Winners in the 2022 Americana Honors & Awards were recognized during an awards show in Nashville, Tennessee on September 14 that is a highlight of AMERICANAFEST, a six-day festival and conference celebrating American roots-inspired music that is hosted by the Americana Music Association and extends through September 17.
Nearly 150 artists/acts from more than 20 countries have been jury-selected to perform in Official Showcases during the 35th annual Folk Alliance International Conference that is slated for February 1-5, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article and to see a listing of official showcase artists.]
Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM) and Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA), two regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International, have selected artists/acts to participate in juried official showcases during their respective annual conferences this fall. Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) will do so in August.
The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) has extended invites to 40 artists/acts/songwriters to participate in its Bluegrass Ramble official showcases and Songwriter Showcase during the 2022 IBMA World of Bluegrass that is slated for September 27-October 1 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
More than 200 people will converge on Black Mountain, North Carolina, May 12-15, 2022 for the annual Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) Conference. An extended weekend of contemporary and traditional folk music, networking and learning opportunities, the conference will be keynoted by Thomm Jutz and features 16 juried official showcases, along with a number of late-night guerrilla showcases hosted by AcousticMusicScene.com and others. [Click on the headline to continue reading this conference preview.]
Artists interested in showcasing their talents during the 2022 IBMA World of Bluegrass that is slated for September 27-October 1 in Raleigh, North Carolina can now submit applications. Proposals for business conference sessions from artists, educators and industry professionals are also now being accepted, while conference registration opens in April.
Four Folk Alliance International regional affiliates have opted to present their annual conferences online this fall in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. First up is the Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA) virtual conference that is slated for September 24-26. Folk Alliance Region-West (FAR-West) hosts its virtual conference October 14-16; Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM)’s Virtual Connections The Gathering takes place October 27-30; and the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) 2021 virtual conference is set for November 11-14.
Although health and safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic prevent the Southeast Regional Folk Alliance from holding its annual in-person conference this spring, it has slated SERFA In Session: A Virtual Gathering in its place, May 20-22, 2021.
The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and its partners on the City of Raleigh’s local organizing committee have expressed cautious optimism that they will be able to hold a hybrid IBMA World of Bluegrass this fall (Sept. 28-Oct. 2, 2021) with a meaningful and safe in-person component in North Carolina’s capital city, as well as online content.
As in years past, an evening of music from Quebec was a highlight of the annual conference of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), Jan. 8-12, 2021. However, like the multi-day conference itself, the Folquebec TradFest did not take place in-person in New York City but, rather, was livestreamed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Live performances at theaters and other venues could resume with relatively few restrictions “sometime in the fall of 2021 … if enough people get vaccinated,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during an online conversation as part of a virtual Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) conference on January 9. Theaters, performing arts centers, concert halls and other live music venues throughout the U.S. have been closed since last spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the inability to tour and perform live has had a serious economic impact on artists, presenters and others in the field.
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. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
