The 21st Annual International Folk Alliance Conference is slated for next February 18-22 in Memphis, Tennessee, while regional conferences of the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance (Folk Alliance) are shaping up for this fall. The conferences provide useful and enjoyable learning and networking opportunities, not to mention plenty of fine listening and performing opportunities for artists, presenters, agents and managers, folk DJs, folk societies and clubs, media, and others actively engaged in the folk music field; they are not intended for casual folk fans.
Booking gigs is the primary objective of some performers who attend these annual conferences, while many presenters and folk DJs come primarily to scout out new artists and those who they have not previously heard and seen in live performance. However, the conference experience is much more than that; it’s really about forging connections and building an acoustic community. Although artist showcases and educational workshops and panel discussions are common to all of them, the regional conferences hosted by Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA), Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM), Folk Alliance Region West (FAR-West), Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA), and the new Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) all have their own tenor and style.
[To read the entire article, which includes information on each of the regional conferences, click on the headline.]
One of the most recognizable voices in Irish folk music has been quieted. Ronnie Drew, a founding member of The Dubliners, died in a Dublin hospital on August 16, just one month shy of his 74th birthday. The gravelly-voiced folk singer had suffered a long bout with throat cancer.
Drew was a pioneering and much revered and loved figure in Irish folk music since helping to form The Dubliners, in 1962. “Ronnie Drew was an iconic figure in Irish music over the last five decades,” said Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen in a prepared statement. “Whether as part of The Dubliners or during his solo career, Ronnie will also be remembered for his promotion of Irish music both at home and around the world.”
[To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
