2007 Folk Music Conference : Hedgehogs Report

Dateline: Monticello, NY

In the never-ending effort to answer the question, "What is folk music?" the intrepid Hedgehog Correspondence Corps traveled to Kutsher's Resort in New York's scenic Catskills to attend the 2007 North East Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conference.

NERFA is a regional subdivision of the larger, national Folk Alliance, although the relationship between the two organizations is still being defined and refined to strengthen both and maximize their contributions to music, culture, and community throughout the world... blah blah blah --  this, of course, is far too serious for hedgehogs to investigate.  Instead, they focused on what was happening.

Upon arrival, conference attendees received the annual goody bag and wristband.  Here, the lovely and talented singer-songwriter Karyn Oliver assists a member of father & son blues duo Beaucoup Blues Attendees often volunteer some of their time to make the conference an affordable event.

After dropping luggage off in the room, eager to get back to where the action was, the hedgehogs took to the stairs --

with only two elevators versus 750 conference attendees, the stairs were a much faster method of travel.   There was that hideous rug to consider, though...

Posters were everywhere, letting friends, fans, and booking agents know when and where musicians can be heard, over the course of the 4-day event.  Kutshers set up bulletin boards, which were the only legal spots to hang posters and flyers:

In true folk fashion, however, alternative sites were attempted:

The music showcasing begins each year with a Folk DJ Showcase on Thursday evening, and never really stops except for the quiet hours between 4am and 7am.  Here, Syracuse's WAER DJ Larry Hoyt showed the hedgehogs how he prepared some of his own CDs for distribution to venue reps:

Musicians attend NERFA, but so do people (who may or may not themselves be musicians) who organize festivals such as Old Songs or Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, booking agents for venues and house concerts, representatives of recording labels, and Folk DJs who can get music to a wider audience and pave the way for future bookings.

Jam sessions in the lobby were not only inevitable, they were of the highest quality -- veritable "dream teams" of outstanding talent, sharing and swapping tunes.  Here the hedgehogs jam with Hillary Foxsong, Stuart Markus, Joe Iadanza, and Glen Roethel.

Workshops were also offered each day of the conference.

Pictured here are musician Eric Schwartz, actor/musician Ronny Cox, and WFMT's folk DJ Rich Warren (host of the Midnight Special.) Their workshop discussed various techniques they use to give their audience the best possible musical experience, from proper attire to setting up playlists.

Also humming was the Exhibit Hall, where booths for artists, recording labels and groups, festivals, agents, guitar manufacturers, and other music-related businesses and services make contact and network with each other.  Wendy Keilin of The Prosperous Artist was delighted to see us!

Yes, they fed us, too: some meals were served in the hotel lobby --

while others were served in the main dining hall:

The food was by no means a focal point, however: the real feast was (and is) the music.

Featured performers win coveted spots in the Formal Showcases, offered on Friday and Saturday evenings.  These are the premiere performance slots and are open to the public.

These were presented in the Stardust Room on Friday and Saturday, seven acts each evening.  For 2007, the Formal Showcase lineup included Hot Soup, Greg Greenway (in photo), Siobhann Quinn & Michael Bowers, Mike Agranoff, Amy Speace & the Tearjerks, Ken Whiteley, and The Refugees on Friday, and The Strangelings, Kim & Reggie Harris, Ellis, the Dave Rowe Trio, Joy Kills Sorrow, David Roth, and Ronny Cox on Saturday.  Barely visible in this photo, on the right side, is one of two ASL interpreters, provided through the good folks of Falcon Ridge, who bring an added dimension and embrace an often overlooked audience.

The next round of performances are concurrent on three stages, thus referred to as the Tri-Centric Showcases.

Three stages were set up in different rooms of the resort: the Fireplace Lounge, the Marquis Lounge, and the Deep End Lounge.  All three were in use simultaneously.  Here we see Zoe Mulford on the Marquis Lounge stage (singing one of our favorites: The Street That Wasn't There, from her Traveling Moon CD.)

When the Tri-Centrics ended, the privately-organized "Guerrilla Showcases" began!

Throughout the towers of Kutshers, "guerrilla" showcases begin in rooms rented especially for that purpose.   Here we have the Vermont-based folk/traditional group Bread and Bones performing at one of the hundreds of guerrilla showcases offered over the course of the conference.

By the end of the weekend, with many new and valuable friendships formed, much networking done, and venue owners busy booking new talent, DJs ready to air new CDs, happy souls drift homeward or off to the next gig, their musical engines refueled and roaring.