Lake Susan at the Montreat Conference Center in Montreat, North Carolina (Photo: Michael Kornfeld)
The newest of the five regional chapters 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 fourth 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 lunch on Thursday, followed by an open mic, workshops, dinner and three-hours of official showcases,and concludes on Sunday morning with breakfast. There also will be an informal open mic/jam session in the lobby on Wednesday evening for those opting to arrive early for the conference.
John McCutcheon in concert (Photo: Walt Hansen)
Following the keynote, the inaugural Kari Estrin Founding President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Music and Culture in the Southeast will be presented to The Highlander Research and Education Center, which serves as a catalyst for grassroots organizing and movement building in Appalachia and the South. But it is Highlander’s integration of music with social change that SERFA is particularly acknowledging with this award. During the Civil Rights Era, not only did Rosa Parks receive training at Highlander before she gave up her seat on the bus, it was also where the song “We Shall Overcome” evolved and was disseminated. And when Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger made their cross-country trip together in the early 1940s, The Highlander Center was one of their first stops.
The Highlander Center’s Pam McMichael also will present a workshop on Singing and Social Change, just one among more than 20 workshops and panel discussions on a variety of topics that are slated during the conference.
Blues and roots artists Lauren Sheehan and Suzie Vinnick will conduct a guitar workshop. Michael Johnathon, singer-songwriter and host of “The Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour,” presents “Why Free Works – The New Business Model for Music and Art.” Singer-songwriter Spook Handy leads a tribute and participatory workshop in honor of Pete Seeger, while Elaine Romanelli explores how to collect money for music you write, record and perform in “Show Me the Money!, and Brooks Williams provides tips for touring musicians in “Topic-Ready and Rockin’.” Among the other workshop and panel topics are “The Essence of Songwriting from Three Perspectives,” “Legal Issues and the Professional Musician,” “Making a Career for Yourself via Alternative Venues and Thought,” “Online PR Tools for Success,” “Pre-Production,” and “Singing and Social Change.” A 90-minute “Wisdom of the Elders” panel discussion and a series of group and one-on-one mentoring sessions also are on the conference agenda.
A number of artists have been selected by a panel of judges to present official showcases on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Slated to perform are Sarah Aili, Ash Breeze Band, Natasha Borzilova, Ellen Bukstel, Brad Cole, The Don Juans, Tret Fure, Grits and Soul, Avery Hill, Graydon James & Laura Spink, Michael Johnathon, Brian Ashley Jones, Christopher Mark Jones, Jan Krist & Jim Bizer, Lauren Lapointe, Linda McRae, Karyn Oliver, Heather Pierson, Raison D’Etre, Elaine Romanelli, The Ruby Brunettes, Lauren Sheehan & Zoe Carpenter, Peyton Tochterman, Suzie Vinnick, and Brooks Williams.
Persons not registered for the conference can attend these juried showcases on Friday and Saturday for $10 each night or $25 for all three nights.
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. AcousticMusicScene.com, which has had a presence at the SERFA Conference for the past three years, will host late-night showcases on Thursday, May 14, overnight in Room 230. These will take the form of song swaps and an hour-long Midnight Hoot.
Featuring a dozen artists overt the span of one-hour, the AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot is designed to provide presenters and others with an opportunity to get a small sampling of the music of a number of artists in a short period of time on the first night of the conference. It also enables artists to enjoy each other’s company and music. It is an abbreviated version of the popular three-Hour Midnight Hoot featuring some 30 artists and several folk DJs that has kicked-off late-night musical festivities in the AcousticMusicScene.com room at Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conferences for the past seven years. Two half-hour song swaps will precede and follow the Midnight Hoot.
AcousticMusicScene.com’s Michael Kornfeld (second from left) is shown here with singer-songwriters (l.-r.) Rob Lytle, Jeff Talmadge, Christine Stay and Aidan Quinn during the 2011 SERFA Conference.
10:40: The Don Juans
11:00: Women’s Voices: Sarah Aili, Lorraine Conard, Heather Pierson
11:30: Men’s Voices: Rob Lytle, John Tracy
12:00 AcousticMusicScene.com Midnight Hoot:
(Each artist performs one song; order of appearance subject to change):
Amy Andrews, Graydon James & Laura Spink, Jeremiah Birnbaum, Ash Devine, Lou Dominguez, Wyatt Easterling, Sharon Goldman, Josh Harty, Camela Widad, Todd Hoke, Bill & Eli Perras, Brian Ashley Jones
1:00: Blues & Roots: Jon Shain, Lauren Sheehan, Suzie Vinnick
1:30: A Trio of Duos: Andina and Rich, The Robert Bobby Duo, The Dalziels
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Editor’s Note: In addition to hosting an AcousticMusic Scene.com showcase, I will be part of a two-person panel discussion entitled Online PR Tools for Success and will again be a mentor offering advice and counsel on public relations, strategic communications, artist bios and one-sheets, website content and social media, and other topics of interest to performing artists and presenters.
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