The Indie Acoustic Project Announces Finalists

The Indie Acoustic Project has announced the finalists for the IAP’s "Best CDs of 2005" Awards. The 3 finalists in each of 15 categories were selected from the multitudes of CDs that were considered for the awards. "The quality of the CDs submitted was terrific, and this has lead to the only major problem we faced: because there were far more than 45 excellent CDs (and only 45 finalist slots), many deserving recordings could not be included."

For this year’s awards, the number of categories was increased from 14 to 15, and increased from 10 to 25 the number winners in the “Songs of Note” awards, which gives recognition to outstanding songs from CDs not among the finalists.

Finalists:

Acoustic Ensemble: The Bills – Let ‘Em Run (Redhouse); Clumsy Lovers – Smart Kid (Nettwork); Various – Hands Across the Water (Compass).

Alt Country: Tim Current – Convergence (Deaf Jim); Nickel Creek – Why Should the Fire Die? (Sugar Hill); Reckless Kelly – Wicked Twisted Road (Sugar Hill).

Alt Rock: Gemini – Box of Poems (Synchead); David Meade – Wherever You Are (Eleven Thirty); Rolla – La La Land (Rolla).

Americana: Kate Campbell – Blues and Lamentations (Large River); Tiller’s Folly – Buchan Bluegrass (Tiller’s Folly); Ben Winship & Brian Wicklund – Big Twang (Snake River).

Celtic: Dun An Doras – Rua (Indies); Old Blind Dogs – Play Live (Green Linnet); Kate Rusby – The Girl Who Couldn’t Fly (Compass).

Instrumental: Carolyn Cruso – Boundless (Blue Heron); Lubos Malina & Martin Fridrich – Dueling Fingers (Good Day); Peter Ostroushko – Minnesota (Red House).

Best Lyrics: Thea Gilmore – Songs from the Gutter (Compass); Donal Hinely – Giants (Scuffletown); Paul Kamm & Eleanore MacDonald – Like Water (Freewheel).

Multi-Genre: Alison Brown – Stolen Moments (Compass); The Duhks – The Duhks (Sugar Hill); Shirley Jones & the Dap Kings – Naturally (Daptone).

Rock: Arthur Lee Land – Dragonfly (Perfect Groove); The Nadas – Listen Through the Static (Authentic); WadiRum – WadiRum (Self Produced).

Roots: The Biscuit Burners – A Mountain Apart (Indidog); Kort & Beth McCumber – Greetings From McCumberland Gap (Somewhere To Go); Dan Treanor & Frankie Lee – African Wind (True North).

Songwriter—Female: Anne Heaton – Give In (Spill); Aimee Mann – The Forgotten Arm (Super Ego); Cathie Ryan The Farthest Wave (Shanachie).

Songwriter—Male: Dana Cooper – Made of Mud (King Easy); Terence Martin – Lost Hills (Good Dog); Hans York – Inside Out (Hazzazar).

World Music-Africa: Various – Mali (Putumayo); Moh Alileche – North Africa’s Destiny (Flag of Freedom); Various – North African Groove (Putumayo).

World Music-Eurasia & Global Beat: Wajdi Cherif – Jasmine (Wech); Eric Kamen – Native Unit (E-Traxxx) Stabi, Hardelin, Hertzberg & Hallberg – Karleksbrev Och Ryska Satelliter (Holmen).

World Music-Latin: Amir Beso – Fatamorgana (Kamala); Marta Topferova – La Marea (World Village/Harmonia Mundi); Various – Afro Latin Party (Putumayo).

Winners in each category will be announced by April 30.

Songs of Note: 25 Other Great Songs from 2005:

Terry Allen Rollback Silent Majority (Sugar Hill); Celtic Fiddle Festival Itzikel Play On (Green Linnet); Joshua Davis Delta 88 Fool Rooster (Earthwork); Luke Doucet Emily Please Broken (Six Shooter); Drive By Truckers Wifebeater Gangstabilly (re-release) (New West); Drew Emmitt All Night Ride Across the Bridge (Compass); David Francey Sunday Morning The Waking Hour (Red House); Susan Gibson Company Man Outer Space (for the); Eliza Gilkyson Man of God Paradise Hotel (Red House); Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion Gervais Exploration (New West); Chris Hillman Eight Miles High The Other Side (Sovereign Artists); Clay Jones BF05 Mountain Tradition (Rural Rhythm); Arden Kaywin Me With Me Quarter Life Crisis (Self Produced); Sonny Landreth Native Stepson Grant Street (Sugar Hill); Doug Mallory The Way It Begins The Way It Begins (CBC Maritimes); Tim O’Brien Fiddler’s Green Fiddler’s Green (Sugar Hill); Old School Freight Train Lookee Here Run (Acoustic Disc); Rebecca Oswald Periwinkle Blue October Wind (Self Produced); Jon Pousette-Dart In the Pocket Heart & Soul (Little Big Deal); Justin Roth Shine Shine (Rothirric); Sharon Shannon Bonnie Mulligan Each Little Thing (Compass); Shooglenifty The Arms Dealer’s Daughter Radical Mestizo (Compass); Simple Gifts My Horses Ain’t Hungry Crossing Borders (Purple Finch); Trampled By Turtles Codeine Blue Sky and the Devil (Banjodad); The Waifs Take It In A Brief History (Compass).

The Indie Acoustic Project is dedicated to giving recognition to outstanding works of innovative acoustic (or mainly acoustic) music that have never gotten the acclaim that they deserve. The IAP website also features information on the 50 Best Indie Acoustic CDs of the 1990s, the Best CDs of 2001-2003, and the Best CDs of 2004.