The following artists have been selected (from among more than 100 applicants) to perform official showcases during the 2011 Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM) Gathering, slated for Sept. 22-25 at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites of Bolingbrook, Illinois, located less than an hour from Chicago: John Batdorf, Jen Cass, RJ Cowdery, Harpeth Rising, Bill & Kate Isles, Lake Folk, Sarah McQuaid, Carol Montag, Louise Mosrie, Zoe Mulford, Sally Spring, Spuyten Duyvil, Dennis Stroughmatt et L’Esprit Creole and Twangtown Paramours. Alternates are Greg Klyma, Lee Murdock and The YaYas. The official showcases take place on Friday and Saturday evenings; no other activities are scheduled at the same times.

Sarah McQuaid (Photo: Alastair Bruce, www.alastairbruce.co.uk)

“I’m so very happy to have been selected as an official showcase artist,” said singer-songwriter Sarah McQuaid, who will be on tour in the U.S, this fall from the United Kingdom, as will Zoe Mulford. “I’ve been on tenterhooks about it for months, as the conference falls smack in the middle of a 40-gig US tour that starts on the 1st of September and finishes on the 23rd of October,” McQuaid told AcousticMusicScene.com. “I’d been keeping the dates open in the hope of being selected, but I knew that with so many talented applicants it would be a long shot, so I did a lot of leaping up and down when the email arrived.”

An official showcase artist during the International Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis earlier this year, McQuaid noted that “was great and I got a good bit of work out of it, but other artists have told me that the regional conferences are actually better for getting bookings, as a lot of presenters only attend the regionals — and also because the scale is so much more intimate, you’re likely to meet and be heard by a much greater percentage of the people who are there.” McQuaid expressed delight that among the other official showcase acts are her friends Louise Mosrie and Bill & Kate Isles, whom she met through Folk Alliance and has kept in touch with ever since. “I’m really looking forward to seeing and hearing them, as well as the other performers who will be at the conference — that’s the biggest benefit of all!,” she added.

Like other regional conferences of the nonprofit Folk Alliance International, the annual FARM Gathering provides useful and enjoyable learning and networking opportunities, not to mention plenty of fine listening and performing opportunities for artists, presenters, agents and managers, folk DJs, folk societies and clubs, and others engaged in the traditional and contemporary folk music field.

In addition to the coveted official showcase slots, artists have several other opportunities to perform and gain exposure to presenters and radio DJs in attendance. These include Performance Lane (48 pre-scheduled, unplugged 10-minute showcases to be held simultaneously in two smaller conference rooms following the official showcases), Midwest Radio Presents, and late-night jamming and song circles. Adopting an idea from other regional conferences, this year’s FARM Gathering also will include unplugged, late-night private showcases in a limited number of hotel rooms from midnight to 2 a.m. Michael P. Smith, best known for writing the oft-covered song “The Dutchman,” is the conference’s keynote speaker. Daytime workshops and panel discussions also are on the agenda.

Although there is no exhibition hall, attendees are welcome to display promotional materials (free of charge) in designated areas. Both a la carte (“Taste of FARM”) and all-inclusive conference registration is available. For more information and registration forms, visit www.farmfolk.org.