Al Johnson Performing Songwriter Contest Finals Take Place During Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival

The 2023 Al Johnson Performing Songwriter Contest is held in conjunction with the Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival, May 19-21 at Galatyn Park Urban Center in Richardson, Texas – just a few minutes north of Dallas. Singer-songwriters who perform in a wide array of genres – including Americana, bluegrass, blues, Celtic, country, folk, and rock, among others – are invited to submit recorded songs (two per entry) in mp3 or mp4 format via email. The application deadline is March 3, and only the first 200 applications will be accepted. There is a $20 entry fee.

Using a blind-screening process, a panel of judges will choose ten finalists to perform two songs each on the Singer-Songwriter Stage during the annual event that is billed as North Texas’ largest music festival. The ten finalists, who will be notified in April, will compete for cash prizes and be judged based equally on the quality and presentation of their songs – with originality, lyrics, melody, and harmonic structure among the criteria. The first-place (grand prize) winner will receive will receive $1,000 plus two full days of recording at Audio Dallas Recording Studio, while the runner-up and the Michael Troy People’s Choice Award winner will each receive $500. All performing finalists will receive festival passes for themselves and a guest, lodging, green room access for food and beverages, and the opportunity to perform solo sets on the festival’s Courtyard Stage. The winners will also be featured in a spotlight round on Sunday afternoon.

[Matthew Thomas of Noblesville, TN was the grand prize winner in 2022, while Harper O’Neill of Nashville, TN was the runner-up and Eric Ramsey of Scottsdale, AZ was the People’s Choice Award recipient.]

Recordings submitted must be representative of the artist’s live performance and include only one instrument, the songwriter’s vocal and no backup harmonies. Produced recordings and instrumental songs will not be accepted. Although co-written songs are acceptable, only one of the songwriters may submit an application and perform the song on the recording. Submitted songs must have been written after December 2020 and not exceed five minutes in length. For more information and detailed contest rules, visit the Songwriter Contest section on wildflowerfestival.com.

January 16-March 16 is Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition Entry Period

Entries are now being accepted for the 2023 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. The first 800 entries postmarked or submitted online by March 16 will be judged, and 24 finalists will be named on or around April 18 and invited to perform the two songs that they entered on Saturday or Sunday, May 27 or 28 during the annual Kerrville Folk Festival in the Texas Hill Country near Austin and San Antonio.

Six performing songwriters will be chosen as 2023 New Folk Award Winners. Each winner will receive a $750 cash prize, a mentoring session with a professional songwriter, some Kerrville Folk Festival swag, two complimentary full festival access passes to the KFF Foundation’s fall festival event, and will be invited to perform a 20-minute set on stage the following Saturday, June 3, and to take part in a 2023 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk House Concert Tour in Texas, as well as to play the 2024 spring or fall festival.

Official competition guidelines, along with entry information and forms, are posted on kerrvillefolkfestival.org. Entries, which must be submitted in mp3 format (along with an entry form and $45 fee), will be evaluated based on originality, lyrics, melody, harmonic structure, and other elements of song-craft.

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 is the longest continuously running festival of its kind in North America.

The 18-day-long event is set for May 25-June 11 on the Quiet Valley Ranch. Besides cash awards and additional performance opportunities, being named as a Kerrville New Folk winner is regarded as a very prestigious honor. Last year’s winners were Calista Garcia (Arlington, VA), Sadie Gustafson-Zook (Nashville, TN), Javier Jara (Austin, TX), Kyle Rasche (Alto, MI), Jean Rohe (Brooklyn, NY), and R.O. Shapiro (San Diego, CA).

2023 Songwriter Serenade Competition Will Accept Entries Through March 26

Applications are being accepted through March 26 in the 16th annual Songwriter Serenade Competition. From among all entries received, 15 songwriters will be invited to showcase their original songs and compete for prize money at the St. John’s Outdoor Performance Hall in Schulenberg, Texas on Saturday, May 13.

There are no fees to enter the completion in which songwriters are evaluated based on lyrics (imagery, story, creativity, and originality), melody (structure, phrasing, and rhythm), and performing ability (vocals, musicianship). Stage presence/audience rapport also will be taken into consideration during the semifinals and finals in May. Tickets to the event will be available to the public.

Online entry forms, along with complete contest rules and additional information, may be found at songwriterserenade.com. Songwriters are expected to fill out the form and attach four songs in mp3 format, along with titles and lyrics. A link to a live performance — preferably of one or more of the songs – also should be included. All submitted songs must have been written and/or copyrighted within the last three years and each must not exceed five minutes in length. Those songwriters selected as semifinalists will be notified by April 1. To participate, they must commit to being present for the entire weekend’s events — including a Friday evening barbecue, the competition on Saturday (from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and an evening concert by the three judges (Susan Gibson, Josh Grider, Phoebe Hunt, and Walt Wilkins) and the competition winner, and a songwriting workshop on Sunday with the judges. All of the semifinalists will be provided with room and board.

Songwriter Serenade was established in 2007 to provide performing songwriters with a platform to showcase their skills before their peers, a panel of esteemed judges, and an audience of music lovers. As reported on AcousticMusicScene.com last May 10, Sav Buist, a Nashville, TN-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (who is also part of The Accidentals) took top honors during the Songwriter Serenade last year.
https://acousticmusicscene.com/2022/05/10/sav-buist-wins-2022-songwriter-serenade/

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/.

“Gathering in person after two years of making connections though our online events is going to be so lovely,” said Dalis Allen, SWRFA’s executive director and longtime conference coordinator. “Everyone is so excited! We have many new folks attending – joining our team of folks that have continued to make our SWRFA conference the welcoming event that it is.”

Prior to the official start of the conference on Thursday, folks will converge on Austin’s NeWorlDeli on Wednesday night for a party and meet & greet during which many registered artists will e afforded an opportunity to perform a song. Similarly, there will be an open mic during a pool party at the Holiday Inn-Midtown, the conference’s host hotel, on Thursday night, along with a meal courtesy of Berkalin Records. Prior to the pool party, there will be several panels during the mid-late afternoon.

Performing Artists Will Have Lots of Opportunities to Showcase Their Talents; Official Showcases are Open to the Public on Friday and Saturday Nights

A number of unplugged in-room showcases will follow the Official Showcases on Friday and Saturday overnight from 10:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. AcousticMusicScene.com’s in-room showcase on Saturday overnight will feature a Midnight Hoot preceded by several song swaps. Although the online publication for the folk, roots and singer-songwriter communities has hosted showcases at Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) and Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) conferences for many years, this marks the first time it is doing so during a SWRFA conference. A popular annual event at NERFA conferences since 2007, the AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot at the SWRFA conference will feature two-dozen artists/acts — each performing one song between midnight and 2 a.m. A house band is available to accompany any artists on request.

Here’s the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase schedule:

10:30 Song Swap: Catherine Miles & Jay Mafale, Shanna in a Dress

11:00 Song Swap: George Ensle, Tim Grimm

11:30 Texas Troubadours: Brian Kalinec, Randy Palmer, Joel White

12:00 AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot – Part 1
(One song per artist/act; order subject to change.)

Taylor Pie, Nancy K. Dillon, Michael Henchman, Libby Koch, Ken Gaines, Karyn Oliver, Jake Farr, Grace Morrison, Sarah Pierce, Kacey & Jenna, Roxi Copland, Erin Ivey

House Band: Merel Bregante (percussion), John Inman and Brian Kalinec (guitars)

1:00 AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot – Part 2
(One song per artist/act; order subject to change.)

Ryan Biter, Deidre McCalla, Carl Solomon, Carla Ulbrich, Vanessa Lively & Ben Bedford, Claudia Gibson, Alicia Stockman, Natalie Price, Carolyn Shulman, Dan Weber, Lynn McCracken

House Band: Merel Bregante (percussion), John Inman and Brian Kalinec (guitars)

The conference wraps up with an extended Sunday brunch during which songwriters who drew a random song assignment/topic upon picking up their credentials at the outset of the conference, will share the songs that they wrote over the weekend. “Getting to listen to the songs written during the conference from a prompt is still one of my very favorite things I do all year,” said Allen. Many artists and other conference attendees share her sentiments and have made the song-sharing event a longtime conference highlight.

SWRFA (swfolkalliance.org) is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International, 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.

Editor’s Note: Besides hosting a late-night song swaps and a midnight hoot during the SWRFA conference, I will assist PuffBunny Records (an indie label for which I provide PR counsel and services) with its in-room showcase and Taylor Pie with a Q & A following the screening of Nobody Famous, an award-winning documentary about her and the 1960s folk-pop trio Pozo Seco Singers of which she was the lead singer and a founding member (along with Don Williams and Lofton Kline). I also will take part in a panel discussion on showcasing and offer some mentoring sessions on various PR, social media and strategic communications topics. I am a board member of Folk Alliance International and NERFA.

The regional events provide useful and enjoyable learning and networking opportunities, not to mention plenty of listening and performing opportunities for artists, presenters, agents and managers, DJs, and others engaged in the folk music field. Booking gigs is a primary objective of some performing artists who attend these annual conferences, while many presenters and folk DJs come primarily to scout out new artists and those who they have not previously heard and seen in live performance. However, these conferences are much more than that – they are really about forging connections and building community.

FARM Gathering in Illinois to Feature 14 Official Showcase Artists/Acts

The 14 artists/acts slated to perform during Official Showcases at the 2022 FARM Gathering on the evenings of October 21 and 22 are (listed alphabetically by last name or group name) Basset, Buffalo Rose, Sienna Christie, Djangophonique, Gina Forsyth, Ben Gage, Tim Grimm, House of Hamill, Jordan Hamilton, Donna Herula Trio, Spencer LaJoye, Annie Mack, Steam Machine, and Rupert Wates. Named as alternates were Tret Fure and Kelly Hunt featuring Stas Heaney. They were chosen from among nearly 170 entries. The FARM Gathering extends from October 20-23 at Doubletree Lisle Naperville in Lisle, Illinois -– near Chicago. Conversations and workshops during this year’s gathering will focus around themes of inclusion through song, storytelling, and community building. Grammy Award-winner Dom Flemons, The American Songster, will deliver a keynote address. While last year’s conference took place solely online, the 2022 Gathering will feature a combination of in-person and virtual content. For more information, visit farmfolk.org.

SWRFA Taps 16 Artists/Acts for its Official Showcases in Austin, Texas

SWRFA will host eight official showcases on Friday night, September 23 and another eight on Saturday night, September 24. The showcasing artists are listed below in order of performance (subject to change if needed). Sept. 23: Jean Rohe, David Starr, Karyn Oliver, Noah Zacharin, Deidre McCalla, Grace Morrison, Javier Jara, and Violet Bell. Sept. 24: Vanessa Lively, Erin Ivey, George Ensle, Shanna in a Dress, Abigail Lapell, Catherine Miles & Jay Mafale, Natalie Price, and Justin Farren. The Official Showcases will be held in the ballroom at the Holiday Inn-Midtown in Austin, Texas. In addition, an Alternates Official Showcase featuring Alicia Stockman, Beth//James, Ryan Biter, Leeann Atherton, Jason Erie, and Wild Ponies will take place in another room at the hotel following a pool party on Thursday night, September 22. The 23rd Annual SWRFA Conference extends from September 21-25. For more information, visit swfolkalliance.org.

A Bit About FAI, NERFA and Other Regional Affiliates

Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA.org), which draws the largest number of people to its annual conferences of any FAI region, will announce its juried Formal Showcase artists in August. Its conference is slated for November 10-13 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, with Formal Showcases at the legendary Stone Pony. A hybrid event, much of the NERFA conference will also be livestreamed. Although NERFA is no longer accepting applications for its in-person formal showcases, conference attendees (in-person and virtual) may still apply for virtual showcases until August 15. Artists must be registered for the conference in order to do so.

Folk Alliance Region-West (FAR-West) has opted not to host a conference this year, while Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) annual conference attendees converged on Black Mountain, North Carolina in May and will again.

Folk Alliance International (folk.org) — which hosts its 35th annual conference, February 1-5, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri — is a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen and engage the global folk music community – traditional and contemporary, amateur and professional – through preservation, presentation and promotion. Its conference theme is Facing the Future: Sustainability on Folk Music.

Editor’s Note: I serve on the boards of directors of both Folk Alliance International and NERFA and am a past president of NERFA. I have been a workshop presenter, moderator and/or mentor at FAI, FARM virtual, FAR-West, NERFA and SERFA conferences and will be participating in this year’s SWRFA conference. I am not involved in the selection of juried showcase artists, although I host late-night showcases under the banner of AcousticMusicScene.com at conferences.

Calista Garcia (Arlington, VA), Sadie Gustafson-Zook (Nashville, TN), Javier Jara (Austin, TX), Kyle Rasche (Alto, MI), Jean Rohe (Brooklyn, NY), and R.O. Shapiro (San Diego, CA) will each perform 20-minute sets during a Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners concert at the festival on Saturday afternoon, June 4, and will receive cash honorariums and other prizes. They were selected as 2022 New Folk Winners by songwriters Michael Hearne, Tom Kimmel, Kyshona, Chris Pierce, and Shanna in a Dress who served as judges. More than 750 songwriters had initially submitted entries.

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. It is the longest continuously running festival of its kind in North America.

Now celebrating its 50th year, the Kerrville Folk Festival extends through Sunday, June 12. Besides concerts each evening, Kerrville features “Ballad Tree” song-sharing sessions, late-night and afternoon song circles and jam sessions at various campsites, concerts and activities for children, organized canoe and kayak trips on the Guadelupe River and Hill Country bike rides, a professional development program for teachers, as well as a songwriters school and instrumental workshops. For more information, visit kerrvillefolkfestival.org. A listing of all of this year’s New Folk Finalists was included in a previously posted article: https://acousticmusicscene.com/2022/04/19/2022-kerrville-new-folk-finalists-announced/

Scheduled to perform (in order of performance) at the Threadgill Theater on the Quiet Valley Ranch Campgrounds in the Texas Hill Country on Saturday, May 28, from 1:30-4:30 p.m., are Jason Erie (Nashville, TN), Belle-Skinner (Albany, NY), Mike Ryan (Clifton, VA), Sarah Jane Nelson (Little Rock, AR), Jesse Correll (Nashville, TN), Calista Garcia (Arlington, VA), Ryan T. Miller (Madison, MS), Jana Pochop (Austin, TX), Kyle Rasche (Alto, MI), Beth//James – Jordan & Mikaela Burchill (Austin, TX), Dan Weber (Richardson, TX), and Javier Jara (Austin, TX)

New Folk Finalists slated to perform on Sunday afternoon, May 29, include Mark Ettinger (New York, NY), Jean Rohe (Brooklyn, NY), Robin Bienemann (Oak Park, IL), Siena Christie (Vancouver, WA), R.O. Shapiro (San Diego, CA), Flagship Romance – Shawn Fisher & Jordyn Jackson (Truth or Consequences, NM, Madeleine Nelson (Chicago, IL), Jeremy Facknitz (Colorado Springs, CO), Sadie Gustafson-Zook (Nashville, TN), Ryan Bitter (Flagstaff, AZ), The Singer & the Songwriter – Rachel Garcia & Thu Tran (Oakland, CA), and Chuck McDermott (Hingham, MA).

After performing, six songwriters will be selected as 2022 New Folk Winners by a panel of judges. The six, to be announced during the evening concert on May 29, will receive a $650 cash prize and some Kerrville Folk Festival swag, as well as the opportunity to return the following weekend to each perform during the 2022 New Folk Winners Concert at the festival on Saturday afternoon, June 4.

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 is the longest continuously running festival of its kind in North America. In addition to receiving cash awards and additional performance opportunities, being named as a New Folk Award Winner is regarded as a very prestigious honor.

Besides concerts each evening, the Kerrville Folk Festival features “Ballad Tree” song-sharing sessions, campfire jam sessions, concerts and activities for children, organized canoe and kayak trips on the Guadelupe River, Hill Country bike rides, guided nature walks, yoga, beer and wine seminars, a Young Artists’ Performance Incubator, a professional development program for teachers, a songwriters school, and instrumental workshops. The festival runs for 18 straight days – Thursday, May 26– Sunday, June 12. For more information, visit kerrvillefolkfestival.org.

This year’s finalists, chosen from among more than 300 entries, are Joel Ansett (Denver, CO), Amanda Cevallos (Austin, TX), Brad Cunningham (Kansas City, MO), Hadley Kennary (Nashville, TN), Tom Meny (Austin, TX), Jean Rohe (Brooklyn, NY), Talia Segal (Brighton, MA), Nikki Talley (Asheville, NC), Anna Tivel (Portland, OR) and Emily White (Chicago, IL). Ray Smith (Rollinsville, CO) and Lydia Luce (Los Angeles, CA) were named as alternates.

Each of the ten finalists – who were judged on the basis of their songs’ composition, vocal delivery, and the overall presentation — will perform two original songs in the preliminary round at the Elks Park Stage in downtown Telluride, while the top five finalists will perform two different original songs in the final round the following afternoon. In addition to a complimentary four-day festival pass, each finalist also receives an “’in-the-round” performance slot in Elks Park, a live radio spot, a performance coaching session, and an opportunity to perform a “tweener” song on the festival’s main stage. The Troubadour winner performs a 15-minute set on Saturday evening.

Previous winners in the competition include Larry Good (1991), Cosy Sheridan (1992), Dan Sheridan (1993), Catie Curtis (1994), LJ Booth (1995), Michael Lille (1996), Jonathan Kingham (1997), Eugene Ruffolo (1998), Libby Kirkpatrick (1999), Mary Coppin (2000), Kris Delmhorst (2001), Deb Talan (2002), Rachel Davis (2003), Brian Joseph (2004), Keith Greeninger (2005), Nels Andrews (2006), Gregory Alan Isakov (2007), Nathan Moore (2008), Mitch Barrett (2009), Robby Hecht (2010), Matt Harlan (2011), Reed Waddle (2012), Reed Turner (2013), Michael Kirkpatrick (2014), and Caitlin Canty (2015).

More information on the Telluride Troubadour Competition and on the Telluride Bluegrass Festival can be found online at www.bluegrass.com/telluride.

Among the Northeast’s most popular music festivals, the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, now in its 27th year, takes place July 31-Aug. 2 (with a pre-fest day of music and other activities on July 30) at Dodds Farm on Route 7D in Hillsdale, New York, located in the foothills of the Berkshires near the tri-state corner of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The festival features dozens of artists performing on several stages, a dance tent, children’s music and activities, and a wide array of crafts, food and other vendors.

Artists slated to perform at the festival this year include Ray Bonneville, Brother Sun, Judy Collins, The Dukhs, Ellis, IlyAIMY, Martyn Joseph, Nerissa & Katryna Nields, Pesky J. Nixon, Jim Photoglo, June Rich – Reunion Tour, Garnet Rogers, Roosevelt Dime, The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, The Storycrafters, Ralph Sweet, Annie Wenz, Susan Werner, and more.

Emerging Artists Showcase Their Talents on Friday Afternoon, July 31

As previously reported, 24 artists/duos/groups have been selected by a panel of judges to perform in this year’s Falcon Ridge/Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase on Friday afternoon, July 31, from 12 noon to 4:30 p.m. Listed alphabetically by last name or name of group, not in order of appearance, they are Annika (Blauvelt, NY), Mark Allen Berube (Brooklyn, NY), Meg Braun (Nashville, TN), Josh Brooks (Vergennes, VT), Mya Byrne (New York, NY), Meghan Cary with Analog Gypsies (Erdenheim, PA), Chasing June (Rockaway, NJ), Katie Dahl (Baileys Harbor, WI), Gina Forsyth (New Orleans, LA), Matt Harlan (Houston, TX), Jay Hitt (Butler, PA), Katrin (Brookline, MA), Bernice Lewis (Williamstown, MA), Liz & the Family Tree (New York, NY), Neptune’s Car (Sutton, MA), Mason Porter (Honey Brook, PA), Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers (Fayetteville, NY), Skout (New York, NY), Teresa Storch (Longmont, CO), Jessy Tomsko (Astoria, NY), Mare Wakefield & Nomad (Nashville, TN), Dan Weber (Vancouver, WA), Camela Widad (Mechanicsburg, PA), and Scott Wolfson & Other Heroes (Jersey City, NJ).

Late-Night Musical Revelry is a Festival Highlight

Those camping at Falcon Ridge and staying up through the early morning hours can enjoy an array of informal jams, mini-showcases and after-hours song circles that help foster a sense of “folk” community and a different kind of festival experience. Indeed, the late-night musical revelry is one of the festival’s true highlights, and AcousticMusicScene.com has been proud to be a part of it for a number of years – initially in partnership with Tribes Hill and, since 2012, with Pirate Camp.

The musical revelry under the AcousticMusicScene.com tent kicks-off late Thursday night, July 30, after the music ends on The Lounge Stage that is hosted by Pesky J. Nixon and friends. Pre-arranged, invitational late-night song swaps also are set for Friday and Saturday overnight after the music ends on the Main Stage. An hour-long sea chantey sing-along, led by Stuart Markus of the folk harmony trio Gathering Time, takes place on Saturday from 5-6 p.m., while spontaneous informal song circles and jams may break out at other times.

AcousticMusicScene.com @ Pirate Camp 2015

THURSDAY Overnight

11:15 Welcome & A Song for Jack Hardy: Stuart Kabak & Michael Kornfeld

11:30 Aaron Nathans & Michael Ronstadt, Hugh O’Doherty, Jude Roberts

12:00 Freebo, Davey O, Debbi Palmarini

12:30 Open Song Circle (guest host: Denise Jordan Finley)

FRIDAY Overnight

12:15 A Baker’s Dozen: Mark Allen Berube, Meg Braun, Meghan Cary with Analog Gypsies, Gina Forsyth, Cosby Gibson, Matt Harlan, Jay Hitt, Susan Kane, Bernice Lewis, Neptune’s Car, Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, Teresa Storch, Dan Weber

1:15 Young Folk: Annika, Kirsten Maxwell, Hayley Reardon

1:45 Bandemonium: Pesky J. Nixon, Miles to Dayton & Friends

SATURDAY

5:00 Sea Chantey Sing (hour-long)

(Led by Stuart Markus of Gathering Time)

SATURDAY Overnight

12:15 Stu’s Picks: Monty Delaney, Mike Laureanno, Heather Pierson Trio, Don Sparks, Cecilia St. King,

1:00 Women of Song: Katie Dahl, Honor Finnegan, Rachael Kilgour, Sharon Klein, Karyn Oliver, Camela Widad

1:30 A Couple of Most Wanted Artists: Matt Nakoa, Jean Rohe

2:00 Harmonic Convergence: Gathering Time, Mara Levine, The Levins

2:30 Arggh! That’s All Mates: Mya Byrne, Stuart Kabak, Scott Wolfson & Other Heroes

More than five years after Jack Hardy’s passing, Pirate Camp retains much of its initial warm spirit of camaraderie — with folks stopping by throughout the day to share a tune or just schmooze. The partnership with AcousticMusicScene.com and the addition of invitational song swaps has added a new element that is designed in part to help keep Pirate Camp alive and vibrant.

Three-day festival tickets are $180 with camping or $145 without camping. Single-day tickets are also available. Gates open for campers on Wednesday afternoon, July 29. More information, including the official festival schedule, can be found at www.falconridgefolk.com.

Appearing in this year’s Falcon Ridge/Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase are (listed alphabetically by last name or name of group, not in order of appearance): Annika (Blauvelt, NY), Mark Allen Berube (Brooklyn, NY), Meg Braun (Nashville, TN), Josh Brooks (Vergennes, VT), Mya Byrne (New York, NY), Meghan Cary with Analog Gypsies (Erdenheim, PA), Chasing June (Rockaway, NJ), Katie Dahl (Baileys Harbor, WI), Gina Forsyth (New Orleans, LA), Matt Harlan (Houston, TX), Jay Hitt (Butler, PA), Katrin (Brookline, MA), Bernice Lewis (Williamstown, MA), Liz & the Family Tree (New York, NY), Neptune’s Car (Sutton, MA), Mason Porter (Honey Brook, PA), Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers (Fayetteville, NY), Skout (New York, NY), Teresa Storch (Longmont, CO), Jessy Tomsko (Astoria, NY), Mare Wakefield & Nomad (Nashville, TN), Dan Weber (Vancouver, WA), Camela Widad (Mechanicsburg, PA), and Scott Wolfson & Other Heroes (Jersey City, NJ).

The Falcon Ridge/Grassy Hill Emerging Artists Showcase is not a contest, and artists won’t be judged per se, 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. This year’s Most Wanted Song Swap will feature Caitlin Canty, Matt Nakoa, Hayley Reardon, and Jean Rohe.

Among the Northeast’s most popular music festivals, the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, now in its 27th year, takes place July 31-Aug. 2 (with a pre-fest day July 30) at Dodds Farm on Route 7D in Hillsdale, New York, located in the foothills of the Berkshires near the tri-state corner of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The festival features dozens of artists performing on several stages, a dance tent, children’s music and activities, and a wide array of crafts, food and other vendors.

Those camping at Falcon Ridge and staying up through the early morning hours can enjoy an array of informal jams, mini-showcases and after-hours song circles that help foster a sense of “folk” community and a different kind of festival experience. AcousticMusicScene.com will again host late-night music at Pirate Camp, located on the 10-Acre field. Pre-arranged unplugged late-night song swaps will take place on Friday and Saturday overnight after the music ends on the Main Stage, as well as on Thursday night after the music ends on The Lounge Stage. More information on these will be posted in July.

Three-day festival tickets are $155 with camping or $120 without camping, if purchased by June 30, and rise by $25 after then. Single-day tickets are also available. Gates open for campers on Wednesday afternoon, July 29. More information can be found at www.falconridgefolk.com.

Now in its 46th year, Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival is slated for Saturday-Sunday, June 20-21, at Croton Point Park in Croton-on-Hudson in New York’s Hudson Valley. A wide array of music, dance, storytelling and family-oriented programming will take place on seven sustainably powered stages.

Produced by and benefiting the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc., a nonprofit member-supported organization launched by Pete Seeger and others to preserve and protect the Hudson River and its tributaries, the festival celebrates environmental activism and education and supports its efforts on behalf of the environment and social justice and keeping the sloop Clearwater afloat. Besides lots of music, the festival features a Green Living Expo, riverfront activities, environmental workshops and exhibits, and booths run by educational and activist organizations. For an extra fee, visitors will be afforded opportunities to sail the Hudson on the Clearwater, a world-renowned floating classroom and symbol of effective grassroots action. A juried Handcrafters’ Village and a participatory Circle of Song are also on the docket. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.clearwaterfestival.org.

The 35th Annual Old Songs Festival takes place June 26-28 at Altamont Fairgrounds in Altamont, approximately 10 miles west of Albany. Produced by Old Songs, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in the New York State Capitol Region that seeks to keep traditional music and dance alive through the festival, as well as monthly concerts, dances and educational programs, this festival features a variety of folk, Celtic and world music.

A very participatory event, the Old Songs Festival includes more than 120 workshops, classes, sessions and performances. Attendees also are afforded opportunities to take part in “sacred harp” or shape-note singing, choral harmony singing and open mics, as well as lots of festival performer-led and impromptu jam sessions. The relaxed, family-friendly festival also features a dedicated children’s area, as well as a wide array of artisans, vendors and food.

Individual day tickets and all-festival tickets (with or without camping) are available at the gate. For more information, visit www.oldsongs.org/festival.

Lucinda Williams will headline the fifth annual American Roots Music Festival at Caramoor, a family friendly celebration of acoustic music, on Saturday, June 27. Set on 90 acres of gardens and Italianate architecture in Katonah, Westchester County, NY – 40 miles northeast of New York City — the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is well known for its summer music festivals. AcousticMusicScene.com is delighted to again be a Cultural Partner of the festival and will have a presence there.

Opening for Williams in the evening program beginning at 7:30 p.m. will up-and-coming Oklahoma-based singer-songwriter Parker Millsap. Artists slated to perform during the afternoon (12-6 p.m.) include Kristin Andreassen Band, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Jessy Carolina & The Hot Mess, Mason Porter, Cole Quest and the City Pickers, Spuyten Duyvil, Matt Turk, and Walkabout Clearwater Chorus. Also scheduled is a social music hour — an old-time music workshop featuring some of the artists mentioned above and patterned after one that Spuyten Duyvil’s Mark Miller has led here and at other music festivals. Folks attending it are encouraged to bring their instruments or just gather round to learn about several old-time musicians and sing their songs.

“Caramoor is a nature paradise and the music takes place in several locations on the grounds so that folks can experience some of the environmental beauty as well,” says Maggi Landau, the festival organizer. She notes that during the daytime artists will be performing acoustic, unplugged sets in the Sunken Garden – “a quiet grove with the audience sitting on the ground literally at the feet of the artist” – as well as on the larger Friends Field. The evening concert featuring Lucinda Williams will take place inside the Venetian Theater for which there is reserved seating.

Daytime only tickets (excluding the evening performances) and full-festival tickets, (including reserved seating for the evening concert) may be ordered by calling (914) 232-1252 or visiting www.caramoor.org.

Attendees are advised to bring their own chairs/blankets for the daytime performances. Although limited food and beverages will be available for purchase, folks also can bring their own and enjoy picnicking on Caramoor’s spacious lawns.

The second annual Rockland-Bergen Music Festival takes place Saturday-Sunday, June 27 -28, at German Masonic Park, 120 Western Highway in Tappan. Gates open at 10 a.m., while music extends from 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. each night, rain or shine. Artists slated to perform over the weekend include Aztec Two-Step, Arlon Bennett Band, Bluebirds of Paradise, Jen Chapin, Tom Chapin Trio, Shawn Colvin, Guy Davis with Professor Louie, KJ Denhert, festival presenter Joe D’Urso & Stone Caravan, John Eddie, Steve Forbert Jeffrey Gaines, Spook Handy, Garland Jeffreys, David Johansen, The Levins, James Maddock, Willie Nile, John Sebastian, Frank Tedesso, The The Band Band, and many others. For more information, visit www.rocklandmusicfestival.com.

AcousticMusicScene.com Hosts Mid-Summer Song Swaps at Huntington, Falcon Ridge Folk Festivals

And mark your calendars for these two upcoming festivals at which AcousticMusicScene.com will host pre-arranged unplugged song swaps: Huntington Folk Festival (Sunday, July 26 in Huntington) and Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (July 31-Aug. 2, with a pre-fest day July 30 in Hillsdale).

The free event, co-presented by the Folk Music Society of Huntington and the Huntington Arts Council, is part of the 50th Annual Huntington Summer Arts Festival produced by the town of Huntington, presented by the Huntington Arts Council, and sponsored in part by the New York State Council for the arts, the County of Suffolk and Canon U.S.A. More information, including a detailed schedule, will be posted on AcousticMusicScene.com next month, as well as on www.fmsh.org.

AcousticMusicScene.com will also host late-night song swaps under a big tent at Pirate Camp during the 27th Annual Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, July 31-Aug. 2 (with a music-filled pre-fest day on July 30). One of the Northeast’s most popular music festivals, Falcon Ridge takes place at Dodd’s Farm on Route 7D in Hillsdale, NY, located in the foothills of the Berkshires, near the tri-state corner of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Falcon Ridge features dozens of artists performing on several stages, a dance tent, children’s music and activities, and a wide array of crafts, food and other vendors. Among the artists performing this year will be Ray Bonneville, Brother Sun, Judy Collins, The Duhks, Ellis, IlyAIMY, Martyn Joseph, Jay Mankita, Nerissa & Katrina Nields, Pesky J. Nixon, Jim Photoglo, June Rich, Garnet Rogers, Roosevelt Dime, The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Ralph Sweet, Annie Wenz, Susan Werner, George Marshall with Wild Asparagus, and the 2014 Emerging Artists Showcase performers voted “Most Wanted to Return”: Caitlyn Canty, Matt Nakoa, Hayley Reardon and Jean Rohe.

One of the true highlights of the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival – for those who opt to camp on-site and stay up through the early morning hours – are the impromptu jams, after-hours song circles and unplugged mini-showcases that help foster a sense of “folk” community and provide a different kind of festival experience.

2015 marks the fourth year that AcousticMusicScene.com will partner with Pirate Camp, which was informally launched by Stuart Kabak and the late Jack Hardy more than a decade ago to provide a warm and welcoming haven for sharing music, food and camaraderie. Prior to 2012, AcousticMusicScene.com had for many years joined with Tribes Hill, a lower Hudson Valley-based nonprofit organization uniting musicians and their patrons, in hosting late-night music under a big white tent.

More information about Falcon Ridge and the AcousticMusicScene.com tent @ Pirate Camp will be posted in coming weeks.