The annual midwest gathering of folk and acoustic musicians, venue operators, radio DJs and music enthusiasts will be held in St. Louis, Missouri October 24-27.  The event, put on by Folk Alliance Region Midwest, or FARM, will take place at the Sheraton Westport Plaza Hotel.

The conference, with something for anyone that has a penchant for folk and acoustic music, features nearly 20 workshops on topics ranging from the history and tradition of the genre, to crowd sourcing, using a PA, and releasing a CD.  Highlighting the conference will be a Songwriting Master Class, featuring keynote speaker Melanie Safka.

Of course, a conference revolving around music will have plenty of it to offer.  The main evening showcase performances, followed by late-night “Performance Lane” events will offer music enthusiasts access to over 100 musicians and music performances across the three evenings.  In addition, full conference registrants will have access to afternoon Performance Lane showcases and early morning private showcase performances.

More information and registration for the conference is available here. Registration options range from a full-access conference package to a “taste of farm” package that is limited to the evening showcase events.  Early-bird registration discounts are available until September 1.

For the first time this year, KC Cafe radio will be providing live coverage from the conference.  In addition to talking with KC Cafe Radio Performing Artists and other attendees each day of the conference, we will be hosting a late-night private showcase all three nights of the conference, which we plan to broadcast live.  We will have more details here on the website as conference time draws near.

Recently, Operations Director John Dutton talked with FARM Vice President Dudley Smith about Folk Alliance International, FARM, and this fall’s conference.

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