Close to 2,000 performers, presenters, promoters and others engaged in the folk and acoustic music community are expected to converge on the Marriott in Memphis, Tennessee, February 17-21, 2010, for the 22nd International Folk Alliance Conference. To take advantage of the discounted early registration rate, individuals and groups must register by December 1.
Ranked among the five largest music conferences in North America, the International Folk Alliance Conference will feature four days of panel discussions and workshops, peer group meetings and popular singer-songwriter critique sessions, as well as four nights of feature shows, 200 official juried Performance Alley showcases, and hundreds of private showcases that extend late into the night (or early morning hours, depending on your vantage point). Folk University — launched last year to provide both basic and in-depth education on traditional music through demonstrations, panel discussions, oral histories, workshops and showcases — returns, while a new Song School will feature workshops covering both the craft and business of songwriting.
The 2010 Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Award recipients — Bob Dylan (Living Performer), Elizabeth Cotten (Legacy Award) and the National Council for Traditional ARTS/NCTA (Business Award) — will be honored during the conference’s opening night festivities. The Folk DJ album and song of the year, as well as the annual Spirit of Folk Awards, will also be presented at that time. And a special musical tribute to Mary Travers, who died earlier this year, is in the works.
As always, the conference will boast a large exhibit hall and plenty of opportunities for networking and jamming. And the city of Memphis and its many music-related attractions beckons just outside the host hotel’s doors. For more information and online registration forms, visit www.folk.org.
Folk Alliance International 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.
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