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

NERFA (nerfa.org) is one of five North American regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International, a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion — and the only one to host its annual conference both in-person and online this year. Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA) and Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM) held in-person conferences in September and October, respectively, while Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) held its 2022 conference in the spring and Folk Alliance Region-West opted not to host one this year.

As in years past, the NERFA conference will feature several jam-packed days and nights of music showcases, song swaps and jam sessions; open mics; one-on-one mentoring and peer group sessions; an exhibit hall; keynote speakers, awards; a community meeting; an open-sing; and lots of informal conversation and networking. The conference is designed to help attendees forge connections and build community, while also providing learning and performance opportunities that can help enhance their professional and personal lives.

Unlike previous NERFA conferences, all of the events will not take place in one location. While the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel will be home to much of the in-person conference, Formal Showcases will be held at The Stone Pony — a venerable music club located just a few minutes away from it. NERFA Awards will also be presented there, as will two of the conference’s three nightly keynote addresses.

Artists Showcase Their Talents at The Stone Pony, the Host Hotel and Online

The juried formal showcases are considered the premiere performance opportunity during the conference. From among hundreds of submissions, 20 artists/acts were chosen to perform in-person at The Stone Pony, while another 20 were awarded virtual showcase opportunities. All will be streamed online for virtual ticket holders, while Saturday’s in-person formal showcases also are open to the public for $15 plus a service fee in advance via nerfaconference.org/tickets/ or $20 at the venue.

Virtual formal showcasing performers – each of whom submitted a pre-recorded live video – include Deidre McCalla, Emily Drinker, Genevieve Racette, Greg Greenway, ilyAIMY, Joshua Garcia, Justin Farren, Kray Van Kirk, Larry & Joe, Madison Violet, Natalie Price, Palmyra, Peter Calo, Rachael Sage, Rupert Wates, Sam Robbins, Shanna in a Dress, Taylor Abrahamse, and Travis Knapp. In addition to being screened online, all 20 virtual formal showcases will be presented on-site via a theater-sized video wall in the exhibit hall that will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.

Conference attendees will also have the opportunity to enjoy a Saturday afternoon showcase presented by Folk Music Ontario and the opening night’s Suzi Wollenberg Folk DJ Showcase that will feature short performances by seven artists/acts selected by folk DJs, along with a keynote address by Sarah Craig, executive director of Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY — America’s longest continuously operating folk club. Following the juried and folk DJ showcases each evening, a number of private showcases curated by conference attendees will be held in various hotel rooms from 10 p.m. through the early morning hours on Thursday-Saturday overnight. Some hosts may also livestream their in-person showcases, while others are hosting virtual showcases.

Panel Discussions and Workshops Explore a Variety of Topics

The conference’s programming committee has created a streamlined array of 60-90 minute panel discussions and workshops. These include “Artists & Presenters: Safe Expectations & Boundaries,” “Blurring the Boarder: Do’s, Don’ts and Musts to Ensure a Successful Crossing,” “Bringing Your Venue Online,” “Coming Back from Quarantine – House Concert Edition,” “A Crash Course in Cutting the Cord & Becoming a Full-Time Musician,” “The Current State of Marketing Yourself,” “Defining Success in Your Career,” “Editing Videos for Fun and Profit,” “Export Ready – Preparing Yourself for a New Marketplace,” “How to Return from the Pandemic Stronger,” “How to Seize Financial Opportunities,” “The Ins & Outs of Co-writing,” “Keep the Story Going (The Lifecycle of a Song),” “Lifecycle of Record Production & Release,” “The Reality of Touring for Working Artists,” and “Recording Remotely.”

David Amram (“the renaissance man of American music”) and Vance Gilbert (a veteran touring singer-songwriter and past keynote speaker) will conduct performance critique sessions, while Jean Rohe and acclaimed singer-songwriter Dar Williams present songwriting workshops. Ron Olesko (a veteran folk DJ and the creator & curator of Folk Music Notebook) moderates a Wisdom of the Elders panel discussion featuring Kari Estrin (a radio promoter and artist development & career consultant), Mitch Greenhiill (a musician, composer, producer, and president of the music agency FLiArtists) and Biff Kennedy (an artist manager and radio promoter).

Virtual Tickets Enabling Online Access to the Conference for 30 or 365 Days are Still Available for Purchase

Virtual tickets that afford you online access to all official virtual conference programming (including live-streamed panel discussions and workshops, formal showcases and keynotes, as well as virtual private showcases) for 30/365 days following the conference are available for $35/$50 plus service fees at nerfaconference.org/tickets/.

Designed “to accommodate the need to engage, promote and entertain,” the online event kicks off on Thursday night, May 20 with a Roots of the Southeast Show & Tell Party, followed by a Wisdom of the Elders panel discussion moderated by Art Menius and the first of two open mics hosted by Grady Ormsby.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier keynotes the online event on Saturday night, May 22. Initially slated to keynote last year’s conference that was cancelled due to the pandemic, she is expected to share her experiences connecting with front-line doctors and nurses who worked in COVID units over the past year and to talk about the forthcoming publication of her new book, Saved By a Song. A question and answer session will follow.

Louisa Branscomb (a songwriter and pioneering female bluegrass musician), William Ferris (a folklorist, filmmaker and current chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities), Barry Poss (founder of Sugar Hill Records), and Eddie Lynn Snodderly (a songwriter and presenter) will engage in conversation during the Wisdom of the Elders session moderated by Art Menius.

SERFA Conversations will afford folks an opportunity to discuss what the folk community and music business professionals are thinking and planning for moving forward after the ongoing pandemic subsides. Topics include Venues are Reopening – Will You Go and Post-COVID, What Do You Want Back In Your Life? What Are the New Options?

The annual SERFA Awards — established by Kari Estrin (the organization’s founding president) to recognize people, organizations and businesses that have made extraordinary contributions to folk music and the folk community in the Southeast –will be presented to Ferris, David (a musician and public television show host), Poss, and Snodderly.

And, of course, there will be plenty of music. In addition to the two virtual open mics, for which people may sign up in advance, virtual guerilla showcases will provide artists who register for the conference opportunities to perform live on the streaming platform of their choice for a $15 per- session fee.

SERFA In Session also will feature participatory Roots of the Southeast Show & Tell Party and a virtual exhibit hall. Abby Parks, a folk DJ and SERFA’s board president, will lead the organization’s short annual general business meeting that precedes the keynote.

Registration for the conference, which provides full access to all of the online activities, is available on a tiered fee scale. Visit https://serfa.org to register and for more information on the conference (including a schedule).

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. Prior to the pandemic, SERFA had hosted an annual weekend of contemporary and traditional folk music, networking and learning opportunities for 13 consecutive years.

Editor’s Note: An elected board member of Folk Alliance International and immediate past president of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance board of directors, I have been an active participant at SERFA conferences since 2011 –- hosting guerilla showcases, mentoring, and serving as a panelist.

The newest of the five regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International, SERFA (www.serfa.org) seeks 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 fifth consecutive year that it is being held at the same location — a beautiful and tranquil spot nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

“SERFA provides an annual gathering, a place to gather each year at the same time and often at the same place to connect and reconnect, to celebrate and mourn, to feel that special sense of community and solidarity, of mutual concern and respect, that those who practice a trade, a craft, an art recognize in each other,” says Si Kahn, a renowned folksinger, songwriter, author and community activist who will have a major presence this year. He describes the conference as “a family reunion that reminds us we are not alone, that we have not just a common trade, but a common purpose; and that together we can raise our voices not just in song, but in the hope of a better, kinder and more just world.”

The conference opens with lunch on Thursday, followed by an opening reception, workshops, group mentor sessions, dinner, three-hours of official showcases and nearly three-and-one-half-hours of late-night guerilla showcases. It concludes on Sunday morning with breakfast and SERFA’s annual general meeting. For those opting to arrive early for the conference, there also will be a buffet dinner, a one-woman show: Precious Memories by Kahn and featuring Sue Massek, and a two-hour informal open mic on Wednesday evening, May 13.

Honoring Folks for Outstanding Contributions to Music and Culture in the Southeast

Special guests at this year’s conference include Kahn, Alice Gerrard and the founders of Rounder Records (Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin, Marian Leighton Levy) – all of whom will share the second annual Kari Estrin Founding President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Music and Culture in the Southeast, to be presented on Friday afternoon. In addition, they will take part in a 90-minute “Wisdom of the Elders” panel discussion moderated by Art Menius on Saturday.

Gerrard is one of the pioneering women in bluegrass and old-time music. Rounder Records, a leading American roots music label founded in 1970 and acquired by the Concord Music Group in 2010, has released more than 3,000 albums in such genres as bluegrass, Americana, Cajun and Zydeco, folk, singer-songwriter, and children’s music. Rounder also has been in the forefront of the preservation and re-release of historic recordings by the likes of Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, and Mississippi John Hurt, as well as a number of anthologies from the Library of Congress and the Alan Lomax Collection.

(The inaugural award was presented last year to The Highlander Research and Education Center, which serves as a catalyst for grassroots organizing and movement building in Appalachia and the South and integrates music with social change.)

“That’s very similar to what SERFA has done. It’s become a place where musicians who are just starting out can connect as equals with artists who, like Alice Gerrard, have been working at this time-honored trade for 60 years a and more.”

Kahn also will lead a “Music Can Make a Difference” workshop and participate in a “Theater for Folk Musicians” workshop during the conference. Singer-songwriter Tish Hinojosa will speak on “From Major to Indie;” Tim Grimm and Jim Photoglo will conduct songwriting workshops; and Cosy Sheridan will lead a performance master class. Graphic design and imaging, harmony, “The Herstory of Oppression and Resistance in Appalachia,” international touring, performance rights organizations (PROs), and sound are among the other workshop topics. A series of group and one-on-one mentoring sessions also are on the conference agenda, as are participatory instrumental and dance clinics.

Artists to Showcase Their Talents on Thursday, Friday and Saturday Nights

The following artists and bands present official showcases on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights following dinner: The Barrel Jumpers, Bobtown, Mary Bragg, Shawna Caspi, The Early Mays, Angela Easterling, Wyatt Easterling, Kala Farnham, Tim Grimm, Tish Hinojosa, Kaia Kater, Paddy Mills, Danielle Miraglia, The Misty Mountain String Band, Zoe Mulford, Matt Nakoa, Jim Photoglo, Bruce Piephoff, Jefferson Ross, Sheltered Turtle, Cosy Sheridan, Underhill Rose, Dan Weber, The Yes Team, and Zoe & Cloyd. Nothing else is scheduled during these showcases, which are also open to the local community. Persons not registered for the conference can attend these juried showcases for $10 each night or $25 for all three nights (cash only). Tickets will be available on-site at the Assembly Inn Convocation Hall.

Following the official showcases, eight meeting rooms will be abuzz with late-night guerilla showcases that extend until 2 a.m. AcousticMusicScene.com, which has had a presence at the SERFA Conference for the past four years, will host late-night showcases on Thursday, May 13, overnight in Room 230. These will take the form of song swaps.

AcousticMusicScene.com showcase schedule:

10:40: Sharon Goldman, Bev Grant
11:00: Si Kahn Sing-along with Kari Estrin
11:30: Rob Lytle, Kipyn Martin and Paddy Mills
12:00: Mary Bragg, Shawna Caspi and Matt Nakoa
12:30: Redneck Mimosa: Todd Hoke, Carmody & Carver
1:00: Harmonic Convergence: The Early Mays and Underhill Rose
1:30: Blues & Roots: Lorraine Conard, Danielle Miraglia, Jon Shain

Editor’s Note: In addition to hosting an AcousticMusicScene.com showcase, I will be part of a concert and festival presenters panel discussion and will join Lorraine Conard in a group mentoring session on Performers and Presenters Partnering in Promotion. I’ll also offer some one-on-one mentoring on public relations, strategic communications, artist bios and one-sheets, website content and social media, and other topics of interest to artists and presenters.

The newest of the five regional chapters 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 fourth 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 lunch on Thursday, followed by an open mic, workshops, dinner and three-hours of official showcases,and concludes on Sunday morning with breakfast. There also will be an informal open mic/jam session in the lobby on Wednesday evening for those opting to arrive early for the conference.

Following the keynote, the inaugural Kari Estrin Founding President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Music and Culture in the Southeast will be presented to The Highlander Research and Education Center, which serves as a catalyst for grassroots organizing and movement building in Appalachia and the South. But it is Highlander’s integration of music with social change that SERFA is particularly acknowledging with this award. During the Civil Rights Era, not only did Rosa Parks receive training at Highlander before she gave up her seat on the bus, it was also where the song “We Shall Overcome” evolved and was disseminated. And when Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger made their cross-country trip together in the early 1940s, The Highlander Center was one of their first stops.

The Highlander Center’s Pam McMichael also will present a workshop on Singing and Social Change, just one among more than 20 workshops and panel discussions on a variety of topics that are slated during the conference.

Blues and roots artists Lauren Sheehan and Suzie Vinnick will conduct a guitar workshop. Michael Johnathon, singer-songwriter and host of “The Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour,” presents “Why Free Works – The New Business Model for Music and Art.” Singer-songwriter Spook Handy leads a tribute and participatory workshop in honor of Pete Seeger, while Elaine Romanelli explores how to collect money for music you write, record and perform in “Show Me the Money!, and Brooks Williams provides tips for touring musicians in “Topic-Ready and Rockin’.” Among the other workshop and panel topics are “The Essence of Songwriting from Three Perspectives,” “Legal Issues and the Professional Musician,” “Making a Career for Yourself via Alternative Venues and Thought,” “Online PR Tools for Success,” “Pre-Production,” and “Singing and Social Change.” A 90-minute “Wisdom of the Elders” panel discussion and a series of group and one-on-one mentoring sessions also are on the conference agenda.

A number of artists have been selected by a panel of judges to present official showcases on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Slated to perform are Sarah Aili, Ash Breeze Band, Natasha Borzilova, Ellen Bukstel, Brad Cole, The Don Juans, Tret Fure, Grits and Soul, Avery Hill, Graydon James & Laura Spink, Michael Johnathon, Brian Ashley Jones, Christopher Mark Jones, Jan Krist & Jim Bizer, Lauren Lapointe, Linda McRae, Karyn Oliver, Heather Pierson, Raison D’Etre, Elaine Romanelli, The Ruby Brunettes, Lauren Sheehan & Zoe Carpenter, Peyton Tochterman, Suzie Vinnick, and Brooks Williams.

Persons not registered for the conference can attend these juried showcases on Friday and Saturday for $10 each night or $25 for all three nights.

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. AcousticMusicScene.com, which has had a presence at the SERFA Conference for the past three years, will host late-night showcases on Thursday, May 14, overnight in Room 230. These will take the form of song swaps and an hour-long Midnight Hoot.

Featuring a dozen artists overt the span of one-hour, the AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot is designed to provide presenters and others with an opportunity to get a small sampling of the music of a number of artists in a short period of time on the first night of the conference. It also enables artists to enjoy each other’s company and music. It is an abbreviated version of the popular three-Hour Midnight Hoot featuring some 30 artists and several folk DJs that has kicked-off late-night musical festivities in the AcousticMusicScene.com room at Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conferences for the past seven years. Two half-hour song swaps will precede and follow the Midnight Hoot.

10:40: The Don Juans
11:00: Women’s Voices: Sarah Aili, Lorraine Conard, Heather Pierson
11:30: Men’s Voices: Rob Lytle, John Tracy
12:00 AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot:
(Each artist performs one song; order of appearance subject to change):

Amy Andrews, Graydon James & Laura Spink, Jeremiah Birnbaum, Ash Devine, Lou Dominguez, Wyatt Easterling, Sharon Goldman, Josh Harty, Camela Widad, Todd Hoke, Bill & Eli Perras, Brian Ashley Jones

1:00: Blues & Roots: Jon Shain, Lauren Sheehan, Suzie Vinnick
1:30: A Trio of Duos: Andina and Rich, The Robert Bobby Duo, The Dalziels

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Editor’s Note: In addition to hosting an AcousticMusic Scene.com showcase, I will be part of a two-person panel discussion entitled Online PR Tools for Success and will 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.

A chapter of Folk Alliance International (FAI), SERFA exists to promote, develop and celebrate the diverse heritage of roots and indigenous music, dance, storytelling and related arts in the southeastern United States. All artists must be FAI members to showcase. Information and applications may be found at www.serfa.org, as can online conference registration forms. There is a $25 showcase application fee, while selected artists also will be responsible for a $25 production fee.

To entice more presenters, venues and folk DJs to attend the conference this year, SERFA is offering them free admission. In addition to the official showcases, there will be late-night guerilla showcases from 10:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., workshops, exhibit space, open-air jams on the grounds of the Ozark State Park in which the Ozark Folk Center is nestled, and plenty of opportunities to learn, share and network. Conference attendees also will be afforded free admission to the exhibits and living history sites within the park.

SERFA President Kari Estrin encourages folks to attend the conference and “help us build our community, get involved with expanding the activities and opportunities in the Southeast while celebrating our special Southeast roots and culture.”