Bits from NERFA 2017
The Northeast Regional Folk Alliance conference is where we go to find talent that is new to us. We are called "presenters" because we host house concerts. The performers who come to the conference are looking to be booked by people like us. So we spend three days listening to LOTS of music. Here are some examples of the best. (So much talent. Only 4 concerts per year.)
The Northeast Regional Folk Alliance conference is where we go to find talent that is new to us. We are called "presenters" because we host house concerts. The performers who come to the conference are looking to be booked by people like us. So we spend three days listening to LOTS of music. Here are some examples of the best. (So much talent. Only 4 concerts per year.)
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Jamming in the hotel lobby just after we arrived.
Mari Black (www.mariblack.com) in the foreground and Gina Forsyth (www.ginaforsyth.com) There's more of Gina's playing further down on this page. Mari Black is coming to play at Monocacy Creek House Concerts on September 30, 2018 with a guitar player and an upright bass player. She bills herself as a "multistyle violinist" and a "champion fiddler." |
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He-Bird, She-Bird in a guerilla showcase Friday afternoon www.HeBirdSheBird.com I might try to book them for sometime in 2019. What do you think? |
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Naming the Twins
You HAVE to listen to these two on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pfduOqpHbA&feature=youtu.be or on their webpage at http://www.namingthetwins.com/music-videos/ They come from Nova Scotia. They will be touring in the US in 2019 and they are on my list (and we are on theirs). |
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This is more of Gina Forsyth (also playing in the jam in the first video on this page). She is from New Orleans and sings Cajun songs as well as playing fiddle tunes and guitar. She's also very funny. www.ginaforsythe.com Friday afternoon guerilla workshop in the LilFest room. |
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Piedmont Bluz at the Friday afternoon guerilla showcase in the Cup of Joe room featuring first-timers at NERFA If this clip seems TOO SHORT, it's because it is. My apologies. But do not despair. You can see and hear more at www.facebook.com/PiedmontBluz/ AND they are playing at Monocacy Creek House Concerts on Sunday, October 21, 2018. |
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The Black Feathers at the same Friday afternoon guerilla showcase https://theblackfeathers.com A little bit of Ireland. |
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This is a magical group of a cappella singers from Quebec called Musique a Bouchers. www.musiqueabouches.com
I could listen to them all day. Unfortunately they speak and sing only in French and I don't think there is a sufficiently large French speaking audience in the Lehigh Valley. They performed in a Saturday afternoon event where the performers were selected by presenters (who were themselves picked in a lottery) from artists relatively new to NERFA. The selected performers were presented with a "golden ticket" which gave them admission to the stage. |
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We met Andy and Judy Daigle over a meal one day and then kept finding ourselves in the same places. We had some wonderful conversations. We found out that they both host house concerts and perform in them.
We never heard them play while we were at NERFA because of schedule conflicts. We don't stay up to 1:30 AM for one thing and their showcases were mostly around that time. I checked out their music later on their website, and I was excited to hear that they would be touring in our area in June, 2018, and would like to perform at one of our house concerts. So - they will be performing for all of us on Sunday, June 24, 2018. You can check out their music at http://www.andyjudysing.com |
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Jud Caswell www.judcaswell.com performing at the "golden ticket" event and drawing the audience in to sing with him. I'll be keeping an eye (and my ears) on this guy. |
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Gina Holsopple www.ginaholsopple.com performing at the "golden ticket" event. Listen to this song which was written in response to a suggestion by her young son. "Write about a rainbow that turns all red." |