A Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Joni Mitchell (pictured), the widely acclaimed Canadian-American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who is known for such songs as “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Both Sides, Now,” “Chelsea Morning,” “Help Me,” and “River.”

In the running for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year are Strange Trip Ahead (Mariel Buckley), The Hammer & The Rose (Matt Andersen), Purple Gas (Noeline Hofmann) These Dark Canyons (The Young Novelists), and Further From The Country (William Prince). Traditional Roots Music Album of the Year nominees include I Lost My Heart on Friday (Aerialists), Gold And Coal (Cassie and Maggie), The Moon’s Daughter (Heather MacIsaac), Heal The Divide (Morgan Toney), and Folk Signals (The Southern Residents).

Also of potential interest to AcousticMusicScene.com readers are the nominees for Blues Album of the Year. These include Sing Pretty Blues (Crystal Shawanda), Ooh Yeah! (Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne), The Medicine (Miss Emily), Answer The Call (Secondhand Dreamcar), and Hear My Heart (Steve Mariner).

In addition to her Contemporary Album of the Year nomination for Purple Gas, Noeline Hofmann is among the 10 nominees for Breakthrough Artist of the Year. . Among the five nominees for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year are Conditions of Love Vol. 1 (Rose Cousins) and Better Broken (Sarah McLachlan, while Children’s Album of the Year nominees include Little Leaf (Chris McKhool).

In total, there are 248 nominees in the running across 47 categories for Canada’s top music awards. Eight-time JUNO Award-winner Justin Bieber and Tate McRae lead the pack with six nominations each.

About the Artists:

Hailing from the countryside of rural Ontario, Benjamin Dakota Rogers is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist channels his penchant for starry nights and nostalgia into a stylized, hard-driving and powerful Americana sound full of heartbreak and grit featuring guitar, banjo, upright bass, and fiddle. He has released three full-length solo recordings, showcased his talents at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, among others, and has been a four-time international songwriting competition winner and a two-time Canadian Folk Music Awards nominee.

Here’s a link to view a few of Benjamin’s videos: benjamindakotarogers.com/videos.

Angela Saini is a Canadian prairie-raised, Toronto- based folk-pop Americana artist with a positive and uplifting outlook on life. She is all about second chances and empowering others. A 2020 Independent Music Award Nominee and 2017 Toronto Independent Music Award winner, she uplifts and inspires audiences with sing-alongs and storytelling about courage and finding joy in surprising places. Angela has five Canadian tours under her belt, as well as several treks across Germany, The Netherlands and the UK. Best known for her sunshine-soaked song “Living on the Bright Side,” she has showcased her talents at the Philadelphia Folk Festival and at a number of Canadian music festivals. Her ability to combine humanistic and honest themes laden with catchy hooks and memorable melodies make her entertaining as well as relatable.

Here’s a link to view a few of Angela’s videos: angelasaini.com/videos.

The Young Novelists create contemporary folk songs that marry effortless harmonies with darkly poetic lyrics, exquisitely crafted hooks, and the unique sound of bowed glockenspiel. The award-winning Toronto-based husband-and-wife folk-roots duo of Graydon James and Laura Spink share a passion for confessional storytelling and sing songs about small towns, redemption, love and loss. The duo has toured across Canada, the U.S. and Europe and has released three studio albums and a live recording. In 2015, The Young Novelists were named New/Emerging Artist of the Year in the Canadian Folk Music Awards and took first place in the Grassy Hill-CT Folk Songwriting Competition during the 10th annual Connecticut Folk Festival, while James won the Ontario Arts Council’s Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award for “Couldn’t Be Any Worse.” The duo has also played coveted juried official showcases during the Folk Alliance International conference and those of its northeast and southeast regional affiliates (NERFA and SERFA).

To view a few videos, visit youngnovelists.com/videos.

About Your Hosts:

The livestream marks a renewed partnership of sorts for Michael Kornfeld and Kathy Sands-Boehmer, who served as president and vice president, respectively, of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) for several years and also co-coordinated one-day conferences and a series of showcases. Kornfeld, a veteran strategic communications and public relations professional – whose clients have included a number of independent recording artists and labels – launched AcousticMusicScene.com in 2007 to provide news, information and commentary for the folk, roots and singer-songwriter communities. The longtime president of the Folk Music Society of Huntington, a nonprofit presenting organization on Long Island, NY, Kornfeld also serves on the board of Folk Alliance International, curates the annual Huntington Folk Festival, and hosts showcases at various music conferences and festivals. Sands-Boehmer, who served as the booking and publicity manager for Me & Thee Coffeehouse in Marblehead, MA for many years, was an active leader in the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association (BACHA), and has also served as an artist manager, recently launched Harbortown Music as a resource for musicians and venues — building community, while promoting and presenting high-quality music. She works with Stephen Bach of The Digital Docs, who engineers all of Harbortown Music’s virtual shows and lends his technical expertise to the participating artists as well.

The competition is open to solo or duo singer-songwriters, who must enter a minimum of two songs – each of which (not to exceed four minutes in duration) will be judged on the quality of songwriting and performance. There is a $25 fee for submission of the first two songs, with an option to enter additional ones for $10 each. Songwriters retain all rights to the songs they submit.

From among the five finalists (to be named and notified by May 1), a panel of judges — comprised of music industry professionals and DJs — will select a winner to receive a $100 honorarium and be awarded a paid slot in the 2021 festival lineup, while the other four finalists will each receive smaller honorariums. Recent winners include Monica Rizzio (2019), Susan Cattaneo (2018), Open Book (2017), Amy Soucy (2016), and The Young Novelists (2015).

More information on the competition, as well as link to an online application, can be found at https://ctfolk.com/songwriting/.

CT Folk is a nonprofit organization that seeks to educate, entertain and inspire a diverse audience through music and conversation to create a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable community. Besides presenting the festival, CT Folk also hosts a monthly Folk Fridays concert series that runs from October through May and promotes folk, roots and Americana music throughout Connecticut and the surrounding region.

More than 100 artists and acts are slated to perform during the festival. These include David Amram, Eric Andersen, Baile An Salsa, Sam Baker, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Laura Cortese & The Dance Cards, Cry Cry Cry (featuring Lucy Kaplansky, Richard Shindell and Dar Williams), Skip Denenberg, Brian Dunne, Samantha Fish, John Flynn, Bella Hardy, Sierra Hull, The Infamous Stringdusters, David Jacobs-Strain & Bob Beach, The Kennedys, Laura Love Duo, Heather Maloney, John McCutcheon, Tift Merritt, Molsky’s Mountain Drifters, Graham Nash, Old Crow Medicine Show, Corin Raymond, RUNA, Son of Town Hall, Spirit Wing, Spuyten Duyvil, Taj Mo: The Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ Band, Ken Tizzard, Susan Werner, and Toronto-based duo The Young Novelists.

Among the notable up-and-coming local touring artists who will showcase their talents during the festival are Ben Arnold and the 48 Hour Orchestra, Michael Braunfeld, The End of America, Ladybird, Man About A Horse, Mist Covered Mountains, Andrea Nardello, No Good Sister, and Katherine Rondeau & The Show.

As the names above suggest, the Philadelphia Folk Festival features an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary music that stretches the boundaries of folk, helping to broaden its appeal and reach a new generation of listeners. Both notable national and international touring artists and emerging ones are on the bill.

In partnership with the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA), a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International, the festival will also showcase the talents of three up-and-coming young artists — Jeremy Aaron, Quentin Callewaert and Sara Chodak — during a NERFA Presents Young Folk song swap on Saturday morning. (Aaron also plays fiddle with the Hudson Valley, New York-based Americana-roots band, Spuyten Duyvil, during the festival.)

In addition to musical performances and workshops on eight stages – including contradancing with Groovemama, a Martin Guitar Jam and an old time & bluegrass jam — there will be an array of children’s activities in the shady Dulcimer Grove – including craft-making and performances by The Give & Take Jugglers and such children- and family-oriented artists as the husband-and-wife duo Two of a Kind. As in years past, many artisans will display and sell their creations in an open-air juried crafts area.

There’s also a festival within the festival for those who opt to camp onsite and enjoy some late-night musical revelry. The 40-acre campground – chock-a-block with tents — is home to a unique late-night scene, with singing by campfires and jamming into the early morning hours. David Dye, host of the syndicated World Café radio program, will host a special Thursday night concert on the Camp Stage –featuring Kentucky-based singer-songwriter Joan Shelley, Brooklyn, NY’s The National Reserve, and Toronto rock duo Whitehorse — exclusively for all-festival camping ticket holders.

Both day and full-festival passes are available, with ticket prices starting at $65 for a single-day. Children under 12 will be admitted free with an adult, while discounted tickets are available for youth, ages 12-17.

For more information about the Philadelphia Folk Festival and to order tickets, visit
www.pfs.org//Philadelphia-folk-festival/. A festival app also has been developed for use on smartphones before and during the festival.

Editor’s Note: As president of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) board of directors, I have the honor and pleasure of hosting the “NERFA Presents Young Folk” showcase on Saturday morning, Aug. 19, at 11 a.m. Cheryl Prashker, my predecessor at NERFA and percussionist with the Celtic roots group Runa, will join me.

The NERFA Conference – being held in Stamford for the first time after outgrowing its previous location in The Catskills of upstate New York — will feature several jam-packed days and nights of music showcases, song swaps/in-the-rounds, an open mic, informal jam sessions, informative panel discussions and workshops, a keynote by singer-songwriter Christine Lavin, mentoring sessions, a large trade show-like exhibit hall, communal meals in the dining room, a welcoming party and happy hours, and lots of informal conversation and networking.

Booking gigs may be the primary objective of some performers who attend the NERFA Conference, and many presenters and folk DJs do scout out new artists and those whom they have not previously heard and seen in live performance. However, the conference experience is much more than that; it’s really about forging connections, building community, and attending workshops and seminars to learn about options to further careers, promote the music, and attract audiences and listeners.

Among the more than 30 workshops slated during the conference are a two-hour songwriting session with Tom Paxton; a Wisdom of the Elders panel featuring Nora Guthrie, Tom Rush and Noel Paul Stookey, and a panel discussion on The Folk Revival of the ‘60s moderated by AcousticMusicScene.com’s Michael Kornfeld and interspersed with performances of songs from the era by panelists David Amram and Paxton. Rush also will participate in a short Q &A session following the screening of the documentary “Tom Rush – No Regrets.” By popular demand, there will be two fast-paced 90-minute “On the Griddle” instant critique sessions. Sarah Craig will explore “The Rebirth of Caffe Lena: How We Saved America’s Longest-Running Folk Club,” while Nora Guthrie, daughter of the legendary American folksinger and songwriter, will discuss Holy Ground: Woody Guthrie’s Yiddish Connection.” During other workshops and panel discussion, attendees will learn how to build a loyal audience for their venues, spruce up their online image, strengthen their bios and news releases, make a radio-ready recording, listen for that sideman, prepare contracts, and stay healthy on the road. Singer-Songwriters Amy Soucy and Karyn Oliver will lead morning yoga sessions, while MusiCares will fit folks for custom earplugs.

Juried and Guerrilla Showcases Abound

After the formal showcases, attendees will shuffle between three conference ballrooms to catch short sets by 30 additional artists who were selected by a different set of judges. Performing in tricentric showcases on Friday night are The Brother Brothers, Cricket Blue, The Doll Sisters, Ian Foster, The Gaslight Tinkers, Manitoba Hal, Louise Mosrie, Red Tail Ring, Monica Rizzio, Ryanhood, Putnam Smith with April Reed-Cox, Carolann Solebello, Suzie Vinnick, Rupert Wates, and Dan Weber. Saturday’s Tricentric Showcase artists include Cliff Eberhardt, Freebo, Tret Fure, Connor Garvey, Dave Gunning, Heather Mae, Phil Henry Acoustic Trio, Tish Hinojosa, Kirsten Maxwell, Linda McRae, Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio, Tom Rush, Bethel Steele, Noel Paul Stookey, and Heather Styka.

Following the juried showcases each evening (as well as on Friday and Saturday afternoons), AcousticMusicScene.com will join dozens of presenters, performers and others in hosting guerilla showcases in their hotel rooms that extend through the early morning hours. Community sings, open mics, informal jam sessions, private showcases, thematic song circles and round-robin song swaps round out the musical mix. Musicians also are apt to stake out other areas of the hotel and jam until 4 or 5 a.m.


AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot Features 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. Following the Suzi Wollenberg Folk DJ Showcase and extending from 11:45 p.m. to 3 a.m., the AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot is a pre-arranged, round robin song swap featuring several singing folk DJs (Barbara and Graham Dean, Wanda Fischer and Jon Stein) and some 40 artists/acts – each performing one song.

Now in its 10th year, the Midnight Hoot is intended to shine a spotlight on several folk DJs who also enjoy singing, while providing them, presenters and others with an opportunity to get a small sampling of the music of a lot of artists in a short period of time.

A house band comprised of Mark Dann (bass), Efrat (violin), Eric Lee (violin), Marshal Rosenberg (percussion), and Nick Russo (banjo) also will be there for anyone who desires accompaniment.

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

Schedules for the AcousticMusicScene.com showcases appear below.

Thursday Night

11:45 p.m. – 3 a.m.

AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot

Featuring one song by each of the following (not listed in order of appearance)

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

Artists: Jeremy Aaron, Antonio Andrade, Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches, The Belle Hollows, Jim Bizer & Jan Krist, Sophie Buskin, Rob Carlson, Meghan Cary: Sing Louder, Shawna Caspi, Greg Cornell and the Cornell Brothers, Cricket Blue, Vincent Cross, Crowes Pasture, Efrat, Freebo, Friction Farm, Gathering Sparks, Gathering Time, Generations: Mike & Aleksi Glick, Stuart Kabak, Brian Kalinec, Judy Kass, Ladybird, Eric Lee, Mara Levine, Gigi Love, Anna Ludlow, Kirsten Maxwell, Mike McKenna Jr., Emily Mure, Dan Navarro, Kaitlyn Raitz & Ben Plotnick, Red Tail Ring, Bill Scorzari, Hank Stone, Shawn Taylor, The End of America, The Everly Set, Avi Wisnia, The YaYas

Grassy Hill Youth Scholarship Recipients: Sara Chodak, Ayssa Dann

House Band: Mark Dann (bass), Efrat (violin), Eric Lee (violin), Marshal Rosenberg (percussion), Nick Russo (banjo)

Friday Afternoon

2:30 Long Island Sound: Rorie Kelly, Scott Krokoff, Hank Stone

3:00 Keystone Staters: Ladybird, Robert Bobby Duo, The End of America

3:30 Keystone Staters: Meghan Cary: Sing Louder, Mist-Covered Mountains, Aaron Nathans

4:00 Joan & Joni: Allison Shapira & Kipyn Martin

4:30 “I’m From New Jersey”: Sharon Goldman, Dennis McDoNoUgh!, John Sonntag

Friday Late Night

11:45 CT State Troubadours: Kate Callahan, Kristen Graves, Lara Herscovitch

12:15 Rob Carlson and Benefit Street

12:30 Funny Folk: Lois Morton, Carla Ulbrich

1:00 Strings & Songs: Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches, Efrat

1:30 Roots-Americana – Greg Cornell & the Cornell Brothers, He-Bird, She-Bird, Pluck & Rail

2:00 Mass. Appeal – Stephanie Corby, Neale Eckstein, Eric Lee, Steven Pelland, Monica Rizzio, Jim Trick

Note: Mass. Appeal will extend until 3 a.m.

Saturday Afternoon

2:00 Maine Event: Connor Garvey, Putnam Smith (with April Reed-Cox), Sorcha, Ashley Storrow,

3:00 Pirate Camp: Generations: Mike & Aleksi Glick, Diane Perry, Hank Stone

3:30 Pirate Camp: Jacob Johnson, Elaine Romanelli. The Whispering Tree

4:00 Pirate Camp: Susan Kane, Judy Kass

4:30 Pirate Camp: Freebo, Stuart Kabak, Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio

11:45 Pesky J. Nixon

12:00 Harmonic Convergence: Mike Agranoff, Gathering Time, Mara Levine

12:30 Female Folk: Kate Copeland, Rachael Kilgour, Kirsten Maxwell

1:00 Two Trios: The Boxcar Lilies, Cole, Nakoa & Treacher

1:30 The Belle Hollows and Friction Farm

2:00 O Canada: Shawna Caspi, Durham County Poets, Ian Foster, Gathering Sparks, Irish Mythen, Erika Kulnys, Anna Ludlow, Manitoba Hal, David Newland, Benjamin Dakota Rogers, Suzie Vinnick, Katherine Wheatley, The Young Novelists (Percussion: Cheryl Prashker)

Note: O Canada will extend until 3:30 a.m. or thereabouts.

One-Day On-Site Conference Registration Available

Special one-day walk-up registration rates have been established for those actively engaged in the folk music community who are unable to attend the entire conference. For $100 on Friday or $120 on Saturday, folks will receive badges entitling them to sit in on workshops and showcases and to visit the exhibit hall. Meals are not included. Workshop descriptions and showcase listings and schedules may be found online at (www.nerfa.org.

NERFA is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International, a nonprofit organization that seeks to nurture, engage and empower the international folk music community – traditional and contemporary, amateur and professional – through education, advocacy and performance.

In addition to hosting the AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot and other showcases during
the NERFA Conference and moderating the Folk Revival panel discussion, I will be promoting a few artists, participating on a panel entitled Strengthening Your Bio and Press Releases, and doing some mentoring. Currently vice president of NERFA’s board of directors. I also serve on the board of Folk Alliance International.

Wilder Adkins (Birmingham, AL), Brad Cole (New York, NY), Ethan Crump (Hartwell, GA), Jomo & The Possum Posse (Austin, TX), Market Junction (Houston, TX), Ashley McMillen (Nashville, TN), Middle Child (Roxbury, MA), J Shogen Shanghai’d (Centennial, WY), Andrea Silva (Los Angeles, CA), The Small Glories (Winnipeg, MB, Canada), The Vaughns (Springfield, NJ), and The Young Novelists (Toronto, ON, Canada) have been invited to perform their original songs during a live showcase competition at Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Auditorium in New York City on Saturday, Dec. 10, beginning at 11 a.m.

From among these finalists, a grand prize winner will be selected to receive recording and performance prizes including a six-song EP recorded and mixed at Asheville, North Carolina’s Echo Mountain Recording Studio, and the opportunity to perform in concert at the David Rubenstein Atrium in 2017. Rachael Kilgour, a Duluth, Minnesota-based singer-songwriter, was the grand-prize winner of the 2015 contest and performed in New York in September.

NewSong Music is an independent music organization that aims to build a supportive community of performers and songwriters across various genres of music and skill levels, while identifying truly exceptional artists and introducing their music to a broader international audience.

Here’s a link to a short YouTube video promoting the festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc0z7gKXBpc

Preceding that will be an hour-long Grassy Hill Song Circle featuring singer-songwriters Brad Cole, Matt Nakoa and Robinson Treacher and a short set by current Connecticut State Troubadour Kate Callahan.

Other artists slated to perform on the Main Stage include Stacy Phillips and His Bluegrass Characters, The Grebes, Cricket Blue and Jim Trick. Yonkers, NY-based high-energy alt-roots ensemble Spuyten Duyvil and Boston area singer-songwriter Ryan Montbleau will perform early evening sets, while Susan Werner, accompanied by Trina Hamlin, will close out the festival.

Werner is a consummate entertainer who has never been one to adhere to just one musical style. A gifted singer-songwriter, who accompanies herself on both guitar and piano, she is known for her musical versatility and for her witty repartee during live performances. The classically trained and jazz-inspired Iowa native, who now calls Chicago home when not on tour, has been delighting concert and festival audiences for more than two decades. She composes skillful songs that effortlessly slide between folk, jazz, and pop – all delivered with sassy wit and classic mid-western charm

Throughout the day, CT Folk’s 11th annual Green Expo will feature a wide array of exhibitors, informational talks and demonstrations, workshops, and activities to promote sustainable lifestyles. There also will be contra dancing and plenty of activities for children in the Green Kids Village. A Green Kids Acoustic Corner will feature performances by Jay Mankita, Robert Messore, Benny Mikula (The Lone Gnome), Liz McNicholl, and Shawn Taylor.

Edgerton Park is located at Whitney Avenue and Cliff Street. Attendees are advised to bring lawn chairs or blankets and plan to picnic. A wide variety of food and beverages will be available for purchase on site.

CT Folk is a nonprofit organization dedicated to traditional and contemporary roots music, introducing listeners to emerging singer-songwriters, and to caring for the earth. Although the festival is free, donations will be graciously accepted. Besides presenting the festival, CT Folk also hosts a Folk Fridays concert series that runs from October through May and promotes folk music throughout Connecticut. For more information, click here or visit www.ctfolk.com.

Editor’s Note: It is my honor and pleasure to help judge this year’s Grassy Hill CT Folk Songwriting Competition finals that extend from 11 a.m. -12 p.m. on the Main Stage.

Attracting more than 2,500 people, the Folk Alliance International Conference is ranked among the five largest music conferences in North America. It will feature a four-track series of professional development sessions (workshops and panel discussions) for artists, presenters, industry and community; a keynote address by legendary artist Judy Collins; regional and peer group meetings; mentoring sessions; a large exhibit hall; daily receptions; and plenty of opportunities for networking and jamming. Four nights of artist performances are slated — including nearly 200-juried official showcases and some 2,000 private in-room showcases that extend late into the night and early morning hours (with some also taking place during the afternoon).

While acknowledging “we certainly feature legends and luminaries,” Aengus Finnan, FAI’s executive director, notes that “the most exciting part of Folk Alliance are the showcases by artists you’ve never heard of but will never forget.” Although performers from the U.S. and Canada predominate, artists from some 20 countries will showcase their talents.

The conference takes place in the Westin Crown Center, while FAI’s Winter Music Camp (featuring nearly 100 master classes and group sessions for students of all ages with instruction geared towards all styles and levels of roots music and songwriting) will run concurrently at the adjoining Sheraton Crown Center. The hotels are linked by an enclosed above-ground walkway and connected to Hallmark’s boutique shopping mall.

Expanded Awards Gala Slated for Feb. 17

The Spirit of Folk Awards are presented to honor and celebrate people and organizations actively involved in the promotion and preservation of folk music through their creative work, community building, and demonstrated leadership. This year’s six recipients are House of Songs founder Troy Campbell; 99-year-old Arkansas fiddler Violet Hensley; Sam Lee, an English traditional song collector and interpreter; Dave Siglin, who served as program director of The Ark in Ann Arbor, MI for 40 years; Phyllis Stenson, founding executive and artistic director of the Harrison Festival in Canada;and Tony Turner, a political songwriter and former Canadian civil servant whose song “Harperman” gained global attention last year.

Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards, named for one of FAI’s founders and determined by a select international panel, are presented annually to a living recipient, a memorial recipient and an active organization. This year’s honorees are Ramblin’ Jack Elliott (living), Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee (legacy) and The English Folk Dance and Song Society (business/academic).

FAI also is introducing three new International Folk Music Awards for album, song and artist of the year. The winners, to be named Feb. 17, were selected by FAI members from a shortlist of finalists based in part on Folk DJ airplay during 2015, in addition to industry input on par with other FAI award processes.

The Nominees are (in alphabetical order): Album of the Year – With the Dawn by Bella Hardy, Joe Hill’s Last Will by John McCutcheon, Tomorrow Is My Turn by Rhiannon Giddens, Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project by Jayme Stone, and The Social Music Hour Vol. 1 by Spuyten Duyvil; Song of the Year – “Get Up” by Caitlin Canty, “Boston Town” by Della Mae, “A Wanderer I’ll Stay” by Pharis & Jason Romero, “Best Medicine” by The Stray Birds, and “River Winding Down” by The Sweet Lowdown; and Artist of the Year – Chuck Brodsky, Darlingside, Fortunate Ones, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, and We Banjo 3.

Kansas City Folk Festival, Feb. 21, is Open to the Public

A reformatted daylong music fair, being promoted locally as an indoor folk festival (Kansas City Folk Fest), takes place on Sunday, Feb. 21, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and is open to conference registrants, as well as to the public – with tickets priced at $30 for adults. Discounts are available for seniors, students and youth, while young children will be admitted free.

Friends will join Ken Whiteley, an acclaimed Canadian blues and roots artist, as he leads a morning gospel session. Main Stage performers — reflective of the broad range of folk music today — include legendary folksinger Eric Andersen (“Thirsty Boots”), Grammy Award winning banjoist Allison Brown, noted singer-songwriter Peter Case, Australian folk-pop band The Soorleys, and a closing concert by conjunto Tejano band Los Texmaniacs. Artists invited to showcase their talents by each of FAI’s five regional affiliates are Johnsmith (FARM), Moors & McCumber (SWRFA), Underhill Rose (SERFA), Beth Wood (FAR-West) and The Young Novelists (NERFA). Among the Kansas City artists who will grace the festival’s three stages are Ayllu, Ensemble Iberica, Sara Morgan, and Under The Big Oak Tree. Other artists scheduled to perform – culled from those participating in the conference – Matthew Byrne, Robby Fulks, The Jellyman’s Daughter, Jerron ‘Blind Boy’ Paxton, Lisa Sander and Brown Sugar, and Sara Jane Scouten. Also slated are a square dance to be called by Kristen Andreassen, a folksong sing-along, and an artisans’ marketplace.

This is the third successive year that Folk Alliance International is hosting its annual conference in Kansas City, where the nonprofit organization is also headquartered. Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org) seeks to nurture, engage and empower the international folk music community – traditional and contemporary, amateur and professional – through education, advocacy and performance.

Editors Note: A board member of both Folk Alliance International and its northeast regional affiliate (NERFA), I’ll be moderating a panel discussion on “The Original Folk Revival” and providing some one-on-one mentoring on strategic communications and public relations, artist bios and one-sheets, social media and website content, and other topics during the conference.

The always entertaining, genial and witty Quebecois folk artist Benoit Bourque and noted singer-songwriter Connie Kaldor hosted the gala event that also featured performances by Melisande, Pharis and Jason Romero, Jeffery Straker, Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra, Trent Severn and John Wort Hannam. The event marked the culmination of an awards weekend that began on Nov. 6 and included showcases by nominees

The Canadian Folk Music Awards were established in 2005 to bring greater exposure to the breadth and depth of Canadian folk music — celebrating and promoting it in all its forms. As previously reported on AcousticMusicScene.com, this year’s nominees were announced Sept. 9 during a first-ever National Strum at Edmonton City Hall. The city’s folk community gathered together there to perform East Coast singer-songwriter Dave Gunning’s “These Hands,” a song of celebration and of recognition that everyone can be a hero of the human kind. A video featuring Gunning and a number of other artists singing verses of the song was screened during the awards gala.

Catherine MacLellan, a Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI)-based singer-songwriter, was named Solo Artist of the Year, while her latest release, The Raven’s Sun was recognized as the Contemporary Album of the Year. Amelia Curran of St. John’s, Newfoundland, bested MacLellan and three other nominees for Contemporary Singer of the Year and also was named English Songwriter of the Year in recognition of her album, They Promised You Mercy.

Quebec’s Louis-Jean Cormier was named French Songwriter of the Year for Les grandes arteres, while Raven Kanatakta and Shoshone Kish from Long Point First Nation in Winneway, Quebec, were honored with The Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year award for Digging Roots’ album, For The Light. “Our families and our communities have been at the core of making this politically charged music for maybe 10 years now,” said Kish in accepting the award. “I’m hoping that this is a moment of change for this country and, hopefully, the future looks bright.”

St John’s, Newfoundland’s Fortunate Ones were, indeed, fortunate to earn Vocal Group of the Year honors for The Bliss in a category that also featured such gifted artists as Good Lovelies, Pharis & Jason Romero and The Young Novelists.

Nova Scotia-based husband-and-wife fiddle and step-dancing duo Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy were named Instrumental Group of the Year for One, while Ontario’s Adrianna Ciccone received Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year honors for The Back of Winter. Lemon Bucket Orchestra (Moorka) was named World Group of the Year, while Kirasn Ahluwalia (Sanata: Stillness) was honored as World Solo Artist of the Year. Rebecca Lappa of Edmonton was named Young Performer of the Year for Tattered Rose. Newfoundland’s The Swinging Belles received the Children’s Album of the Year award for More Sheep, Less Sleep. PEI’s Daniel Ledwell was named Producer of the Year for Compostela, an album by his wife, Jenn Grant. Acclaimed Ontario-based guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Breit received the Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award.

One of the evening’s most touching moments was the presentation of the somewhat ironically named Unsung Hero Award, recognizing exceptional contributions to the promotion, preservation and presentation of Canadian folk, roots and world music, to Arthur McGregor by his daughter Hannah. One of the founders of the Canadian Folk Music Awards, McGregor resigned from the CFMA board last year and also established the Ottawa Folklore Centre, a much-loved music store and school that closed recently after 38 years in operation. Calling the awards a catalyst in helping to bring his life back into balance, McGregor invited everyone to join him in singing “Circle of Song,” a celebratory number by Tony Turner, a former Canadian civil servant who drew national and international attention earlier this year when he was suspended from his job for writing and performing “Harperman.” That song was sung by many during rallies against Canada’s former longtime Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose government was ousted in the recent Canadian national elections.

More information on the awards may be found at www.folkawards.ca.

Some 800 performing artists, presenters, promoters, agents and managers, folk DJs and others actively engaged in contemporary and traditional folk music will converge on the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, New York, Nov. 12-15, 2015, for the 21st Annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference. AcousticMusicScene.com will again have a major presence as it hosts afternoon and late-night song swaps, in addition to its popular Midnight Hoot at the close of the conference’s first day.

Booking gigs may be the primary objective of some performers who attend the NERFA Conference, and many presenters and folk DJs do scout out new artists and those whom they have not previously heard and seen in live performance. However, the conference experience is much more than that; it’s really about forging connections, building community, and attending workshops and seminars to learn about options to further careers, promote the music, and attract audiences and listeners.

Taking center stage during this year’s conference will be 14 artists/acts selected by a panel of judges, each to perform a 15-minute formal showcase set in the resort’s theater on Friday and Saturday nights. Slated to perform on Friday are Jim Gaudet & The Railroad Boys, Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore, The Young Novelists, Robert Jones & Matt Watroba, Les Poules a Colin, Shun Ng and John Flynn. Saturday’s Formal Showcase lineup features Mile Twelve, Pat Donohue, Sultans of String with Anwhar Kurshid, Yann Falquet & Pascal Gemme, Ken Whiteley & The Beulah Band, Cosy Sheridan, and Don White & Christine Lavin.

After the formal showcases, attendees will shuffle between four conference rooms to catch short sets by 40 additional artists who were selected by a different set of judges. Performing in quad showcases on Friday night are Scott Ainslie, Mari Black, Susan Cattaneo, Cricket Tell the Weather, The Early Mays, Efrat, Friction Farm, Jan Krist and Jim Bizer, David Massengill, Kate McDonnell, Mist Covered Mountains, David Myles, The Nields, Rant Maggie Rant, Dave Rowe, Amy Soucy, Spuyten Duyvil, Jim Trick, Letitia Vansant & the Bonafides, and Dan Weber. Saturday’s Quad Showcase artists include Eric Andersen, Marc Allen Berube, Michael Braunfeld, Meghan Cary, Shawna Caspi, Joe Crookston, Durham County Poets, Angela Easterling, Jane Fallon, Gathering Time, Lynne Hanson, Jacob Johnson, Sharon Katz & the Peace Train, Evie Ladin Band, Mamalama, Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt, Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio, Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers & Wendy Ramsay, Lindsay Straw and Carla Ulbrich.

Following the juried showcases each evening (as well as on Friday afternoon), AcousticMusicScene.com will join dozens of presenters, performers and others in hosting guerilla showcases in their hotel rooms that extend through the early morning hours. Open mics, informal jam sessions, private showcases, thematic song circles and round-robin song swaps round out the musical mix. It’s not unusual to see musicians staking out other areas of the hotel and jamming until 5 a.m.


AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot Features Artists and Singing Folk DJs


An overflow crowd will likely again descend on the AcousticMusicScene.com room (1506) on Thursday overnight for its popular Midnight Hoot. Following the Suzi Wollenberg Folk DJ Showcase and extending from 11:45 p.m. to 3 a.m., the AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot is a pre-arranged, round robin song swap featuring several singing folk DJs (Barbara and Graham Dean, Wanda Fischer and Jon Stein) and some three-dozen artists/acts – each of whom will perform one song.

Now in its ninth year, the Midnight Hoot is intended to shine a spotlight on several folk DJs who also enjoy singing, while providing them, presenters and others with an opportunity to get a small sampling of the music of a lot of artists in a short period of time.

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

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

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

Thursday Night
11:45 p.m. – 3 a.m. – AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot

Featuring one song by each of the following (not listed in order of appearance)

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

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

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

Friday Afternoon

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friday Night

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday Night

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

12:30 Powerful Voices: John Flynn and Rachael Kilgour

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

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

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

NERFA (www.nerfa.org) is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International, a nonprofit organization that seeks to nurture, engage and empower the international folk music community – traditional and contemporary, amateur and professional – through education, advocacy and performance.

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Editor’s Note: My thanks to Stuart Kabak, with whom I partner in hosting pre-arranged late-night song swaps and open song circles under the AcousticMusicScene.com Tent @ Pirate Camp during the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, for providing a carpeted wooden platform stage and stage lights for this year’s AcousticMusicScene.com showcases. Thanks also are due to him, Mira Shapiro and Hank Stone for graciously offering to host afternoon showcases, and to Amy Blake, Sybil Moser and Gary Schoenberger for the loan of folding chairs.

In addition to hosting the AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot and other showcases during the NERFA
Conference, I will be assisting a few artists and offering a series of 15-minute mentoring sessions focused on artist bios and one-sheets, electronic press kits (EPKs), media relations, social media, website content, and what presenters look for when considering artists for their concert series and festivals. I also serve on the board of directors for both Folk Alliance International and NERFA.