Nurture the Future is this year’s conference theme. “It was something we felt needed to be communicated as our world is changing every second of the day,” says Jill Kettles, SERFA’s board president. “We aim to uphold the past, mold the present, and project it for future generations; this is not just important but vital.”

SERFA is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International (folk.org), a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion. SERFA (serfa.org) exists to promote, develop and celebrate the diverse heritage of roots and indigenous music, dance, storytelling and related arts in the southeastern United States. It has produced an annual conference since 2008. This is SERFA’s third consecutive year at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina.

The official showcases take place Friday and Saturday evenings, with each artist/act performing a 15-minute set. Unplugged private showcases follow from 10:40 p.m. to 2 a.m. Also on the agenda are daytime panel discussions and workshops, a Wisdom of the Elders session, a few thematic song circles, open mics, mentoring sessions, an awards presentation, an exhibit hall, communal meals, and plenty of other opportunities to learn, share and network –- including during built-in afternoon breaks in the programming. Informal jams and song circles also are apt to break out in the lobby and outside (weather permitting).

Rachael Sage, Award-Winning, Prolific Singer-Songwriter and Boutique Label Owner to Deliver Keynote Address

Daytime Programming Includes Workshops, Song Circles, Think Tanks, and Mentoring Sessions

Besides the workshops and panel discussions, there will be moderated, interactive “think tanks” on House Concerts and Small Venues and Hey, What’s Your Problem, one-on-one mentoring sessions, several thematic song circles, several thematic song circles, and a Wisdom of the Elders session during the daytime hours.

Wisdom of the Elders and SERFA Awards are Among Conference Highlights

The Wisdom of the Elders conversational panel session provides a structured opportunity for conference attendees to learn from and about veteran leaders in the folk community and for the elders to talk among themselves as well. Participants this year are Scott Berwick, Wayne Erbsen and Taylor Pie.

Berwick has long been active in American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 1000 (the traveling musicians union), has been attending SERFA conferences for the past decade, and has also been involved with the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the Hudson Valley Folk Guild, and the Ashokan Center, as well as an informal, weekly song circle near his home in upstate New York.

Erbsen has been engaged in traditional American music for more than 50 years as a musician, recording artist (with nearly 20 albums to his credit), professor at Warren Wilson College and the University of North Carolina at Asheville, author and publisher (who has written and published 40 books), and a public radio DJ.

A Tennessee-based traveling folk minstrel and Americana artist, Taylor Pie (Susan Taylor) helped form the Pozo Seco Singers with Don Williams in the early 1960s and has been a solo singer-songwriter and musician since the folk group disbanded. Many notable artists have covered her songs, while Pie was inducted into the Old-Time Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015. Along with her friend Kathryn Harrison, she launched PuffBunny Records in 2007 to share her music and that of other artists she admires. Taylor Pie, who now handles A &R for the label, also stars in Nobody Famous, an award-winning music documentary that was screened during the 2022 SERFA conference.

Menius, who currently hosts “The Revolution Starts Now” on Hillsborough, NC-based WHUP, has hosted radio shows on four stations since 2007. The first executive director of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), from 1985-1990, Menius also served as Folk Alliance International’s initial board president in 1990 and manager from 1991-1996, prior to serving as associate director of MerleFest for a decade and then as executive director of Appalshop in Whitesburg, Kentucky and The ArtsCenter in Carrboro, NC. He’s also produced concerts, festivals and conferences and worked as a fundraiser, marketing director, emcee, stage manager, and writer.

Dom Flemons, an Arizona native and Chicago area-based musician who has earned the moniker “The American Songster” since his repertoire covers more than 100 years of American roots music, records for Smithsonian Folkways. He is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist (banjo, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, fife, and rhythm bones), music scholar, actor, slam poet, record collector, and the creator, host and producer of American Songster Radio Show on WSM in Nashville, Tennessee. Earlier this year, he was named the grand-prize winner as well as first place honors for Best Folk/Americana Roots Album (for American Wildfire) in the International Acoustic Music Awards. In 2020, he received the prestigious United States Artists Fellowship Award in the Traditional Arts category. Two years later, he received a degree as Doctor of Humane Letters from his alma mater Northern Arizona University and was the commencement speaker at the graduation ceremony or the Class of 2022. Flemons was a founding member of Carolina Chocolate Drops, a Grammy Award-winning African-American old-time string band.

Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc. (jamkids.org) is the nonprofit parent organization for more than 50 afterschool programs for children ages six and up. JAM provides communities with the requisite tools and support to teach children to play and dance to traditional old time and bluegrass music. Its program model introduces music through small group instruction on instruments common to the Appalachian region and provides youth with opportunities to learn traditional music with their peers from local teaching artists and to perform in their communities and regionally.

Taylor Caffery, the longtime host of “Hootenanny Power” on WRKF in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is the recipient of this year’s Kari Estrin Founding President’s Award. His weekly radio show incorporates musical styles and cultural influences from Caffery’s five decades on radio that began when he hosted his first show while in the U.S. Navy and continued with his college radio station KCSL. To that musical gumbo, he mixes in new discoveries from Folk Alliance International and SERFA conferences.

Dozens of Artists to be Featured in Official and Guerilla Showcases

Slated to present official showcases on Friday evening, May 10 are (in order of appearance) Sue Horowitz, Chris Haddox, Ron Fetner, A Tale of Two, Dustin Gaspard, Nicholas Edward Williams, Helene Cronin, and Admiral Radio. Saturday’s official showcase lineup features Jess Klein, Wes Collins, Bett Padgett, Cast Iron Bluegrass, Ruth and Max Bloomquist, Stone & Snow, Couldn’t Be Happiers, and Ordinary Elephant.

Here’s a link to a Spotify playlist that features one song from each of the official showcase artists.

Following the official showcases on Friday and Saturday, as well as an open mic on Thursday, late-night guerilla showcases will take place in various meeting rooms for several hours. AcousticMusicScene.com, which has had a presence at SERFA conferences since 2011, will host a couple of late-night song swaps and a midnight hoot (featuring more than two-dozen artists/acts – each performing one song) on Thursday, May 9, overnight. The AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot is a pre-arranged round-robin song swap that is intended to provide concert and festival presenters, folk DJs and others with an opportunity to get a small sampling of the music of a lot of artists in a short period of time on the conference’s opening night. It also enables artists to enjoy and each other’s company and music before the conference really gets into full swing on Friday.

Here’s the AcousticMusicScene.com Showcase schedule:

10:40 Brooklyn in the House: Carolann Solebello and Pat Wictor

11:00 Long Island Sound: Hank Stone and Jim Whiteman

11:30 Midnight Hoot, Part 1 (one song each):

Antonio Andrade, Max & Ruth Bloomquist, Dan & Faith, Katie Dahl, Annie Stokes

12:00 Midnight Hoot, Part 2 (one song each, not necessarily in this order)

Taylor Pie, The Farmer & The Crow, Amy Speace, Annie & Rod Capps, Marc Douglas Berardo, Karyn Oliver, Lindsay Whiteman, Miles & Mafale, Rachael Sage, Emma Frances, Nicholas Edward Williams, Noah Zacharin

1:00 Midnight Hoot, Part 3 (one song each, not necessarily in this order)

Jon Shain & FJ Ventre, Erin Ash Sullivan, Robert Bidney, Rob Lytle, Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus, Meg Braun, Alice Hasen, Brian Ashley Jones & Melanie Jean, Couldn’t Be Happiers, Reckless Saints, Siena Christie

A six-song EP, Greening the Dark, is Cowan’s sixth recording and her second collaboration with drummer Dave Mattacks (Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson, Rosanne Cash) serving as arranger and producer. Cowan is a Massachusetts-based artist who performs a cappella and with guitar — interpreting a wide range of traditional and contemporary folk songs. “She sure knows how to interpret a song and wrap her soul and voice around it,” says veteran folk DJ Rich Warren, host of the nationally syndicated The Midnight Special that emanates from WFMT in Chicago, IL. A former middle school math teacher, Cowan also served as vice president of AFM Local 1000, the traveling musicians union, from 2011-2016.

The October 2019 Top Albums, Songs and Artists charts are based on 14, 232 airplays reported on 535 playlists submitted by 126 different DJs. The number of reported spins is shown below in parentheses. The charts are compiled by Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org), a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion.

The monthly top albums and songs charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission.

Top Albums of October 2019

1. Greening the Dark by Debra Cowan (107)
2. Up Against the Sky by Dave Gunning (82)
3. Wahoo! by Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer (78)
4. Bones and Gravity by Lizanne Knott (71)
5. Country Music – A Film by Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) by Various Artists (65)
5. Every Single Star by Dori Freeman (65)
7. All That’s Real by Gathering Sparks (62)
7. Going to the Well by Linda McRae (62)
9. Wildwood by Katie Dahl (58)
9. Words of Love by Allison Lupton (58)
11. Heart Land Again by Tim Grimm (53)
12. When They Fall by Annie and Rod Capps (51)
13. If You Fall by Jaime Michaels (50)
14. Due to the Darkness by The Gossamer Strings (47)
14. Straight to Marrow by Clint Alphin (47)
16. Rearrange My Heart by Che Apalache (45)
16. The Best of Christine Lavin by Christine Lavin (45)
18. Old Ghosts and Lost Causes by Helene Cronin (41)
19. Chasing the Sun by Bobtown (39)
19. The Storyteller’s Suitcase by Ellis Paul (39)
19. Me and the Ghost of Charlemagne by Amy Speace (39)
22. While I’m Livin by Tanya Tucker (38)
22. Talk to a Human by Terri Hendrix (38)
24. The Hard Stuff by Susan Gibson (37)
24. Gonna Love Anyway by Louisa Branscomb (37)
24. Adobe Road by Cej (37)
27. Fair Play to You All by Tommy Sands (36)
28. Crowing Ignites by Bruce Cockburn (34)
29. How We Want to Live by Lisa Bastoni (33)
29. The Lost Tapes by Ian and Sylvia (33)
29. Time and Tides by Susan and Ray (33)
32. Visions by Alice Howe (32)
33. Honest by Ordinary Elephant (31)
33. Assiniboine and the Red by The Small Glories (31)
35. Fires for the Cold by Jonah Tolchin (30)
36. Hush the Wild Horses by Rachel Harrington (28)
37. That We Could Find a Way to Be by Andrew Van Norstrand (27)
37. Tall Fiddler by Michael Cleveland (27)
37. Home by Billy Strings (27)
40. These Old Hands by Crys Matthews (26)
40. Moth Nor Rust Ii by Jon Brooks (26)
40. Conspirators by Guy Forsyth and Jeska Bailey (26)
40. Facets of Folk by Mara Levine (26)
40. October in the Railroad Earth by Tom Russell (26)
45. Leylines by Rising Appalachia (25)
45. White Noise, White Lines by Kelsey Waldon (25)
47. Ten: The Errant Night by Runa (24)
47. The Iron Trios by Laurel Premo (24)
47. Songs of Our Native Daughters by Our Native Daughters (24)
50. Who Asked You Back by Ella Harp (23)
50. Oklahoma by Keb’ Mo’ (23)
50. It’s a Hard Life by Ruby Lovett (23)
50. Every Trip Around the Sun by Sharon Goldman (23)
50. Steering Pete’s Course, Maritime Songs From the Seeger Songbag by The Rix (23)
55. My Dony by Grant Dermody (22)
55. Acoustic Rainbow Roots Volume 49 by Various Artists (22)
55. Charlie Parr by Charlie Parr (22)
55. Heather Down the Moor by Gatehouse (22)
59. How Far It Goes by The Refugees (21)
59. As I Go Ramblin’ Around by Nicholas Edward Williams (21)
59. Free and Fine by Jordi Baizan (21)
62. Paws of a Bear by Sofia Talvik (20)
62. The Bull Mountain Moonshiners’ Way by Jesse McReynolds and Friends (20)
62. Acorns by Ben Winship (20)
62. Unfortunate Point of View by Katherine Rondeau (20)
62. Fire Out of Stone by Chuck Hawthorne (20)
62. Even the Sparrow by Kelly Hunt (20)
68. June Is Short, July Is Long by Jeb Loy Nichols (19)
68. What Will We Do by Lula Wiles (19)
68. It’s a Dog’s Life by Si Kahn and the Looping Brothers (19)
68. Toolshed by Ben Winship (19)
68. Rings Around Saturn by Marion Halliday (19)
68. Rose Avenue by Joel Rafael (19)

Top Songs of October 2019

1. “The Old Changing Way” by Debra Cowan (29)
2. “Scarecrow” by Debra Cowan (21)
3. “Bones and Feathers” by Debra Cowan (19)
4. “Celebrate the Crop” by Dave Gunning (16)
4. “Walk Away” by Lizanne Knott (16)
6. “Answer Not Blowing in the Wind” by Tommy Sands (15)
7. “Man in the Bottom of the Well” by Linda McRae (14)
7. “Wahoo!” by Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer (14)
7. “Straight to Marrow” by Clint Alphin (14)
7. “Polly on the Shore” by Debra Cowan (14)
11. “Muddy Waters” by Susan and Ray (13)
12. “Feathers and Wings” by Gathering Sparks (12)
12. “Triskaidekaphobia” by Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer (12)
12. “Anna Dixie” by Debra Cowan (12)
12. “Hills of Greenmore” by Debra Cowan (12)
12. “What Will I Dream” by Allison Lupton (12)
17. “In the Time I Was Away” by Dave Gunning (11)
17. “All That’s Yet to Come” by Dave Gunning (11)
17. “(That Would Do) Some Good” by Annie and Rod Capps (11)
17. “All I Ever Wanted” by Dori Freeman (11)
17. “Ferris Wheel” by Dave Gunning (11)
17. “High on a Mountain” by Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer (11)
17. “2 Step” by Dori Freeman (11)
17. “The Dreamer” by Che Apalache (11)
25. “All Brand New” by Cej (10)
25. “Darlin’ Boy” by Dori Freeman (10)
25. “The Liar Tweets Tonight” by Christine Lavin (10)
25. “American Girl” by Bobtown (10)
25. “I Will Rise” by Allison Lupton (10)
25. “Bones and Gravity” by Lizanne Knott (10)
25. “The Welcome Song” by Jan Aldridge Clark (10)
25. “Hurricane” by Lizanne Knott (10)

Top Artists of October 2019

Called one of the best singers of her generation by Christine Lavin, folksinger and jewelry designer Mara Levine has been creating beautiful interpretations of fine traditional and contemporary folk songs for many years. “Layering harmony line on top of harmony line, Levine creates rich tapestries of sound and emotion,” says noted folksinger and activist Si Kahn.
On Facets of Folk, Levine — joined by a number of her talented musician friends – explores some of the different facets of the folk genre. In selecting songs for it, Levine said: “I was inspired by the current political and social challenges facing us today, and thought a great deal about the importance of speaking out against injustice, both societal, and for people in our lives who are being wronged.”

Songs of social conscience – penned by popular contemporary songwriters as well as emerging talents — are prominently featured on Facets of Folk and are set among folk favorites and lesser-known songs. The opening track, Susan Shann’s “You Reap What You Sow,” recorded with several bluegrass luminaries, topped the Folk DJ songs chart in November 2017 when it was released as a single and was the third-most-played song last month. It also spent 22 weeks on the Bluegrass Today Grassicana chart. Levine’s rendition of Tommy Sands’ “Daughters and Sons” (featuring Kim & Reggie Harris and Gathering Time, a folk harmony trio with whom she frequently shares concert bills) was #1 last month, as was the album.

Levine had an official juried showcase at the 2014 Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference, after participating in the Suzi Wollenberg Folk DJ Showcase years earlier. Her sophomore release, Jewels and Harmony, was #1 on the Folk DJ chart in January 2013 and sported that month’s two top two songs.

Of his friend, Seeger had said: “John McCutcheon is not only one of the best musicians in the USA, but also a great singer, songwriter, and song leader. And not just incidentally, he is committed to helping hard-working people everywhere to organize and push this world in a better direction.”

McCutcheon, who has been performing and recording since the mid-1970s, is also a longtime labor and social activist. He is a founder and former president of Local 1000, the traveling acoustic musicians local of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). He has keynoted conferences for several regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International. His previous release, Ghost Light, was the #2 album on folk radio in 2018 and also features three of last year’s 25 most-played songs (“This Road,” “She Just Dances,” and “The Machine”). McCutcheon’s classic “Christmas in the Trenches” tied for the most-played song on folk radio last December and has been among the most-played songs during the holiday season for years.

The January 2019 Top Albums, Songs and Artists charts are based on 17,689 airplays reported on 736 playlists submitted by 133 different DJs. The number of reported spins is shownin parentheses. The charts are compiled under the auspices of Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org), a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion.

The monthly top albums, songs and artists charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission.

Top Albums of January 2019

Here’s a link to listen to Artie Martello’s Jan. 26, 2019 Mostly Folk podcast featuring a interview with Mara Levine and songs from her new release, Facets of Folk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9nVsWtjNTs

The newest of the five regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International, SERFA (www.serfa.org) exists to promote, develop and celebrate the diverse heritage of roots and indigenous music, dance, storytelling and related arts in the Southeastern United States. Its annual conference is a primary means of doing that. This is the third consecutive year that it is being held at the same location, a beautiful and tranquil spot nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This year’s conference opens with workshops, followed by dinner and a three-hour open mic on Thursday and concludes on Sunday morning with a continental breakfast and a special performance by composer and songwriter B.J. Leiderman, best known for creating themes for NPR’s “Morning Edition,” “Weekend Edition,” and “Marketplace.”

Workshops on a variety of topics will be offered each day. Among the subjects to be covered are booking and performing at senior centers, constructive critique, DIY tour booking, doing music and doing good, fair trade music, funny songs, help me say yes to your booking request, house concert etiquette for the musician, the next generation of folk music, releasing your inner geek: getting yourself out there and the tools to do it, the power of your newsletter, the roots of songwriting, social media, successful kickstarter campaigns, ”Wisdom of the Elders” (featuring Sonny Ochs, Ralph Lewis and his sons), and zen and the art of performing. Also scheduled are several workshops geared towards guitarists and a vocal class, as well as peer group meeting for house concert presenters and an American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 1000 meeting. In addition, a series of one-on-one mentoring sessions are scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

A number of artists have been selected by a panel of judges to present official showcases from 7- 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Slated to perform are Caroline Aiken, Beggar’s Ride, Marc Black and Amy Fradon, Rj Cowdery, Robin Greenstein, Spook Handy, Susan Herndon, Lara Herscovitch, The Hollands, The Billy Jonas Band, Alicia McGovern, Buddy Mondlock, Darryl Purpose, David Russell, Lyal Strickland, Sultans of String, Hiroya Tsukamoto, and Mike Vial & The Great Lake Effect.

Following the official showcases, late-night guerilla showcases and AFM Local 1000 Song Circles will take place in various meeting rooms between 10:45 p.m. and 2 a.m. Although AcousticMusicScene.com has had a presence at the SERFA Conference for the past two years, it will host late-night showcases at one for the first time this spring. As at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conferences each November since 2007, the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase at Montreat will be done in the form of song swaps. These will take place on Thursday, May 16, overnight in Room 334.

Here’s the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase schedule:

10:40: Sandy Andina, Robin Greenstein, Elaine Mahon
11:00: Rj Cowdery, Claudia Nygaard, Jeff Talmadge
11:30: Beggar’s Ride, Marc Black & Amy Fradon, Friction Farm
12:00 Rob Lytle, Alicia McGovern, Buddy Mondlock
12:30: Todd Hoke, Lauren Lapointe, Kim Richardson
1:00 Robert Bobby, Tony Denikos, Linda McRae
1:30 Jon Shain, Sally Spring

The conference registration rate rises from $125 to $145 on May 13, although the last day to register and be listed in the program book is May 5. Persons not registered for the conference can attend these showcases on Friday and Saturday for $10 each night.

Editor’s Note: In addition to hosting an AcousticMusicScene.com showcase, I will be part of a panel discussion on social media and will again be a mentor offering my insights on public relations, strategic communications, websites and social media, and other topics of interest to performing artists and presenters.

The newest of the five regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International, SERFA (www.serfa.org) exists to promote, develop and celebrate the diverse heritage of roots and indigenous music, dance, storytelling and related arts in the Southeastern United States. Its annual conference is a primary means of doing that. This is the second consecutive year that it is being held at the same location, a beautiful and tranquil spot nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This year’s conference opens with workshops, followed by dinner and a three-hour open mic on Thursday and concludes on Sunday morning with a continental breakfast.

A number of artists have been selected by a panel of judges to present official showcases from 7- 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Slated to perform on Friday night are Annie and Rod Capps, Dave Gunning, Roy Schneider, SONiA, Sam Pacetti, The Stray Birds, Mitchell and Harris, Honor Finnegan and Jon Vezner.

Editor’s Note: During the 2011 SERFA Conference, I participated in a panel discussion entitled “Performers and Presenters: Partnering to Help Pull in People”. This year, in addition to being part of the “Resources for Working Musicians” session, I will again be a mentor offering advice and counsel on public relations, strategic communications, websites and social media, and other topics of interest to performing artists and presenters.

The autographed Pete Seeger-style long-neck Vega banjo will be put up on eBay on June 14 and the online auction will run for 10 days. Proceeds will help provide assistance to musicians who fall onto hard times due to illness, natural disaster, and economic problems, and will also help fund the local’s organizing efforts to bring union benefits (such as health care and pensions) to working musicians throughout the acoustic music world.

“Pete Seeger was one of Local 1000’s founding members and has been a generous supporter of the union local designed especially for the folk music community,” says John McCutcheon, the local’s president and a noted singer-songwriter and musicians in his own right. “Likewise, the Deering Banjo Company has been a great friend,” McCutcheon continues. “Thanks to the generosity of these old friends, we’re able to generate funds for the Local’s organizing efforts and, especially, for our Emergency Relief Fund.”

McCutcheon informs AcousticMusicScene.com that “Local 100’s Emergency Relief Fund was established to help musicians who find themselves in unforeseen need.” He notes that there have been members with terminal illnesses, members who lost their homes due to Hurricane Katrina, and others who have experienced health or economic problems. “It’s what unions are supposed to do: look after the welfare of members in our field, cradle to grave,” McCutcheon continues. “It’s actually an anachronistic idea in today’s world, not enough unions do it anymore. But Local 1000 is that unusual combination of something entirely new and something that retains what we feel is best about old-fashioned unionism.”

More information on the auction and a video of Pete Seeger signing the banjo may be viewed at http://local1000.com/auction-for-pete-seeger-signed-banjo.