Twenty-four artists have been selected from among more than 500 applicants to perform in the Emerging Artists Showcase during the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival on Friday afternoon, July 24, 2009, from 12-4:30 p.m.

Appearing in this year’s Falcon Ridge/Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase are: Nels Andrews, Mary Bragg, Bread and Bones, The Brilliant Inventions, Calaveras, K.C. Clifford, Chuck E. Costa, Coyote Grace, Driftwood Fire, Emily Elbert, John Elliott, Jenny Goodspeed, Aiden James, Colleen Katau & Some Guys, Robin Landis, Liz Longley, Kelleigh McKenzie, Angelo M, Danielle Miraglia, Alastair Moock, Claudia Nygaard, A.J. Roach & His Strange Pilgrims, Sean Rowe, and Swing Caravan.

The Emerging Artists Showcase is not a contest, and artists won’t be judged per se, although the audience is surveyed as to which showcase artists they’d like to see return the next year to participate in a Most Wanted Song Swap. This year’s Most Wanted Song Swap will feature Blue Moose and the Unbuttoned Zippers, Amy Speace, Abi Tapia and Lucy Wainwright Roche.

Among the Northeast’s most popular music festivals, Falcon Ridge, now in its 21st year, takes place July 23-26 at Dodds Farm on Route 7D in Hillsdale, New York, located in the foothills of the Berkshires near the tri-state corner of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The festival features dozens of artists performing on several stages, a swingin’ dance tent, children’s music and activities, and a wide array of crafts, food and other vendors.

Those camping at Falcon Ridge and staying up through the wee hours of the morning can enjoy informal jams, mini-showcases and after-hours song circles that help foster a sense of “folk” community and a different kind of festival experience. AcousticMusicScene.com and Tribes Hill (a nonprofit organization uniting musicians of the Hudson Valley region and their patrons in support of a music community coming together to celebrate human experience through song) will again co-host late-night song swaps– an invitational hour each evening, followed by open song circles — under a big white canopy tent.

More information on the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival can be found at www.falconridgefolk.com and will be posted on AcousticMusicScene.com in coming weeks.