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 panel of judges comprised of A & R managers, producers and publishers will evaluate entries based on music performance, production, originality, lyrics, melody and composition. In addition to valuable products and services, the winners and top runners-up in each category will be featured on a compilation CD that is distributed to radio stations, among others. The entry deadline is November 7.

Previous grand-prize winners include Kelley James, AJ Croce, Maddy Rodriguez, David Francey, Liz Longley, The Refugees, and UK-based singer-songwriter Charlie Dore.

To enter the competition, artists are required to submit a CD containing one song and a lyric sheet (except in the Instrumental category). Alternatively, people may enter online with either MP3 files, Soundcloud or YouTube videos. There is no limit to the number of songs and categories an individual or group may enter, however all songs submitted must be original. There’s a $35 fee per entry. For more information and entry forms, log-on to www.inacoustic.com.

The son of the late troubadour Jim Croce, A.J. Croce is an artist with eclectic musical tastes. Initially a jazz-influenced blues-based artist with a New Orleans piano style, Croce was signed to his first record deal at age 19 and recorded two albums for Private Music. He has since evolved into so much more than that, embracing and incorporating a number of musical styles into his repertoire — ranging from art rock to Americana roots and beyond. An accomplished pianist, who also plays the guitar, Croce has recorded eight albums since 1993. He has appeared on such television shows as “Austin City Limits,” “CBS This Morning,” “Good Morning America,” and the David Letterman, Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien late night shows. After spending three years in Nashville, where he was engaged in co-writing songs for other artists, Croce returned home to California and began writing for himself again. A new album entitled Twelve Tales is slated for release later this year.

Fellow California-based singer-songwriter Joel Rafael was named first-place winner in the Folk/Roots/Americana category for “Dance Around My Atom Fire,” a co-write with Woody Guthrie that is the opening track on America Come Home, his eighth album.

The International Acoustic Music Awards competition promotes excellence in acoustic music performance and artistry. Awards were announced in eight categories. In addition to Croce and Rafael (a past Kerrville New Folk winner who also serves on the board of directors of Folk Alliance International), first-place winners include Berteal (Best Group/Duo) for “How I Wanna Be;” Kat Parsons (Best Female Artist) for “Love Changes Everything;” Wes Carr (Best Male Artist) for “Blood and Bone;” The Unseen Strangers (Country/Bluegrass) for “Rambler’s Plea;” Loren Barringer & Mark Mazengarb (Instrumental) for “Onward;” and Mayu Wakisaka of Japan (Open Genre) for “Once.”

Chris Volpe was named Runner-up in Folk/Americana/Roots category for “World Isn’t Worth It.” Finalists included Harpeth Rising for “Nowhereland, “Janus Fiddle and The Majority for “Belle de Louisville,” Juke Joint Johnny Rizzo for “Going to Mississippi,” J.W. McClure for “The Reaper,” Terry McLeish for “Auction in Westmeath,” Sarah Morgan for “Hard Times,” Suzie Vinnick for “Save Me for Later,” and Claire Wyndham for “Ordinary Words.”

A panel of music industry judges evaluated entries based on music performance, production, originality, lyrics, melody and composition. In addition to valuable products and services, the winners and top runners-up in each category will be featured on a compilation CD that is distributed to radio stations.

A panel of judges comprised of established artists, A & R representatives, and other music industry professionals will evaluate entries (of which there were nearly 12,000 last year) based on music performance, production, originality, lyrics, melody and composition. In addition to valuable products and services, the winners and top runners-up in each category will be featured on a compilation CD that is distributed to radio stations. Although the entry deadline is Nov. 9, the first 1,000 entrants by Sept. 28 will receive a free compilation CD.

Maddy Rodriguez, an 18-year-old Canadian country-pop singer-songwriter, was the overall grand prize winner in this year’s IAMA competition. Previous winners include fellow Canadian David Francey (2011), Liz Longley (2010), The Refugees (2009), and UK-based singer-songwriter Charlie Dore (2008).

To enter the competition, artists are required to submit a CD containing one song and a lyric sheet (except in the Instrumental category), along with a $35 fee per entry. There is no limit to the number of songs and categories an individual or group may enter. For more information and entry forms, log-on to www.inacoustic.com.

A prolific singer-songwriter, Cockburn received his 14th Juno for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year – Solo for Small Source of Comfort, his 31st studio release. Other nominees for the award included Craig Cardiff, David Francey, Dave Gunning and Lindi Ortega. Last December, Cockburn received awards for Contemporary Album and Solo Artist of the Year during the 2011 Canadian Folk Music Awards.

Toronto-based indie-pop chanteuse Feist snagged the Artist of the Year award, while Vancouver-based folk-popster Dan Mangan was named New Artist of the Year and captured the Alternative Album of the Year award for Oh Fortune.

The International Acoustic Music Awards competition promotes excellence in acoustic music performance and artistry. Awards were announced in eight categories. First-place winners and runners-up include:

Best Group/Duo
First Prize: “Bird Song” – The Wailin Jennys
Runner-up: “All This Time” – The Village Musicians, AKA: Village

Best Male Artist
First Prize: “What Am I Doing Here” – Ian Sherwood
Runner-up: “Escape Artist” – Patrick Joseph

Best Female Artist
First Prize: “Vimy Ridge” – Lizzy Hoyt
Runner-up: “Angel” – Imaaji Phenoon

AAA/Alternative
First Prize: “You Let Me Be – Melissa Ferrick
Runner-up: “Joe Barry” – Jayme Dawicki

Country/Bluegrass
First Prize: All The Wasted Time” – Maddy Rodriguez
Runner-up: Rambler’s Song – Monroeville

Folk
First Prize: “Chasing A Dream” – William Michael Dillon
Runner-up: “The Garden” – Ruth Moody

Instrumental
First Prize: “Autumn Roads” – Doug Young
Runner-up: “Portlandia” – Tony Furtado

Acoustic Open Genre
First Prize: “Spring” – Caleb McGinn
Runner-up: “Save Me” – Arlene Bishop

Nearly 12,000 entries were evaluated by a panel of music industry judges based on music performance, production, originality, lyrics, melody and composition. In addition to valuable products and services, the winners and top runners-up in each category will be featured on a compilation CD that is distributed to radio stations. Visit http://www.inacoustic.com for more information.

A panel of judges comprised of established artists, A & R representatives, and other music industry professionals will evaluate entries based on music performance, production, originality, lyrics, melody and composition. In addition to valuable products and services, the winners and top runners-up in each category will be featured on a compilation CD that is distributed to radio stations. The first 1,000 entrants by Sept. 9 will receive a free gift. The final deadline is November 9. There is a $35 entry fee.

David Francey was the overall grand prize winner in this year’s International Acoustic Music Awards competition. One of Canada’s most revered singer-songwriters, Francey also captured first place in the competition’s Folk category for “The Waking Hour.” Previous winners include Liz Longley (2010), The Refugees (2009) and UK-based singer-songwriter Charlie Dore (2008).

To enter the competition, artists are required to submit a CD containing one song and a lyric sheet (except in the Instrumental category) along with a $35 fee per entry. There is no limit to the number of songs and categories an individual or group may enter. For more information and entry forms, log-on to www.inacoustic.com/.

The International Acoustic Music Awards competition promotes excellence in acoustic music performance and artistry. Awards were announced in eight categories. In addition to Francey, first-place winners included Joachim Nordensson & Brooke Wandler (Best Group/Duo) for “I Was With You;” Roland Albertson (Best Male Artist) for “Broken;” Kelly Zullo (Best Female Artist) for “Firecracker;” Horseshoe Road (Country/Bluegrass) for “We Don’t Smell the Home Fires Anymore;” Luke Doucet & The White Falcon (AAA/Alternative) for “Thinking People;” Laura Hoover (Acoustic Open Genre) for “The Most Beautiful Fear;” and Tim Farrell (Instrumental) for “Rosewood Alley.”

A panel of music industry judges evaluated entries based on music performance, production, originality, lyrics, melody and composition. In addition to valuable products and services, the winners and top runners-up in each category will be featured on a compilation CD that is distributed to radio stations.