The 2019 Southeast Regional arm of Folk Alliance International just wrapped up their 2019 conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This year, KC Cafe Radio’s David Hakan brought his Gypsy Wagon Mobile Recording studio to the conference to chat with musicians showcasing at the conference, which were broadcast on KC Cafe Radio May 15-19. Here, we bring you the archived recordings of those interviews.
Our thanks to Aireene Espiritu, Amy Ducket Wagner, Cary Morin, David Wiseman, Deb Seymour, Elizabeth Lockhart, Eric Lambert, Flint and Feather, Gaby Castro, Grace Morrison, Heatherly, Joe Iadanza, Karyn Oliver, Kim Ware, Louisa Branscomb, Johnny and Jeanette Williams, Mark Black, Mike and Amy Aiken, Mitch Hayes, Noah Zacharin, Pi Jacobs, Resonant Rogues, Spook Handy and Taylor Pie for taking the time to chat with us during the conference.
The annual Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) is one of the regional arms of Folk Alliance International. Their annual conferences are held in the spring, this year in Chattanooga, Tennessee, bringing together artists, songwriters, presenters, DJs, and other music industry professionals. This year, the conference will be held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the Chattanoogan Hotel.
Now in it’s 47th year, the Kerrville Folk Music Festival is an 18-day and night event held just south of Kerrville, Texas, in what is known as “Texas Hill Country.” It has been instrumental in launching the careers of the likes of Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Robert Earl Keen, and Lucinda Williams. Over 1500 musicians have appeared on its main stages over the years.
Tune in as David talks with both familiar and upcoming music talent appearing at these events, and we will get song or two along the way. Listen for these conversations and performances throughout our regular programming on KC Cafe Radio Thursdays through Sundays between May 16 and June 9. Archived recordings of the conversations and performances from that weekend’s broadcast will be archived to our website during the week following broadcast.
KC Cafe Radio’s live coverage from the 2018 Folk Alliance Region-West music conference concluded with music from the Saturday night Main Stage Showcase performances. Featured were the talents of: Claudia Nygaard, Freebo, Flagship Romance, Martin Kerr, Tumbledown House, and James Lee Stanley.
Claudia Nygaard straddles the fence between folk and country, delivering songs that are little slices of Americana. They are heartfelt, humorous, scrappy, and sensual. And so are the captivating stories she weaves in between them. She honed her craft as a salaried Music Row staff songwriter in Nashville, and her last CD “Let The Storm Roll in” rose to the coveted #1 position on the Cashbox Roots Country Chart – with every one of the award-winning songwriter’s self-penned compositions receiving airplay. With an acoustic guitar, a hollow body electric, a ukulele, and an amber honey voice that is known for its power and intimacy, Claudia has torn up the highways of all 50 states and nine foreign countries, performing at over 200 fairs and festivals.
Freebo is a genuine folk, rock and blues icon who, after over 40 years of recording and touring with many of the great artists of our time (Bonnie Raitt 10 years, CSN, Maria Muldaur, John Mayall, Ringo Starr, Dr. John, Neil Young, and many more) is regarded as one of the most gifted singer/songwriters of today. A multi award winner and finalist in numerous songwriting contests, Freebo was also recognized as the Best Folk Artist 2007 by the Los Angeles Music Awards. In addition, he has appeared on Saturday Night Live, The Muppet Show, The Midnight Special, and in concert with the legendary Spinal Tap.
Fluent, intense acoustic guitar playing; lyrics of life’s peaks and valleys; soaring yearning vocals; and harmonies one could barely separate with a single human hair: this is the Flagship Romance sound. Since 2012, this Florida-raised, New Mexico-based husband-wife duo has gained a rapidly-growing, impassioned grassroots fanbase through solid songwriting, relentless touring, and critically acclaimed releases. They were selected two years in a row as an official showcase artist at the Folk Alliance International conference, performed on the 2018 Cayamo singer/songwriter cruise, and have shared the stage with Iris Dement, Half Moon Run, Gin Blossoms, and The Goo Goo Dolls. Flagship Romance has aligned their musical career with the clean water cause, founding and organizing the Clean Water Music Fest in Florida.
Martin Kerr has been building his career from the streets, one passer-by at a time, and now has a following of thousands. Still fully independent, in the past year he sold out two nights at the 1700-seat Winspear Centre, opened for Sarah McLachlan at a 20,000-seat stadium, and saw his latest album reach #2 on iTunes Canada. Often compared to James Taylor, John Denver and – due to his ginger hair and charming accent – Ed Sheeran, Martin’s anthemic modern-folk connects with listeners of all ages. With a growing list of major festival appearances, his brilliant storytelling and soaring voice are captivating audiences around the world. Most will go home singing to each other the touching, hilarious chorus of his latest single, “You’re Amazing.”
San Francisco Bay Area songwriting deviants Tumbledown House have never been easy to describe. Modern speakeasy, saloon jazz, parlor pop, and Tom Waits in a cocktail dress are some of the terms used, but none of these successfully convey the band’s incomparable ability to fuse vintage sounds and themes from yesteryear with the modern instrumentation, refreshingly original compositions, and raw energy that we expect from today’s performers. Tumbledown House has performed over 700 shows throughout 25 states and is in the process of releasing their third full-length studio album, due this winter.
With a history that includes 5 years on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the singing Klingon amongst other roles, 3 years as Steven Wright‘s opening act; tours with Bonnie Raitt, the Dixie Dregs, Robin Trower and Robin Williams, being the composer of the hits “Coming Out of Hiding,” “I Don’t Want To Talk About It,” and “Plenty of Reason,” and 26 solo CDs and duet CDs with Peter Tork, Cliff Eberhardt and John Batdorf, you know you are in for an evening rich in musical chops, great songs and a man who, his remarkable singing and guitar playing notwithstanding, could be a stand-up comedian. As they said in the Village Voice, “With James Lee Stanley you get it all.”
Twenty-Eighteen marks the 30th consecutive year that Folk Alliance International has been celebrating folk music, its musicians and those involved in furthering the cause of Folk Music around the world. That makes this year’s conference theme, 30 Years of Community and Song all the more appropriate.
This year also marks KC Cafe Radio’s 10th year of Bringing You The World’s Finest Original Music, and 5 years of bringing conference coverage to our airwaves. This year, we continue the tradition of on-air visits with with old friends, as well as new relationships we have made.
KC Cafe Radio Music Director Kathy Forste
Here we present the interviews and performances that were recorded in our hotel room recording studio during the conference. Our thanks to Laura Spink, Graydon James, Joy Zimmerman, Patterson Barrett, Chuck McDowell, Hilary and Stuart Adamson, Emily White,Wyatt Brewer,Sarah Lynn, Julie Bates, Andrew Morris, Betsey Beymer. Rachel Baimen, Christian Sedelmyer, Amy and Mike Aiken, Maggie and Abigail Vogts, Chuck Costa, Mira Stanley, David Hakan, Dan Weber, Laurie Raveis and Dennis Kole.
The 2016 Folk Alliance International Conference and Music Fair was held for the third year in a row in Kansas City, Missouri February 17-21. KC Cafe Radio was there once again, providing live coverage of the conference from our booth at the exhibit hall.
This year turned out to be a significantly rewarding year for us. Not only did we have the opportunity to catch up with several old friends, we made several new ones as well. Stay tuned to KC Cafe Radio, over the next several weeks and months you will begin hearing new music and voices, a direct result of these new friendships.
Since the conference, we were saddened to learn of the passing of a very good friend to KC Cafe Radio and Folk Alliance International, Louis Meyers. Louis had served as Executive Director of Folk Alliance International for several years, and had co-founded the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival. Louis died on Friday, March 11, the first day of the 2016 SXSW festival.
Louis is also responsible for connecting us at KC Cafe radio with Folk Alliance International. He had personally invited us to one of the regional conferences. The following year we returned to the Folk Alliance Region Midwest conference with our live microphones. Since then, we have attended and covered two regional and two international conferences. Our involvement with this outstanding organization may not have happened without his invitation.
Here are archived recordings of the conversations we had during the conference:
The 2019 Southeast Regional arm of Folk Alliance International just wrapped up their 2019 conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This year, KC Cafe Radio’s David Hakan brought his Gypsy Wagon Mobile Recording studio to the conference to chat with musicians showcasing at the conference, which were broadcast on KC Cafe Radio May 15-19. Here, we bring you the archived recordings of those interviews.
