Hey all, Every year I like to look back on some of my favorite releases from the last year.... so, here's the note I just posted to the folkdj list regarding that. These are all great artists that are well worth checking out if you're not familiar with them. "Hey Everybody, I couldn't let 2009 slip away completely without mentioning a few of my favorite (mostly independent) new releases that made frequent appearances on Acoustic Harmony last year. This is in no way meant to be a "Best Of" list, but rather a list of some releases that for whatever reason really made an impression on me. These are records and artists that might have been overlooked and ones I would highly recommend to anyone who appreciates great songwriting and the artistry of musical creation. Here they are in no particular order: Robyn Landis - Many Moons Sue Pyper - Tail Lights In The Rain Jory Nash - New Blue Day Lynn Miles - Black Flowers/Vol 1 & 2 Drew Nelson - Dusty Road To Beulah Land Joe Jencks - Links In A Chain Cheryl Wheeler - Pointing At The Sun Vicky Emerson - Long Ride Johnsmith - Gravity Of Grace David Mallett - Alright Now Alisa Fineman & Kimball Hurd - Faith In Our Love Bow Thayer - Shooting Arrows At The Moon Corey Brewster - Buffalo Street Chuck Suchy - Unraveling Heart Wyatt Easterling - Where This River Goes Keith Greeninger & Dayan Kai - Make It Rain Craig Bickhardt - Brother To The Wind There were a couple other artists that although they didn't have new releases last year it was then that I really became aware of their amazing talent. So I wanted to mention them as well: Tom Pacheco - An incredibly prolific crafter of consistently important political, personal and fictional songs. Simply an amazing storyteller. Martyn Joseph - The epitome of a powerful performing singer songwriter. To see him perform live is everything I love about the singer songwriter folk troubadour tradition who also is an amazing songwriter. Monika Nordli - An old songwriter's soul in a young body with an achingly beautiful voice. There you have it, some of my favorites from incredible artists who helped keep the art of great folk music alive in 2009. Artists that if I hadn't come across them myself, I would be very appreciative to discover. The usual disclaimer pertains, I have no financial interests in any of the above mentioned artists. All the best on a frosty sub-zero morning from Northern New England! Mark Michaelis Host; Acoustic Harmony WGDR Folk Music Director www.acoustic-harmony.com WGDR is community radio for central Vermont broadcasting from Goddard College at: 91.1FM and online at: www.wgdr.org"