Thirteen acts have been selected to perform Official Showcases during the 2015 Folk Alliance Region-West (FAR-West) Conference in Oakland, California, Oct. 15-18.
Chosen from among a large pool of applicants, following two rounds of blind judging by panels of music professionals, were Nels Andrews, The Bombadils, Jalan Crossland, Ashleigh Flynn, Rebecca Folsom Duo, Freddy & Francine, Susie Glaze & The Hilonesome Band, Berkley Hart, Ragged Union, Rick Ruskin, Spark and Whisper, Alice Wallace, and Dan Weber. Each of the Official Showcase artists will perform 25-minute sets in the Marriott City Center’s grand ballroom, along with singer-songwriter Cris Williamson, FAR-West’s 2015 Best of the West Artist honoree.
FAR-West is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International, a nonprofit organization that aims to foster and promote contemporary, traditional and multicultural folk music. The 12th annual FAR-West Conference is expected to draw more than 300 attendees — primarily performing artists, presenters, managers, agents and others engaged more than peripherally in the world of folk and acoustic music. It will feature lots of acoustic music showcases (including late-night private guerilla showcases arranged by conference attendees and held in their hotel rooms, as well as the Susanne Millsapps Memorial Coffeehouse held over two afternoons), late-night jamming, Best of the West luncheon, educational panel discussions and workshops, one-to-one mentoring sessions, and networking opportunities galore.
Booking gigs is the primary objective of some musicians and singer-songwriters who attend the conference, while many presenters and folk DJs come primarily to scout out new artists and those whom they have not previously heard and seen in live performance. However, the conference experience is much more than that; it’s really about forging connections, renewing existing relationships, and building community.
The Official Showcase Concerts, as well as a Thursday night Venues’ Choice Concert, are open to the public as part of FAR-West’s effort to make the folk arts widely available. Public tickets for just the concerts will be available on the FAR-West website (www.far-west.org) soon, as will the schedule of performances and other conference details.
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