Kim Ruehl shares her Top 10 Picks of 2020!

In 2020, we saw trad music move online, from the innovative digital festival that Philadelphia Folk Festival threw, to Pickathon’s 120 day livestream fundraiser. For trad fans, the Quarantine Happy Hour daily livestream on Facebook has brought a huge number of old-time and traditional musicians in the US and around the world together to enjoy the music. Artists got creative this year as well, releasing their albums by surprise, or from their archives, or on Bandcamp only. So much of our musical lives were put on hold that it’s a testament to the ingenuity of artists that they found so many ways to still bring us great music in 2020.

Music writer, Henry Carrigan reviewed over 45 albums and songs for Folk Alley this year with wonderful depth and thoughtful insight. Here are his favorites of 2020!

After weeks of voting and weighing-in on favorite music of 2020, Folk Alley listeners have spoken! The results are in, and we now present you with the Top 20 Favorite Folk, Roots, and Americana releases of the year, as voted on by the Folk Alley audience!

Many of my personal Best of 2020 picks have already been included in Folk Alley's Top 20 of 2020 list, but every year there are way more releases that stood out to me that don’t fit cleaning into the Top 20 restriction.

So. Here are ten MORE Top Picks and personal favorites of year that are worth your attention!

Folk Alley's associate music director & host, Cindy Howes shares her Best of 2020, plus a favorite new discovery!

Folk Alley host, Elena See shares her Top 10 of 2020!

2020. What a soul-crushing year on many levels. But fortunately, we had plenty of great music to keep us company and our spirits high. What would we do without music? We owe a giant debt of gratitude to all the great artists who inspired us this year, and who helped keep our eyes on the horizon for a better 2021. Before we flip the calendar, we want to look back and share our Top 20 of 2020: albums, artists, and songs that inspired us throughout the last twelve months, and we want to encourage you to support the artists you loved in 2020 by purchasing their music, their merch, or dropping a nice tip the next time they offer a live steam.