Eight official showcase artists have been selected and final plans are being made for FARMette, a condensed one-day version of the Folk Alliance Region Midwest’s annual four-day conference. Slated for Saturday, April 28, 2012, from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., at the historic opera house in downtown Fayette, Ohio, located on US 20,about 30 minutes west of Toledo, the event will feature an array of workshops, more than 20 ten-minute performance lane slots for artists, and two meals with open mics during them, in addition to eight 20-minute official showcases in the evening.

Heather Styka (Photo: Miranda Rae)

The following artists have been chosen to perform in the showcases that will extend from 7 to 10 p.m.: Jim Bizer (Franklin, MI), Jon Brooks (Toronto, Ontario), Bill Bynum & Company (Trenton, MI), Jen Cass (Saginaw, MI), Chad Elliot (Coon Rapids, IA), Jason & Ginger (Bloomington, IN), Heather Styka (Chicago, IL) and Emily White (Chicago, IL).

Singer-songwriter Joel Mabus will conduct a workshop on storytelling; David Tamulevich, of Mustard’s Retreat and Tamulevich Artists Management, will discuss the state of the business; and longtime DIY artist Jan Krist will lead a workshop entitled “Musician, Book Thyself.” Other hour-long workshops will focus on leading song and jamming, live sound and recording arts, and small venue and house concerts.

Registration for FARMette is $60 ($25 for presenters, venues and folk DJs). To encourage the next generation of folk musicians, FARM also is inviting
area high school music students to participate in the conference at a discounted rate.

FARM 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.

For more information and to register for the one-day conference, visit www.farmfolk.org.