U.S equivalent for the honours/honors johnross cited would be the National Heritage Fellows citations awarded annually by the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts. Among recent winners, our own KYTRAD. For a list of all past winners, http://www.arts.gov/guide/allheritage.html. You can nominate folks here: http://arts.endow.gov/guide/Heritage03.html. The NEA sponsors a concert annually with performances/presentations by its current winners.