Smithsonian Folkways received two Independent Music Vox Populi (“voice of the people”) Awards, as selected by music fans worldwide:

Best World Traditional Album: Various Artists - Delicious Peace: Coffee, Music & Interfaith Harmony in Uganda. The songs in this collection are written and performed by the coffee farmers of the Peace Kawomera (Delicious Peace) Fair Trade cooperative in Mbale, Uganda.

Best Bluegrass Song: Pete Seeger – “Fly Around My Blue-eyed Girl/Cripple Creek/Ida Red/Old Joe Clark”, from Classic Banjo from Smithsonian Folkways. Pete Seeger, who passed away earlier this year, was a folk music legend and banjo pioneer known for his lively interpretations of traditional music as evident in this medley of four popular banjo tunes.

According to the Independent Music Awards, more than 100,000 fans voted in the Vox Pop polls.

Earlier this year, these recordings, along with Elizabeth Mitchell’s Blue Clouds, were also awarded Independent Music Awards by their panel of judges, recognized for their “totality of artistic excellence based on originality, musicianship, musicality, vocals, recording quality, and other categories.”