Makin’ Music & Connections in Monticello

Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference (NERFA) Helps Foster Community Feeling

by Michael Kornfeld

The once venerable Kutsher’s Resort and Country Club in New York’s Catskill Mountains may have seen better days during the Borscht Belt era when top comedians did their schtick there. But, despite some wear and tear, over the Veterans’ Day weekend, this Monticello mainstay was an acoustic nirvana for nearly 700 folk performers, presenters, promoters and folk DJs who converged there for the 12th annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference.

As in years past, NERFA featured two-plus jam-packed days and nights of music, workshops, music, mentoring sessions, music, communal meals, music, schmoozing and networking, and – did I mention – music.

Throughout the long weekend – which commenced Thursday night with a DJ showcase and concluded with a buffet-style luncheon on Sunday – attendees had an opportunity to mix and mingle, share ideas and songs, and enjoy a diverse mix of folk and acoustic music presented by artists from throughout the U.S. and Canada. The weekend’s formal showcases featured 14 artists who had been chosen by a panel of judges to perform short sets on Kutsher’s main stage on Friday and Saturday nights, while tri-centric showcases afterwards had folks shuffling between three often-packed conference rooms to catch three-song sets by various artists. Presenters and performers hosted dozens of so-called guerilla showcases in their hotel rooms that continued into the wee hours of the morning. Open mics in the bar, thematic song circles, informal jam sessions and round-robin song swaps featuring often memorable on-the-spot accompaniment and harmonizing in the lobby, the hallways and even in stairwells rounded out the mix for what was a veritable acoustic music extravaganza.

Much of the buzz this year centered on Little Toby Walker, Long Island’s own blues guitar virtuoso. Hailed by fellow Long Islander John Platt, the host of WFUV’s Sunday Morning Breakfast, as “an amazing performer who takes my breath away every time I see him,” Walker brought most in the audience to their feet following a rousing formal showcase performance on Friday evening (highlights of which can be heard on his Web site, www.littletobywalker.com).

Tribute to Woody Guthrie is an Aural Treat

In honor of the 50th anniversary of its original staging, WFDU-FM (89.1 FM – Teaneck, NJ) –more particularly, Ron Olesko, co-host of “Traditions,” which airs Sundays from 3-6 p.m. — and NERFA teamed to present a re-creation true to the original. Tom Chapin narrated as the voice of Woody Guthrie, while the talented artists performing his music included Danny Bakan, Dirty Stayout Skifflers with Rick Nestler, Greg Greenway, Hope Machine (with Steve Chizmadia, Fred Gillen, Jr. and Steve Kirkman), Joe Jencks, Karen Mal, David Massengill, Rik Palieri, Laurie MacAllister and Abbie Gardner of Red Molly, Danny Schmidt, Amy Carol Webb, Bethany Yarrow and Rufus Cappadocia.

Canadian Acoustic Talent Abounds

NERFA featured a number of “Red Hot Canadian” recording artists – not all of whom performed in a showcase room that bore that name, although tasty maple cookies and liquer were served there, along with often delectable vocals and some good guitar licks. Dust Poets are an incredibly talented, engaging ensemble whose eclectic music blends alt-country, roots, bluegrass, folk, jazz and swing with solid four-part harmonies, catchy pop hooks and a nice dose of humor. Other Canadian artists of note included the aforementioned Danny Bakan, a singer-songwriter, interpreter and fine clawhammer-style banjo player; Kim Beggs, a rootsy singer-songwriter from the Yukon Territories who (along with Mary Coppin, a John Lennon Songwriting Contest winner from Hawaii) may have traveled the furthest distance to get to NERFA; Toronto-based singer-songwriter Eve Goldberg, who will be performing for the Folk Music Society of Huntington in May; John Wort Hannam, an earthy singer-songwriter of real blue-collar roots music from rural Alberta; Dan MacKinnon, a troubadour from Nova Scotia, whose pleasant deep baritone voice really draws you in to the songs; The McDades, an Edmonton-based ensemble, whose stirring music fuses French Canadian, Celtic, jazz and bluegrass stylings; Ana Miura, an up & coming young singer-songwriter from Ottawa; and Twilight Hotel, a rootsy Winnipeg-based duo.

Adding a worldly touch to the mix of music, in addition to The McDades and the lively neo-traditional Quebecois folk ensemble Reveillons!, were Samite of Uganda, whose vocal stylings and unusual instrumentation captured attention; the rousing Klezmer melodies of The Alexandria Kleztet; and the Guy Mendilow Band that performs in several languages and on a wide array of instruments.

Emerging and Established Artists Strut Their Stuff

Closer to home, three notable acts from Connecticut were singer-songwriters Lara Herscovitch and Bonnie Lee Panda, and Last Fair Deal, a 21st century string band playing new American roots music.

Amy Speace and the Tear Jerks gained new fans with their kickin’ country-folk-rock sound, while johnsmith, a superb Wisconsin singer-songwriter and past winner of the Kerrville New Folk competition, never ceases to impress with “Kickin’ Up Stones” and other self-penned numbers from his fine 2005 release of that name. Joe Jencks is a soulful, socially conscious troubadour from the Midwest with a deep and powerful voice. Like Jencks, singer-songwriter Randall Williams projects so well, he doesn’t need a mic; listening to him both solo and with his sometimes partner, Claudia SanSoucie, was sheer delight. Freebo & Photoglo ably backed one another on each’s individual songs; although both are known primarily as songwriters, they are fine performers in their own right. Also gracing NERFA with his presence was Jonathan Edwards, whose sprightly feel-good songs from the 70s like “Sunshine” and “Shanty” (along with newer numbers) delivered in his own inimitable way, are earning him new fans some 35 years later.

On the other end of the spectrum completely, the riotously funny Eric Schwartz has a penchant for risqué lyrics. At 4 in the morning, he had a room full of people cracking up hysterically, when we weren’t singing along, as he belted out stirring renditions of such original compositions as “Clinton Got a Blow Job” and “Get Your Jesus Off My Penis.” Both of these numbers can be heard online at his MySpace page, although they lack the excitement of his live performance.

Exhibition Hall, Workshops Also Attract Interest

While the love of the music is what brings most folks to Kutsher’s each November and what dominated the conference weekend, it also had the aura of a trade show. Nearly 100 artists, independent labels, concert and festival presenters, and makers of products for musicians had tables in the exhibition hall. More than 20 workshops were offered during the day on such topics as “Career Secrets of Emerging Artists,” “On the Griddle” – in which singer-songwriters received flash evaluations of their songs in 40 seconds flat, “I Ain’t Writing Anymore – The Status of the Protest Song,” and “Tooting a Better Horn: Effective Promotion for Small and Large Venues,” in which I was among the panelists.

Long Islanders in attendance — in addition to Toby Walker and this writer — included Joanne Melosh-Dezego and Stephen Dezego, Jack and Karen Finkenberg, Stephen Fricker, Paul Helou, Dan and Susan Knopp, Stuart Markus, Phil Minissale, James O’Malley, John Platt, Glen Roethel, Gary Schoenberger, Russ Seeger, Patricia Shih, Roger Silverberg, Marty Stone, George Trapani and Judith Zweiman.

Forging Connections is Key

As part of the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance (Folk Alliance), NERFA aims to foster and promote multicultural, traditional and contemporary folk music, while strengthening and advancing organizational and individual initiatives in folk music and dance through education, networking, advocacy, and professional and field development.

Booking gigs is the primary objective of some performers who attend this annual 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 NERFA conference experience is so much more than that; it is really about forging connections and building an acoustic community. That so many of us converge on Monticello each November is evidence that NERFA is succeeding in this endeavor.

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