By Aengus Finnan

Last week, the folk community lost two seminal figures: Clark Weissman, co-founder of Folk Alliance International (along with his late wife Elaine, 2005), and Reba Heyman, an omnipresent supporter (along with her late husband Vic, 2009).

While we can’t possibly acknowledge every passing, the specific significance of these two people is reason to pause and celebrate their lives and contributions. The quiet, heartfelt, and passionate presence and work they each did (hand in hand with their respective spouses) brought inspiration and changed the course of many lives.

Clark Weissman

Clark and Elaine Weissman

Clark and Elaine Weissman

Clark and Elaine Weissman traveled across America in 1988 talking to folk music community organizers, gathering over 100 people the following year in Malibu, California, ultimately leading to the formation of the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance (now Folk Alliance International). Clark was seminal in steering the young organization, ensuring its stability, and stewarding its hand off as it formalized. During preparations for FAI’s 30th anniversary, Clark met with the Board and staff members during a planning retreat at Camp Hess Kramer where he shared stories and photos of the initial meeting and discussions there.

Reba Heyman

Vic and Reba Heyman

Vic and Reba Heyman

Reba and Vic Heyman were more than simply uber-fans; they were consummate supporters of the
scene, present in their matching shirts at almost every Folk Alliance event (regional and international), and consistently in the front row of folk clubs and festivals from Texas to Florida to Washington and beyond. Reba was a generous mother figure to an entire generation of artists (myself included); always there with a word of encouragement, an introduction, a spare bed when passing by, advice when sought, and support of all manner when needed. Her opinion mattered, and she quietly made career-changing things happen for countless people.

In very different ways both Clark and Reba (and their spouses before them) had a profound influence
on the entire community we call home. They exemplified the best we can be: generous, aspirational,
present, and kind.

I’ll close with a quote from the song “Travel Well,” originally written for Vic’s passing by Amy Speace, Cary Cooper, Jagoda, and Tom Prasada-Rao:

“Travel well, friend and angel,
To the place where you belong,
Take your seat, front row in heaven,
Where you’ll always hear a song”

Rest in peace Clark and Reba!

Aengus Finnan is executive director of Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org), a nonprofit
organization that aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through
preservation, presentation and promotion.

Editor’s Note: Both Clark Weissman and Reba Heyman died on June 17, 2021. He was 87, while she was 84.

I did not know Clark Weissman who, along with his wife, ran a house concert series for 15 years and was a founder of the California Traditional Music Society. Clark and Elaine also were among the founders of Folk Alliance Region-West (FAR-West), which honored them in 2007 with its “Best of the West” Ambassador Award.

I was friendly with Reba Heyman – having come to know her through the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA). An integral part of our folk community, she will be sorely missed. Among other things, she was a co-presenter of the South Florida Folk Festival’s Singer-Songwriter Competition. Reba and her late husband, Vic, were known for decades for their generous financial backing of folk festivals and artists. The couple also formerly ran a concert series in Rockville, Maryland known as Vic’s Music Corner; served on the boards of several music festivals; and established a scholarship fund for performing artists.