awards

Awards for singer-songwriter Rupert Wates' work

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December 2023: Rupert Wates' 2023 CD ‘Elegies’ makes the 2023 Top Twenty Album Show on Minerva Radio UK (https://www.minervaradio.uk/)

January 2023: Rupert Wates' 2022 CD ‘For The People’ is named number 7 in the Americana ALBUM OF THE YEAR top 40 by UK periodical Blues Blues https://www.bluesblues.co.uk/

September 2022: Rupert Wates is selected for a VIRTUAL Formal Showcase at North East Regional Folk Alliance Conference, to be held in November 2022

July 2022: Rupert Wates is selected for an OFFICIAL SHOWCASE at Folk Alliance Region Midwest, to be held October 2022

March 2022: Rupert Wates is selected for an OFFICIAL SHOWCASE at South East Regional Folk Alliance, to be held May 2022

March 2022: Rupert Wates' song 'Driverless Train' is a SEMI FINALIST in the instrumental Category of the International Songwriting Competition for 2021 songwritingcompetition.com

March 2022: Rupert Wates' latest CD 'For The People' is named 'Album of The Month' for March 2022 by Bob Leslie, host of Transatlantic Conversations on Celtic Public Radio in Glasgow, Scotland 

February 2022: Rupert Wates' latest CD 'For The People' is number 6 in the FOLK DJ CHARTS for February www.Folkradio.org/folk-charts/

October 2021: Rupert Wates is a Top Ten Finalist in the Listening Room Festival organized by the Listening Room Network to be held March 2022 (only the top five Finalists will perform at the Festival) 

April 2021: Rupert Wates' Cd 'Lamentations' is at number 10 in the radio playlist compiled by the Acoustic Outpost/Folk Frontier for the week ending April 23 (outpostradio.com/acousticoutpost/)

February 2021: Rupert Wates Cd 'Lamentations' is number 8 in the Folk Alliance International Folk Radio Chart for February 2021 (www.folkradio.org

January 2020: Rupert Wates wins Honorable Mention in the Listening Room Network roundup for 2019 (www.concertsinyourhome.com

November 2019: Rupert Wates is selected as a FINALIST in the South Florida Folk Festival Singer-Songwriter Competition 2020, for his songs 'I'm Amazed' and 'Ballad Of A Brown Eyed Girl' (www.southfloridafolkfest.net)  Prior touring commitments prevent him from taking part in the FINALS, to be held February 2020

August 2019: Rupert Wates is selected for a Semi-Formal Showcase at North East Regional Folk Alliance conference, to be held November 2019 

April 2019: Rupert Wates is named one of 15 Semi-Finalists in the 2019 Songwriter Serenade in Austin, Texas https://www.songwriterserenade.com.  Prior touring commitments make it impossible for him to participate in the Final round

February 2019: Rupert Wates' song 'I'm Amazed' from his 2019 CD 'Full Circle' is a Semi-finalist in the 2018 International Song Contest. 

February 2019: Rupert Wates' CD 'The Lights Of Paris' is awarded 30th place in the Top 100 Albums of 2018 selected by German Magazine 'Eclipsed' https://www.eclipsed.de/de

January 2019: Rupert Wates wins Honorable Mention in the 2018 Family Folk Chorale Songwriting Competition (www.familyfolkchorale.org) for his 1992 song 'After The Rains'.  

January 2019: Rupert Wates wins Honorable Mention (for the fourth time) in the Listening Room Network Artist Awards for 2018.

November 2018: Rupert Wates is selected to play South Florida Folk Festival, Fort Lauderdale FL, January 2019

August 2018: Rupert Wates is selected to play an Official Showcase at Folk Alliance Region Midwest, Grand Rapids MI, October 2018

June 2018: Rupert Wates is named a Grassy Hill Emerging Artist and awarded a Showcase at Falconridge Folk Festival (to take place August 3 2018) 

April 2018: Rupert Wates is named a Finalist in the Kerrville New Folk Contest, to be held in May 2018

April 2018: Rupert Wates wins the 'Outstanding Achievement In Songwriting' award as a Top 5 Finalist in the Folk/Americana Category of the Great American Song Contest https://www.greatamericansong.com/winners.php for his song 'The Day The Great Ship Went Down'. The judges praised its 'highly original theme and well crafted lyrical story'.  Rupert's song 'Oh The Times' was also honored as a Finalist in the same competition. 

March 2018: Rupert Wates is selected to play an Official Showcase at South East Regional Folk Alliance Conference in Montreat, NC, in May 2018.

February 2018: Rupert Wates wins 'Honorable Mention' in the CIYH (www.concertsinyourhome.com) roundup for 2017

December 30 2017: Rupert Wates' CD 'The Lights Of Paris' (released November 2017) is CD of the week on Richard Warren's radio Show 'Midnight Special' on WFMT in Chicago (http://midnightspecial.org/cdofweek.htm)

October 2017: Rupert Wates is selected to play a DJ/VENUE Showcase at Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM) Conference, Iowa City, IA 

September 2017: Rupert Wates' song 'After The Rains' wins 3rd place at FARM Song Contest (Iowa City, IA). 

August 2017: Rupert Wates is selected to play an Official Showcase at FAR WEST Conference in Bellevue, Washington, October 5-7 2017.  

August 2017: Rupert Wates is selected as a Top Ten Finalist for the Listening Room Festival in St Petersburg, Florida, April 2018.  The group is subsequently to be narrowed to 6 Headliners.  

July 2017: Rupert Wates is selected as an ALTERNATE PERFORMER for the Official Showcases at Far West Folk Alliance, Bellevue WA.  

January 2017: Rupert Wates' CD 'Colorado Mornings (True Love Songs)' is named a 'Perfect Sound Forever' Top 30 CD for 2016 by critic Mark S Tucker in 'Veritas Vampirus' 

January 2017: Rupert Wates is named an Artist Of The Year 2016 by international house concert network Concerts In Your Home (www.concertsinyourhome.com).  This is the second time Rupert Wates has been honored as a CIYH Artist Of The Year (the first was for 2013).

November 2016 Rupert Wates's song 'Lullaby', performed by Vivian Gail (www.viviangail.com) is a FINALIST in the 2016 UK Songwriting Contest (www.songwritingcontest.co.uk)

April 2016 Rupert Wates receives Honorable Mention in The Rhode Island Songwriters Association Song Contest 2016  His entries were 'Lady Grey' and 'Fear Of Flying', both taken from his 2016 CD 'Colorado Mornings'

February 2016  Rupert Wates receives Honorable Mention for the second year running in the annual roundup for 2015 by the international house concert network Concerts In Your Home (www.concertsinyourhome.com). 

January 2016
Rupert Wates and Bartosz Hadala's 2015 CD 'The Nightwatchers' makes critic Mark S Tucker's 'Perfect Sound Forever' TOP 29 albums of the year for 2015.  Full list at www.furious.com/perfect/2015writerspoll.html.  

March 2015
Rupert Wates receives Honorable Mention in the Concerts In Your Home Artists Of The Year roundup for 2014 (www.concertsinyourhome.com

September 2014 
Rupert Wates is selected to be one of 6 headliners at The Listening Room Festival in Florida in April 2015.

April 2014
Rupert Wates is one of three finalists in the Rhode Island Songwriters Association Songwriting Contest 2014.  His entries were After The Rains and The Man Afraid Of Shadows.

January 2014
Concerts In Your Home, an organization of house concert hosts booking artists across the United States, named Rupert Wates a 2013 Artist of the Year, an honor given to three CIYH artists. The award is shared with Ian Mcferon (www.ianmcferon.com) and Jesse Terry (www.jesseterrymusic.com). "Our decision reflects a number of factors related to bookings, performances, participation and enthusiasm."
– CIYH

October 2013
Rupert Wates' song After The Rains is a finalist in the In Search Of A Song contest hosted by Jason Wilber

September 2013
Top Ten Finalist, 2014 Listening Room Festival

April 2013
Time, written by Rupert Wates, wins Suggested Artist placement in the Song of the Year songwriting contest.

January 2012
Genevieve, written by Rupert Wates, is a semi-finalist in the 2011 Great Lakes Songwriting Contest.
Watch video (a collaboration between Rupert Wates, Vivian Gail and Stacey Lorin. Recording by Chris Medrano, April 2011).

January 2011
(When I Get Over To) California, written by Rupert and Matt Wates, wins Honorable Mention in the Great Lakes Song Contest 2010. In Mike Pinder's Bandwars Song Contest 2011, from the Joe's Café album, Prayer is one of 10 Semi-finalists, More Holy Ground is one of 10 semi-finalists, and Days Of Mercy receives Honorable Mention.

Photo: Klaus-Dieter Landau

December 2010
More Holy Ground, from the stage version of Joe's Café, wins Honorable Mention in the Midatlantic Song Contest in Washington DC.

August 2010
Live production of Joe's Café featuring Rupert Wates, Valorie Miller and Stacey Lorin wins Best Music Revue at the San Francisco Fringe Festival

August 2010
Billboard Song Contest Honorable Mention for After The Rains.

August 2010
Sally's Farm from the album Joe's Café is one of three songs to receive Honorable Mention in the Americana category of the Austin Songwriters Contest.

Photo: Klaus-Dieter Landau

September 2009
Rupert's songs I Will Follow and Reach Out were both semi-finalists in the Adult Contemporary category of the 2009 UK Songwriting Contest.

March 29, 2009
Dear Life is one of 3 finalists in the Best Lyrics Category of the Indie Acoustic Project, who also named the CD one of the best CDs of 2008.

January 2009
After The Rains wins top prize in the Folk/Acoustic Category of the Songwars song contest headed by Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues.

December 2008
I Dream from the album Dear Life was given Honorable Mention in the 11th North Carolina Songwriting Contest.

October 2008
Elegy For The Coming Man, a new song from the album Dear Life receives Honorable Mention in the Independent Singer Songwriter Awards of 2008.

September 2008
After The Rains is one of the top ten finalists in the Great Lakes Song Contest in Michigan.

May 2008
After The Rains is one of the top ten finalists in the Wildflower Song Contest in Texas.

February 10, 2008
In January 2008 Rupert's CD Coast To Coast is voted one of the TOP 10 albums of 2007 by Britsound Radio, along with albums by Radiohead and The Arctic Monkeys.

December 2, 2007
Rupert's song After The Rains is awarded second prize overall in all categories of the 24th Mid Atlantic Song Contest.

November 24, 2007
After The Rains receives its sixth award this year, the Gold prize in the Folk Category of the 24th Midatlantic Song Contest

November 5, 2007
Rupert's second solo album Coast To Coast is named album of the month for October 2007 by Britsound Radio (on WPSC at 88.7 FM).

October 13, 2007
Rupert is awarded second prize in the North Carolina Songwriting Competition in Hollis Springs, NC, for his performance of After The Rains and Prisoner Of The Open Road.

October 1, 2007
After The Rains gains further accolades. It is one of 8 finalists in the 10th North Carolina Songwriting Competition and one of 5 songs to receive Honorable Mention in the Folk Category of the John Lennon Songwriting Competition.

July 10, 2007
After The Rains is judged a top 20 finalist in the acoustic category of the 11th Annual Unisong Song Contest. (This is the third award given to After The Rains this year). Come In Come Out (Of The Rain) is also judged a top 20 finalist in the jazz category of the same competition.

April 19, 2007
Prisoner Of The Open Road from the album Sweet or Bitter Wine is nominated for an award by the 17th Los Angeles Songwriting Awards.

February-March 2007
Rupert's song After The Rains is named song of the month by the Los Angeles consortium Songwriters Universe. In March his songs After The Rains and On The Road To Santa Fe receive honourable mention in the 2007 International Singer/Songwriter Awards.

February 1994
Rupert's song 'Slow Boat' is one of ten finalists in the UK Heats of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest.