Official Showcases are considered the prime platform for introducing talent and new music to the bluegrass community during the genre’s annual industry gathering and family reunion. Selected for official showcases during the IBMA Bluegrass Ramble at six venues throughout downtown Raleigh are Carley Arrowood, Breakin’ Strings, Cedar Hill, Chicken Wire Empire, Kristy Cox, Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band, Damn Tall Buildings, Echo Valley, Rick Faris, The Foreign Landers, Frog Holler, Full Cord, Hayde Bluegrass Orchestra, Jig Jam, The Kody Norris Show, Jake Leg, Lonesome Ace Stringband, Lover’s Leap, Mile Twelve, Missy Raines & Allegheny, My Brother’s Keeper, Nefesh Mountain, Nick Chandler & Delivered, Nick Dumas & Branchline, Caroline Owens, Clint Roberts, The Slocan Ramblers, Songs From The Road Band, Williamson Branch, and Zoe & Cloyd.

They were chosen through a juried selection process that took into consideration the applicant’s entertainment value, level of professionalism, potential appeal, quality of work, and potential to benefit from the opportunity. Selected Official Showcase acts will have at least two performance opportunities — typically once during the IBMA Business Conference and a longer set at an IBMA Bluegrass Ramble venue. They also will receive full conference registration, complimentary exhibit hall booth space during the business conference, up to three individual IBMA memberships, and various pre-event promotional opportunities.

Ten talented songwriters/songwriting teams will perform their songs during the IBMA Songwriter Showcase at the Raleigh Convention Center on Thursday afternoon, September 29. This showcase is part of the songwriter track during the annual IBMA Business Conference, September 27-29. Songwriters selected for this coveted opportunity include Aaron Bibelhause (“Long Hill to Climb”], Valerie Smith & Ashley Lewis (“A Dollar Looked Mighty Good”), Ashlee Watkins & Andrew Small (“Finish What You Started”), Carley Arrowood (“Moondancer”), Timothy Scott Williams & Sarah Williams (“Big Table”), Michelle Rivers (“Gone”), Theo MacMillan (“Getting Over”), Lizzy Ross of Violet Bell (I Can’t Say Nothing”), J.M. Clifford (“Slow Rolling Train”), and Buddy Guido & Paul Kelly (“John Dear”).

These songwriters were chosen through a juried selection process based on the applicants’ quality of work and appeal to bluegrass audiences. Songwriters could submit one song per entry and were limited to two entries. Besides showcasing, these songwriters and others participating in the conference’s songwriter track will be provided with resources to help cultivate their craft, develop solid business practices, network, engage in one-on-one mentoring sessions, and pitch material to bluegrass artists and producers.

A Bit About IBMA Word of Bluegrass and the Organization Behind It

The IBMA’s annual World of Bluegrass week has taken place in Raleigh since 2013 – apart from 2020 when the trade and professional association for the global bluegrass community shifted to online presentation of its professional development seminars, artist showcases and awards. In addition to Bluegrass Ramble official showcases and the IBMA Songwriter Showcase, IBMA’s World of Bluegrass generally features a wide array of professional development seminars, meetings and forums; sponsored artist showcases and late-night hospitality functions, plenty of networking and relationship-building opportunities; the International Bluegrass Music Awards Show; and the IBMA Bluegrass Live! festival.

Registration is now open to attend the 2022 World of Bluegrass conference, while tickets are available for the IBMA Awards Show on September 29 and ticketed Bluegrass Live! festival performances over the weekend at the Red Hat Ampitheater. A two-day free street festival, September 30-October 1, marks the culmination of IBMA World of Bluegrass and draws throngs of music lovers to downtown Raleigh to enjoy more than 100 acts on different stages set up along Fayetteville Street — from the state capitol to the Duke Performing Arts Center. The StreetFest also includes an arts market, exhibit hall, master workshops, youth performances, food and beverage vendors, and more. The NC Whole Hog Barbecue Championship also takes place downtown that weekend.

IBMA (ibma.org) seeks to facilitate the growth and development of the bluegrass community – for professionals and enthusiasts who share a passion for the music. More information about IBMA’s World of Bluegrass will be posted on AcousticMusicScene.com in coming months and may also be found on WorldofBluegrass.org.

Hosted by Sierra Hull, Joe Newberry, Tim O’Brien and Rhonda Vincent, the awards show was the centerpiece of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Virtual World of Bluegrass week. Considered the genre’s annual industry gathering and family reunion. World of Bluegrass has taken place in Raleigh, North Carolina since 2013. However, concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the nonprofit professional organization for the global bluegrass community to shift to online presentation of its professional development seminars, artist showcases and awards this year.

A list of award winners in 17 categories as determined by votes cast by IBMA’s professional members follows:

Entertainer of the Year: Sister Sadie
Vocal Group of the Year: Sister Sadie
Instrumental Group of the Year: Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper (its sixth win in his category)
Song of the Year: “Chicago Barn Dance” – Special Consensus with Michael Cleveland & Becky Buller (artists), Becky Buller/Missy Raines/Alison Brown (writers), Compass Records, Alison Brown (producer)
Album of the Year: Live In Prague, Czech Republic – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Billy Blue Records, Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek (producers)
Gospel Recording of the Year: Gonna Rise And Shine – Alan Bibey & Grasstowne (artist), Mark Hodges (producer), Mountain Fever Records (label)
Instrumental Recording of the Year: Tall Fiddler – Michael Cleveland (artist), Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan (producers), Compass Records (label)
New Artist of the Year: Mile Twelve
Collaborative Recording of the Year: The Barber’s Fiddle – Becky Buller with Shawn Camp, Jason Carter, Laurie Lewis, Kati Penn, Sam Bush, Michael Cleveland, Johnny Warren, Stuart Duncan, Deanie Richardson, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Jason Barie, Fred Carpenter, Tyler Andal, Nate Lee, Dan Boner, Brian Christianson, and Laura Orshaw (artists), Stephen Mougin (producer), Dark Shadow Recording (label)
Female Vocalist of the Year: Brooke Aldridge (her fourth win in this category)
Male Vocalist of the Year: Danny Paisley
Banjo Player of the Year: Scott Vestal
Bass Player of The Year: Missy Raines (her ninth win in this category)
Resophonic Guitar Player of the Year: Justin Moses
Fiddle Player of the Year: Deanie Richardson
Guitar Player of the Year: Jake Workman
Mandolin Player of the Year: Alan Bibey (who also won in this category last year)

Here’s a link to view the official video for “Chicago Barn Dance,” the Song of the Year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmDoxyuRM60

Momentum Awards Also Presented During Virtual World of Bluegrass

Earlier in the week, the IBMA recognized artists and business professionals in the early years of their bluegrass music careers with Momentum Awards. A veteran bluegrass professional who has made significant contributions in fostering excellence in young bluegrass performers and members of the industry also received a Mentor Award.

2020 Momentum Awards recipients include:

Kris Truelsen (Industry Involvement)
Annie Savage (Mentor)
Thomas Cassell (Instrumentalist)
Tabitha Agnew (Instrumentalist)
Melody Williamson (Vocalist)
The Slocan Ramblers (Band)

An awards show is usually the centerpiece of the IBMA’s annual five-day World of Bluegrass, which is considered the genre’s annual industry gathering and family reunion. It has taken place in Raleigh, NC since 2013. However, concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic recently prompted the association for the global bluegrass community to shift to online presentation of its professional development seminars and artist showcases in September. THE IBMA has not yet announced how and when the awards will be presented.

Nominees for the IBMA’s coveted Entertainer of the Year Award include Balsam Range, Billy Strings, Del McCoury Band, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Sister Sadie, and Special Consensus Each is also nominated in other categories.

Balsam Range, a five-member acoustic ensemble that previously won this award in 2014 and 2018, takes its name from a majestic mountain range that surrounds part of its home county in western North Carolina, where the Smokies meet the Blue Ridge. Formed in 2007, Balsam Range has received more than a dozen other IBMA honors – including the 2017 and 2013 Album of the Year awards for Mountain Voodoo and Papertown, respectively. Besides its nod for Entertainer of the Year, Balsam Range is also in the running for /also received nominations for Vocal Group of the Year and Gospel Recording of the Year (“Angel Too Soon’).

Billy Strings is a 27 year-old genre-bending flatpicker who hails from Lansing, Michigan but now calls Nashville home. Named IBMA Guitarist and New Artist of the Year last September, he is also a nominee for Album (Home), Instrumental Recording (“Guitar Peace”) and Guitar Player of the Year in 2020.

Led by a Grand Ole Opry member and nine-time IBMA Entertainer of the Year, the Del McCoury Band took home the a2019 IBMA Award for Album of the Year (Del McCoury Still Sings Bluegrass). While the band vies to be named Entertainer of the Year again, Del is among the nominees for Male Vocalist of the Year and is also featured on Jason Barie’s “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” which is in the running for Collaborative Recording of the Year. His son, Ronnie McCoury, is nominated for Mandolin Player of the Year.

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver is a traditional bluegrass & southern gospel group fronted by a 76 year-old Tennessee native and International Bluegrass Hall of Famer who has been playing mandolin and singing professionally for nearly 60 years. Launched in 1979, the group is up for five other awards besides Entertainer of the Year. These include Vocal Group, Song (“Living Like There’s No Tomorrow”), Album (Live in Prague, Czech Republic), Instrumental Recording (“Shenandoah Breakdown”), and Gospel Recording (“I’m Going to Heaven”) of the Year.

Special Consensus has been performing as a band for four decades. Five-time IBMA award-winners and two-time Grammy nominees, the quartet is led by banjo player Greg Cahill, an IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award recipient who also is a former IBMA president and board chair. The band received the 2018 IBMA Album of the Year award for Rivers & Roads and also was honored for Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year. Its latest release, Chicago Barn Dance, is in the running for Album of the Year, while its title track is also nominated for both Song and Collaborative Recording of the Year.

Other artists receiving multiple awards nominations include Brooke Aldridge, Appalachian Road Show, Blue Highway, Becky Buller, Sam Bush, Michael Cleveland, Mile Twelve, Po’ Ramblin’ Boy, Missy Raines (eight-time IBMA Bass Player of the Year), and Molly Tuttle.

The nominees for these awards were selected by the professional membership of the IBMA, which is comprised of artists, songwriters, label personnel, radio hosts, event producers, managers and agents, publicists, studio engineers, associations, manufacturers, retailers, and others who work in the bluegrass industry. IBMA members also will vote to determine the winners.

The complete list of nominees in 17 categories as determined by votes cast by IBMA’s professional members follows.

Entertainer Of The Year

Vocal Group Of The Year
• Balsam Range
• Blue Highway
• Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
• Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out
• Sister Sadie

Instrumental Group Of The Year
• Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
• Mile Twelve
• Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
• Sam Bush Band
• The Travelin’ McCourys

New Artist Of The Year
• Appalachian Road Show
• Carolina Blue
• High Fidelity
• Merle Monroe
• Mile Twelve

Song Of The Year
• “Both Ends Of The Train” – Blue Highway (artist), Tim Stafford/Steve Gulley (writers), Rounder Records, Blue Highway (producers)
• “Chicago Barn Dance” – Special Consensus (artist), Becky Buller/Missy Raines/Alison Brown (writers), Compass Records, Alison Brown (producer)
• “Haggard” – The Grascals (artist), Harley Allen (writers), Mountain Home Music Company, The Grascals (producers)
• “Hickory, Walnut & Pine” – The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys (artist), Slaid Cleaves/Nathan Hamilton (writer), Rounder Records, Dave Maggar (producer)
• “Living Like There’s No Tomorrow” – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Jim McBride/Roger Alan Murrah (writer), Billy Blue Records, Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek (producers)

Album Of The Year
• Chicago Barn Dance – Special Consensus (artist), Compass Records, Alison Brown (producer)
• Home – Billy Strings (artist), Rounder Records, Glenn Brown (producer)
• Live In Prague, Czech Republic – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Billy Blue Records, Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek (producers)
• New Moon Over My Shoulder – Larry Sparks (artist), Rebel Records, Larry Sparks (producer)
• Tall Fiddler – Michael Cleveland (artist), Compass Records, Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan (producers)
• Toil, Tears & Trouble – The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys (artist), Rounder Records, Dave Maggard (producer)
• Tribulation – Appalachian Road Show (artist), Billy Blue Records, Jim VanCleve, Barry Abernathy, and Appalachian Road Show (producers)

Gospel Recording Of The Year
• “Angel Too Soon” – Balsam Range (artist), Balsam Range (producer), Mountain Home Music Company (label)
• “Because He Loved Me” – Dale Ann Bradley (artist), Dale Ann Bradley (producer), Pinecastle Records (label)
• “Gonna Rise And Shine” – Alan Bibey & Grasstowne (artist), Mark Hodges (producer), Mountain Fever Records (label)
• “I’m Going To Heaven” – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek (producer), Billy Blue Records (label)
• “Little Black Train” – Appalachian Road Show (artist), Barry Abernathy, Darrell Webb, and Ben Isaacs (producer), Billy Blue Records (label)

Instrumental Recording Of The Year
• “Tall Fiddler” – Michael Cleveland (artist), Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan (producers), Compass Records (label)
• “Shenandoah Breakdown” – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek (producer), Billy Blue Records (label)
• “Soldier’s Joy” – Jesse McReynolds with Michael Cleveland (artist), Jesse McReynolds (producer), Pinecastle Records (label)
• “The Appalachian Road” – Appalachian Road Show (artist), Jim VanCleve, Barry Abernathy, and Appalachian Road Show (producer), Billy Blue Records (label)
• “Guitar Peace” – Billy Strings (artist), Glenn Brown (producer), Rounder Records (label)

Collaborative Recording Of The Year
• “Chicago Barn Dance” – Special Consensus (artist), Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)
• “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cr”y – Jason Barie featuring Del McCoury & Paul William (artists), Jason Barie (producer), Billy Blue Records (label)
• “Tall Fiddler” – Michael Cleveland with Tommy Emmanuel (artist), Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan (producers), Compass Records (label)
• “The Barber’s Fiddle” – Becky Buller with Shawn Camp, Jason Carter, Laurie Lewis, Kati Penn, Sam Bush, Michael Cleveland, Johnny Warren, Stuart Duncan, Deanie Richardson, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Jason Barie, Fred Carpenter, Tyler Andal, Nate Lee, Dan Boner, Brian Christianson, and Laura Orshaw (artists), Stephen Mougin (producer), Dark Shadow Recording (label)
• “On and On” – Gena Britt with Brooke Aldridge (artists), Gena Britt (producer), Pinecastle Records (label)

Male Vocalist Of The Year
• Ronnie Bowman
• Del McCoury
• Russell Moore
• Danny Paisley
• Larry Sparks

Female Vocalist Of The Year
• Brooke Aldridge
• Dale Ann Bradley
• Amanda Smith
• Molly Tuttle
• Rhonda Vincent

Instrumental Performers Of The Year

Banjo
• Kristin Scott Benson
• Gena Britt
• Gina Furtado
• Ned Luberecki
• Scott Vestal

Bass
• Barry Bales
• Mike Bub
• Todd Phillips
• Missy Raines
• Marshall Wilborn

Fiddle
• Becky Buller
• Jason Carter
• Michael Cleveland
• Stuart Duncan
• Deanie Richardson

Resophonic Guitar
• Jerry Douglas
• Andy Hall
• Rob Ickes
• Phil Leadbetter
• Justin Moses

Guitar
• Trey Hensley
• Billy Strings
• Bryan Sutton
• Molly Tuttle
• Jake Workman

Mandolin
• Alan Bibey
• Jesse Brok
• Sam Bush
• Sierra Hull
• Ronnie McCoury

In addition, the IBMA has announced three new inductees into International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and seven people who will receive its Distinguished Achievement Award:

2020 Hall Of Fame Inductees
• New Grass Revival
• The Johnson Mountain Boys
• J.T. Gray

2020 Distinguished Achievement Award Recipients
• Norman & Judy Adams
• Daryl & Phyllis Adkins
• Darol Anger
• Wayne Rice
• Jack Tottle

A number of booking agencies whose rosters include folk and roots artists were among the more than 300 exhibitors in the large EXPO Hall. The conference also featured networking opportunities galore, daily plenary sessions and keynote speakers, an awards ceremony, a town hall on the artist as activist, and a wide array of professional development workshops and forums.

The theme for 2019 was The Power of WE and highlighted the collective strength and the influence of the performing arts in the world. As Mario Garcia Durham, APAP’s president and CEO, noted in welcoming conference attendees: “At APAP, we celebrate both the impact of our work and the opportunity for each one of us to draw energy, ideas and inspiration from it. Our strength as an industry comes from the everyday efforts of individuals in this field, and our collective power – The Power of WE – that fuels us as performing arts professionals.”

Showcases of Note Took Place at the Host Hotel and at Venues Around New York City

More than 1,000 showcases (music, dance, theater, comedy, and more) took place both at the New York Hilton Midtown, the conference hotel, and at venues throughout Manhattan. A few also were set in other New York City boroughs.

January 4: As he has for the last two years, composer, banjoist and producer Jayme Stone curated an eclectic roots music showcase at the host hotel that extended from the late afternoon into the evening. Called the Secret Agents APAP Showcase, it featured a number of notable, primarily self-managed touring artists. As Stone told AcousticMusicScene.com last January, he sought “to create a space for independent roots/world music artists to have their music heard by performing arts center directors and festival programmers. My goal was to make the cost slightly more affordable for artists and to create an opportunity for underrepresented artists to have a seat at the table. Most of the artists at our showcase do not have agents, which is rare at this conference.”

Kicking off the musical festivities was Eleanor Dubinsky, a soulful NYC-based singer songwriter, and her ensemble. Although I’d seen and previously been impressed by Dubinsky’s singing and song stylings in solo and duo performances, having an ensemble backing her added a whole new dimension to her performance. Next up, Stone debuted his New Art-Pop Project. Among the artists joining him on that was Moira Smiley, herself a gifted songwriter and vocalist, who, accompanied by her group, VOCO, had her own short showcase immediately afterwards entitled The Voice is a Traveler.

“2019 was my first time at Wavelengths, and that was a revelation to experience the small, fierce like-minded group of people interested in traditional arts,” she said, expressing appreciation to the pre-conference’s organizers for screening her promo video for her The Voice Is A Traveler show. In my view, it was the best of a number of short videos and video clips screened. As for the Secret Agents Showcase, Smiley said: “I love [them] for their absolute weirdness of variety. It reminds you how many worlds of entertainment here are – some intersecting not-one-bit with your own! Yet we’re all here making our dough with these sights and sounds.”

Also part of the Secret Agents Showcase were Taarka, a Colorado-based adventurous Americana trio whose sound is a blend of bluegrass, folk, gypsy jazz, and soul; American samba band Os Clavelitos; the energetic Northeastern Brazilian party music of accordionist Rob Curto’s Forro For All; and the joyous Brazilian bluegrass sounds of Matuto (fronted by Clay Ross), among others.

The evening’s musical gumbo also included the jazzy Brazilian Americana sounds of Max Hatt & Edda Glass; Hen’s Teeth, a cross-continental duo with Janie Rothfield (Staunton, VA) and Nathan Bontrager (Cologne, Germany); DuoDuo Quartet comprised of percussive dancer Nic Gareiss with harpist Maeve Glichrist, plus cellist Natalie Haas (who frequently performs with Alasdair Fraser) with her husband-guitarist Yann Falquet (from the Quebecois folk group Genticorum) – all of whom have toured internationally for years; Jenna Moynihan & Mairi Chaimbeaul, a fiddle and harp duo; and Mark Kilianski & Nate Sabat featuring a guitarist and songwriter from the duo Hoot & Holler and the bassist and songwriter from Mile Twelve, a Boston-based bluegrass band. Each of the preceding artists (with the exception of Simien) also joined Waldman in kicking-off the evening’s musical festivities with renditions of “Cluck Old Hen.” A welcome and unexpected highlight of the evening was Waldman’s pairing of harpists Gilchrist and Chaimbeaul for a tune as a twin-harp interlude between sets.

Although some parts of the roots music variety show’s format have remained the same, “it’s always evolving, sometimes in subtle ways, sometimes a little more dramatically,” Waldman noted. “O stage, I’ll sometimes mention a quote I’ve learned as a writer: no surprise to writer, no surprise to reader, which means if a writer is surprised what he or she is writing, which happens, it’s almost guaranteed the reader will be surprised. I think that’s a good thing. It means extra energy. I try to bring that mindset to the show, and have actively encouraged collaborations, which brings an element of the unknown. If the musicians are not 100% sure what’s going to happen next, the audience won’t know either.”

The same lineup of artists who performed at Don’t Tell Mama also showcased their talents the previous night at Brooklyn’s Jalopy Theater. “One of the evolutions in the show was [that] we began booking Thursday night at the Jalopy Theater in Red Hook, which served not only as a public event (on Friday we only market to APAP attendees), but also as a run-through for Friday,” said Waldman.

While I was enjoying the music at Don’t Tell Mama, the Americana Music Association sponsored a showcase concert at Rockwood Music Hall on the Lower East Side featuring singer-songwriter Caitlin Canty with special guests Oshima Brothers, while Smithsonian Folkways recording artists Anna & Elizabeth (who have previously been part of Waldman’s roots music variety shows) shared their innovative, modern arrangements of old-time Appalachian music at Joe’s Pub; The Klezmatics played Irridium, a midtown jazz club; and the Seamus Egan Project (featuring one of the most influential artists in contemporary Irish music) showcased at the New York Hilton, as did Switchback, the Celtic and Americana duo of Brian Fitzgerald and Martin McCormick. A multimedia concert by Seamus Egan’s seminal band Solas was a highlight of a previous APAP Conference.

January 5: My Saturday afternoon is traditionally filled with Celtic showcases at the hotel, and it would have been this year had I not opted to remain on Long Island to emcee a concert that I’d helped to arrange. Among the artists who showcased their talents at the New York Hilton Midtown that day were ebullient New York-based jig-rockers The Prodigals and their alter egos Acoustic Micks; Cherish The Ladies, the all-female Irish band fronted by Joannie Madden; Philadelphia-based Celtic roots band RUNA; and the young Irish trad trio Socks in the Frying Pan (from County Clare), whom I saw the next day.

Also showcasing their talents at the hotel on Saturday afternoon were Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches and Sam Reider & Human Hands. Natalia Zukerman performed excerpts from The Women Who Rode Away, a multimedia show melding her talents as a songwriter, painter and storyteller. William Florian, formerly of The New Christy Minstrels, presented a taste of Those Were The Days: The Spirit and the Songs of the 1960s.

Tamara Kater of Toronto, Ontario- based Mavens Music Management reports that the showcase was well attended, with more than 100 people in the audience – about half of whom had APAP connections. “APAP is always rewarding, especially with the concurrent content of Wavelengths and GlobalFEST,” said Kater. “It’s inspiring and rewarding to meet such an array of presenters and artists all in one place, within a few days. Seeing the venues of New York and so many performances in such a compact amount of time is always a brilliant way to start off the new year.”

Also that evening, booking agency Madison House hosted a showcase at City Winery featuring Canadian singer-songwriter Rose Cousins, American singer-songwriter Willie Nile, and Madagascar-born singer-songwriter ad environmental activist Razia Said. Down at Rockwood Music Hall, The Blue Dahlia featuring Dahlia Dumont, a Brooklyn gal now living in Paris, who pens and sings songs in both English and French, appeared. Among the artists who showcased their talents at New York Hilton were Emmet Cahill (star of PBS’ Celtic Thunder) and the Jen Chapin Trio featuring the soulful urban folk singer-songwriter, her husband Stephan Crump on acoustic bass, and Jamie Fox on electric guitar.

January 6: Isle of Klezbos, a swinging all-female Klezmer sextet shared a bill and some members with the octet Metropolitan Klezmer (now celebrating its silver anniversary) as they performed some vintage instrumentals and Yiddish songs during Sunday brunch at City Winery. Although I enjoyed this last year, I skipped it this time. I also missed singer-songwriter Ellis Paul’s short early morning “Hero In You” showcase, during which he presented 15-minutes of excerpts from an award-winning educational program for children based on his CD and book of the same name that inspires youngsters to dream big.

I enjoyed several showcases that were part of Celebrate Our FOLK at Connolly’s Pub – Restaurant (Connolly’s Klub 45). The highlights were Kaia Kater and Kittel & Co.

Fronted by Jeremy Kittel — a virtuosic violinist, fiddler and composer — Kittel & Co. is an acoustic trio/string band with folk and jazz sensibilities whose sound also has Celtic, bluegrass and classical influences. Its recent release, Whorls, debuted at #1 on the Billboard bluegrass chart, while Kittel’s piece “Chrysalis” is among the nominees for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition.

Also on the bill were singer-songwriter Ashley Davis, Making Movies (a Kansas City, MO-based band whose music defies easy categorization and whose set I missed, although I’ve previously seen the band at a Folk Alliance International conference held in its hometown), and the previously mentioned Socks in the Frying Pan.

Later in the evening, Kater shared a bill at Rockwood Music Hall as part of Quicksilver Productions, Lost Buffalo Artists & Smithsonian Folkways Present: The Women of Folkways with label mates The Bright Siders (featuring singer-songwriter and percussive dancer Kristin Andreassen – formerly of Uncle Earl – and Brooklyn-based child psychiatrist Dr. Kari Groff who create music that helps children and families have meaningful conversations about emotions) and Lula Wiles (a Boston–based, harmonious trio made up of Isa Burke, Eleanor Buckland, and Mali Obamsawin, whose Smithsonian Folkways debut, What Will We Do, is released Jan. 25 and who I had the pleasure of introducing at a couple of festivals).

Among the artists showcasing their talents at the New York Hilton in the evening were The Everly Set: Sean Altman and Jack Skuller Celebrate The Everly Brothers and Sultans of String, award-winning genre-bending world music instrumentalists from Toronto. Vanaver Caravan, a troupe of dancers and musicians, presented nearly half an hour of excerpts from Turn Turn Turn Turn, a show featuring more than 20 of Pete Seeger’s most celebrated songs and timed to coincide with the centenary of the late folk icon’s birth. Li, who describes his music as urban folk, did not impress this writer, while a Folk Legends showcase featuring two former members of The Kingston Trio was cancelled due to illness.

Also during the conference, Sage Artists shared excerpts of Call Mr. Robeson: A Life, With Songs, while cast members from Lonesome Traveler: The Concert performed short musical excerpts from the show, along with narration that helps tell the story of American folk and folk-rock music from Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan and beyond. Artists in various other musical genres also showcased their talents, while comedy, dance and theatrical showcases also were part of the mix.

Since there were no folk or roots music showcases of note on January 7, and the conference closed with a plenary session on the morning of January 8, I did not venture into NYC those days.

About the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP)

Based in Washington, DC, APAP is a nonprofit national service, advocacy and membership organization dedicated to developing and supporting a robust performing arts presenting field and the professionals who work within it. The next APAP Conference is set for Jan. 10-14, 2020 in New York City. More information on the organization may be found on its website: www.apap365.org.

A platform for luminaries and rising stars, the annual conference is the world’s largest gathering of the folk music industry and community. Folk Alliance International’s Official Showcases are jury-selected nightly mini-concerts featuring emerging artists and touring legends from around the world. The performances are 30 minutes in length and are held concurrently on ten full-production stages throughout the host hotel over three nights.

More than 800 artists/acts applied for the opportunity to perform for hundreds of festival and venue bookers, agents, managers, labels, media, and music industry representatives. The curated showcases feature artists representing a diverse array of folk genres including Appalachian, Americana, bluegrass, blues, Cajun, Celtic, global roots, Indie-folk, indigenous, Latin, old time, traditional, singer-songwriter, spoken word, and every imaginable fusion.

Breakthrough artists from previous conferences include The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Darlingside, David Francey, John Fullbright, Kaia Kater, Lake Street Dive, The Milk Carton Kids, Nickel Creek, The Stray Birds, Valerie June, The Waifs, and The Wailin’ Jennys. Past showcase performances have also included guest appearances by Judy Collins, Béla Fleck, Rita Coolidge, Ron Sexsmith, Archie Fisher, Peggy Seeger, and more.

Bringing together musicians, educators, and music industry professionals from around the world, the Folk Alliance International Conference is known for its community atmosphere, business and networking opportunities, and as a hotspot for discovering new talent.

The 2018 conference will feature presentations by Mary Chapin Carpenter and Richard Thompson, the Louis Jay Meyers Music Camp, the International Folk Music Awards, and the third annual Kansas City Folk Festival. Celebrating 30 years of community and song, the conference will YEARS OF COMMUNITY AND SONG, honor the first three decades of the organization’s growth and activity, as well as the broader story of folk music during that time.

Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org) is a Kansas City, MO-based nonprofit organization that seeks to nurture, engage and empower the international folk music community – traditional and contemporary, amateur and professional – through education, advocacy and performance.

Editor’s Note: This article is based on a news release issued by Folk Alliance International, on whose board of directors I serve. I’m also board president of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA), one of its five regional affiliates, which holds it annual conference, Nov. 9-12, in Stamford, CT. I am not involved in the selection of Official Showcase artists.

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.