Ry Cooder, who celebrated his 65th birthday yesterday, has been nominated as Best Artist in the Songlines Music Awards 2012 for his latest album, Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down, released last years on Nonesuch Records. In announcing the nominees on the latest Songlines podcast, contributor Nasim Masoud says: "The astonishing late career renaissance for the virtuoso guitarist and world music adventurer continued in 2011 with the release of this album, a politically charged collection of contemporary protest songs that cast Cooder as a latter-day Woody Guthrie."

Fatoumata Diawara has been nominated as Newcomer of the Year for her debut album, Fatou. The album was released in the UK to great critical acclaim on World Circuit last year. She was introduced to North American audiences then with the release of her debut EP, Kanou, on World Circuit/Nonesuch Records. "The youthful Malian songbird draws on the Wassoulou tradition of southern Mali," Masoud explains in the announcement. "There's a unique but subtle intensity to her beguiling songs."

Among the year's other nominees are Kronos Quartet for Cross-Cultural Collaboration for its work with Kimmo Pohjonen and Samuli Kosminen on the album Uniko (Ondine) and Chris Thile with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, and Edgar Meyer in the same category for their album The Goat Rodeo Sessions (Sony Classical).

The Songlines Music Awards are voted on by Songlines readers and the general public. A track from each of the 16 nominated artists is included on the Songlines Music Awards 2012 compilation album, including Cooder's "No Banker Left Behind," available on March 19.

Clips from all the nominees can be heard on the latest Songlines podcast, available now on iTunes, which also features Carolina Chocolate Drops' "No Man's Mama," from their new album, Leaving Eden. And tune in to BBC Radio 3's World on 3 tonight 11 PM GMT to hear host Mary Ann Kennedy play tracks from the nominees.