This year’s Folk Alliance International 2020 Conference honored some of our favorites here at the OffBeat offices. Cover star Charlie Gabriel got up on stage with Sandra and Ben Jaffe to accept the Lifetime Achievement Award for “invaluable cultural work and legacy” bestowed upon the Preservation Hall. 

Earlier this month, Charlie Gabriel received the personal Lifetime Achievement Award in Music at the OffBeat Awards. If you missed it, you can enjoy this moving tribute to the man’s legacy, featuring fellow band mates below.

OffBeat’s very own Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Jan Ramsey, accepted the Spirit of Folk Award. Ben Sandmel was honored as an author and Nick Spitzer, as an American Routes radio host/ Tulane professor. 

The Folk Alliance puts a huge and unusual emphasis on the importance of the keepers of our stories, our history, our culture, our folklore.  Other award winners included Michael Doucet & BeauSoliel, as a “Living Artist,” Mahalia Jackson, as a “Legacy Artist” and Ani DiFranco, as the “People’s Voice.”

On Saturday, January 25, OffBeat co-sponsors an official Folk Alliance International Conference showcase with WWOZ! Click here for the stellar lineup.