House of Hamill | AcousticMusicScene.com

Halley Neal is 2023 SolarFest Singer-Songwriter Showcase Winner

by Michael Kornfeld on Jun 30, 2023 • No Comments

Nashville, Tennessee-based singer-songwriter Halley Neal has been named the winner of the SolarFest 2023 Singer-Songwriter Showcase, which returns in July following a hiatus of several years. She and four finalists have been invited to perform of the festival’s solar-powered main stage in Brandon, Vermont on Saturday afternoon, July 15, and will also be awarded cash prizes. As the winner, Neal will be invited to perform a full set at next year’s festival as well. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

Awards & Contests / Festival Focus

Entries Sought for SolarFest ’23 Singer-Songwriter Showcase

by Michael Kornfeld on Apr 29, 2023 • No Comments

SolarFest -- slated for July 15-16, 2023 in Brandon, Vermont -- is again hosting a Singer-Songwriter Showcase following a hiatus of several years. It’s free to enter and open to all artists who write and perform original music and are not currently signed to a major recording label. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

Conferences of Note / News - U.S. National

FARM, SWRFA Select Official Showcase Artists

by Michael Kornfeld on Jul 24, 2022 • No Comments

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. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

Celtic Corner / Festival Focus

Celtic Classic Returns to Bethlehem, PA, Sept. 24-26

by Michael Kornfeld on Sep 17, 2021 • No Comments

The 2021 Celtic Classic highland games & festival is set for Friday-Sunday, September 24-26 in downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Presented by the nonprofit Celtic Cultural Alliance, the free annual event is a celebration of the Irish, Scottish and Welsh cultures and heritage and will feature five stages of continuous entertainment – including traditional Celtic music, Celtic rock and folk. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

Festival Focus / News - Northeast U.S. / News - U.S. National

March 23: NERFA Presents Spring FolkFest at Club Passim Livestreaming via Concert Window

by Michael Kornfeld on Mar 16, 2019 • No Comments

Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) partners with Club Passim in Cambridge, Massachusetts to present a Spring FolkFest on Saturday, March 23, from 12-4 p.m. The afternoon of music, emanating from the legendary Harvard Square listening room and featuring a number of artists performing short showcases, will be livestreamed via Concert Window. To view, log on to www.concertwindow.com/clubpassim on the day of the show. For those in the Greater Boston-Cambridge area who wish to enjoy the festival in-person, tickets -- priced at $15; $12 for Club Passim or Folk Alliance International members --- are available at www.clubpassim.org. [To continue reading this article, which includes the festival schedule, click on the headline.]

Festival Focus

South Florida Folk Festival Set for Jan. 26-27

by Michael Kornfeld on Dec 29, 2018 • No Comments

The Caroline Aiken Band, Ronny Cox Trio, The Kennedys, David Olney, and Tom Prasada-Rao co-headline the 2019 South Florida Folk Festival, Presented by the nonprofit Broward Folk Club, the festival takes place on Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 26-27. Nearly 50 artists/acts will perform on two stages at Fort Lauderdale’s Hugh Taylor Birch State Park (3109 E. Sunrise Boulevard, just west of A1A) over the weekend. [To continue reading this article -- including information on the festival's singer-songwriter competition -- click on the headline.]

Conferences of Note / Featured / News - Northeast U.S.

2018 NERFA Conference Celebrates Music and Community, Nov. 8-11, in Stamford, CT

by Michael Kornfeld on Nov 2, 2018 • No Comments

More than 700 performing artists, presenters, promoters, agents and managers, folk DJs, and others actively engaged in contemporary and traditional folk music are expected to converge on the Crowne Plaza in Stamford, Connecticut, Nov. 8-11, 2018 for the 24th Annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference. AcousticMusicScene.com will again have a major presence as it hosts afternoon and late-night song swaps in addition to its popular Midnight Hoot at the close of the conference’s first day. [To continue reading this illustrated article -- including listings of juried showcase artists and the AcousticMusicScene.com showcase lineup -- click on the headline.]

Acoustic Radio Waves

Top Albums & Songs – September 2018 (FOLKDJ-L)

by Michael Kornfeld on Oct 4, 2018 • No Comments

Franco-American folk-rock duo The Whispering Tree had the top album (Invisible Forces) and five of the month’s most-played songs on folk radio during September 2018, while eclectic Celtic folk and roots-rock duo House of Hamill had the month’s #1 song. So say charts compiled from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in all folk-based music on the radio. [The monthly top albums and songs charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission. To view them, click on the headline.]

Conferences of Note / News - Northeast U.S.

Juried Official Showcase Artists Chosen for 2018 NERFA Conference in Stamford, CT, Nov. 8-11

by Michael Kornfeld on Aug 24, 2018 • No Comments

More than 40 artists/acts have been selected for juried formal and semi-formal showcases during the 24th annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference, slated for Nov. 8-11, 2018 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Stamford, CT. [To continue reading this article that includes an overview of the conference and the names of all the formal and semi-formal showcase artists and alternates, click on the headline.]