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 popular festival, which will feature four stages of music, officially kicks off on Friday, July 28 at noon. That’s when 15 artists/acts have been invited to perform in the 2023 Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase on the festival’s Mainstage. Appearing in this year’s showcase are (listed alphabetically by last name or name of group, not in order of appearance) are Sandy Cash, Katie Dahl, Leslie Evers, The Honey Badgers, Eric Kilburn, Latin Americana, Chris LaVancher, Juliet Lloyd, Carol Ann Montag, Halley Neal, Kevin Neidig, Noble Dust, Andy Sydow, and Tiffany Williams. Kemp Harris is the first alternate. Although there is no compensation for showcasing artists, each will receive full admission, on-site camping and meals for the festival, plus one guest pass per act.

The Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase is not a contest, and artists won’t be judged per se during the festival, although the audience is surveyed as to which showcase artists they’d like to see return the following year to participate in a Most Wanted Song Swap. In evaluating submissions, a panel of three judges looked for high-quality performances of interesting, well-crafted, acoustic-based material. This year’s judges were Susan Forbes Hansen (a folk DJ on WWUH and WHUS in Connecticut), Bruce Martin (from Blues Café in Southbury, CT) and Barbara Shiller (former president of CT Folk). “This year’s judges all said [that] it was extremely difficult to choose the final slate,” said Anne Saunders, the festival’s artistic director. “The level of talent and quality of the submissions was all pretty high — and much of it from newbies they did not know previously. We do so love when that happens.”

Phil Henry, Grace Morrison, Sam Robbins, and Erin Ash Sullivan will showcase their talents during this year’s Most Wanted Song Swap. In addition,the four are participating in a Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Presents The “Most Wanted” Tour leading up to the festival. They will showcase their talents at SolarFest in Brandon, VT (July 15), Club Passim in Cambridge, MA (July 16), The Listening Booth in Lewes, DE (July 21), Moore Music in Rockville, MD (July 22), and Earp’s Ordinary in Fairfax, VA (July 23).

During the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, an Activities 4 Kids program, Circle of Song acoustic stage, Family Stage and Workshop Stage also will begin on Friday afternoon, July 28, while evening Mainstage performances and nightly dancing are slated to follow the daytime programming. Mainstage performances extend until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights (followed by late-night musical revelry at the campgrounds featuring informal jams, artist showcases and song circles). Sunday’s musical festivities wrap up at 6 p.m. For those camping on the fairgrounds, there will be some late-night musical revelry featuring an array of informal jams, artist showcases and song circles that help foster a sense of “folk” community and a different kind of festival experience.

“We are very happy to be bringing back both DANCE and our Thursday Tastings and Farmers Market program,” said Saunders. While acknowledging that both will be smaller than in the pre-pandemic years when the festival took place on a farm in upstate New York, she noted “but that’s as expected; the important thing is that they are back.” So too will be a full array of craft and food vendors.

Prior to the start of the actual festival, the aforementioned Pre-Fest Tastings & Farmers Market will take place on Thursday afternoon, while a Thursday Night Music Stage will be hosted by Scotten Jones (a co-founder of the Lounge Stage that hosted live music on Thursdays for many years) and Kathy Sands-Boehmer of Harbortown Music beginning at 4 p.m. Artists slated to appear include Lisa Bastoni, Marc Douglas Berardo, Joe Crookston, Kirsten Maxwell, No Fuss and Feathers, Rod Picott, RaSkull Flagg, Robinson & Rohe, Rachael Sage, Tom Smith, and Rachel Sumner.

[Here’s a link to a Spotify playlist that Kathy Sand-Boehmer compiled featuring songs by artists who are part of the Thursday Night Music Stage lineup.

Three-day festival tickets are $240 with camping or $165 without camping. Single -day tickets also are available for $60. All three-day tickets include Pre-Fest Thursday admission, while tickets for Pre-Fest Thursday also can be purchased for $20 at the gate. Children 12 and under will be admitted free, while tickets are heavily discounted for teens. The campgrounds will open by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 26. More information on the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival can be found at falconridgefolk.com.

Along with the other four U.S.-based regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International, SWRFA felt compelled to cancel its annual in-person conference this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, “Dalis Allen, SWRFA’s executive director, and our board members wanted to create a virtual version of our yearly gathering to keep a sense of continuity and gather our community together in these challenging times,” said Brian Kalinec, its board president.

Singer-Songwriters Nancy Beaudette and Laura Zucker lead a workshop based on information and insights contained in their book, SongC.R.A.F.T. – Writing in Your Authentic Voice, while Elaine Hayden leads a concurrent session for concert presenters on Friday afternoon. Neale Eckstein, Jeska Forsyth, Jerod Rivers and Eric Schwartz will delve into new techniques in the virtual world. Fosyth and her husband Guy also lead a breakout session on performance, while artist manager Charlie Stewart offers demo evaluations, Emily Pickrell will discuss performing in Mexico, and Jana Pochop explores social media. Liz Sunde of Music to Life will conduct a special presentation prior to the Friday night showcases. She and her father, Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul & Mary fame, co-founded the national nonprofit organization that connects activist artists of all genres with the resources they need to revitalize their communities through music. Veteran folk DJ Rich Warren, who recently stepped down as the longtime host of The Midnight Special, a nationally syndicated radio program emanating from WFMT in Chicago, and others will conduct one-on-ones.

It has been customary during the annual SWRFA conferences for all registered artists to be given a random song topic/prompt. They are expected to write about these during the weekend and perform their songs following Sunday brunch. SWRFA will seek to replicate this song-sharing event virtually on Sunday afternoon.

SWRFA 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. SWRFA includes the southwestern United States and Mexico. For more information on SWRFA, visit https://swfolkalliance.org. To register online (free) for its virtual conference, click on https://swrfa.wufoo.com/forms/m1uhtpbn08y5xmz/.

Being held in Stamford for the second consecutive year after outgrowing its previous location in the Catskills of upstate New York, the NERFA conference will feature several jam-packed days and nights of music showcases, song swaps, informal jam sessions, panel discussions and workshops, a keynote by singer-songwriter Vance Gilbert, a Wisdom of the Elders session, a children’s concert, short performances by Connecticut State Troubadours, one-on-one mentoring sessions, a large trade show-like exhibit hall, communal meals, 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 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.

Singer-Songwriter Vance Gilbert Keynotes the Event

Gilbert – who embarks on a 22-date eastern Australia tour immediately following the conference — enthralls concert and festival audiences with his moving lyrics and his strong tenor voice that can morph into falsetto when needed, as well as his stand-up riffs on contemporary societal mores. His songwriting and performance clinics at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, NERFA conferences, and the Rocky Mountain Song School also have drawn rave reviews from attendees.

54 Artists/Acts Perform in Juried Showcases on Friday and Saturday Nights

In addition to his keynote, Gilbert will present two performance workshops and showcase his own musical talents during the conference. His “Collision Course” workshops are among some two-dozen featured workshops and panel discussions. Other workshops will focus on such topics as activist artists in tumultuous times, budgeting and business planning for venues, diversifying the community, the DIY artist, engaging the next generation, a guitar master class, teaching while touring, venue marketing, and writing the funny song. The popular “On the Griddle” instant critique session, also returns. Also slated are morning yoga sessions led by singer-songwriter Caroline Cotter, while MusiCares will fit folks for custom earplugs.

After the formal showcases, attendees will shuffle between four conference ballrooms to catch short sets by 40 additional artists who were selected by a different set of judges. Performing in these semi-formal showcases on Friday night are (in alphabetical order) Clint Alphin, Emily Barnes, Bethlehem & Sad Patrick, The Black Feathers, Shawna Caspi, Dave Curley, Friction Farm, Abbie Gardner, Sharon Goldman, Hoot & Holler, Greg Klyma, Abigail Lapell, Paddy Mills, Emily Mure, Musique a bouches, Piedmont Bluz, Poor Man’s Gambit, Katherine Rondeau & The Show, Robinson Treacher, and Josh White Jr. Saturday’s semi-formal Showcase artists include Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches, Lisa Bastoni, Rachel Beck, Sophie Buskin, Meghan Cary, Dunham Shoe Factory, Vance Gilbert, Alice Howe, Rod MacDonald & Mark Dann, Austin MacRae, Mama’s Broke, Mike McKenna Jr, Zoe Mulford, No Good Sister, NUA, Elaine Romanelli, The Small Glories, Christine Sweeney, Ernest Troost, and Brad Yoder.

Following the juried showcases each evening, AcousticMusicScene.com and some three-dozen presenters, performers and others will host guerilla showcases in their hotel rooms that extend through the early morning hours. Community sings, informal jam sessions, thematic song circles and round-robin song swaps round out the musical mix. Musicians are also apt to stake out other areas of the hotel and jam into the early morning hours. Some guerilla showcases also are slated for Friday and Saturday afternoons.

AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot Features Artists and Singing Folk DJs

An overflow crowd will likely descend on the AcousticMusicScene.com suite on Thursday overnight for its popular Midnight Hoot. Extending from 11:30-2:30 a.m., the AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot is a pre-arranged, round robin song swap featuring a few singing folk DJs and some three-dozen artists/acts – each of whom will perform one song. A house band also will be there for anyone who desires accompaniment.

Now in its 11th 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.

As in recent years, the musical festivities in the AcousticMusicScene.com suite will wrap up on Saturday overnight with an extended “O Canada” song swap. Carrying their instruments and the maple leaf, a number of talented Canadian artists will march into the room at 2 a.m. singing their national anthem.

Schedules for the AcousticMusicScene.com showcases appear below:

AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot

Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017 11:30 p.m. – 2:30 a.m.

(One song per artist and folk DJ, not in order of appearance)

Host: Michael Kornfeld

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

Artists: Clint Alphin, Antonio Andrade, Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches, Orly Bendavid & the Mona Dahls, Sophie Buskin, Quentin Callewaert, Susan Cattaneo, Sara Chodak, Greg Cornell, Dave Curley, Alyssa Dann, Nancy Dillon, Freebo, Friction Farm, Tret Fure, Gathering Time, Gina Holsopple, Alice Howe, Jaeger & Reid, Brian Kalinec, Susan Kane, Judy Kass, Mara Levine, Eric Lee, Rob Lytle, Pete Mancini, Kirsten Maxwell, Millpond Moon, Kim Moberg, Annie Moscow, Andrea Nardy, Nico Padden, The Renfrees, Patty Reese, Hank Stone, Taylor Pie, Toby Tobias

House Band: Greg Cornell (guitar), Mark Dann (bass), Jagoda (percussion), Eric Lee (violin), Nick Russo (banjo).

2:00 Long Island Sounds: Bryan Gallo, He-Bird, She-Bird, Hank Stone

2:30 Long Island Sounds: Scott Krokoff, Christine Sweeney, Toby Tobias

3:00 Hudson Valley Songsters: Steve Chizmadia, Susan Kane, Judy Kass

3:30 Voices of Upstate New York: Marc Black, Gina Holsopple, Colleen Kattau

4:00 Jersey Gals: Loretta Hagen, Katherine Rondeau

4:30 Sea Shanty Sing with The Royal Yard (Stuart Markus & Robin Greenstein)

Friday Night, Nov 10, 2017

11:45 Greg Cornell

12:00 STEADY ON: Celebrating Lilith Fair at 20: Sharon Goldman, Amy Soucy, Sloan Wainwright (with Stephen Murphy)

12:30 Harmonic Convergence: Gathering Time, KC Groves, Mara Levine

1:00 Keystone Staters: Antonio Andrade, Meghan Cary, No Good Sister

1:30 Two Trios: The Belle Hollows & The Early Mays

Saturday Night, November 11, 2017

11:45 Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches

12:00 Songswarm: Peter Calo, Brian Kalinec, Taylor Pie

12:30 A Trio of Duos: Friction Farm, The Levins, Miles & Mafale

1:00 Two Gals and a Geezer: Freebo, Alice Howe, Kirsten Maxwell

1:30 Three Guys from New England: Marc Douglas Berardo, Jud Caswell, Rob Lytle

2 :00 O Canada: Rachel Beck, Matthew Byrne, Shawna Caspi, Andrew Collins Trio, Elage Diouf, Gathering Sparks, Martin Kerr, Abigail Lapell, Mama’s Broke, David Newland (guest emcee), Cheryl Prashker (percussion), Benjamin Dakota Rogers

“We hope that all of our attendees will share a meal and/or a song with new friends they don’t yet know, embrace the spirit of community that NERFA represents, and have a great conference experience,” said Michael Kornfeld, president of NERFA’s board of directors and editor and publisher of AcousticMusicScene.com. He expressed thanks to Dianne Tankle, NERFA’s longtime conference director, and her team of volunteers for all of their efforts in arranging the event.

Here’s a link to a video montage that Neale Eckstein created following the 2016 NERFA Conference: https://www.facebook.com/neale.eckstein/videos/10154271098733893/

NERFA (www.nerfa.org) is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International, a Kansas City, MO-based 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.

Editor’s Note: My thanks to Hank Stone for his assistance in setting up the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase room and for guest-hosting Friday afternoon song swaps along with fellow singer-songwriters Stuart Markus and Toby Tobias, and to Amy Blake, Arpie Maros and Sybil Moser for the loan of folding chairs.

In addition to hosting the AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot and other showcases, leading a community meeting with the NERFA board of directors as its president, and assisting a few artist clients who will be showcasing their talents during the conference, I will be doing some mentoring on various public relations and strategic communications topics.

Some 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. 12-15, 2015, for the 21st 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.

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 14 artists/acts selected by a panel of judges, 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 Jim Gaudet & The Railroad Boys, Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore, The Young Novelists, Robert Jones & Matt Watroba, Les Poules a Colin, Shun Ng and John Flynn. Saturday’s Formal Showcase lineup features Mile Twelve, Pat Donohue, Sultans of String with Anwhar Kurshid, Yann Falquet & Pascal Gemme, Ken Whiteley & The Beulah Band, Cosy Sheridan, and Don White & Christine Lavin.

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 Scott Ainslie, Mari Black, Susan Cattaneo, Cricket Tell the Weather, The Early Mays, Efrat, Friction Farm, Jan Krist and Jim Bizer, David Massengill, Kate McDonnell, Mist Covered Mountains, David Myles, The Nields, Rant Maggie Rant, Dave Rowe, Amy Soucy, Spuyten Duyvil, Jim Trick, Letitia Vansant & the Bonafides, and Dan Weber. Saturday’s Quad Showcase artists include Eric Andersen, Marc Allen Berube, Michael Braunfeld, Meghan Cary, Shawna Caspi, Joe Crookston, Durham County Poets, Angela Easterling, Jane Fallon, Gathering Time, Lynne Hanson, Jacob Johnson, Sharon Katz & the Peace Train, Evie Ladin Band, Mamalama, Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt, Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio, Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers & Wendy Ramsay, Lindsay Straw and Carla Ulbrich.

Following the juried showcases each evening (as well as on Friday afternoon), 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 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 artists/acts – each of whom will perform one song.

Now in its ninth 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.

A house band comprised of Mark Dann (bass), Efrat (violin), Marshal Rosenberg (percussion), Brad Yoder (various instruments) and Jason Rafalak (mandolin) also will be there for anyone who desires accompaniment.

The musical festivities in the AcousticMusicScene.com room will wrap up on Saturday overnight with an extended “O Canada” song swap. Carrying their instruments and the maple leaf, a number of talented Canadian artists will march into the room shortly before 2 a.m. singing their national anthem.

Schedules for the AcousticMusicScene.com showcases appear below. There will be a carpeted wooden platform stage and stage lights courtesy of Stuart Kabak. Blue Point Brewing Company (Patchogue, NY) is providing craft beers.

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 Bennett, Marc Douglas Berardo, Chelsea Berry, Mark Allen Berube, Robert Bobby Duo, Meg Braun, Kate Callahan, Greg Cornell and the Cornell Brothers, Pat Donohue, Efrat, Gathering Time, Generations: Mike & Aleksi Glick, Sam Gleaves, Sonya Heller, Jacob Johnson, Stuart Kabak, Rachael Kilgour, Erika Kulnys, Mara Levine, Lowell Levinger (Banana from The Youngbloods), Rob Lytle, Kirsten Maxwell, Dennis McDonough, Emily Mure, Dan Navarro, Hugh O’ Doherty, Jim Photoglo, KJ Reimensnyder-Wagner, The Royal Yard, Ben Shannon, Carolann Solebello, Amy Soucy, Hank Stone, Jim Trick, Mark Wahl, Dan Weber, Emily White, Brad Yoder and Jason Rafalak

House Band: Mark Dann (bass), Efrat (violin), Marshal Rosenberg (percussion), Brad Yoder (various instruments) and Jason Rafalak (mandolin)

Friday Afternoon

12:00 Pirate Camp: The Royal Yard (sea chanteys)

12:15 Pirate Camp: Mya Byrne, Robinlee Garber, Gathering Time, Susan Kane

1:00 Pirate Camp: Stuart Kabak, Keith Kelly, Rachael Kilgour, David Massengill

2:00 Long Island Sounds: He-Bird, She-Bird, Rorie Kelly, Scott Krokoff, Hank Stone, Christine Sweeney, Robinson Treacher

3:00 The Maine Event: Caroline Cotter, Paddy Mills, Dave Rowe, Putnam Smith, Sorcha, Ashley Storrow

4:00 Keystone Staters: Michael Braunfeld, Meghan Cary: Sing Louder, The Early Mays, Mist Covered Mountains, No Good Sister, Brad Yoder & Jason Rafalak

Friday Night

11:45 Blues All Around: Scott Ainslie, Pat Donohue, Generations: Mike & Aleksi Glick, Jon Shain

12:30 A Pair of Duos: The Levins, The YaYas

1:00 Guys of Note: Marc Douglas Berardo, Rob Lytle

1:30 NYC Roots-Americana: Greg Cornell & the Cornell Brothers, Vincent Cross

2:00 Mass. Appeal: Mile Twelve, Matt Nakoa, Pesky J. Nixon, Jim Trick

Saturday Night

11:45 California-centric: Freebo, Dan Navarro, Eric Schwartz

12:30 Powerful Voices: John Flynn and Rachael Kilgour

1:00 Strings & Songs: Efrat, Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt

1:30 Harmonic Convergence: Gathering Time, Mara Levine, Kirsten Maxwell

2:00 O Canada: Bob Ardern, Amy & Rachel Beck, Shawna Caspi, Ian Foster, Fraser & Girard, Manitoba Hal, Jory Nash, Rant Maggie Rant, Suzie Vinnick, Ken Whiteley & The Beulah Band, The Young Novelists (Percussion: Cheryl Prashker)

NERFA (www.nerfa.org) is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International, 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.

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Editor’s Note: My thanks to Stuart Kabak, with whom I partner in hosting pre-arranged late-night song swaps and open song 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, Mira Shapiro 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 assisting a few artists and offering a series of 15-minute 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.

The ten finalists selected by a panel of judges, based on both their songwriting craft and the presentation of their songs, are Richard Berman (MA), Cherie Call (UT), John Carroll (TN), Brad Colerick (CA), Angela Easterling (SC), Annalise Emerick (TN), George Ensle (TX), Frank Martin Gilligan (TX), Lola Toben (MO), and Crystal Yates (TX).

After showcasing their talents on Saturday, May 16, four of the finalists will receive $500 each and will perform in a 75-minute winners’ round on Sunday afternoon, while each of the other six will each receive $100. All ten finalists will also perform hour-long sets on the Courtyard Stage, on which several Dallas Songwriters Association Spotlights also take place over the weekend.

Last year’s Wildflower! Performing Songwriter Contest winners were Marc Douglas Berardo (RI), Carolyn Currie (ME), Drew Kennedy (TX), and Ellen Tipper (ME).

Other artists slated to perform on the Singer Songwriter Stage during the festival include Phoebe Hart Trio, Bill Ward/2-Bit Palomino, and Tom Prasada-Rao on Friday. Jacob Johnson, Rj Cowdery, Danny Schmidt, Carrie Elkin, Cliff Eberhardt, Louise Mosrie, Jonathan Byrd and the Pickup Cowboys, and Trout Fishing in America perform on Saturday. Cowdery, Mosrie and Ian Dickson – – previous contest winners in 2011, 2010 and 2005, respectively – take part in a Sunday afternoon song swap, while Zane Williams closes out the stage with a set beginning at 5:30 p.m.

In addition to its Singer Songwriter and Courtyard Stages, Wildflower! will feature several other stages with an eclectic array of musical artists (ranging from rockers Pat Benatar, Kansas and 38 Special to noted Texas singer-songwriters Joe Ely and Gary P. Nunn), as well as the Wild! Marketplace, a Taste of Texas Food Garden, a Kidz Korner family area and petting zoo, strolling entertainers, and more.

Three-day festival passes may be purchased online via ClicknPrintTickets and at Tom Thumb stores around the Metroplex for $30 through 5:30 p.m. on May 15, while single-day adult tickets will be available for $20 at the gate and online. For more information, including performance schedules, visit www.wildflowerfestival.com.

Since its inception, the festival has been a combination of a music fest, family reunion, community gathering, and weekend musical retreat, according to the festival’s organizers. In addition to the festival’s headliners, a number of Florida-based musicians and other national touring acts are slated to perform. These include Alan Bradford, Jon Brooks, Ellen Bukstel, Carlos and Carlos, Steve Chizmadia, Brad Cole, Freebo, Friction Farm, Marci Geller, Jennifer Hajj, Matt Harlan & Rachel Jones, Kiya Heartwood, Laura Heintz, Lara Herscovitch, Jennings and Keller, Josh Joffen, Eileen Kozloff, Mara Levine, Rod MacDonald, Elaine Mahon, Jed Marum and Rickey Pittman, Paddy Mills, Moors & McCumber, Zoe Mulford, Shane Myers, Marie Nofsinger, Murray Palmetto’s South Florida Swamp Show, Heather Pierson, Pinkslip Duo, Jefferson Ross, Dave Rowe, Spirit Wing, 2 Guys (former members of The Highwaymen), Mare Wakefield and Nomad, and James Welton. Some of the performing artists also will lead workshops, while there also will be a jam area for those who enjoy playing traditional folk and other acoustic styles of music. Campfires also are planned for both evenings after 8 p.m.

12 Artists, Duos Featured in Singer-Songwriter Competition

Kicking-off the weekend’s musical festivities on Saturday, Jan. 17, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., will be the 12 finalists in the 2015 South Florida Folk Festival’s singer-songwriter competition, each of whom will perform two songs. They are Marc Douglas Berardo, Adam Burrows, John Butler, Kate Callahan, Robin Greenstein, Christopher Mark Jones, The Levins, Nicole Noel & Chance Meyer, Jan Seides, Martin Swinger, Debbie Tassone & Gary Frost, and Dan Weber. Three winners selected by a panel of judges will each receive the Vic Heyman Songwriting Award – a cash prize and an invitation to perform at next year’s festival. In addition, winners and runners-up may be afforded the opportunity to play ‘in-the-round’ during the festival’s second day on Sunday, Jan. 18.

The songwriting competition is co-presented by Reba Heyman. Along with her late husband, Vic, Reba has been an integral part of the folk community in South Florida and nationally for many years. The couple has been known for decades for their generous financial backing of folk festivals and artists. They formerly ran a concert series in Rockville, Maryland known as Vic’s Music Corner, have established a scholarship fund for artists, and served on the boards of several music festivals.

For more information on the festival, which is co-sponsored by Sea Turtle Oversight Protection (STOP), and to order tickets in advance, visit www.southfloridafolkfest.com.

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.

Named as finalists were Marc Douglas Berardo (Westerly, RI), Deena Chappell (Cambridge, NY), Jane Fallon (Brookline, NH), Carrie Ferguson (Northampton, MA), David Ferm (Norwich, VT), Connor Garvey (Portland, ME), Rob Lytle (Oak Bluffs, MA), Kathy Moser (Stanhope, NJ), Karyn Oliver (New York, NY) and Carolann Solebello (Brooklyn, NY). Cited for honorable mention were Audrey Drake (Moutonborough, NH), Matt Durfee (Albany, NY), Sharon Goldman (Metuchen, NJ), Kim Jennings (Worcester, MA), Rorie Kelly (Brooklyn, NY), Gary Moon (Lake George, NY) and Bonnie Piesse (Clifton Park, NY).

The ten finalists will perform two songs each and compete to be among the top three artists who will receive cash prizes and studio time, while the winner will be invited back to perform featured artist next year on the festival’s solar-powered Main Stage. The finalists will be judged based on the quality of the song’s composition (both music and lyrics), arrangement, vocal ability, instrumental technique and overall performance skills.

As a panel of three judges is deliberating, Maine’s Martin Swinger, last year’s winner, will perform a set. “I made great contacts at the SolarFest competition, enjoyed sharing songs with my peers, and winning gave me a leg-up on my next album,” said Swinger.

“This is a great opportunity for emerging singer-songwriters,” maintains Phil Henry, who has been organizing the showcase for the past several years. “The stage is impressive; the judging is done by regional music professionals who can be excellent contacts for their careers; and the networking is invaluable,” said Henry, who was himself a past winner of the contest.

Scheduled, in order of performance, at the Threadgill Theater on the Quiet Valley Ranch Campgrounds in the Texas Hill Country on May 24 are Drew Kennedy (New Braunfels, TX), David McMillin (Chicago, IL), Chris Ronald (Vancouver, BC, Canada), Addie Brownlee (New York, NY), Chase Gassaway (Austin, TX), Ellen Tipper (Appleton, ME), Charlotte Thistle (Seattle, WA), Matt Nakoa (Brooklyn, NY), David Berkeley (Santa Fe, NM), Katie Gosnell (Austin, TX), Dan Weber (Vancouver, WA), Carolina Story (Nashville, TN), Rosie Tucker (Los Angeles, CA), Connor Garvey (South Portland, ME), Savannah King (Youngstown, NY), and Brittany Ann Tranbaugh (Easton, PA).

New Folk Finalists slated to perform on May 25 include Frank Martin Gilligan (Dickinson, TX), Lindsay White (San Diego, CA), Jeffrey Martin (Eugene, OR), Brad Boyer (Friendswood, TX), Jenna Lindbo (South Portland, ME), Aaron Howard (Phoenix, AZ), Anna Paddock (Brooklyn, NY), Justin Pecina (Gunter, TX), Ben Bochner (Eugene, OR), Brad Cole (New York, NY), David White (Franklin, TN), Mariana Bell (Los Angeles, CA), Roy Schneider (Fort Myers, FL), Catherine Terrones (San Pedro, CA), Caroline Spence (Nashville, TN), and Tall Heights (Somerville, MA).

Named as alternates were Jan Krist & Jim Bizer (Franklin, MI), Marc Douglas Berardo (Westerly, RI), Daniel Boling (Albuquerque, NM), and Adam Klein (Athens, GA).

After performing, six songwriters will be selected as 2014 New Folk Winners by a panel of judges. The six will perform in the New Folk Award Winners Concert on Sunday, June 1, and will receive cash honorariums and other prizes, as well as the opportunity to participate in the New Folk Concerts Fall Tour culminating with the opening slot on the 2014 Fischer Festival stage (previously Rice Fest). Established in 1972 at the urging of Peter Yarrow, the Kerrville New Folk concerts have become a highlight of the annual festival that is geared towards singer-songwriters of various musical styles and their fans.

Celebrating songwriters for 43 years, the Kerrville Folk Festival is the longest continuously running festival of its kind in North America. It was created by Rod Kennedy, affectionately known as “The RodFather,” who died earlier this month. In addition to concerts each evening, Kerrville features “Ballad Tree” song-sharing sessions, campfire jam sessions, concerts and activities for children, organized canoe trips on the Guadelupe River and Hill Country bike rides, a professional development program for teachers, as well as a three-day songwriters school and instrumental workshops.

The Kerrville Folk Festival runs for 18 straight days – Thursday, May 22– Sunday, June 8. For additional information, visit www.kerrville-music.com.