“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.

Born Anthony Grant Barrand in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England on April 3, 1945 to parents who were part of a local brass band, he moved across the Atlantic after attending Keele University and lived in Brattleboro, Vermont. While pursing a Ph.D. in psychology at Cornell University in the late 1960s, he and John Roberts, a fellow graduate student who was also born and raised in England, discovered that they shared a mutual affinity for English traditional songs and formed a musical duo.

Roberts and Barrand performed a vast repertoire of traditional English folk songs and sea chanteys at festivals, colleges, folk clubs and coffeehouses throughout the U.S., Canada and the UK for more than 50 years. Although best known for their a cappella harmonies, Roberts and Barrand also played instruments. Roberts plays concertina, as well as banjo and guitar, while Barrand was a percussionist on drums, bones and spoons. In concert, they punctuated their songs with folktales, stories, dances, and tunes. The duo recorded a number of albums for various labels over the years and also recorded with Fred Breunig and Andy Davis and performed annual yuletide concerts as Nowell Sing We Clear. An unredacted 3 –CD set of Roberts and Barrand performing live at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, Illinois on January 21, 1978 — recorded by Rich Warren, the longtime former host of The Midnight Special at WFMT Radio – was release to mark the duo’s 50th anniversary concert in September 2019.

Barrand was also a gifted Morris and clog dancer, whose book Six Fools and a Dancer has been cited as a definitive work on Morris dance in the U.S. Besides teaching and writing books about Morris dance, as well as editing the journal Country Dance and Song, Barrand created the Marlboro Morris Ale — a national gathering of Morris dancers that takes place annually in Vermont. The Anthony Grant Barrand Collection of Morris, Sword, and Clog Dancing – featuring a number of films and videos – can be found at the Library of Congress’ American Folklife Center and has also been digitized for online viewing via Boston University. The Country Dance and Song Society honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 in recognition of his efforts in teaching, researching and recording Morris dance, as well as for his work as a traditional singer and musician.

A professor emeritus of anthropology (including folklore and esthetics) at Boston University, Barrand taught such courses as English Ritual Dance and Drama, Folk Songs as Social History, and The Psychology and Folklore of Extra-Sensory Perception and Psychic Phenomena.

Folk Music Notebook, a 24-hour online folk music channel launched by veteran folk DJ Ron Olesko in 2019, pays tribute to the life and work of Tony Barrand today (January 30) with two recorded concerts by Roberts and Barrand from 2001 and 2005, as well as a more recent interview with Barrand, beginning at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

Extending from 3-6 p.m. EST, the 2021 Folk DJ Emerging Artist Showcase is hosted by Folk Music Notebook, an online radio station showcasing a wide array of folk music 24/7 since May 2019. The showcase premieres with a video stream on its YouTube channel (Here is a direct link to view the video: https://youtu.be/ZOAHIRHvTb8], while there will also be a separate audio stream at www.FolkMusicNotebook.com.

Inspired by the Folk DJ Showcase that was started in 2003 at the annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference by Rich Warren (the former longtime host of The Midnight Special on Chicago’s WFMT that is also nationally syndicated) and the late Suzi Wollenberg, this virtual showcase will carry on the tradition that was interrupted with the cancellation of the November event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, notes Ron Olesko, a veteran folk DJ who founded and curates Folk Music Notebook.

Realizing that the NERFA Conference would not be taking place, Olesko contacted fellow DJs John Platt, Joe Pszonek and Bruce Swan to discuss doing something online in its place. “We brainstormed and came up with this virtual showcase, and I think what all the DJs have created will remind viewers and listeners of the spirit of the guerrilla Folk DJ Showcase that has been part of NERFA since 2003,” said Olesko. “If this event is well received, we might try another in the spring with other DJs from around the United States and Canada. The talent in our community continues to astound me, and I predict that the artists who are participating in this event will soon become audience favorites.”

Referring to the Folk DJ Showcase as a highlight of the NERFA Conference for a couple of decades, Platt, host of Sunday Supper on WFUV in New York, recalls “first getting turned on to [Canadian singer-songwriter] Rose Cousins and being gratified by the response to artists like [eclectic NY-based alt-roots-Americana band] Spuyten Duyvil that I introduced.” He believes “The lineup here is equally strong, and the beauty is you don’t have to pay for registration or have a hotel room to enjoy them.”

Here is the list of DJs and the artists whom they will be presenting (in order of appearance):

Years ago, I encouraged Lois to attend the annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conference and to apply for showcases at it. Accompanying herself on a mini-piano during the Suzi Wollenberg Folk DJ Showcase at the 2011 NERFA Conference, she drew a standing ovation from an audience that was captivated by her and thoroughly enchanted with her funny songs. Selected for an official juried showcase in 2012, Lois repeated that feat (a rarity at NERFA conferences). At my urging, she applied for and secured another official juried showcase a few years later.

Lois earned the praise of noted folk DJs like John Platt and Rich Warren. “Don’t be deceived. Underneath Lois Morton’s sweet grandmotherly demeanor lurks a wickedly clever songwriter,” Platt, host of Sunday Supper on New York’s WFUV, once commented. “The legacy of Tom Lehrer lives on in Lois.” Warren, the recently retired host of the long-running, nationally syndicated The Midnight Special, played her songs frequently and also invited her to perform live in Chicago on his WFMT radio program and concert series, Folkstage. Her song “The Diet is Cast” received an Imprint Radio Award from the late upstate New York folk DJ Terry Doyle for Best Live Performance and also was nominated for a 2012 MAC Award by the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs. She received a 2014 MAC Award for a New York City cabaret revue, 20th Century Girl (featuring songs from her 2013 album of the same name), that was performed at Don’t Tell Mama and The Duplex.

[Here’s a link to a video of Lois Morton performing “The Diet is Cast:”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZb30xZjUZc.]

Lois was also the subject of a cover feature in Acoustic Live! in New York City & Beyond. Richard Cuccaro, its editor & publisher, opined: “For any concertgoer who loves intricate wordplay, Lois is a lodestone discovery. Truly a gem.” Singer-Songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore, with whom she took courses at the Omega Institute, described her songs as “a beautiful blend of biting wit, constant surprises and poignant, human stories. They alternately provoke us to laughter at our modern foibles and touch our hearts with timeless, tender, heartfelt sharing.” Lois was also a frequent attendee of the Summersongs and Wintersongs songwriting camps in upstate New York.

She released three CDs of original songs – As I See It, Doorways In Time and 20th Century Girl – and, in November 2019, a six-song EP entitled Thinking It Through. In addition to her own topical songs, which she began writing in the late 1960s, and several of which were published in Broadside Magazine, Lois brought to life the legendary Edith Piaf in a lecture-cabaret program featuring songs and stories and also performed a show called “Raisins and Almonds: Jewish Songs for the Heart.”

Lois leaves behind a daughter (Amy), a son (Philip), three grandchildren, and a trove of songs that I hope will be discovered and enjoyed by people for years to come. Below are links to just a few of the many videos of her performing them that appear on YouTube:

“Twentieth Century Girl”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQaY9R2aBtk

“The Cell Phone Song”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f84Kg2n-cTI

“Confessions of a Clutterholic”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5kbjYkFR58

“The Diet Is Cast” (performed live at the 2016 NERFA Conference)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PemwZlKZzA

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/.

Visibly moved and overwhelmed, after having himself just presented NERFA’s first Album of the Year Award to singer-songwriter Ellis Paul for The Storyteller’s Suitcase. Olesko accepted the award in front of some 700 conference attendees during a Friday night dinner and awards ceremony in the Stamford Crowne Plaza’s International Ballroom.

“It is because of NERFA and the spirit it creates that I am able to find the motivation and support to organize this channel,” asserts Olesko. “You are all my family and the art created by this community keeps me going. I will continue to work this labor of love until my last breath. Thank you all for the love you’ve shown me.”

Folk Music Notebook launched on May 3, 2019 – the 100th anniversary of the birth of folk music icon Pete Seeger. Olesko envisions it as a gathering spot for the folk community and all the fans of our music –- a place to ‘discover’ new artists ad songs as well as honor the established names who created this living tradition.

As previously reported on AcousticMusicScene.com [https://acousticmusicscene.com/2019/05/02/folk-music-notebook-a-247-music-channel-launches-online-and-is-available-via-free-apps/], Folk Music Notebook offers up a curated playlist focusing on the diverse contemporary folk music community, while also incorporating the folk revival artists who drew many people to this genre. Interspersed with the music are brief but informative DJ announcements, recorded stories behind the songs from the artists themselves, as well as commentary, news and other special features. The channel broadcast juried official showcases, as well as its own curated artist showcases, live from the conference.

Folk Music Notebook engages listeners by showing the connections between songs and styles – keeping them engrossed throughout the day without constant badgering from hosts, endless strings of commercials, or repetitive automated playlists.

“I was stunned to receive such a recognition and proud of what has been accomplished by all the wonderful program hosts and correspondents that make Folk Music Notebook possible,” Olesko posted on his Facebook page. “I almost lost it when I walked onstage to accept the award and saw people starting to give me a standing ovation … It was a moment I won’t forget, to be recognized by this wonderful family of folkies!”

Olesko noted that he shares the award “with all of our hosts, everyone who contributed to our Kickstarter campaign that enabled us to launch, the artists whose music we share, and [with] everyone who tunes in to our 24-hour service. I am very proud what we have created together!” He expressed thanks to the NERFA board of directors for recognizing Folk Music Notebook and what it has accomplished so far. “We have some exciting new shows and plans for the future, and I think you will enjoy what we are going to be adding at www.FolkMusicNotebook.com – your home for great folk songs old and new, 24 hours a day!”

An active participant in NERFA conferences for many years, Olesko served as a moderator and panelist during this year’s event, and was part of the judging panel that selected the official showcase artists. He joined Sonny Ochs (an upstate New York-based folk DJ who also has a show that airs on Folk Music Notebook) in moderating a Wisdom of the Elders session featuring fellow folk DJs Wanda Adams Fischer (host of Hudson River Sampler on WAMC in Albany, NY), John Platt (host of Sunday Supper on WFUV in the Bronx, NY), and Rich Warren (host of the nationally syndicated Midnight Special that emanates from WFMT in Chicago, IL). Olesko also joined Platt and folk DJs Jess Phaneuf (MVY Radio on Martha’s Vineyard, MA), Joe Pszonek (who hosts shows on WNTI in NJ and on Blues & Roots Radio), and Greg Torrington (Stingray Digital) in a panel discussion entitled Ride The Wave: Radio, Podcasts, Satellite, Terrestrial & New Media Platforms, as well as Pszonek, AcousticMusicScene.com’s Michael Kornfeld, and artists Mara Levine and Stuart Markus on a panel exploring Self-Promoting Your Project To The Folk DJ Chart – Is It For You?

Conference attendees included performing artists, presenters, promoters, agents and managers, folk DJs, and others actively engaged in contemporary and traditional folk music. They enjoyed and were inspired by jam-packed days and nights of music showcases, song swaps/in-the-rounds, open mics and informal jam sessions, a children’s concert, informative panel discussions and workshops, one-on-one mentoring and peer group sessions, communal meals, an exhibit hall, a community meeting with NERFA’s board of directors, a community sing, a welcoming party, a 25th anniversary celebration, and lots of opportunities for schmoozing and networking.

Courtney Rodland, NERFA’s conference director, presented the organization’s first Lifetime Achievement Award to Dianne Tankle, NERFA’s founder and its conference director from its inception until stepping down last fall.

NERFA (www.nerfa.org) is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org), a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion. NERFA’s geographic boundaries extend from the eastern provinces of Canada south to the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Editor’s Note: Thanks to my NERFA board colleagues for their ongoing commitment and dedication to our organization and the community that we serve, and for re-electing me to another term as president during our reorganization meeting that took place just prior to the start of the conference. It was my pleasure to present NERFA’s first Creator of the Year Award to Ron Olesko, as well as to participate on two panels and host late-night showcases under the banner of AcousticMusicScene.com during the conference.

A six-song EP, Greening the Dark, is Cowan’s sixth recording and her second collaboration with drummer Dave Mattacks (Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson, Rosanne Cash) serving as arranger and producer. Cowan is a Massachusetts-based artist who performs a cappella and with guitar — interpreting a wide range of traditional and contemporary folk songs. “She sure knows how to interpret a song and wrap her soul and voice around it,” says veteran folk DJ Rich Warren, host of the nationally syndicated The Midnight Special that emanates from WFMT in Chicago, IL. A former middle school math teacher, Cowan also served as vice president of AFM Local 1000, the traveling musicians union, from 2011-2016.

The October 2019 Top Albums, Songs and Artists charts are based on 14, 232 airplays reported on 535 playlists submitted by 126 different DJs. The number of reported spins is shown below in parentheses. The charts are compiled by Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org), a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion.

The monthly top albums and songs charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission.

Top Albums of October 2019

1. Greening the Dark by Debra Cowan (107)
2. Up Against the Sky by Dave Gunning (82)
3. Wahoo! by Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer (78)
4. Bones and Gravity by Lizanne Knott (71)
5. Country Music – A Film by Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) by Various Artists (65)
5. Every Single Star by Dori Freeman (65)
7. All That’s Real by Gathering Sparks (62)
7. Going to the Well by Linda McRae (62)
9. Wildwood by Katie Dahl (58)
9. Words of Love by Allison Lupton (58)
11. Heart Land Again by Tim Grimm (53)
12. When They Fall by Annie and Rod Capps (51)
13. If You Fall by Jaime Michaels (50)
14. Due to the Darkness by The Gossamer Strings (47)
14. Straight to Marrow by Clint Alphin (47)
16. Rearrange My Heart by Che Apalache (45)
16. The Best of Christine Lavin by Christine Lavin (45)
18. Old Ghosts and Lost Causes by Helene Cronin (41)
19. Chasing the Sun by Bobtown (39)
19. The Storyteller’s Suitcase by Ellis Paul (39)
19. Me and the Ghost of Charlemagne by Amy Speace (39)
22. While I’m Livin by Tanya Tucker (38)
22. Talk to a Human by Terri Hendrix (38)
24. The Hard Stuff by Susan Gibson (37)
24. Gonna Love Anyway by Louisa Branscomb (37)
24. Adobe Road by Cej (37)
27. Fair Play to You All by Tommy Sands (36)
28. Crowing Ignites by Bruce Cockburn (34)
29. How We Want to Live by Lisa Bastoni (33)
29. The Lost Tapes by Ian and Sylvia (33)
29. Time and Tides by Susan and Ray (33)
32. Visions by Alice Howe (32)
33. Honest by Ordinary Elephant (31)
33. Assiniboine and the Red by The Small Glories (31)
35. Fires for the Cold by Jonah Tolchin (30)
36. Hush the Wild Horses by Rachel Harrington (28)
37. That We Could Find a Way to Be by Andrew Van Norstrand (27)
37. Tall Fiddler by Michael Cleveland (27)
37. Home by Billy Strings (27)
40. These Old Hands by Crys Matthews (26)
40. Moth Nor Rust Ii by Jon Brooks (26)
40. Conspirators by Guy Forsyth and Jeska Bailey (26)
40. Facets of Folk by Mara Levine (26)
40. October in the Railroad Earth by Tom Russell (26)
45. Leylines by Rising Appalachia (25)
45. White Noise, White Lines by Kelsey Waldon (25)
47. Ten: The Errant Night by Runa (24)
47. The Iron Trios by Laurel Premo (24)
47. Songs of Our Native Daughters by Our Native Daughters (24)
50. Who Asked You Back by Ella Harp (23)
50. Oklahoma by Keb’ Mo’ (23)
50. It’s a Hard Life by Ruby Lovett (23)
50. Every Trip Around the Sun by Sharon Goldman (23)
50. Steering Pete’s Course, Maritime Songs From the Seeger Songbag by The Rix (23)
55. My Dony by Grant Dermody (22)
55. Acoustic Rainbow Roots Volume 49 by Various Artists (22)
55. Charlie Parr by Charlie Parr (22)
55. Heather Down the Moor by Gatehouse (22)
59. How Far It Goes by The Refugees (21)
59. As I Go Ramblin’ Around by Nicholas Edward Williams (21)
59. Free and Fine by Jordi Baizan (21)
62. Paws of a Bear by Sofia Talvik (20)
62. The Bull Mountain Moonshiners’ Way by Jesse McReynolds and Friends (20)
62. Acorns by Ben Winship (20)
62. Unfortunate Point of View by Katherine Rondeau (20)
62. Fire Out of Stone by Chuck Hawthorne (20)
62. Even the Sparrow by Kelly Hunt (20)
68. June Is Short, July Is Long by Jeb Loy Nichols (19)
68. What Will We Do by Lula Wiles (19)
68. It’s a Dog’s Life by Si Kahn and the Looping Brothers (19)
68. Toolshed by Ben Winship (19)
68. Rings Around Saturn by Marion Halliday (19)
68. Rose Avenue by Joel Rafael (19)

Top Songs of October 2019

1. “The Old Changing Way” by Debra Cowan (29)
2. “Scarecrow” by Debra Cowan (21)
3. “Bones and Feathers” by Debra Cowan (19)
4. “Celebrate the Crop” by Dave Gunning (16)
4. “Walk Away” by Lizanne Knott (16)
6. “Answer Not Blowing in the Wind” by Tommy Sands (15)
7. “Man in the Bottom of the Well” by Linda McRae (14)
7. “Wahoo!” by Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer (14)
7. “Straight to Marrow” by Clint Alphin (14)
7. “Polly on the Shore” by Debra Cowan (14)
11. “Muddy Waters” by Susan and Ray (13)
12. “Feathers and Wings” by Gathering Sparks (12)
12. “Triskaidekaphobia” by Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer (12)
12. “Anna Dixie” by Debra Cowan (12)
12. “Hills of Greenmore” by Debra Cowan (12)
12. “What Will I Dream” by Allison Lupton (12)
17. “In the Time I Was Away” by Dave Gunning (11)
17. “All That’s Yet to Come” by Dave Gunning (11)
17. “(That Would Do) Some Good” by Annie and Rod Capps (11)
17. “All I Ever Wanted” by Dori Freeman (11)
17. “Ferris Wheel” by Dave Gunning (11)
17. “High on a Mountain” by Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer (11)
17. “2 Step” by Dori Freeman (11)
17. “The Dreamer” by Che Apalache (11)
25. “All Brand New” by Cej (10)
25. “Darlin’ Boy” by Dori Freeman (10)
25. “The Liar Tweets Tonight” by Christine Lavin (10)
25. “American Girl” by Bobtown (10)
25. “I Will Rise” by Allison Lupton (10)
25. “Bones and Gravity” by Lizanne Knott (10)
25. “The Welcome Song” by Jan Aldridge Clark (10)
25. “Hurricane” by Lizanne Knott (10)

Top Artists of October 2019

Besides several jam-packed days and nights of music showcases, song swaps/in-the-rounds, open mics and informal jam sessions, the NERFA conference will also feature a children’s concert, informative panel discussions and workshops, one-on-one mentoring and peer group sessions, communal meals, awards presentations, an exhibit hall, a community meeting with NERFA’s volunteer board of directors, a community sing, a welcoming party, a 25th anniversary celebration, and lots of opportunities for schmoozing and networking. Singer-songwriter Noel Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul & Mary fame) will be the conference’s keynote speaker.

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 taking advantage of learning opportunities that can help enhance and enrich their professional and personal lives.

Workshops and Panel Discussions Abound

The conference’s programming committee, under the leadership of Ethan Baird, NERFA’s board secretary, has arranged a diverse array of workshops and panel discussions. Recognizing the popularity of its On the Griddle instant critique sessions during which a panel of folk DJs and presenters listen to the first 60 seconds of a number of songs and provides snap feedback, NERFA will offer two new panels inspired by them and focusing on artist blurbs/bios and videos.

Among some two-dozen other scheduled workshops and panel discussions are A-OK: Mental Health & Well-Being for Working Artists, A Dynamic Duo! – Artists & Venues Working Together to Create Unforgettable Shows, F rom Cents to Sense: Smart Financial Planning for the Independent Artist, Gold Records! – Learn from he Masters & Produce Dynamic Audio Projects that Shimmer & Shine, Good Vibrations: Your Voice, Singing & Powerful Vocal Techniques, Home Sweet Home: Best-Laid Plans to Create Magical & Successful House Concerts, The Insider’s Guide to Music Management, The Jack Hardy Songwriter’s Method, Start a Creative Revolution! – Using the Arts to Start Creative Change, Vance Gilbert’s Famous Performance Critique, and Women in Folk: A Multigenerational Reflection. Sonny Ochs, a longtime folk DJ and sister of the late troubadour and activist Phil Ochs, will again host a Wisdom of the Elders session; this time it will feature veteran folk DJs Wanda Fischer, John Platt and Rich Warren. Yoga sessions also will be offered each morning, while MusiCares will be on site again to fit folks for custom earplugs.

Noel Paul Stookey Keynotes the Conference on Saturday Night

Today, Noel still performs occasionally with Peter Yarrow (Mary passed away in 2009), as well as doing solo shows in which he continually introduces new songs that deal specifically with major issues facing us in these times. He also invests time and energy in his national nonprofit organization, Music to Life, founded with his daughter, Liz Stookey Sunde, which connects activist artists of all genres with the resources they need to revitalize their communities through music. In reference to the well-known Chinese curse: ‘May you live in interesting times,’ Noel laughs: “Well baby, we are there. We communicate
these days through social media about those.

Juried Showcases Slated for Friday and Saturday Nights

Taking center stage during the conference will be 14 artists/acts selected by a panel of judges – with each to perform a 15-minute formal showcase set on Friday and Saturday nights – the most coveted performance opportunity at the conference. Friday night’s lineup includes (in order of appearance) The New Students, Meghan Cary, Tui, Corey Laitman Trio, Les Royal Pickles, Roger Street Friedman, and Megan Burtt. Slated to showcase their talents on Saturday night are Damn Tall Buildings, Annie Sumi, Alastair Moock, Sophie Buskin, Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, Alisa Amador, and Matt Nakoa Trio.

Following the formal showcases, attendees will shuffle between three conference ballrooms in close proximity to one another to catch short sets by 30 additional artists/acts who also were selected by the judges. Performing in these semi-formal showcases on Friday night are (in alphabetical order) Marc Berger, Blue Plate Special, The Bombadils, Katie Dahl, Marion Halliday, Lily Henley, JANTURAN, Mara Levine, James Maddock, Jeffrey Martin, Peter Mulvey, Kalyna Rakel, Martin Swinger, Tragedy Ann, and Rupert Wates. Saturday’s semi-formal showcase artists include Jeremy Aaron, Cricket Blue, Kala Farnham, Kora Feder, Matt Harlan, Lynne Hanson, Diana Jones, MOSA, David Newland with Siqiniup Qilauta/Sunsdrum, Ordinary Elephant, Birch Pereira & the Gin Joints, Piper & Carson, Benjamin Dakota Rogers, Katherine Rondeau, and Ken Tizzard. Like the formal showcases that immediately precede them, nothing else is allowed to compete with the semi-formal showcases during the conference.

On Thursday evening, the conference’s opening night, the Suzi Wollenberg Folk DJ Showcase will feature short performances by 16 artists/acts chosen by DJs. Listed in order of appearance, they are The Scooches, Kalyna Rakel, Willa Mamet, The Promise Is Hope, Scot Krokoff, Mark & Jill, Nico Padden, John John Brown, Heather Mae, Robinson & Rohe, Eli Smith, Kathleen Healy, Dan Whitener, Jenner Fox, Carol Crittenden, and Mark Stepakoff.

Judges for this year’s official juried showcases were Sarah Craig (Caffe Lena), Dan Gottfried (Voices in the Heights), Joe Mercadante (Steeple Coffeehouse), Ron Olesko (Folk Music Notebook), Jess Razzi (Razzi Entertainment), Kimberly Sinclair (SpinCount), and Matt Smith (Passim).

Following the juried and folk DJ showcases each evening, 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. Some guerilla showcases also are slated for Friday and Saturday afternoons. Musicians also may well stake out other areas of the hotel and jam.


AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot Features Nearly 50 Artists and Singing Folk DJs


An overflow crowd will likely descend on the AcousticMusicScene.com suite (2031) on Thursday overnight for its popular Midnight Hoot. Extending from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., this hoot is a pre-arranged, round-robin song swap featuring several singing folk DJs (Wanda Fischer, Ellen Stanley and Jon Stein) and some 45 artists/acts – each performing one song.

Now in its 13th 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 Bob Beach (harmonica), Mark Dann (bass), Genevieve (keyboards), Lily Henley (fiddle), ad Nick Russo (banjo and other instruments) will be there for anyone who desires accompaniment.

While Michael Kornfeld, AcousticMusicScene.com’s editor & publisher, hosts the Thursday-Saturday overnight showcases, his friends Mira Shapiro and Hank Stone will serve as guest hosts on Friday afternoon. A series of song swaps on Friday overnight will be topped off by a Long Island Sounds celebration featuring performances by nearly a dozen LI-based artists. 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 and acts 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 (Room 2031)

Thursday Night 11 p.m. – 2:30 a.m.

(One song per artist/act and folk DJ, not listed in order of appearance.)

Host: Michael Kornfeld

Artists: Jeremy Aaron, Andy & Judy, Jordi Baizan, Bob Beach, Carol Crittenden, Alyssa Dann, Amy Dee, Neale Eckstein, Jane Fallon, Lindsay Foote, Gina Forsyth, Jenner Fox, Freebo, Gathering Time, Genevieve, Claudia Gibson, Kyle Hancharick, Matt Harlan, Gerry Hazel, Lily Henley, Gina Holsopple, Alice Howe, Brian Kalinec, Fiora Laina, Corey Laitman, Peter Lehndorf, Mara Levine, Rob Lytle, Kipyn Martin, Mosa, Mother Banjo, Dan Navarro, The Promise Is Hope, The Rix, Stephen Robinson, Tina Ross, Rachael Sage, Eric Schwartz, The Scooches, Hank Stone, Garret Swayne, Kristina Vaughn, Rupert Wates, Dan Whitener & Blue Plate Special, Billy Woodward

Folk DJs: Wanda Fischer, Ellen Stanley, Jon Stein

House Band: Bob Beach (harmonica), Mark Dann (bass), Genevieve (keyboards), Lily Henley (fiddle), Nick Russo (banjo & other instruments)

Hosts: Mira Shapiro and Hank Stone

2:00 Marc Berger
]2:15 Nathans & Ronstadt
2:30 Lily Henley
2:45 Connor Garvey
3:00 The Rix
3:15 Lea Morris
3:30 Steve Robinson and Hank Stone
4:00 Alice Howe
4:15 Rob Lytle
4:30 The Malvinas
4:45 Freebo

Friday Night

Host: Michael Kornfeld

11:45 MMM Good Music: Meghan Cary, Gathering Time, Marion Halliday, Mara Levine

12:30 Texas Troubadours: Jordi Baizan, Matt Harlan, Brian Kalinec

1:00 A Trio of Duos: Gathering Sparks, The Levins, The Promise Is Hope

1:30 British New Yorkers: James Maddock, Rupert Wates

2:00 Long Island Sounds: Roger Street Friedman, Scott Krokoff, Ray Lambiase, Nico Padden, Matt Ponsot, Quarter Horse, Steve Robinson, Nick Russell, Hank Stone, Linda Sussman, Christine Sweeney

Saturday Night

Host: Michael Kornfeld

11:45 All Keyed Up: Genevieve, Matt Nakoa, Rachael Sage, Eric Schwartz

12:30 A Pair of Duos: The Early Risers, Ordinary Elephant

1:00 Banjocentric: Banjo Nickaru & The Scooches, Mother Banjo, Dan Whitener

1:30 Women’s Voices: Abbie Gardner, Sharon Goldman, Grace Pettis

2:00 O Canada: Noah Derksen, Ken Dunn, Gathering Sparks, James Gordon, Lynne Hanson, Graham Lindsey, John Muirhead, David Newland, Piper & Carson, Kalyna Rakel, Benjamin Dakota Rogers, Saffron A, Angela Saini, Siqniup Qilauta/Sunsdrum, Greg Smith, Annie Sumi, Ken Tizzard

“I hope that 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 Courtney Rodland, who assumed the role of interim conference director one year ago when Dianne Tankle, NERFA’s founder and conference director since its inception, stepped down. “Aided by a core group of key volunteers, Courtney has sought to create a conference that builds upon what has been successful in the past, while moving NERFA into our second quarter-century,” he said.

[Here’s a link to a short song video by Neale Eckstein featuring images and scenes from the 2017 NERFA Conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt-A_DnX1OY.]

NERFA (www.nerfa.org) is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org), a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion. NERFA’s geographic boundaries extend from the eastern provinces of Canada south to the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. More extensive information on the organization and its annual conference may be found online at www.nerfa.org.

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 Mira Shapiro — 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 and leading a community meeting with the NERFA board of directors as its president, I will moderate a workshop entitled Write It Right, Alright? – Blurbs On The Griddle and participate in a panel discussion on self-promoting your project to the Folk DJ Chart. New this year, I also was among a small group of people offering pre-conference mentoring sessions via phone for conference attendees. Mine focused on strategic communications and public relations topics for artists, as well as how to get the most out of the conference.

“Folk Music Notebook plans to be a gathering spot for the folk community and all the fans of this music,” said Olesko. “The channel will be a place to ‘discover’ new artists and songs as well as honor the established names who created this living tradition.”

“Offering a curated playlist interspersed with brief but informative DJ announcements, recorded stories behind the songs from the artists themselves, as well as commentary, news and other special features, Folk Music Notebook will engage listeners by showing the connections between songs and styles — keeping them engrossed throughout the day without constant badgering from hosts, endless strings of commercials or repetitive automated playlists,” said Olesko, who will direct the operation – curating the playlists as well as serving as host for some of the programming.

“The music to be shared on Folk Music Notebook will focus on the diverse contemporary folk music community, while also incorporating the folk revival artists who drew many people to this genre,” said Olesko. “For many people, the seed for folk music was plated during the Folk Revival – and hose songs and artists still remain important. I will be sharing music from that era, but my intent is to present it to show the connection with the contemporary folk scene. They exist together.”

Folk Music Notebook’s May 3 launch date was chosen to both honor Pete Seeger and the folk community that he built, and to plant a new seed for sharing the powerful songs and artists he inspired, according to Olesko. “Our opening weekend will feature a number of songs from Pete as well as from artists who sing his songs and carry on his traditions.” A live broadcast of a Pete Seeger Centennial open mic from the legendary Towne Crier Cafe in Beacon, New York (the town where Pete and Toshi Seeger resided) will be part of the channel’s launch-day celebration. Performers will include Christine Lavin, Jim Dawson, David Buskin, Robin Batteau, Don White, John Forster, Judy Kass, David S. Goldman, Marshal Aaron Rosenberg, and David Massengill, among others. This special show is set for 7 p.m. ET.

While acknowledging that if you ask 100 different people to define folk music you will get 100 different answers, Olesko said that he views folk music as “a living tradition that reflects the lives of a community – the passions, the struggles and the joys.” The music he plans to offer on Folk Music Notebook will reflect the music that he experiences at various festivals [he’s been an emcee at many f them] and at Folk Alliance International and Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conferences [for which he’s been a showcase host, judge and organizer] – “talented artists with important songs that are ignored by other commercial entities. Through Folk Music Notebook, he wants to show that “the contemporary folk music community has created a body of work that is part of the soundtrack of many people’s lives, or should be!”

Helping to program the channel will be a team of ‘correspondents’ – artists and individuals who have worked in the community, creating music and supporting the genre. Among those who will host ongoing shows are singer-songwriters Joe Jencks, Christine Lavin and David Rovics, as well as songwriters and folksingers Dave Fry and Rik Palieri. The Sing Out Magazine Radio Show with Tom Druckenmiller will also air each week, as will the nationally syndicated Midnight Special, originating from WFMT-FM in Chicago and hosted by veteran DJ Rich Warren. Another longtime broadcaster and music producer, Angela Page, host of Folk Plus on WJFF in New York’s Catskills Region, will host a weekly show. Michael Johnathon’s WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, a live audience celebration of grassroots music and the artists who make it that emanates weekly from Lexington, Kentucky, will be part of the programming mix as well.

Besides streaming online at www.FolkMusicNotebook.com, folk music fans can download a free app from the Apple and Google Play stores that will enable them to listen and experience the channel’s programming through their phones, cars, and other Bluetooth streaming devices. Folk Music Notebook will also be available via the TuneIn app.

Click here for a free iOS app – https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1459396299?ls=1&mt=8
Click here for a free Android app – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.radio.m6b0679d59

Olesko felt more was needed after taking a look at the offerings for what is being labeled as ‘folk music’ online. He noted that existing streaming services that offer folk music are limited – some are pay services, while computer algorithms without human interaction run others. “Pandora and Spotify are run by algorithms with seemingly little connection, and most of the music I heard was well-known commercial artists with few chances for discovering new music and more in the Americana genre than the folk music I know.” While acknowledging “there are some brilliant podcasts available,” Olesko notes that those tend to be shorter features and that he could not find a true 24/7 service that reflected his musical preferences. “Also, many of these services fail, in my opinion, to create a connection with their audience,” he continued. “Many come across as elevator music with an acoustic bent with very little, if any, informative and entertaining features that would make the audience feel part of the service.”

Olesko — who also is the president and booker for the Hurdy Gurdy Folk Music Club in Fair Lawn, New Jersey and a contributing writer for Sing Out! Magazine’s website — told AcousticMusicScene.com that his original plan was to pursue this online channel when he retired in a few years – but circumstances sped up the process. “My ‘day job’ in television production came to an end when our parent company decided to close the facility [at which he worked]. “It seemed that fate was pushing me toward my goal sooner than expected. After siting down with my wife and accountant, we decided that our financial situation would allow me to do this. As anyone will tell you, the way to make a million dollars in folk music is to start with two-million and work until the money runs out.” Olesko ran a Kickstarter campaign recently to help raise additional funds to help make his dream a reality.

“I’m not doing this for financial gain; my only hope is to make it sustaining,” he said. “The costs involved for rights fees for the music and all the technical services required for the operation are relatively modest – and with some hard work I hope to find enough commercial backers to keep Folk Music Notebook operating for years to come.”

Olesko will also continue to host WFDU-FM’s Traditions on Sundays from 3-5 p.m. ET (www.wfdu.fm).

Slated to perform in the hotel’s ballroom on Friday evening, Sept. 28, from 7:30-10 p.m., are Scott Cook, Byrd & Street, Mike P. Ryan, T Buckley, Dave Ray Cecil, Suzie Vinnick, The Cowboy Way, and The Flyin’ A’s.

Saturday night’s lineup features Nancy Beaudette, Andrew Delaney, Claudia Nygaard, Jaime Michaels, Ben Bedford, Helene Cronin, Clint Alphin, Jenny Reynolds, and Joana Howerton & Michael Cross.

Rich Warren, host of the nationally syndicated “The Midnight Special” radio show that emanates from Chicago’s WFMT-FM, and who celebrates 50 years of hosting folk music on the radio in 2018, emcees both nights. In addition to conference registrants, the official showcases will be open to the public for a $15 cover charge each night.

Following a popular pool party and open mic hosted by John Whipple (with a buffet sponsored by Berkalin Records) on Thursday night, Sept. 27, Charlie Stewart of Handshake Management will emcee the Official Alternates Showcase in the hotel’s Elm Room. Set to perform short sets beginning at 10:30 p.m. are Cari Ray & Shaky Legs, Flagship Romance, Kyle Donovan, Kora Feder, Susan Cattaneo Band, and Ronny Cox.

Besides the official showcases, the SWRFA Conference will feature open mics, in-room showcases extending into the early morning hours, and daytime panel discussions and seminars that address many facets of the music business, according to Dalis Allen, who produces the conference, as well as the annual Kerrville Folk Festival. “We eat meals together, form wonderful new relationships and renew old ones,” she notes. “And we are certain to have fun.”

Prior to the official start of the conference, Paul Barker will host a SWRFA meet and greet and open mic at Threadgill’s North on Wednesday night, Sep. 26, while John Whipple hosts another one by the hotel’s pool on Saturday afternoon. A two-hour, hands-on ‘SongCRAFT” workshop, led by singer-songwriters Nancy Beaudette and Laura Zucker, is set for Thursday afternoon.

Upon arriving at the conference, all registered artists will be given a random song topic/prompt. They are expected to write about these during the weekend and perform their songs following Sunday brunch. This song-sharing event has long been a conference highlight.

SWRFA is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International, a nonprofit organization that aims to nurture, engage and empower the international folk music community — traditional and contemporary, amateur and professional — through education, advocacy and performance. SWRFA includes the southwestern United States and Mexico. Its 19th annual conference is expected to draw performing artists, presenters, managers, agents and others engaged more than peripherally in the world of folk and acoustic music. For more information and to register to attend the conference, visit www.swfolkalliance.org.