I part with my friends in the city and head up to the Hudson Valley to the Northeast Folk Alliance Conference. The whole Folk Alliance thing is very new for me. I never considered myself a folk artist, but after securing an official showcase artist slot at the Folk Alliance Regional West Coast Conference (FAR-West) just a few weeks back, I was encouraged to pursue these regional conferences in hopes of meeting interesting people, making new connections and finding fresh ears for my music. NERFA was recommended to me by more than a few people. I show up on Day 2 with keyboard and guitar in hand. First showcase at 5pm at LilFest. For those of you who don't know what this is, the Folk Alliance International sponsors five regional showcases per year in different territories. This one is for the east coast. For this California girl, I am sort of an outsider looking in. Basically 900 attendees made up of musicians, singer/songwriters, folk enthusiasts, radio people, club owners, booking agents, radio promoters converge on the hotel and basically take it over for four days. Music is ongoing in the lobby day and night. Official showcases are scheduled from 7-11pm then multiple hotel rooms on three floors of the hotel host private acoustic shows from 11:30-3pm each night. Lots of music to listen to. Lot's of good music and some not so good but definitely something for every one. Workshops and panels were scheduled each day as well as one yoga class and one 12 step meeting option in the AM which I thought was a nice touch. I was so happy to see my friends Red Moon Road from Manitoba. I first met them at FAR-West and feel this delightful folk trio is destined for great things. It's hard to put into words the amount of input that is received even for the just the two days I was there. My last showcase ended at 3:30AM early Sunday morning. I laugh because my gig that night is 6 hours away in Alexandria, VA at the Birchmere opening for Al Stewart. The delightful booking agent, Michael Jaworek, who attends NERFA regularly, passed me in the hall way nervously inquiring as to whether I'd be making my gig the next night LOL! I pack up my clothes and gear by 4AM and set my alarm for 7AM to start my trekk to VA.
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