This may be the last reminder, but the (47%) discount for this year’s Folk Alliance Conference is good until January 15th. Get the discount info.

I like to think of it as a house concert conference, with a bunch of radio djs, festival bookers, and agents hanging around.” 8^)

(OK.. it’s way beyond that.)

However, Folk Alliance continues to be the largest annual gathering of house concert presenters and artists. It’s an amazing weekend of music and networking, and one of the most productive and fun things you can do if you are involved with house concerts in any way.

House concerts are personal events, and there is no better opportunity to develop personal contact and/or relationships between hosts and artists. Many hosts will book their much of their year based on performances they see at Folk Alliance… and it’s not just “folk.”

What follows are quotes from our members about how much they enjoyed the experience. At the very bottom, you’ll find the discount information.

I have met many venue hosts and fellow singer/songwriters, learned from the workshops, and after playing both the in-room and main event showcases, I highly recommend the Folk Alliance as a way to build your career, while having a great time. – George Ensle

I had so much fun at SWRFA last year in Texas that this year I am going back AND going to FAR WEST REGIONAL FOLK ALLIANCE in Phoenix! FOLK ALLIANCE is AWESOME, any way you look at it, and as a performing songwriter I made connections and CLOSE friends for LIFE! It’s a “sister- and brotherhood” like no other—all these great people with similar goals, networking and helping one another without being critical, and wonderful, informative workshops that really teach things from every angle AND an audience who really listen to lyrics! No songwriter should miss it! — Glynace www.glynace.com

FAR-West was the greatest learning experience and professional growth experience I’ve ever had in my entire performing career. Sure, I got some cool gigs out of it — in fact, most of my 2008 gigs have been a direct or indirect result of FAR-West. But far more important was learning how to connect, learning what’s out there, learning who to talk to about what, learning what to spend quality time on, learning what not to waste my time on . . . in other words, LEARNING! It’s made a huge difference in my music career. I’m hooked. — Jack Brown www.jackbrownmusic.com

Attending a Folk Alliance Conference is a family reunion, constant jam, whirlwind of helpful information and networking system all rolled up into one unique, magical hotel party. These are definately the times of your life, where you get to share the music you make, and end up meeting folks who can help you share it in new locations with new audiences! This year, just one of the gigs I was blessed to be added to was the Summerfolk Festival in Owen Sound, Canada because of being seen during the last FA conference…It’s really great to also sit and talk with people you’ve admired (producers, musicians, booking agents, journalists, club owners, radio DJs, etc) and hang out with them without a rush. It’s a very relaxed, happy setting, with so much great music to listen to in almost every hotel room. I can’t think of why someone WOULDN’T want to go to the Folk Alliance Conference. Definately a win/win! — Annie Dinerman

I’ve been attending NERFA for a good number of years, and it has definitely helped to increase my regional reputation and name recognition. What I love even more than the showcase opportunities though, is the great ‘family’ feeling I get from seeing all my friends and colleagues under one roof - hanging out in the hallways, sharing music in spontaneous small room and hallway sessions - I’ve made lots of professional connections, and plenty of new friends - you never know who you’ll be sitting next to during dinner…I always look forward to going back! — Jay Mankita

I was at the Far-West Folk Alliance Conference last November in Portland. I took my group, the Reinforcements (Lorie Doswell and Gene Lippmann) with me. First of all – we had a great time. We played eleven guerilla showcases in two days and still managed to see a bunch of acts we’d never seen or even heard of who were great. John Wort Hannam, Molly’s Revenge, the quirky Chico Schwall, Esther Golton, Batdorf and Rodney, Fertitta & McClintock and many more. I’ve kept in touch with some of them. That has been very rewarding. We had just released our CD, “A Place in the Sun,” so we also made many radio connections (internet and otherwise) which we’ve tried to keep up – that’s the hardest part – the follow up, but you really meet up with a lot of opportunity at Far-West. Finally, I got several bookings from the Conference where I’ve actually made money. We’re going to Far-West in Phoenix and really looking forward to it. There’s nothing like running down the hall with your guitar unsheathed just in time to make it to your next gig. See you there! — Tracy Newman and the Reinforcement

I have to say my favorite part was the very college dorm vibe of wandering the halls & dropping into people’s rooms, and somehow our room became the designated all night music hang on the last night of last year’s NERFA. — Libby Johnson

I’ve attended two Folk Alliance Conferences, not as a person who hosts house concerts, but as a musician myself. I come from a fairly out of the way, isolated location in Northern Canada. My music was not known to people across this continent before the first Folk Alliance conference I attended in Toronto. I had a table set up in the presentation area, along with other musicians, festival presenters, agents, record companies and more. Many people picked up promo copies of my CDs. It wasn’t until after the dust had settle, and I was back in my home community of Yellowknife, that I saw an amazing and unexpected return to the investment of attending the conference.


My CDs were suddenly being played across the continent by DJs. I received online reviews and then the orders began coming in. Now, I can’t say that I’ve made a lot of money from CD sales, but it has made it easier to get any new CD distributed to DJs since I have built up the contacts and reputation. Besides all that - you get to hear great music from other attendees at the conference. — Moira Cameron

I am a great fan of FA ever since my first in 2000 when Wendy Waldman talked me into going. I immediately felt :”my people…”….very interesting and intense folks, very supportive and very inspiring. I wouldn’t miss one unless I had to. If you have any interest in being in the folk end of the music business this is a must. — Kenny Edwards

This will be our 3rd year at FAR-West Folk Alliance. If you’re a folk musician, this is the place you can find gigs. We’ve met house concert presenters, radio people, festival promoters and about 10,000 folk singers young and old. You’ll get exposed to more people who dig our kind of music and can help get it out than anywhere else, except for maybe the National Folk Alliance conference. When it’s over, Steve drives and I sleep most of the way home, bone tired, fingers sore and voice hoarse from staying up for 2 nights pickin’ and singing… What a great time, we wouldn’t miss it. — Fur Dixon (see photo!)

Where else can you take an entire hotel and turn it into the BEST musical variety Folk Show of a lifetime? From room to room, floor to floor, music fills your ears. Workshops, panels run by some of the most experienced musicians and music professionals in the biz during the day.. and music, music, music all night long! It’s a “see it to believe it” once in a lifetime experience…each time you attend! — Jill Jack

I am a singer/songwriter from Australia with 4 indie CD’s out and 11 years experience in the music industry. With 5 ARIA nominations ( Australia’s Grammy’s) and countless sold-out Australian tours, this was my first time at the International Folk Alliance in Memphis. My guitarist and I got there a night early and put our posters and flyers up, and ended up meeting a publisher from LA that night as well as an incredible singer/songwriter from Ireland who was based in Canada, her name was Irish! and she even managed to line up 2! showcase opportunities for me in the Canadian room. After that first night we just got stuck into meeting poeple and got ready for my showcase spots, arriving with 3, I now had 7, including one in downtown Memphis. I came out of the festival with performance oportunities for my next destination of LA including at The Knitting Factory and The Mint, as well as with interested publishers, record labels and booking agents. I also met incredible musicians and was so inspired i wrote almost a song a night, most of which will be featuring on my new CD early in 2009! This was a much more down to earth and organic kind of festival than SXSW or Midem, and it really gave you a chance to showcase yourself in an intimate and personal way, as well as to gain valuable insights at the daily workshops. Every singer/songwriter should attend, and i know i will be going again every year! http://dianaanaid.com — Diana Anaid

I thoroughly recommend any acoustic act attending the Folk Alliance conference, or any regional conference. It’s a great way to meet and join a community of musicians, promoters, media folks and house concert presenters, as well as put faces to names we meet via email. There’s jamming, schmoozing, networking, partying, listening, performing, learning all under the one roof! — Audrey Auld

The organizers of Folk Alliance work tirelessly to put on a fantastic conference that is clearly set up to benefit the careers of the artists and industry attendees. And it’s just down right fun as well! — Courtney Wing

I went to the October 2007 conference and had a great time. Not sure if I got any gigs out of it, but I met a lot of people, spent some quality time with Caroline Aiken, heard a mess of excellent music in the showcases and in the bog room, and got inspired to come every year if at all possible.– David Gans

I have been to NERFA, FARM, OCFF, and will attend my first SWRFA this October. I have been really pleased with my experiences at the regionals. I am particularly fond of NERFA. I will not be attending this year in favor of some other conferences like SWRFA and OCFF and of course Memphis in February.

The conferences are part Trade Show, Part Workshop, and part Class Reunion. Those of us who are on the road all year need places to just be together, build community, and be in community. I have been attending Folk Alliances for almost 10 years now, and I have gotten something genuinely useful out of all of them. Some years there is more booking. Some years it is more about networking that leads to gigs down the road. Every event has helped me in immeasurable ways to build a relationship with presenters and other artists. The benefits are significant. We are a community that is migratory in nature. So, these gatherings are really relevant to our relationships.

I found the conferences a little cold and impersonal at first, but after most of a decade on the road… it is now one of the few places where my community reaches critical mass, and I am able to recognize in important ways the extent to which i am a part of a larger community. A community defined by intent and interest rather than geography. The Folk Alliance in all of its forms, especially the regional conferences are at the center of this community building. Most of the cool stuff that has happened to me in the community has not happened directly at conferences… but is a direct result of the time I have spent there building relationships. — Joe Jencks

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Get the discount info.
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