Jan Hall, host and producer of the syndicated weekly radio show, Folk Roots Radio, has been named the winner of the Estelle Klein Award that is presented by Folk Music Ontario during its annual conference in September. Established in 2000, the award honors the work of an individual or group that has made significant contributions to the Canadian province’s folk music community.

“To say I feel honoured, is an absolute understatement,” says Hall, who got her start in radio at WEFT 90.1 FM in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois in 1993, while doing graduate work at the University of Illinois. “Folk Roots Radio with Jan Hall is a labour of love and a full time hobby, and, to be honest, it has helped me through some dark days in my life, after I had to leave my veterinary career. The amazing thing is that I discovered another ‘career’ I love just as much and perhaps more. I love making radio, and now video, and I absolutely love chatting [with] artists about their music. To receive an award like this for what I love to do, makes me feel absolutely blessed.”

Folk Roots Radio currently airs on ten stations: CFRU 93.3 (Guelph, Ontario), CHES 91.7 (Erin Radio, Erin, Ontario), CFBU 103.7 (St. Catherines ON), CILU 102.7 (Thunder Bay ON), Cove FM 88.7 (St. Margaret’s Bay/Hubbards/Chester Nova Scotia), CFBX 92.5 (Kamloops, British Columbia), VOBB 95.9 and 98.1 (Bonne Bay, Newfoundland), CJMP 90.1fm (Powell River, British Columbia), CIDI 99.1fm (Brome Missisquoi, Quebec), and WRAQ 92.7fm (western New York State). Hall focuses on bringing new folk and roots music and in-depth interviews of independent artists to the airwaves. An extensive archive of radio shows and artist interviews can be found online at www.folkrootsradio.com, where you also can listen to the show via your choice of streaming platforms.

Hall told AcousticMusicScene.com that Folk Roots Radio stemmed from Royal City Rag, a locally focused magazine radio show on CFRU 93.3fm that she launched in August 2005, after moving to Canada. “T