Hundreds of performers, presenters, booking agents, radio programmers and others engaged in performing and promoting folk and acoustic music in the West – from Anchorage, Alaska to Phoenix, Arizona – are expected to converge on the Hyatt Regency in Irvine, California, November 6-8. The sixth annual Folk Alliance Region-West (FAR-West) Conference will feature three days of acoustic music, networking, music business education … and very little sleep.
Booking gigs is the primary objective of some musicians and singer-songwriters 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 music community.
“FAR-West is always among the highlights of our year,” say Russ and Julie Paris, hosts of a house concert series in Ventura County, California. “Over the past few years, more than a third of our performance schedule has come directly from artists we’ve seen at the annual Far-West conference. We always enjoy the music, the networking, and hanging out with our musical friends.”
Premiere Showcase artists this year, each of whom will have 25-minute sets in one of three concurrent showcase rooms on either Friday or Saturday night, were chosen by a panel of judges from among hundreds of applicants. Showcasing on Friday night, beginning at 6:45 p.m., will be Nels Andrews, Caren Armstrong, Aztec Two Step, Stephanie Bettman, The Border Blasters, Shaun Cromwell, Suzie Glaze & The High Lonesome Band, Rachel Harrington, Berkley Hart, I See Hawks in L.A., Colleen McFarland, Michael McGarrah, Larry Kenneth Potts, Chuck Pyle, Jude Roberts, Sligo Rags, Doug Smith, Merlin Snider, The Syncopaths, Anne Weiss, and Hans York.
Saturday evening’s premiere showcase artists include Big Wide Grin, Calaveras, Phil Christie, Marty Cohen and The Sidekicks, Robert Morgan Fisher, John Flynn, Hat Check Girl, Bill Hearne, Bill and Kate Isles, Dan Janisch, Jill Knight, Cathy-Anne McClintock, Maggie McKraig-Luke, Molly’s Revenge, Claudia Nygaard, James Lee Stanley, Wilson Storm Session, Walter Strauss, Ernest Troost, Lisa Turner, and Beth Wood.
Following the premiere showcases, at 10:30 p.m. each night, will be the three-hour-long Susanne Millsaps Memorial Coffeehouse featuring 30-minute sets with three artists swapping songs in the round. Late night guerilla showcases and jam sessions arranged by conference attendees and held in their rooms on one floor of the hotel, as well as a “New Stars in the West” showcase, also will take place concurrently.
During the daytime hours, conference-goers can choose from among more than 30 panel discussions, workshops and master classes. Among this year’s topics are audience building for venues and house concert presenters, creating a compelling performance, creating and uploading YouTube videos, economics of touring, and keys to successful booking. 2009 Best of the West honoree Joe Craven leads a discussion on the roots and history of Appalachian music. Penny Nichols, founding director of the nonprofit SummerSongs, Inc., conducts a vocal health workshop. Kenny Edwards of Stone Poneys fame leads a hands-on workshop on guitar arranging for solo performers, while singer-songwriter and Folk Alliance International President Dan Navarro co-leads a songwriting workshop.
The annual “Best of the West” Awards, recognizing one performer and one non-performer who have established themselves as true leaders through their talents and efforts on behalf of the community over a period of time, will be presented during a luncheon on Saturday. This year’s honorees are Joe Craven, a multi-instrumentalist who played with the David Grisman Quartet for nearly 17 years and also has played and/or recorded with a bevy of notable musicians; and Bob Stane, who has been involved with the folk music community in southern California for half a century and currently runs The Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena. For the first time, FAR-West also will present a lifetime achievement award. The first recipient is Faith Petric, who will be profiled next month on AcousticMusicScene.com.
A contra dance, an exhibit hall, and myriad network opportunities also are on tap during the conference. For more information, visit www.far-west.org.
As its name implies, FAR-West is part of the larger Folk Alliance International, an association that aims to foster and promote multicultural, traditional and contemporary folk music, while strengthening and advancing organizational and individual initiatives in folk music and dance through education, networking, advocacy, and professional and field development. The 22nd Annual International Folk Alliance Conference is slated for next February 17-22 in Memphis, Tennessee.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
