Artists interested in applying for formal and/or tricentric showcases during the 16th annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference have until August 1 and August 31, respectively, to do so. The annual conference, which drew nearly 700 people last year, is slated for November 11-14 at the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, NY.

The Formal Showcases take place on Friday and Saturday evenings in the resort’s theater, and no other activities are scheduled at the same time. Following those, folks will shuffle between three conference rooms to catch short sets by various artists during what are known as Tricentric Showcases.

“Dianne Tankle, our longtime conference coordinator, and I have heard from many performing artists who consider being selected for one of these juried showcases to be quite an honor,” says Cheryl Prashker, NERFA’s president and percussionist to the folkies. “Many festival and concert series presenters — for whom we offer incentives to attend — have featured artists they’ve discovered in these showcases and had opportunities to speak with during our conference. Indeed, for some, the NERFA Conference serves as a primary vehicle for booking talent.”

As in years past, the conference will feature a diverse mix of folk and acoustic music presented by artists from throughout the U.S. and Canada, workshops and panel discussions, mentoring sessions, communal meals, and lots of opportunities for schmoozing and networking with and among artists, presenters, agents and managers, folk DJs, folk societies and clubs, and others engaged in the traditional and contemporary folk music field. An exhibition hall gives the conference the added aura of a trade show.

A Folk DJ Showcase on Thursday night marks the unofficial kick-off of the conference. An AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot — featuring several singing folk DJs and a host of performing artists — follows. Conference programming begins with an array of workshops on Friday morning. NERFA also continues to offer a family music track on Friday, with performer showcases (for which applications also are due by late August) and special workshops geared for those engaged or interested in children’s and family music. After the Tricentric Showcases each evening, AcousticMusicScene.com will join dozens of presenters, performers and others in hosting guerilla showcases in their hotel rooms through the wee hours of the morning. Open mics, informal jam sessions, private showcases, thematic song circles and round-robin song swaps round out the mix.

NERFA 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, downloadable showcase applications, and conference registration forms, visit the new NERFA website at www.nerfa.org.