fRoots (pronounced "eff-Roots", originally Folk Roots) was a specialist music magazine published in the UK between 1979 and 2019. It specialised in folk and world music, and featured regular compilation downloadable albums, with occasional specials. In 2006, the circulation of the magazine was 12,000 worldwide. The magazine was also involved in live music production, as well as the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music and the Europe in Union concert series.

Overview

In 1979, Southern Rag was founded by folk musician Ian A. Anderson with Caroline Hurrell and Lawrence Heath. It was renamed as Folk Roots in 1985, and in 1998 it became fRoots. The headquarters was initially in Farnham, Surrey and later moved to Bristol. Anderson remained the editor for the magazine's entire forty-year lifespan. Since 1985, the magazine was published on a monthly basis, with compilation albums twice-yearly. After a 2017 Kickstarter campaign, it was re-launched in April 2018 as a larger quarterly magazine, including a compilation album with every issue. On 2 July 2019, the editor announced that the magazine was suspending publication due to lack of funding, and that the Summer 2019 issue (issue 425) would be its last.

Albums of the year

The fRoots Critics Poll Album of the Year was determined by a panel of "hundreds of experts" in the UK and internationally: Between 2002 and 2008 the award was incorporated into the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music.

Sources