Fifteen artists/acts have been invited to perform in an abbreviated 2022 Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase during the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival on Friday afternoon, July 29, from noon to 3 p.m. This year’s festival is set for July 29-31 at the Goshen Fairgrounds in Goshen, Connecticut – where A Day of Falcon Ridge took place last year.

Appearing in this year’s Falcon Ridge/Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase are (listed alphabetically by last name or name of group, not in order of appearance) are: Lisa Doscher, Caleb Christopher Edwards, Phil Henry, Sue Horowitz, Sarah King, Chris LaVancher, Markley & Balmer, Joseph Alton Miller, Grace Morrison, Claudia Nygaard, Sam Robbins, Erin Ash Sullivan, Kray Van Kirk, Naomi Vernon, and Mark Wahl. Named as an alternate was Nick Depuy & The Big Fly. Although there is no compensation for showcasing artists, each will receive full admission, on-site camping and meals for the festival, plus one guest pass per act.

The Falcon Ridge/Grassy Hill Emerging Artists Showcase is not a contest, and artists won’t be judged per se during the festival, although the audience is surveyed as to which showcase artists they’d like to see return the following year to participate in a Most Wanted Song Swap. In evaluating submissions, a panel of three judges looked for high-quality performances of interesting, well-crafted, acoustic-based material. This year’s judges were Dalis Allen, the longtime conference director for the Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA) and former producer of the Kerrville Folk Festival, Wanda Fischer, longtime host of “Hudson River Sampler” on WAMC Radio in New York’s capital region, and Alan Rowoth, founder of the Big Orange Tarp and FolkMusic.org.

FalconRidgeFolkFest-300The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival – which previously took place in upstate New York for many years – will feature performances by Scott Cook & the Second Chances, Mary Gauthier, Greg Greenway, Crys Matthews, Dan Navarro, Nerissa & Katryna Nields, Crystal Shawanda, Slambovian Circus of Dreams, The Storycrafters, The End of America (TEOA), Annie Wenz, and a number of other artists (to be announced) on several stages. There will not be a dance tent this year due to ongoing concerns in light of the pandemic. For those who cannot attend the festival in-person, mainstage performances on Friday-Sunday will be livestreamed.

Prior to the start of the actual festival, a Thursday Night Music Stage will be hosted by Scotten Jones (a co-founder of the Lounge Stage that hosted live music on Thursdays for many years) and Kathy Sands-Boehmer of Harbortown Music and a former leader in the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association (BACHA) and Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA).

For more information on the festival and to order tickets (discounted advance prices end July 10), visit falconridgefolk.com.