“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.

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/.

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 27, from 1-4 p.m., are Hadley Kennary (Nashville, TN), ordinary elephant (Livingston, TX), Wendy Colonna (Buda, TX), John John Brown (Winter Garden, FL), Letitia VanSant (Baltimore, MD), Catherine Miles & Jay Mafale – The YaYas (Greenlawn, NY), Arlon Bennett (Tappan, NY), Heather Styka (Addison, IL), Lyndy Butler (Hurricane, UT), Chris Moyse (Nashville, TN), Chris Petersen (Cedar City, UT), Jefferson Clay (San Antonio, TX), Ingrid Graudins (Nashville, TN), Emily Barnes (Johnsonburg, NJ), Ben Shannon (Pittsburgh, PA), and Robin Bienemann (Oak Park, IL).

New Folk Finalists slated to perform on Sunday afternoon, May 28, include Shawn Byrne (Nashville, TN), Rachael Kilgour (Duluth, MN), Eleanor Kleiner & Elie Brangbour – The Whispering Tree (Beacon, NY), Teresa Eggerston Cooke (Park City, UT), Isaac Hoskins (Denton, TX), Mary Bragg (Nashville, TN), Rich Krueger (Evergreen Park, IL), Teghan Devon (Myersville, MD), Kelly Hoppenjans (Nashville, TN), Dana Sipos (Guelph, Ontario), Martin Kerr (Edmonton, Alberta), Angela Parrish (North Hollywood, CA), Brian Pounds (Austin, TX), Andy Baker (Gobles, MI), and Winona Wilde (Bridgenorth, Ontario).

Named as alternates were Mila Maring-Sims (Alto Pass, IL), Alicia Viani (Bend, OR), Ben Bedford (Springfield, IL), Eric Stucky (Montrose, CO), Randy Palmer (Amarillo, TX), Wyatt Easterling (Chapel Hill, NC), Kevin T. Hale (Westlake Village, CA), and Jenny Reynolds (Austin, TX).

After performing, six songwriters will be selected as 2017 New Folk Winners by noted songwriters Amy Speace, Dan Navarro and Jeff Black, who are serving as judges. The six, to be announced during the evening concert on May 28, will receive cash honorariums and other prizes, as well as the opportunity to return the following weekend to each perform 20-minute sets during a Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners concert at the festival on Sunday 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. Being named as a New Folk Winner is regarded as a very prestigious honor.

In addition to concerts each evening, Kerrville features “Ballad Tree” song-sharing sessions, campfire jam sessions, concerts and activities for children, organized canoe and kayak trips on the Guadelupe River and Hill Country bike rides, a Young Artists Performance Incubator, a professional development program for teachers, as well as a three-day songwriters school and instrumental workshops. The festival runs for 18 straight days – Thursday, May 25– Sunday, June 11. For a complete schedule and additional information, visit www.kerrville-music.com.

Scheduled to perform (in order of performance) at the Threadgill Theater on the Quiet Valley Ranch Campgrounds in the Texas Hill Country on May 28, from 1-4 p.m., are Annalise Emerick (Nashville, TN), Rachel Laven (San Antonio, TX), Ro Colegrove (Jamaica Plain, MA), Freddy & Francine (Los Angeles, CA), Donal Hinely (Springfield, TN), Kirsten Maxwell (Huntington, NY), The River Has Many Voices (Austin, TX), Karyn Oliver (New York, NY), Heather Mae (Washington DC), Kelley McRae (Austin, TX), Justin Farren (Sacramento, CA), Annika Bennett (Breezy Point, NY), Dear June (Boston, MA), Michael Braunfeld (Philadelphia, PA), Bob Hillman (San Francisco, CA) and Avery Hill (Portland, OR)

New Folk Finalists slated to perform on May 29 include Aaron Smith (Harrison, AR), Ezra Vancil (Dallas, TX), Joe Shields (Alto, MI), Emily Scott Robinson (Chattanooga, TN), Addie Brownlee (Brooklyn, NY), Ben de la Cour (Nashville, TN), Mare Wakefield and Nomad (Nashville, TN), Grant Peeples (Tallahassee, FL), Meg Braun (Nashville, TN), Randy Palmer (Amarillo, TX), Josh Harvey (San Francisco, CA), Suzanna Choffel (New York, NY), Twangtown Paramours (Nashville, TN), Daniel Champagne (Nashville, TN), Aly Tadros (Brooklyn, NY) and Bethel Steele (Ft Collins, CO).

Named as alternates were Mike Laureanno (Providence, RI), Santiago La Rochelle (Las Vegas, NV), Jeremy Nash (New York, NY), Alex Woodward (Encinitas, CA), and Susan Cattaneo (Medford, MA).

After performing, six songwriters will be selected as 2016 New Folk Winners by noted songwriters Johnsmith, Cheryl Wheeler and Kenny White, who are serving as judges. The six will receive cash honorariums and other prizes, as well as the opportunity to return the following weekend to each perform 20-minute sets during a Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners concert at the festival on Sunday afternoon, June 5.

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. Being named as a New Folk Winner is regarded as a very prestigious honor.

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 festival runs for 18 straight days – Thursday, May 26– Sunday, June 12. For a complete schedule and additional information, visit www.kerrville-music.com.

Scheduled to perform (in order of performance) at the Threadgill Theater on the Quiet Valley Ranch Campgrounds in the Texas Hill Country on May 28, from noon to 3 p.m. are Karyn Oliver (Boring, MD), Bobby Sweet (Beckett, MA), David Francey (Toronto, ON, Canada), Eliot Bronson (Atlanta, GA), Rob Lytle (Apex, NC), Terry Holder (Olympia, WA), A. J. Roach (Brooklyn, NY), Jen Cass (Bay City, MI), Tom Corbett (Woodland Hills, CA), Chet O’Keefe (Nashville, TN), Megan Burtt (Denver, CO), Owen Temple (Austin, TX), Grace Pettis (Harrisonburg, VA), Steve Chizmadia (Peekskill, NY), and Arlon Bennett (Northvale, NJ).

New Folk Finalists slated to perform on May 29 include Friction Farm (Greenville, SC), B. Sterling Archer (Austin, TX), Cassie Peterson (Nashville, TN), Aaron Nathans (Madison, DE), Ben Suchy (Bismarck, ND), Karisha Longaker & Sarah Nutting (Chico, CA), Tommy Byrd (Austin, TX), David Moss (Austin, TX), The YaYas (Mohegan Lake, NY), Wyatt Easterling (Nashville, TN), David Stukenberg (Austin, TX), Mai Bloomfield (Venice, CA), Randy Palmer (Amarillo, TX), Twangtown Paramours (Nashville, TN) and Phil Henry (Rutland, VT).

After performing, six songwriters will be selected as 2011 New Folk Winners by judges Michael Camp, Johnsmith and Patrice Pike. The six will receive cash honorariums and other prizes, as well as the opportunity to return the following weekend during a Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners concert at the festival on Sunday, June 5.

Now in its 40th year and geared towards singer-songwriters of various musical styles and their fans, the Kerrville Folk Festival is the longest continuously running festival of its kind in North America. 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 26– Sunday, June 12. For a complete festival schedule and additional information, visit www.kerrville-music.com.