Press Release just received:-

January 12, 2016


EFDSS to receive international lifetime achievement award



National folk arts development agency, the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS), has been named as one of the 2016 recipients of a prestigious international lifetime achievement award from Folk Alliance International.

Chief Executive Katy Spicer will receive The Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement award on behalf of EFDSS during the opening evening of the 28th annual Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas, USA, on Wednesday, February 17, 2016.

The award is named for one of the founders of Folk Alliance International, which is the world's largest gathering of the folk music industry. Each year, the awards are presented to a living recipient, a memorial recipient and an active organisation and are determined by a select international panel.

Past recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Awards include Pete Seeger, The Weavers, Harry Belafonte, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mavis Staples, The Carter Family, Bill Monroe, Woody Guthrie, Phil Ochs, Robert Johnson, Bessie Jones, Alan Lomax, The Newport Folk Festival, Old Town School of Folk Music, National Council for Traditional Arts, and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, among others.

EFDSS Chief Executive Katy Spicer said: "As an organisation, we are thrilled to be recognised for our work in preserving, promoting and disseminating traditional English folk arts.

"To join such esteemed organisations such as the American Folklife Center and folk luminiaries as song collector Alan Lomax is a great honour."

EFDSS has been showcasing English folk artists at Folk Alliance for the past four years​ a
s part of its international programme,​
The 2016 artists ​attending i
nclude Leveret, Nancy Kerr and Lady Maisery.

Citation: (Organisation/academic) The English Folk Dance and Song Society

The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) is the development organisation for the English folk arts. It was formed in 1932 from the merger of the Folk Song Society (founded 1898) and the English Folk Dance Society (founded 1911), and operates from its purpose built arts venue, Cecil Sharp House in London, England.

EFDSS, and its parent organisations, have been responsible for preserving much of the English folk songs, tunes and dances performed today through field collectors in the early 20th century and now digitisation of those collections for an online catalogue. Over the decades it has set up major festivals including Sidmouth Folk Week and Whitby Folk Festival; hosted a Who's Who of folk singers at Cecil Sharp House from Ewan McColl and Peggy Seeger to Eliza Carthy and Martin Simpson, and enjoyed royal patronage – HRH Princess Margaret was EFDSS President from 1960 to 2002.

115 years on and EFDSS continues to carry out its objectives of preserving, promoting and developing the English folk arts through its internationally renowned library, the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, and feted performance, artists' development and education programs, delivered throughout England and increasingly internationally.

About Folk Alliance International

Folk Alliance International is a unique and one-of-a-kind annual conference that features the world's largest gathering of the folk music industry and community.

Boasting a yearly attendance of more than 2,500 registrants, the conference features official showcases, exhibitors, educational panels and professional development workshops held under one roof, bringing together musicians, educators and music industry professionals from throughout the world to share ideas, network, and promote folk music.

With 190 artist showcases, this year's conference will feature artists from 11 countries, including the United States, Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, Estonia, India, and Japan.

ENDS