Like its counterparts at the other regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International, the board of directors of Folk Alliance Region-West (FAR-West) felt compelled to cancel its annual conference this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FAR-West will, however, host a virtual gathering on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020. Entitled “We Belong Together,” the free, one-day event will be in two parts and will take place via Zoom and YouTube.
“This virtual confab will satisfy both our bylaws’ requirements for an annual general membership meeting, and our yen for the live performances we have come to love through our official and private guerilla showcases,” according to a Sept. 24 news release issued by the nonprofit organization. “The show, and the love, must go on.”
The organization’s annual general membership meeting kicks off the day at 11:30 a.m. PDT. In addition to a brief discussion of board and organizational business, the meeting will afford members of Folk Alliance International who reside in the western United States and Canada an opportunity to ask questions and make comments.
A two-hour FAR-West Livestream Concert Revue is slated to start at 12:45 p.m. PDT via the FAR-West YouTube channel. It will feature live performances by well-known acts from the West and beyond, as well as a few up-and-coming artists.
Performers include Grammy® winners and nominees Laurence Juber, John McEuen, Danny O’Keefe and Wendy Waldman; up-and-comers The Black Feathers, Crys Matthews and Raye Zaragoza; storyteller Tim Hernandez; stalwarts Joe Craven, David Jacobs-Strain, Joel Rafael and Beth Wood and David Jacobs-Strain. Tom Prasada-Rao will sing his much-covered social justice anthem, “$20 Bill” (For George Floyd), a poignant and heartbreakingly powerful song that he wrote in the days following the senseless murder of a 46 year-old black man by a Minneapolis, MN police officer after he allegedly bought cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. To cap off the musical festivities, Dan Navarro will perform a newly-written version of the classic song “We Belong” that he co-wrote with his late musical partner Eric Lowen; Pat Benatar’s recording of “We Belong” was a best-selling hit.
Here are the online links for the meeting and the concert:
Zoom Meeting: www.zoom.us or on the Zoom app • Meeting ID: 927 0725 3654 / Passcode: 945043
YouTube Concert:
www.youtube.com/user/farwestconference
One of five North America-based regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International, FAR-West (far-west.org) seeks to foster and promote traditional, contemporary and multicultural folk music, dance, storytelling and related performing arts in the Western United States and Canada. Folk Alliance International (folk.org) is a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion.
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