Besides several jam-packed days and nights of music showcases, song swaps/in-the-rounds, open mics and informal jam sessions, the NERFA conference will also feature, informative panel discussions and workshops, one-on-one mentoring and peer & affinity group sessions, communal meals, awards presentations, an exhibit hall, a very special film screening, a reception, communal meals, a community meeting with NERFA’s volunteer board of directors, and lots of opportunities for schmoozing and networking. Singer-songwriters Flamy Grant and Janis Ian (best known for her early hits “Society’s Child” and “At 17”) will keynote the conference on Friday and Saturday nights, respectively.

Booking gigs may be the primary objective of some performers who attend the conference; and many presenters and folk DJs do scout out new artists and those whom they have not previously heard and seen in live performance. However, the conference experience is much more than that; it’s really about forging connections, building community, and taking advantage of learning opportunities that can help enhance and enrich your professional and personal lives.

The conference’s programming committee, under the leadership of Ron Olesko, a NERFA board member and the creator and director of Folk Music Notebook (a 24/7 online radio station and community hub), has arranged a diverse array of workshops, panel discussions and special events.

“We are excited to present a special pre-release screening of a new film You Got Gold: A Celebration of John Prine,“ said Olesko. Filmed during a star-studded two-night tribute to the legendary songwriter at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium in October 2022, its national theatrical release is slated for later in November. Prine’s widow, Fiona Whelan Prine, president of Oh Boy! Records and a producer of the film will engage in a Q & A session following the screening. Anna Canoni, president of Woody Guthrie Publications, will give a presentation about her grandfather and the newly released Woody at Home: Woody Guthrie’s Home Recordings, 1951-1952. Buskin & Batteau, Christine Lavin, John Forster, and Carla Ulbrich — who occasionally perform together as the April Fools –will share some very funny folk songs. Also slated is a Friday morning production of Ms. Music: The Jackie Alper Story, a folk musical written and directed by Andy Spence and Sarah Dillon, that honors the late folk music legend in the New York Capital Region and an influential figure in the folk revival.

Also on the conference schedule are the ever-popular On the Griddle instant critique session during which a panel of folk DJs listen to the first 60 seconds of a number of songs and provides snap feedback. Sonny Ochs, a longtime folk DJ and sister of the late troubadour and activist Phil Ochs, will again host a Wisdom of the Elders session. It will feature acclaimed singer-songwriters Janis Ian and Tom Chapin a, along with Terry Thai (Bob Dylan’s first manager and former wife of Dave Van Ronk). Olesko joins Ochs in posing questions to them in a conversational format. A number of workshops and panel discussions designed to help artists and presenters as they try to navigate the challenges currently faced by the folk community are also on the agenda.

Juried Showcases Slated for Friday and Saturday Nights      

Taking center stage during the conference will be 14 artists/acts selected by a panel of judges from among more than 160 submissions – with each to perform a 15-minute formal showcase set on Friday and Saturday nights – the most coveted performance opportunity at the conference. Showcasing their talents on Friday night will be Phil Henry, Judy Kass, Weary Ramblers, Connie Kaldor, Taylor Abrahamse, Elise Leavy, and Cassie and Maggie. Saturday night’s featured artists include The Levins, Sadie Gustafson-Zook, Beecharmer, Louie Lou Louis, Mystery Loves Company, Paul Colombino, and The Honey Badgers.

Judges for this year’s official juried showcases were Richard Cuccaro (publisher of Acoustic Live! in New York City & Beyond), Aaron Nathans (singer-songwriter and recording artist), and Mary Stewart (artistic director of Hugh’s Room Live in Toronto, Ontario)

On Thursday evening, the conference’s opening night, a Presenters Showcase will feature short performances by 14 artists/acts chosen by select folk DJs and concert & festival presenters. Listed in order of appearance, they are Haunted Like Human, Nico Padden, Christine Baillargeon, Nora Meier, Selena Tibbert, Halley Neal, Mirabelle Skipworth, Marc Apostoides, Sam Edelston, Ben Diamond (AKA Son Stone), Allison Strong, Francesca Panetta, Sam Berquist, and Mark & Jill.

Following the juried and curator’s showcases each evening, a number of presenters, performers and others will host private showcases in first floor hotel rooms that extend from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. AcousticMusicScene.com will host a series of song swaps in place of its longtime popular Midnight Hoot on Thursday overnight.

Here’s the AcousticMusicScene.com Showcase lineup:

10:30 p.m             Songs of Social Justice: Dan & Faith, Hank Stone

11:00 p.m.            Reggie Harris & Pat Wictor

11:30 p.m.            Long Island Sounds: James O’Malley, Roger Street Friedman

12:00 a.m.             Americana Folk: Lynn Crossett, Susan Kane, Carolann Solebello

12:30 a.m.             Mixed Bag: Miles & Mafale, Arielle Silver

1:00 a.m.                Funny Folk: Mark Allen Berube, Barry Rabin, Carla Ulbrich

1:30 a.m.                Tunes from Texas: Claudia Gibson, Mystery Loves Company

2:00 a.m.              Doug Mishkin, Stuart Markus

NERFA Leaders Share Their Thoughts on the Conference

“We are thrilled about our new location, nore central to our region in a beautiful and spacious hotel that offers ample opportunity for gathering on a single floor, which will encourage interaction and socializing,” Olesko told AcousticMusicScene.com. “It’s perfect for encouraging collaborations and sharing of best practices.”

Echoing his sentiments, Cheryl Prashker, president of NERFA’s board of directors, said:

“I am excited that we have brought the conference to Albany, New York for the first time. The Desmond Hotel is a perfect space for our community that gathers each year to share their music, their knowledge, and their passion for giving to each other. I cannot think of a more important thing at this time.” Expressing gratitude for a music community of which she’s been a part for more than 25 years, she said: “It has shaped who I am as a musician and a person. All I hope to be able to do is offer the young musicians coming up some love and support as they navigate the business of folk music.”

NERFA is one of five North American regional affiliates 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. Although folks from throughout North America attend its annual conference, NERFA’s geographic boundaries extend from the eastern provinces of Canada south to the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. More extensive information on the organization and its annual conference may be found online at www.nerfa.org and www.nerfaconference.org. The four other North American regions – Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM), Folk Alliance Region – West (FAR-West), Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA), and Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA) already held their 2025 conferences. Folk Alliance International’s next conference is set for January — — in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Editor’s Note: Besides hosting a late-night song swap-style artist showcase during the conference, as I have under the banner of AcousticMusicScene.com most years since the online publication’s inception in 2007, I will be assisting two of my artist PR clients (Lynn Crossett and James O’Malley) and offering some one-on-one mentoring sessions on artist bios and one-sheets, EPKS, social media promotion, and various other aspects of public relations and strategic communications. As president of the Folk Music Society of Huntington (a nonprofit presenting organization on Long Island, NY), I also curated and will co-host a private showcase under its banner on Friday overnight. As a past president and former 15-year board member of NERFA who was not at last year’s conference, I really look forward to this one.

Booking gigs may be the primary objective of some performing artists who attend the FARM Gathering, and many presenters and folk DJs do scout out new artists and those whom they have not previously heard and seen in perform live. However, the conference experience is much more than that; it’s really about forging connections, building community, and attending workshops and panel discussions to learn about options to further their careers, promote the music, and attract audiences and listeners

This year’s conference also includes a Presenter Summit for the first time. It will feature a full track of programming designed specifically for venues, festivals and other concert presenters to learn from experts in accounting, audience development, community engagement, marketing, and production.

Taking center stage during this year’s FARM Gathering will be 14 artists/acts selected by a panel of judges to each perform a short set of just shy of 20 minutes, with full sound Showcasing their talents on Friday night will be Mac and Cheese, Dennis Warner, Weary Ramblers, Andy Baker, Stone & Snow, Amy Speace, and Paula Boggs Band. Saturday’s official showcase lineup features Warren & Flick, The Twangtown Paramours, Sam Robbins, Maggie’s Wake, Dave Moore, Bruce Henry & Dean Magraw, and Abigail Stauffer and the Wisdom. Unplugged private showcases follow from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. each evening.

On the docket for Thursday night is a barn dance, followed by a folk DJ showcase featuring performances by Friction Farm, Gia Dagenhart, Chris Walz, Matt Watroba, The Springtails, Helene Cronin, Senior Infants, Bobbie Lancaster, Rees Shad, Mark Jewett, The Thorntons, and Dandelion Delivery Service. Following that showcase, attendees also will shuffle between a number of rooms to enjoy private showcases.

“In addition to the great performances and showcases we have lined up, I am very excited to welcome some special guests to this year’s conference who will speak to the issues affecting our country and our local music communities right now, including our keynote speaker Nicky Mehta.” said Ellen Stanley, the conference director. “Although best known for being a member of the Canadian folk band The Wailin’ Jennys, she is also an activist and will talk about how artists can stay true to their artistic vision and the causes they believe in.” She also mentioned Spencer LaJoye, a winner of the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Competition, who will give a spotlight talk ahead of the keynote about telling their truth as a queer artist

Daytime programming includes a wide array of workshops and panel discussions and peer group conversations addressing timely topics. “”We’re going to talk about the issues that we’re all worried about, and we hope to provide a welcoming space for everyone to share their stories and learn from others as we do our best to navigate these challenging times, Stanley told AcousticMusicScene.com.

Song swapping and jamming, speed mentoring sessions, open mics, and FARM’s popular Performance Lane series of 10-minute mini-showcases that take place simultaneously in several rooms are also part of the daytime mix. Special events on Friday include a 30-minute Chicago Celtic Spotlight featuring Reverie Road and a folk DJ meet & greet. Marilyn Rea Beyer, who hosts the nationally syndicated weekly radio program “The Midnight Special” from the studios of Chicago’s WFMT, will host a Wisdom Across the Ages panel discussion featuring artists and activists from different generations: Amy Speace, Paula Boggs, Katie Dahl, and Sam Robbins. Also on the docket for Saturday afternoon is a Celtic jam, as well as the spotlight and keynote talks. FARM’s 2025 Lantern Bearer Awards will be presented following dinner that evening to two individuals who have made significant contributions to the folk community locally and/or regionally. This year’s recipients are Charlie Mosbrook (a musician, former FARM board president, and current vice president of Folk Alliance International) and Lilli Kuzma, a veteran folk DJ at WDCB Public Radio in Glen Ellyn, Illinois).

AcousticMusicScene.com Hosts Two Nights of Private Showcases

Although AcousticMusicScene.com has hosted primarily song swap-style private showcases at Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA), Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA), and Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA) conferences, and its editor & publisher has also participated in Folk Alliance Region-West (FAR-West) conference, this year marks the first time that two nights of private showcases will be held under its banner at a FARM Gathering. The AcousticMusicScene.com Showcase lineup follows.

Thursday Overnight in Muddy Waters (Conference 3) Room

10:30  Ben Bedford & Vanessa Lively, Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus

11:00  Erin Eades, Rob Lytle

11:30  The Shandies, another artist TBA ?

12:00  Julie Grower, Lucy Isabel

12:30  Tony DiCorpo, Doug Harsch

1:00    Josh Harty, Josh Rose

1:30    Patty & Craig, The Raven & The Remedy

2:00    Beth Bombara

Friday Overnight in Childress/Saxton (Oak/Green) Room

10:30  Two from Texas: Lynn Crossett, Tipps & Obermiller

11:00  A Trio of Duos: Ruth & Max Bloomquist, Dan & Faith, Tom & Barb Webber

12:00  Mixed Bag: Sue Horowitz, Miles & Mafale, Mike Ward

1:00    Chris Farrell, Jim Gary

1:30    Gina Forsyth, Karen Mal & David Stoddard

2:00    Rick Vines, Joshua Vorvick

FARM is one of five North American regional affiliates 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. Although folks from throughout North America attend its annual Gathering, FARM (farmfolk.org) serves Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Manitoba, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Nunavut, Ohio, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The 2026 FARM Gathering is set for October 22-25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. FAR-West and SWRFA held their annual conferences earlier this fall, while NERFA’s is slated for Nov. 6-9 in Albany, New York.

Editor’s Note: In addition to curating and hosting two nights of private showcases, I look forward to sharing information and insights gleaned from my many years as public relations and strategic communications professional, as well as a concert and former festival presenter with conference attendees. I will join Elexa Dawson and Joy Zimmerman as part of a Promoting Your Event panel discussion and will offer a series of one-on-one speed mentoring sessions. A past president of NERFA and former board member of Folk Alliance International, I am excited to be attending my first in-person FARM Gathering.

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

The official showcases take place Friday and Saturday evenings from 7:15-10:15 p.m., with each artist/act performing a 15-minute set. Unplugged guerrilla 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 couple of film screenings and Q & A sessions, several thematic song circles, an open mic, peer group and one-on-one 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.

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. Formed in 2002, 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. SERFA has produced an annual conference since 2008. Its conference’s move to Black Mountain this year marks a return of sorts. Prior to the event’s move to Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2019, it had taken place for eight consecutive years at the Montreat Conference Center, a few miles down the road and also nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted SERFA– like other FAI regional affiliates – to pivot to an online event last year, SERFA in Session: A Virtual Gathering.

Acclaimed Songwriter Thomm Jutz to Deliver Keynote Address

Named Songwriter of the Year in 2021 by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Thomm Jutz (pronounced “Yootz”) has written a number of bluegrass hits and his songs have been recorded by Balsam Range, Nanci Griffith, John Prine, and The SteelDrivers, among others. A native of Germany who has called Nashville home for many years, Jutz toured with such artists as Griffith, Mary Gauthier, David Olney, and Kim Richey; built a recording studio and produced albums for other artists – including Country Music Hall of Famers Bill Anderson and Mac Wiseman. He received a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album in 2020 for To Live in Two Worlds, Volume 1 and is featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame’s American Currents exhibit, which is slated to extend from 2022-2023.

Afternoon Programming Includes Workshops, Film Screenings, Song Circles, Wisdom of the Elders, and More

Nearly 20 workshops and panel discussions will delve into such topics as African-American contributions to Southern Appalachian music and dance, basics of piedmont picking, creating in community: the Jack Hardy Songwriters Exchange method, expanding our folk community, free-range folklore: an introduction to the Music Maker method, getting the gig and being invited back, the magic of collaboration, media coverage and strategy, music off the radar: making money and making a difference, simple measures for drastic guitar playing improvement, social media & fan engagement, songwriter residencies, and trends in folk radio and radio promotion.

Besides the workshops and panel discussions, there will be screenings of two recent music documentaries – The Mountain Minor and Nobody Famous – followed by Q & A sessions, as well as a Wisdom of the Elders session, several thematic song circles (songs of joy, struggle, place, and the environment), and one-on-one mentoring sessions during the afternoons.

The Mountain Minor is an award-winning narrative feature film that provides an authentic and respectful glimpse of Appalachian culture, music and history; of the joys and challenges experienced by the folks who have kept traditional mountain music alive. Loosely based on a true story, the film follows five generations of a family from their roots in eastern Kentucky in 1932 to a stage in Cincinnati, Ohio today as told by a man who yearns to return to his Kentucky home after migrating with his family to southwest Ohio during the Great Depression. Written-and directed by Dale Farmer (himself an old-time musician) and produced by Susan Pepper, a Cincinnati native now based in North Carolina, the film notably features traditional Appalachian musicians in acting roles. Among them are The Tillers, Smithsonian Folkways artist Elizabeth LaPrelle, banjoist and fiddler Dan Gellert, and Pepper herself. Following a series of festival screenings, The Mountain Minor had a limited theatrical run in late 2019-early 2020 due to the pandemic. It has aired on some public television stations and is available for home viewing.

Named Best Documentary in the 2021 New Jersey Film Festival and Best Music Documentary in the Seattle Film Festival earlier this year, Nobody Famous is set against the backdrop of the socially and politically volatile 1960s and traces the quick rise and ready fall of the folk-pop trio Pozo Seco Singers as folk music’s zeitgeist gives way to the heavy rhythm of rock & roll. Nobody Famous features Taylor Pie (Susan Taylor), who helped form the trio with Don Williams in the early 1960s and has been a solo singer-songwriter and musician since it disbanded. As Taylor Pie – then fresh from her first year in college – recounts today, while Williams went on to become one of the most successful country music artists of the 20th century, she shied away from fame and fortune, instead choosing to “go where the folk wind blows” – embracing her own path, her own unique artistry, and her own individual identity in the process.

Dozens of Artists to be Featured in Official and Guerilla Showcases

Following the official showcases (as well as on Thursday overnight), late-night guerilla showcases will take place in various rooms for several hours. AcousticMusicScene.com, which has had a presence at the SERFA Conference since 2011, will host late-night song swaps and a midnight hoot (featuring two-dozen artists/acts – each performing one song) on Thursday, May 12, overnight. The AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot is a pre-arranged, round-robin song swap, a three-plus-hour version of which has been a popular staple at Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conferences since 2007, will feature two-dozen artists/acts – each performing one song. The Midnight Hoot 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 each other’s company and music before the conference really gets into full swing on Friday.

Here’s the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase schedule:

11 p.m. PuffBunny Records Songswarm: Taylor Pie, Nancy K. Dillon,Nicholas Edward Williams

11:30 p.m. Texas!: Andrew Delaney, Claudia Gibson, Scott Martin

12:00 a.m. AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot, Part 1:

(one song each, not necessarily in order of appearance)

Antonio Andrade, Ashley & Simpson, Meg Braun, Matt Burke, Cheryl

Cawood, Emerald Rae, Kala Farnham, Alice Hasen, Lara Herscovitch,

Lucy Isabel, Rob Lytle, Karyn Oliver

1:00 a.m. AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot, Part 2:

(one song each, not necessarily in order of appearance)

Amy & Mike Aiken, Crowes Pasture, Dan & Faith, Paul Helou,

Letters To Abigail, Crys Matthews, Brant Miller, Halley Neal, Sam

Robbins, Hank Stone, Annette Wasilik, Elly Wininger

Editor’s Note: In addition to hosting the AcousticMusicScene.com guerrilla showcase and moderating the Q & A session with Taylor Pie following the screening o the award-winning documentary Nobody Famous that features her, I will be assisting PuffBunny Records (Taylor Pie’s label, for which I handle public relations) with its Friday night guerrilla showcase and an exhibit hall table. I will also again be a mentor offering advice and counsel on various aspects of PR, social media and strategic communications. A board member of Folk Alliance International, I’m a past president of Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) and continue to serve on its board of directors. I have been an active participant at SERFA conferences since 2011.

The official showcases take place Thursday-Saturday evenings from 7:15-10:30 p.m., with each artist/act performing a 15-minute set. In addition, the conference will include late-night guerilla showcases hosted by AcousticMusicScene.com and others from 10:40 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Also on the agenda are daytime informational seminars and workshops, a Wisdom of the Elders session, one-on-one mentoring, The SERFA Awards, two-dozen exhibitors, and plenty of opportunities to learn, share and network.

Conference attendees also can enjoy strolling around the beautiful grounds and hiking along the trails at Montreat. Indeed, Don Baker, president of SERFA’s board of directors expresses hope that attendees “will also get outside to relax and rejuvenate in the bucolic surroundings.” Built-in mid-afternoon breaks in the programming afford conference-goers opportunities to do just that.

SERFA is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org), a nonprofit organization that seeks to nurture, engage and empower the international folk music community – traditional and contemporary, amateur and professional – through education, advocacy and performance. 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 eighth 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 a barbecue, followed by a barn dance and an open mic on Wednesday night, and concludes on Sunday morning with a farewell breakfast.

Here’s a link to a short video that provides an introduction to SERFA and its annual conference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COOjr5I0TkM“>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COOjr5I0TkM

Jim Rooney to Deliver Keynote Address

Jim Rooney will deliver a keynote on Friday afternoon, May 18. A musician, club and festival presenter, recording producer and engineer, author, music publisher, and songwriter, Rooney traces his love for bluegrass back to Massachusetts in the 1950s – when he heard a band called the Confederate Mountaineers on radio station WCOP. Before long, he was on WCOP himself and hooked on performing. While at Amherst, Rooney met Bill Keith, who would be a friend and musical partner for much of the next 60 years. In 1962, they recorded “Devil’s Dream” and “Sailor’s Hornpipe, the first documentation of Bill’s chromatic style shortly before he joined the Blue Grass Boys. Over the years, Rooney and Keith collaborated frequently – including with the Blue Velvet Band, Mud Acres, and in concert tours with many others. Rooney also helped to bring such bluegrass luminaries as Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs to the attention of northern, urban audiences when he managed the legendary Club 47 in Cambridge. He also helped program the Newport Folk Festival, launched the event that evolved into New Orleans’ Jazz & Heritage Festival, and helped build Albert Grossman’s Bearsville Studio. As an author, Rooney penned the first biography of both Bill Monroe and Muddy Waters (Bossman), the first history of the Boston folk scene (Baby Let Me Follow You down, with Erik von Schmidt), and a memoir (In It For the Long Run: A Musical Odyssey). As a producer and studio engineer, he’s worked on projects with Iris DeMent, Don Edwards, Nanci Griffith, Hal Ketchum, Carl Perkins, Peter Rowan, and Ian Tyson, among others. He also helped to build a successful artist-oriented publishing house (Forerunner) with songwriters like Pat Alger, Shawn Camp, Tim O’Brien, and Barry & Holly Tashian turning out a number of country radio chart-hits. Camp and O’Brien also occasionally perform with Rooney at Nashville’s Station Inn as Rooney’s Irregulars.

Rooney, Ginny Hawker & Tracy Schwarz, and Michael Stock to Receive Awards

An Americana Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award and IBMA Distinguished Service Award recipient, Rooney also will be among the recipients of awards from SERFA in recognition of extraordinary contributions to folk music and the folk music community in the Southeast.

Also being honored are traditional folk artists Ginny Hawker & Tracy Schwarz and longtime folk DJ Michael Stock.

Ginny Hawker & Tracy Schwarz are longtime West Virginia residents who have performed traditional folk music separately and together. Since meeting 30 years ago at Ashokan Fiddle and Dance Camp in upstate New York, they have wrapped their songs in stories of the people and places of the music – transporting audiences to another time when life was simpler and families were held close. They have appeared in concert and at festivals throughout the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom and also teach southern traditional singing a several music camps during the summer. Hawker & Schwarz have released two albums together. Hawker, who grew up in rural Virginia as part of large extended family of singers and musicians, has recorded six albums — four of them with Kay Justice. Schwarz, who was born in New York City and grew up in New Jersey and New England, has more than 30 album credits. A multi-instrumentalist and singer, he was part of the New Lost City Ramblers, a vocal and instrumental folk group that helped popularize traditional string band music and introduce urban audiences to southern rural music during the 1960s and 1970s. Schwarz also joined with bandmate Mike Seeger, Alice Gerrard, Hazel Dickens and Lamar Grier – all of whom had been friends since the mid-1950s — to form the Strange Creek Singers in the late 1960s. Named after Strange Creek, WV, the group performed a mix of traditional and original songs in old-time and bluegrass styles.

Michael Stock, one of the 120 people who gathered in Malibu, California in 1989 to form what would become Folk Alliance International, has produced and hosted “Folk & Acoustic Music” every Sunday afternoon since 1981 on public radio station WLRN 91.3 FM in Miami, Florida. The show features a wide range of folk music — from bluegrass, blues and old-time to contemporary singer-songwriter and Americana — along with local and touring artist interviews and in-studio performances. Videos of more than 500 of these may be found on his YouTube channel. Stock also has been a concert promoter, operated a folk nightclub, and hosted folk music programs on cable television.

Workshops and Panel Discussions Organized by Tracks

Some three-dozen 75-minute workshops during the conference will be organized by tracks: Activism, Business for Musicians Media, Performing and Recording, Presenting, Songwriting, and Roots and Sources. Workshops and panel discussions will delve into such topics as the art of community jams and song swaps, the art of record-making, backwoods Appalachian songs and new generations, DIY touring, the folk music community and social responsibility, how to grow your audience, learning from the old songs, music in healing environments, promoting to radio, sharpening the tools in your promotional tool kit, social media, Texas country blues-style guitar, and using music for tourism development. Several workshops will focus on house concerts, while there also will be forums for presenters.

A Wisdom of the Elders session will feature Rooney, Hawker & Schwarz, and award-winning songwriter Billy Edd Wheeler. A West Virginia native, Wheeler has lived in North Carolina since 1963 — apart from a short stint in Nashville managing United Artists Music Group. His songs have been recorded by nearly 100 artists – including Johnny Cash, Judy Collins, Bobby Darin, Elvis, The Kingston Trio, Kenny Rogers, and Neil Young. Among his songs are “Coal Tattoo,” “Coward of the Country,” “Jackson,” “Ode to the Little Brown shack Out Back,” “The Coming of the Roads,” and “The Rev. Mr. Black.” Wheeler also has written a dozen plays (including four outdoor dramas) and penned or co-authored several books of humor – including Laughter in Appalachia, which is now in its 13th printing. He was recently inducted into both the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Association International’s Hall of Fame and is a recipient of Distinguished Alumnus awards from Warren Wilson College and Berea College.

Besides the workshops and panel discussions, there will be one-on-one mentoring sessions, yoga, two-dozen exhibit tables, communal meals, and, of course, a lot of music. Grady Ormsby of Down East Folk Arts will host several open mics that are being dedicated to the memory of singer-songwriter Robert Bobby (Joe Milsom), a frequent conference attendee, who died earlier this year after a battle with brain cancer.

Official and Guerilla Showcases Abound

Slated to present official showcases on Thursday, May 17, are ilyAIMY, James Lee Stanley, Sarah Peacock, Rough & Tumble, The Belle Hollows, Jacob Johnson, Ernest Troost, and Suzie Vinnick. Friday’s official showcase lineup features Alan Barnosky, Jon Byrd, Beth Snapp, Escaping Pavement, Ed Snodderly, Tret Fure, Matthew Sabatella, and Piper Hayes. Saturday’s showcase artists include Louisa Branscomb with Jeanette & Johnny Williams, Rupert Wates, Brian Ashley Jones, Bill and the Belles, Edgar Loudermilk Band (featuring Jeff Autry), Jane Kramer, Greg Klyma, and David Jacobs-Strain and Bob Beach.

To listen to a sampler featuring songs from each of the 24 official showcase artists, click on the following link:

https://noisetrade.com/serfaartists/serfa-showcase-artists-2018

Following the official showcases, late-night guerilla showcases will take place in various meeting rooms between 10:40 p.m. and 2 a.m. AcousticMusicScene.com, which has had a presence at the SERFA Conference for the past seven years, will host late-night showcases on Thursday and Friday, May 17 and 18, overnight. These will primarily take the form of song swaps.

Here’s the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase schedule:

Thursday Night, May 17:

10:40: Friction Farm

11:00: Tennessee: Claudia Nygaard, Erin O’ Dowd and Taylor Pie

11:30: O Canada: Linda McRae, Suzie Vinnick and Noah Zacharin

12:00: Guys of Note: Alan Barnosky, Paul Helou and Chuck McDermott

12:30: Women’s Voices: Kala Farnham, Jane Kramer and Tret Fure

1:00: A Pair of Duos: Dan & Faith and Jubilant Bridge

1:30: Tunes by Todds: Todd Burge and Todd Hoke

10:40:The Belle Hollows

11:00: Marylanders: Domenic Cicala and Teghan Devon (with Emily Matteson)

11:30: Mara Levine, Dennis McDonough and Susan Shann

12:00: Guys of Note: Jacob Johnson and James Lee Stanley

12:30: Women’s Voices: Gina Holsopple, Beth Snapp and Heather Styka

1:00: Keystone Staters: Antonio Andrade and Meghan Cary

1:30: Acoustic Blues: David Jacobs-Strain & Bob Beach, Jon Shain & FJ Ventre and Ruth Wyland

Editor’s Note: Besides hosting AcousticMusicScene.com showcases, I will facilitate and participate in a panel discussion on social media. I will also again be a mentor offering advice and counsel on various aspects of public relations and strategic communications. An elected board member of Folk Alliance International, I also serve as board president for the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA). I have been an active participant at SERFA conferences since 2011.

A regional affiliate 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 seventh 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 a barbecue, followed by a barn dance and an open mic on Wednesday night, and concludes on Sunday morning with a farewell breakfast.

Kathy Mattea to Deliver Keynote Address and Accept an Award

Kathy Mattea, a Grammy Award-winning country/folk artist and activist, will deliver a keynote address during the conference. Although best known for such country music chart topping hits as “18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses,” “Come From the Heart” and “Goin’ Gone,” her 18 albums contain bluegrass, folk, gospel and Celtic influences. Mattea also made major waves in folk circles with her album, Coal, featuring songs about the Appalachian coal-mining culture and celebrated the Appalachian culture of her native West Virginia on her 2012 follow-up recording, Calling Me Home. Mattea has been part of the distinguished teaching staff for the annual Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina each summer. She is married to singer-songwriter Jon Vezner, who penned such hits for her as “Where’ve You Been.”

“There’s nothing more powerful than sitting in a room and sharing music together,” asserts Mattea. “Folk music is about stripping away all the bells and whistles, and celebrating the simplicity and directness of that connection.” She believes “SERFA is important because it helps people who steward live music to connect directly with musicians, and helps those musicians find ways to connect with people who are passionate about keeping live performance… ALIVE!”

Mattea also will be among the recipients of awards from SERFA in recognition of extraordinary contributions to folk music and the folk music community in the Southeast. Also being honored are John McCutcheon and Sundilla Music.

McCutcheon, who was the keynote speaker at a previous SERFA Conference, is one of America’s most revered folksinger-songwriters – perhaps best known for his classic “Christmas in the Trenches.” A multi-instrumentalist who plays a dozen different traditional instruments, he has been performing and recording since the mid-1970s. His latest album, Trolling for Dreams, topped the folk radio charts in January. A longtime labor and social activist, McCutcheon also was a founder and leader of Local 1000, the traveling acoustic musicians local of the American Federation of Musicians.

Sundilla Music is an Auburn, Alabama-based nonprofit cultural organization that presents The Sundilla Concert Series and, along with Troy Public Radio, The Sundilla Radio Hour. Launched in 1993, the acoustic concert series’ motto is “We’re a great place on the way somewhere else,” and its 12 concerts a year feature professional touring musicians from outside the area. The weekly hour-long radio program, which premiered on Troy Public Radio in March 2013, now airs on several radio stations and also is available as podcast via iTunes and other platforms. Hosted by Kelly Walker, the program features music and conversation with independent contemporary folk musicians.

Workshops and Panel Discussions Organized by Tracks

Some three-dozen 75-minute workshops during the conference will be organized by tracks: Activism, Business for Performing artists, Performing and Recording, Presenting, Songwriting, and Trad. Workshops and panel discussions will delve into such topics as The Art and Craft of Home Recording, Blues in Open Tunings, Can Music Change the World?, Creating Successful Tours, Creating Your Own Brand, How to Elicit Audience Participation, Marketing Your Music to Folk Radio, Music for Film and Television, Sharing Best Practices for Presenters, Sponsorship and Grants for Events, Videos: How and Why, Women as Tradition Bearers, Writing Songs On Purpose, and Writing Strong Bios and News Releases. Rain Perry, a singer-songwriter and independent filmmaker, will screen her new documentary about the music business, entitled The Shopkeeper, and will engage in a question and answer session following it.

A Wisdom of the Elders session will feature Reggie Harris, Doug Orr and Patrick Sky. An artist, educator and activist, Harris seeks to convey messages of joy, unity, tolerance and peace through music that is steeped in the tradition of Africa-American spirituals, folk, gospel, rock, and songs of civil and human rights. Orr, president emeritus of nearby Warren Wilson College, founded the Swannanoa Gathering that takes place there annually. He also is the co-author (with Scotland’s Fiona Ritchie) of Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia, a 2014 New York Times best seller. Sky, who was part of the folk scene centered around New York City’s Greenwich Village during the early 1960s, later embraced Irish music, established the noted Green Linnet Records label, and became an acclaimed uilleann piper and pipe maker.

Official and Guerilla Showcases Abound

A number of artists have been selected by a panel of judges to present official showcases on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 7:15-10:15 p.m. Slated to perform on Thursday are Friction Farm, Andy Ferrell, Rebecca Wudarski, Johnsmith, Ordinary Elephant, Scott Cook, John Sherman & Randy Clepper, and Sultans of String. Friday’s official showcase lineup features Sarah Clanton, Noah Zacharin, Hoot and Holler, Reggie Harris, Al Petteway, Anne McCue, Lyal Strickland, and Lauren Sheehan. Saturday’s showcase artists include The Levins, Mare Wakefield and Nomad, Josh Harty, Mean Mary, Bill Mize, Rebecca Folsom, MSG Acoustic Blues Trio, and Blue Yonder. These artists were chosen from among nearly 150 applicants.

The official Showcases are open to the public for $15 each night or $30 for all three nights. Tickets will be available at the door at Convocation Hall, located inside the Assembly Inn at Montreat Conference Center.

Following the official showcases, late-night guerilla showcases will take place in various meeting rooms between 10:40 p.m. and 2 a.m. AcousticMusicScene.com, which has had a presence at the SERFA Conference for the past six years, will host late-night showcases on Thursday and Friday, May 18 and 19, overnight. These will take the form of song swaps.

Here’s the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase schedule:

Thursday Night, May 18:

10:40: Steve Brooks, Jefferson Ross, Lyal Strickland, Dennis Warner

11:30: Antonio Andrade, Scott Cook, Gina Holsopple

12:00: Dan & Faith, Max & Ruth Bloomquist

12:30: Tony Denikos, Karyn Oliver, Letitia VanSant

1:00: Bruce Michael Miller Anna p.s., Laura Zucker

1:30: Mike & Amy Aiken, Eugene Tyler Band

Friday Night, May 19:

10:40: Nashville Cats: Wyatt Easterling, Sarah Lois Richards, Priscilla Sanders, Susan Shann

11:30: Leah Kaufman, Isabel Taylor

12:00: I’m From New Jersey: Diane Perry, John Sonntag

12:30: Reggie Harris, Mara Levine

1:00: New York Duos: The Levins, The YaYas

1:30: Acoustic Blues: Ann McCue, M.S.G. Acoustic Blues Trio, Jon Shain & FJ Ventre

Editor’s Note: In addition to hosting AcousticMusicScene.com showcases, I will be part of workshop- panel discussions on artist bios and news releases and booking and management. I will also again be a mentor offering advice and counsel on various aspects of public relations and strategic communications. An elected board member of Folk Alliance International, I also serve as board president for the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA).

A regional affiliate 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 sixth 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 a barbecue, followed by a barn dance and an open mic on Wednesday night, and concludes on Sunday morning with a farewell breakfast.

Peggy Seeger is Conference Keynoter

Others to be honored for their contributions to music and culture in the Southeast include Jim Magill. founding director of the Swannanoa Gathering and outgoing SERFA board member, Jennifer Pickering, founding and current executive director of LEAF Community Arts, and Phil Jamison, who has dedicated more than 40 years to calling and researching dance.

Workshops Organized by Tracks; Controversial HB2 Legislation to be Discussed

A number of 75-minute workshops during the conference will be organized by tracks: Business, Dance, Motivational/The Road, Performance/Accompaniment, Promotion/Gigs, Recording and Songwriting. Seeger will lead one entitled Songwriting – Those Controversial Issues.

Controversy has swirled around the state of North Carolina of late with the recent passage and signing into law of the Public Facilities and Private Security Act, HB2, which discriminates against people based on sexual orientation and gender status. The SERFA board of directors recently unanimously adopted a statement that reads in part: “The backroom politics that created and passed HB2 is a blight on the face of North Carolina, and SERFA is proud to stand with the majority of not only North Carolina citizens, but the American people in general, businesses, artists and religious leaders who are advocates of equal rights for all, and against HB2. SERFA will continue to welcome all regardless of sexual preference, identity or gender, without regard to religion, nationality or race. We encourage unity and decry legislation that fosters discrimination, prejudice and fear.” During the conference, activist singer-songwriters Tret Fure and Si Kahn will facilitate discussions on Collaborative Songwriting: Writing a Social Justice Song Against HB2 and Local Voices for Justice: SERFA and HB2.

Besides the workshops and panel discussions, there will be a house concert presenters peer group meeting, yoga sessions led by singer-songwriter Caroline Cotter, communal meals, and, of course, a lot of music.

Official and Guerilla Showcases Abound

A number of artists have been selected by a panel of judges to present official showcases on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 7:15-10:30 p.m. Slated to perform on Thursday are Si Kahn, Sam Gleaves, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, Bruce Michael Miller, Tish Hinojosa, Martyn Joseph, Christie Lenee, BettySoo and Victor & Penny. Friday’s official showcase lineup features No Fuss and Feathers, Lipbone Redding, Kirsten Maxwell, Lyal Strickland, Jon Shain & FJ Ventre, The Gather Rounders, Clint Alphin, Letters to Abigail and Rebecca Loebe. Saturday’s showcase artists include Mark Mandeville and Raianne Richards, David Roth, Gene and Gayla Mills, Ian Foster, Bob Sinclair and the Big Deals, Lowell Levinger – Banana from the Youngbloods, Dave Curley and Mari Black World Fiddle Ensemble. Persons not registered for the conference can attend these showcases on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for $12 each night or $25 for all three nights.

Following the official showcases, late-night guerilla showcases will take place in various meeting rooms between 10:40 p.m. and 2 a.m. AcousticMusicScene.com, which has had a presence at the SERFA Conference for the past five years, will host late-night showcases on Thursday and Friday, May 19 and 20, overnight. These will take the form of song swaps.

Here’s the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase schedule:

Thursday Night, May 19:

10:40 Mass. Appeal: Dan & Faith, Rob Lytle, Mark Mandeville & Raianne Richards, Steven Pelland

11:30 Women’s Voices: Meg Braun, Caroline Cotter, Judy Kass

12:00 A Trio of Duos: Fraser & Girard, Victor & Penny, The YaYas

12:30 Young Folk: Erika Kulnys, Kirsten Maxwell, Mike Tedesco

1:00 Strings & Songs: Dave Curley, Eric Lee, Kristin Rebecca

1:30 Last Round: Lorraine Conard, Karyn Oliver, Jeff Talmadge

Friday Night, May 20:

10:40 O Canada: Bob Ardern, Shawna Caspi, Ian Foster, Suzie Vinnick (with Cheryl Prashker on percussion)

11:30 NY/NJ Artists: Robin Greenstein, Mara Levine, Dennis McDoNoUgh!

12:00 Carolina Guys: Eric Bannan, Wes Collins, Todd Hoke

12:30 Austin Songwriters: BettySoo, Steve Brooks, Tom Meny

1:15 Nashville Cats: Clint Alphin, Anne E. DeChant, Claudia Nygaard, Becky Warren

Also during the conference, a number of artists will visit a local elementary school to share songs with youngsters and give them a chance to play instruments and learn about the various types of folk instruments and the styles of music they create.

SERFA conference programming is designed to afford participants opportunities to have some downtime, meet other attendees in informal situations such as meals and impromptu jams and even take naps, yet still get a lot out of it, said Estrin. “Last year, many commented on how refreshed and energized they felt leaving SERFA, which was one of our goals.”

Editor’s Note: In addition to hosting an AcousticMusicScene.com showcase, I will be part of two workshop panel discussions in the Promotion/Gigs track: Making Technology Work for You – Creating an Internet Identity, and Music Journalism – What Makes You Interesting. I will also again be a mentor offering advice and counsel on public relations, strategic communications, artist bios and one-sheets, website content and social media, and other topics of interest to performing artists and presenters. I am a Folk Alliance International board member and also serve as vice president of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) board of directors.

More than 800 performing artists, presenters, promoters, agents and managers, folk DJs and others actively engaged in contemporary and traditional folk music will converge on the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, New York, Nov. 13-16, 2014, for the 20th Annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference. AcousticMusicScene.com will again have a major presence as it hosts afternoon and late-night song swaps, in addition to its popular Midnight Hoot at the close of the conference’s first day.

The NERFA Conference will feature several jam-packed days and nights of music showcases, open mics, song swaps and informal jam sessions, informative panel discussions and workshops, a keynote by acclaimed composer and multi-instrumentalist David Amram, one-on-one and group mentoring sessions, a large trade show-like exhibit hall, tasty communal meals in the dining room, a welcoming party and happy hours, and lots of informal conversation and networking.

Booking gigs may be the primary objective of some performers who attend the NERFA Conference, and many presenters and folk DJs do scout out new artists and those whom they have not previously heard and seen in live performance. However, the conference experience is much more than that; it’s really about forging connections, building community, and attending workshops and seminars to learn about options to further careers, promote the music, and attract audiences and listeners.

Taking center stage during this year’s conference will be 15 artists/acts selected by a panel of judges, with each to perform a 15-minute formal showcase set in the resort’s theater on Friday and Saturday nights. Slated to perform on Friday are Bobtown, Claudia Schmidt, Cassie & Maggie MacDonald, Guy Mendilow Ensemble, Harpeth Rising, Dave Gunning, and David Jacobs-Strain. Saturday’s Formal Showcase lineup features Shtreimi & Ismail Fencioglu, SONiA disappear fear, Modern Man, Burning Bridget Cleary, No Fuss & Feathers Roadshow, Jory Nash, The Don Juans, and Tim Grimm Band.

After the formal showcases, attendees will shuffle between four conference rooms to catch short sets by 40 additional artists who were selected by a different set of judges. Performing in Quad Showcases on Friday night are Kristin Andreassen, Brothers McCann, Ellen Bukstel, Bumper Jacksons, Kate Callahan, Roger Street Friedman, Connor Garvey, Loretta Hagen, Phil Henry, Lara Herscovitch, JEWMONGOUS, Libby Koch, Mara Levine, Lords of Liechtenstein, Lois Morton, Hannah Shira Naiman, Jeff Scroggins & Colorado, Scott Wolfson & Other Heroes, and Young Novelists. Saturday’s Quad Showcase artists include Beaucoup Blue, Nancy Beaudette, Jeff Black, Chasing June, RJ Cowdery, Doll Sisters, Driftwood, Folk Goddesses, Matt Harlan, Jesse Stuart Few, Mark Mandeville & Raianne Richards, Matt Nakoa, No Good Sister, Rose Sheehan & Colin de la Barre, John Sherman & Randy Clepper, Lyal Strickland, Jesse Terry, Ernest Troost, and Victor & Penny.

Following the juried showcases each evening (as well as during the afternoons), AcousticMusicScene.com will join dozens of presenters, performers and others in hosting guerilla showcases in their hotel rooms that extend through the early morning hours. Open mics, informal jam sessions, private showcases, thematic song circles and round-robin song swaps round out the musical mix. It’s not unusual to see musicians staking out other areas of the hotel and jamming until 4 or 5 a.m.

AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot Features Artists and Singing Folk DJs

An overflow crowd will likely again descend on the AcousticMusicScene.com room (1506) on Thursday overnight for its popular Midnight Hoot. Following the Suzi Wollenberg Folk DJ Showcase and extending from 11:45 p.m. to 3 a.m., the AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot is a pre-arranged, round-robin song swap featuring several singing folk DJs (Barbara and Graham Dean, Wanda Fischer and Jon Stein) and some three-dozen of artists/acts – each of whom will perform one song.

Now in its eighth year, the Midnight Hoot is intended to shine a spotlight on several folk DJs who also enjoy singing, while providing them, presenters and others with an opportunity to get a small sampling of the music of a lot of artists in a short period of time. It also enables artists to enjoy each other’s company and music before the conference really gets into full swing on Friday (although since increasingly more people have been arriving on Thursday, some intensive workshops will take place that afternoon).

A house band comprised of David Buskin (keyboards), Mark Dann (bass) and Marshal Rosenberg (percussion) also will be there for anyone who desires accompaniment.

Schedules for the AcousticMusicScene.com showcases appear below. Craft beers and wine are being graciously provided by Blue Point Brewing Company (Patchogue, NY) and Clovis Point (a boutique winery on Long Island’s North Fork).

Thursday Night 11:45 p.m. – 3 a.m.

AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot

Featuring one song by each of the following (not listed in order of appearance)

Folk DJs: Graham & Barbara Dean, Wanda Fischer and Jon Stein

Artists: Annika, Robert Sarazin Blake, Robert Bruey, Ellen Bukstel, Burning Bridget Cleary, Dan and Faith, Gathering Time, Marci Geller, Generations: Mike & Aleksi Glick, Rick Gottlieb, Loretta Hagen, Christopher Mark Jones, Stuart Kabak, Susan Kane, Judy Kass, Savannah King, Terry Kitchen, Libby Koch, Mara Levine, Bernice Lewis, Rob Lytle, Lois Morton, Zoe Mulford, Jory Nash, Aaron Nathans, Dan Navarro, Hugh O’ Doherty, Karyn Oliver, Amanda Pearcy, Glen Roethel, Elaine Romanelli, Jeff Scroggins and Colorado, Sorcha Cribben-Merrill, Hank Stone, Chuck Williams

House Band: David Buskin (keyboards), Mark Dann (bass), Marshal Rosenberg (percussion)

Friday Afternoon

12:15 Lower Hudson Valley Songsters: Susan Kane, Judy Kass, Glen Roethel
12:45 I’m From New Jersey: Christine DeLeon, Loretta Hagen, Kathy Moser, John
Sonntag
1:30 Brooklyn in da House: The Lords of Liechtenstein, Alex Mallett, Matt Nakoa
2:00 Texas Troubadours: Matt Harlan, Libby Koch & Amanda Pearcy
2:30 Long Island Sounds: He-Bird, She-Bird, Hank Stone, The Folk Goddesses
3:15 Long Island Sounds: Robert Bruey, Jerry DeMeo, Gathering Time, Rorie Kelly

Friday Night

11:45 Dan Navarro

12:00 Funny Folk: JEWMONGOUS featuring Sean Altman, Mark Berube, Lois Morton

12:30 Harmonic Convergence: Gathering Time, Mara Levine, Jeff Scroggins & Colorado

1:00 The Wisch List: Robert Bruey, Jenai Huff, Eugene Ruffolo
1:30 Folk You Should Know: Kristin Andreassen, Rob Lytle, Teresa Storch

2:00 Mass. Appeal: Brothers McCann, Danielle Miraglia, Pesky J. Nixon

Saturday Afternoon

1:45 Pirate Camp: Monty Delaney, Laura Joy, Stuart Kabak, Mike Laureanno

2:30: Salty Songs & Sailor Slang: Stuart Markus & Robin Greenstein

2:45 Pirate Camp Part II: Mya Byrne, Elaine Romanelli, Hank Stone, Jesse Terry

3:30 New Englanders of Note: Marc Douglas Berardo. Heather Pierson, The Boxcar Lilies

Saturday Evening

11:45 Burning Bridget Cleary

12:00 Funny Folk II: Modern Man and Lois Morton

12:30 POSItively Good Music: Freebo, Glen Roethel, David Roth

1:00 CT State Troubadours: Kristen Graves and Lara Herscovitch

1:30 Folk You Should Know: Friction Farm, Robinson Treacher, Laura Zucker

2:00 O’ Canada: Shawna Caspi, Irish Mythen, Young Novelists: Graydon James & Laura Spink, Cassie & Maggie MacDonald, Manitoba Hal, Jory Nash, David Newland, Cheryl Prashker

NERFA (www.nerfa.org) is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International, an association that seeks to foster and promote contemporary, traditional and multicultural folk music.

Editor’s Note: My thanks to Stuart Kabak, with whom I partner in hosting late-night song swaps and open circles under the AcousticMusicScene.com Tent @ Pirate Camp during the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, for providing a carpeted wooden platform stage and stage lights for this year’s AcousticMusicScene.com showcases. Thanks also are due to him and fellow singer-songwriters Glen Roethel and Hank Stone for graciously offering to host afternoon showcases, and to Amy Blake, Sybil Moser and Gary Schoenberger for the loan of folding chairs.

In addition to hosting the AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot and other showcases during the NERFA Conference, I will be participating in a panel discussion on social media and offering some group mentoring sessions focused on artist bios and one-sheets, electronic press kits (EPKs), media relations, social media, website content, and what presenters look for when considering artists for their concert series and festivals. I also serve on the board of directors for both Folk Alliance International and NERFA.