NERFA – Page 5 – AcousticMusicScene.com

Remembering Oscar Brand, 1920-2016

Post published:October 8, 2016
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Featured News - Northeast U.S.

Oscar Brand may well have been the first folksinger and songwriter who I saw perform live when I was a youngster. My parents brought me to see him at a local library on Long Island, NY, where Brand, who died of pneumonia Sept. 30 at age 96, also lived with his family. Over the years, I saw him perform in concert and at festivals and special events many times -- most recently at the opening reception for the “Folk City” exhibit at The Museum of the City of New York last year. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Amy Soucy Wins 2016 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition at Connecticut Folk Festival

Post published:September 12, 2016
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Awards & Contests News - Northeast U.S.

Amy Soucy of Beacon, New York was named the winner of the 2016 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition following a final round featuring five artists/acts that opened the Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo at New Haven’s Edgerton Park on Sept. 10. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Philadelphia Folk Festival Set for Aug. 18-21

Post published:August 12, 2016
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Festival Focus News - Northeast U.S.

Thousands of music lovers are expected to converge on Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford Township, near bucolic Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, Aug. 18-21, for the annual Philadelphia Folk Festival. Now in its 55th year, the event, produced and presented by the Philadelphia Folksong Society, is the longest continuously running musical festival of its kind in North America. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Entries Sought in Mid-Atlantic Song Contest

Post published:July 12, 2016
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Awards & Contests

Entries are now being accepted in the 33rd annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest (MASC) produced by the Songwriters’ Association of Washington. The submission deadline is Sept. 15, 2016. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

American Roots Music Festival at Caramoor Set for June 25

Post published:June 17, 2016
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Festival Focus

John Fullbright, Hurray for the Riff Raff and Sara Watkins are among the artists slated to perform on Saturday, June 25, during the sixth annual American Roots Music Festival at Caramoor -- a daylong, family-friendly celebration of acoustic music. Set on 90 acres of gardens and Italianate architecture in Katonah, Westchester County, NY – 40 miles northeast of New York City — the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is well known for its summer music festivals. AcousticMusicScene.com is delighted to again be a Cultural Partner of the festival and will have a presence there. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

FAR-West, FARM, NERFA Offer Juried Showcase Opportunities at Fall Conferences

Post published:April 1, 2016
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Conferences of Note Featured

Folk Alliance Region-West (FAR-West), Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM) and Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA), regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International, are currently accepting applications for juried showcases during their respective annual conferences this fall. All showcase entries must be submitted online. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Joe Jencks is PMN's Artist-in-Residence for 2016

People’s Music Network Winter Gathering Set for Jan. 29-31 in Albany, NY

Post published:December 30, 2015
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Conferences of Note News - Northeast U.S.

There will be lots of singing of socially relevant songs, communal meals, jamming, mentoring, socializing, and an array of workshops during the People’s Music Network’s 2016 Winter Gathering at the Hackett Middle School in Albany, NY, Jan. 29-31. Singer-Songwriter Joe Jencks, known to many as part of the folk harmony trio Brother Sun, is this year’s PMN Artist-in-Residence and will both perform and lead workshops during the event that has taken place annually in various locales since 1977. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

AcousticMusicScene.com Hosts Showcases at 2015 NERFA Conference, Nov. 12-15

Post published:November 6, 2015
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Conferences of Note Featured News - Northeast U.S.

Some 800 performing artists, presenters, promoters, agents and managers, folk DJs and others actively engaged in contemporary and traditional folk music will converge on the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, New York, Nov. 12-15, 2015, for the 21st 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 conference preview, click on the headline.

The Young Novelists: Graydon James and Laura Spink

The Young Novelists Win 2015 Grassy Hill CT Folk Songwriting Competition

Post published:September 15, 2015
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Awards & Contests

The Young Novelists took first place in the 2015 Grassy Hill CT Folk Songwriting Competition. The Toronto, Ontario (Canada)-based husband-and-wife folk-roots duo was selected by a panel of judges following short performances by the five finalists that kicked-off the 10th annual Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo at New Haven’s Edgerton Park on September 12. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Theodore Bikel, 1924-2015

Post published:July 22, 2015
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Featured News - U.S. National

Acclaimed actor and folksinger Theodore Bikel, best known for his performance as Tevye in the Broadway hit Fiddler on the Roof, died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California on July 21, 2015. He was 91. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

FAR-West, FARM, NERFA Offer Juried Showcase Opportunities

Post published:April 24, 2015
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Conferences of Note

Folk Alliance Region-West (FAR-West), Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM) and Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA), regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International, are currently accepting applications for juried showcases during their respective annual conferences this fall. All showcase entries must be submitted online. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Revered Folk DJ Gene Shay Retires

Post published:January 29, 2015
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Acoustic Radio Waves News - Northeast U.S.News - U.S. National

Gene Shay, who has brought folk music to radio listeners in Philadelphia and beyond for more than 50 years, signs off as host of The Folk Show on WXPN 88.5 FM on Sunday, February 1. His last show airs live from 3-6 p.m. EST (with a rebroadcast at 8 p.m. EST) and streams online at xpn.org. Shay will be feted one month later during a March 1 gala musical celebration produced by his friends at Sing Out! and featuring performances by artists who have appeared on his show. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]