AcousticMusicScene.com Hosts Showcases at SERFA Conference in May

Nearly 200 people are expected to converge on the Montreat Conference Center in Montreat, North Carolina, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Asheville, May 16-19, 2013, for the sixth annual Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) Conference — an extended weekend of contemporary and traditional folk music, networking, and learning opportunities. AcousticMusicScene.com will host late-night song swaps.

The newest of the five regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International, SERFA (www.serfa.org) exists to promote, develop and celebrate the diverse heritage of roots and indigenous music, dance, storytelling and related arts in the Southeastern United States. Its annual conference is a primary means of doing that. This is the third consecutive year that it is being held at the same location, a beautiful and tranquil spot nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This year’s conference opens with workshops, followed by dinner and a three-hour open mic on Thursday and concludes on Sunday morning with a continental breakfast and a special performance by composer and songwriter B.J. Leiderman, best known for creating themes for NPR’s “Morning Edition,” “Weekend Edition,” and “Marketplace.”

Workshops on a variety of topics will be offered each day. Among the subjects to be covered are booking and performing at senior centers, constructive critique, DIY tour booking, doing music and doing good, fair trade music, funny songs, help me say yes to your booking request, house concert etiquette for the musician, the next generation of folk music, releasing your inner geek: getting yourself out there and the tools to do it, the power of your newsletter, the roots of songwriting, social media, successful kickstarter campaigns, ”Wisdom of the Elders” (featuring Sonny Ochs, Ralph Lewis and his sons), and zen and the art of performing. Also scheduled are several workshops geared towards guitarists and a vocal class, as well as peer group meeting for house concert presenters and an American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 1000 meeting. In addition, a series of one-on-one mentoring sessions are scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

A number of artists have been selected by a panel of judges to present official showcases from 7- 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Slated to perform are Caroline Aiken, Beggar’s Ride, Marc Black and Amy Fradon, Rj Cowdery, Robin Greenstein, Spook Handy, Susan Herndon, Lara Herscovitch, The Hollands, The Billy Jonas Band, Alicia McGovern, Buddy Mondlock, Darryl Purpose, David Russell, Lyal Strickland, Sultans of String, Hiroya Tsukamoto, and Mike Vial & The Great Lake Effect.

Following the official showcases, late-night guerilla showcases and AFM Local 1000 Song Circles will take place in various meeting rooms between 10:45 p.m. and 2 a.m. Although AcousticMusicScene.com has had a presence at the SERFA Conference for the past two years, it will host late-night showcases at one for the first time this spring. As at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conferences each November since 2007, the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase at Montreat will be done in the form of song swaps. These will take place on Thursday, May 16, overnight in Room 334.

Here’s the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase schedule:

10:40: Sandy Andina, Robin Greenstein, Elaine Mahon
11:00: Rj Cowdery, Claudia Nygaard, Jeff Talmadge
11:30: Beggar’s Ride, Marc Black & Amy Fradon, Friction Farm
12:00 Rob Lytle, Alicia McGovern, Buddy Mondlock
12:30: Todd Hoke, Lauren Lapointe, Kim Richardson
1:00 Robert Bobby, Tony Denikos, Linda McRae
1:30 Jon Shain, Sally Spring

The conference registration rate rises from $125 to $145 on May 13, although the last day to register and be listed in the program book is May 5. Persons not registered for the conference can attend these showcases on Friday and Saturday for $10 each night.

Editor’s Note: In addition to hosting an AcousticMusicScene.com showcase, I will be part of a panel discussion on social media and will again be a mentor offering my insights on public relations, strategic communications, websites and social media, and other topics of interest to performing artists and presenters.