Music Industry Responds to COVID- Downsized But Not Defeated. Musical artists gather in Kansas City at the Folk Alliance International conference to showcase their talents, make new friends and gain steam in their careers.
Photo and video highlights here by Memphis photojournalist Karen Pulfer Focht; with a story by Michael Sangiacomo ©
By Michael Sangiacomo
Kansas City, MO. -- Covid has taken a brutal toll on this week's Folk Alliance International conference, a five-day festival where
musicians and performers from around the world connect with critics, record producers, club owners and festival bookers to make deals, and most importantly, play music.
But this, the 34th year, the conference looked very different.
There were about 25 percent fewer performers and guests than previous years. Instead of the usual 1,000 performers from around the world with more than another thousand music lovers and industry people, this year there were less than 1,500 combined. Normally, the Westin Hotel in downtown Kansas City is alive with dozens of musicians and bands playing in
lobbies, hallways and any other open space at all times and crowds of music lovers. There has been little of that bustle this year.
"Name" performers like Livingston Taylor, Tom Paxton, John McCutcheon and others who would always attend to teach the young performers a thing or two, were missing in action.
Instead, the roster was awash with hundreds of unfamiliar names, young musicians trying to make a name for themselves in a competitive market. Many of the A list performers, even the
B list acts, were no-shows because the conference was moved from its usual comfy timeslot in February to May over covid concerns. Aaron Fowler, an official
with Local 1000 of the Traveling Musicians Union said a reason for the lack of musicians was simple -- they are out touring.
"After almost two years without being able to play because of covid, everyone is taking advantage of (the covid slowdown) and going out to tour," he said.
"The conference was always held in February because that is a slow time of the year for touring. Hopefully, things will be back to normal next year when the conference
returns in February."
And though many of the names were new and unfamiliar, talent won out.
The conference consisted of daytime teaching events, covering subjects like`the issue of race in folk music, recognizing performers with disabilities and how to create
songs for Tik Tok. There was a heavy emphasis on virtual concerts and how to take advantage of new technology which has changed the music industry.
There were four hours of live concerts every afternoon where dozens of artists perform in eight music halls in the hotel. The music continued at 10:30 p.m., when
hundreds of performers put on intimate shows in dozens of hotel rooms, shorn of furniture, before audiences as small as one person. These shows went on into the wee hours of 3 or 4 a.m.
The word "Folk" is also misleading. Consider it an umbrella term that covers country, blues, rock, traditional music from many nations and ethnic music. Sometimes,
a combination of styles.
At a keynote performance on Friday afternoon, Madeleine Peyroux stunned the audience with excerpts from her internationally renowned stage show that combines
jazz, folk and blues music and the work of artists like Billie Holliday, Bessie Smith and even Groucho Marx.
In a single sentence, she crystalized the importance of live concerts,
"The living tradition of gathering -- being together, produces a sound that can only be heard and felt when we gather in real time and space," she said, in one of the
finest descriptions of the importance of live music.
Seeing performers play in a crowded room with bad lighting to a handful of people may sound less than ideal, but the music transcended the reality of the space and became a
physical thing.
Her words were prophetic as guests wandered the halls listening for a smidgen of sound that would lure them into a room to hear from an unfamiliar artist.
The hardest part about picking a show was knowing that for every performance chosen, hundreds were missed. Veteran attendees are always asking each other for advice on
which shows to catch, trading names, cds and flyers. Acts give away hundreds of CDs to conference attendees in the hopes to secure bookings at future shows.
There were so many concerts going on it is difficult to choose the best, but here are a sampling of some of the showstopping performers:
SOUTH FOR WINTER: New Zealand guitarist Nick Stone met the beautiful Coloradan Dani Cichon while on a volunteer mission building greenhouses in the mountains of Peru.
They quickly realized their love of music and each other and married. With Michigan cellist Alex Stradel, they formed South For Winter and wrote original songs
that showcase Dani's vocals and the couple's startling songwriting. Think an American version of Sandy Denny era Fairport Convention.
BUFFALO ROSE: An enthusiastic folk-pop sextet, with two female vocalists, had audiences rocking. Particularly fetching was a song the group wrote with veteran folkie Tom Paxton.
JAMES McCARTHY: McCarthy, an American Irishman and lifelong activist now living in Hawaii where he delights playing Irish music at local pubs. His "Dueling Rakes" is a
paean to weekend warrior American Irishmen who think their heritage means they must laugh ruckus in bars.
ABBY POSNER: Posner is a delightful singer songwriter with an almost overpowering presence. She introduced a song she wrote about broken love while she and her girlfriend
were estranged. She said she will never be able to play it for her, but we could enjoy it.
STEADY ROLLIN' BOB MARGOLIN: Margolin was a showstopper, even though he wasted a large chunk of his performance time tuning his guitar and talking about his days with
Muddy Waters. When he finally got around to playing "straight and natural blues" with the help of bassist Freebo, the small crowd of about 15 people went crazy.
ALICE HASEN: Vermont born transplant to Memphis, the violinist performed incredible songs augmented by a looping device which allowed her to layer the melody over and over.
When she sang, her songs were haunting, desperate warnings about pollution. On one song, she was joined by fellow Memphian, Rachel Maxann, who had earlier
delighted fans with original songs and a powerful interpretation of Bill Withers, "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone," right
down to the requisite 26 repetitions of the phrase "I know."
The Folk Alliance ended on Saturday, a day earlier than usual. Promoters defied the odds this year to stay open despite the ravages of covid and the calendar
and hosted more newcomer performers than ever.
It will be interesting to see how the event will unfold in February _,a mere 10 months from now when, hopefully, covid will be just an unpleasant memory.
For more information on how to attend, and to see videos of past shows, visit www.folkalliance.org
Michael Sangiacomo is a freelance journalist and arts critic from Cleveland.
https://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis-musicians-shine-at-folk-alliance