News – Northeast U.S.

Acoustic Artists to Showcase Talents During APAP Conference

More than 3,400 people are expected to converge on New York City, Jan. 6-10, 2012, for the annual conference of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP). Now in its 55th year, the global performing arts marketplace and conference will feature daily plenary sessions and a wide array of professional development workshops and forums. As in years past, exhibition halls will be teeming with booking agents and presenters eager to speak with them, and there’ll be a whole lot of networking opportunities. More than 1,200 artist showcases also are slated -- including dozens by performers from the folk, roots and singer-songwriter communities in the U.S., Canada and several other countries. [To read the article, click on the headline.]

People’s Music Network Winter Gathering Set for Jan. 27-29, 2012

There’ll be lots of planned and spontaneous jamming and singing of socially relevant songs when the People’s Music Network for Songs of Freedom and Struggle holds its annual winter gathering, January 27-29, 2012, in Lawrence, Massachusetts. [Click on the headline to read a short preview of the event.]

Remembering Terence Martin, A Gifted Singer-Songwriter

Terence Martin, a gifted New York-based singer-songwriter and published poet, has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. Martin, who succumbed to the disease on Nov. 7, was born in London, England, grew up in Los Angeles, California, and moved east in 1997 to become part of New York’s thriving acoustic music scene. He recorded and released six albums independently and was working on another one at the time of his passing. [To read a short article, as well as personal remembrances and reflections from Jim Colbert, a fellow singer-songwriter, click on the headline.]

Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference Set for Nov. 10-13; AcousticMusicScene.com to Again Have a Major Presence

Nearly 750 people have registered for the annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference, to be held Nov. 10-13, at the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, New York. Performers, presenters, promoters, folk DJs, agents and managers, and others actively engaged in the folk and acoustic music scene will enjoy three jam-packed days and nights of music showcases, open mics, song swaps and informal jam sessions; informative panel discussions and workshops; private mentoring and peer group sessions; a large trade show-like exhibit hall; communal meals in the dining room; a welcoming party and happy hours, and lots of informal conversation and networking. AcousticMusicScene.com will host its popular annual Midnight Hoot on Thursday overnight, as well as afternoon and late-night guerilla...

Clearwater Honors George Wein with Power of Song Award

Music festival impresario George Wein, founder of the Newport Folk Festival, among others, will receive the first Power of Song Award during an Oct. 21 benefit concert in New York City. Monies raised during the event, which is set for 8 p.m. at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space, will support the environmental education programs of Clearwater, a nonprofit organization launched by Pete Seeger and others more than 40 years ago to help spur awareness of and preserve and protect the Hudson River and its tributaries. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]

Board of Advisors Named for Newport Folk Festival

The Newport Folk Festival, which, earlier this year, returned to its original roots as a nonprofit event, has taken another step that organizers say will help ensure that it “remains a significant, viable, and influential institution for years to come.” To further advance the dialogue with both established and emerging artists, the Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc. announced the creation of its Newport Folk Festival Board of Advisors. Named to the panel were Gillian Welch, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Colin Meloy of The Decemberists, and Ben Knox Miller of The Low Anthem. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]

NY’s Borderline Folk Club Honors Si Kahn at Annual Picnic, Aug. 28

Hundreds of folk & bluegrass music lovers are expected to gather at the New City Volunteer Ambulance Corps (200 Congers Road, New City, New York) on Sunday afternoon, August 28, for the third annual picnic, singing party, and jam hosted by the Borderline Folk Music Club of Rockland County. The free event, for which people are expected to bring a cold potluck dish for six, is set for 12-6 p.m. in the outdoor grassy area adjacent to the parking lot. [To read the full article and view a music video, click on the headline.]

Philadelphia Folk Festival Celebrates Its Golden Anniversary

avid Amram, Roy Book Binder, David Bromberg, Arlo Guthrie, Levon Helm, Jorma Kaukonen, Tom Paxton and Tom Rush are among the music luminaries slated to perform during the 50th annual Philadelphia Folk Festival, August 18-21, 2011. Joining them at the Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford Township, near Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, for the longest continually running festival of its kind will be a number of up-and-coming touring artists like Dan Bern, Justin Townes Earle, David Wax Museum, the Canadian female duos Dala and Madison Violet, and Philly’s own Hoots and Hellmouth, as well as many other locally-based artists. [To read the full article, including comments from veteran folk-DJ, festival co-founder and emee Gene Shay, click on the headline.]

Showcase Application Deadlines Loom for 2011 NERFA Conference

August 8 is the application deadline for artists seeking one of 14 coveted 15-minute juried formal showcase slots during the 17th Annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference. Registration for the conference, slated for Nov. 10-13 at the Hudson Valley Resort and Spa in Kerhonkson, New York, also is now open. [To read the article in its entirety, click on the headline.]

Bill Morrissey, Singer-Songwriter of the Common Folk, 1951-2011

A private memorial service took place in New Hampshire on Friday, July 29, for Bill Morrissey, a Grammy-nominated, nationally touring folksinger-songwriter, for whom the granite state was home and its small-town life the inspiration behind much of his material. Morrissey died at age 59 of complications of heart disease in Georgia on July 23 while on tour. [To read the full article, click on the headline.]

Lara Herscovitch is SolarFest Singer-Songwriter Showcase Winner

Lara Herscovitch, an engaging contemporary singer-songwriter from Connecticut, emerged as the winner from among 10 finalists in the 11th Annual Singer-Songwriter Showcase this month at SolarFest, which bills itself as New England’s renewable energy festival. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

AcousticMusicScene.com Hosts Song Swaps and Mini-Showcases at Falcon Ridge and Huntington Folk Festivals This Summer

AcousticMusicScene.com will host song swaps and mini-showcases during the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, July 22-24, and the Huntington Folk Festival, August 6. Both festivals take place in New York State. {to view the entire article, including schedules, click on the headline.]