Tatán Jiménez. At 16 he formed his first band, named Los Chonnys.

World music producer and writer John Storm Roberts died on November 29 of 2009 in Kingston, New York. He was 73.

Starting in the late 1940s, Roberts listened to music that originated far from popular Western tastes and interests of the time. He began writing about music in 1964, and documented and promoted music from countries worldwide through recordings and on the printed page. He studied languages at Oxford University, and invested years of work on African music and its relationship to American blues and rock.