Feb
19
Wed
The International Folk Alliance Conference @ Westin Hotel
Feb 19 – Feb 24 all-day

The International Folk Alliance conference is an annual event that draws together music industry professionals from throughout  the world to share ideas, network, and celebrate traditional music and dance.  It is an event of celebration, education, and entertainment.

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Keynote Speaker: Graham Nash

Al Gore

Special Presentations from Al Gore

 

Held over five days, the Conference includes:

  • Over 2000 registered attendees
  • Over 50 workshops, panel discussions, and peer group meetings that address critical issues relating to presenting, promoting, and preserving folk and traditional music and dance.
  • 100+ industry exhibitors
  • Special events, such as the Folk Alliance Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards, networking receptions, official Performance Alley and private showcase performances, feature shows, exhibit hall, community outreach concerts, and much more.
  • 200 official juried performances (Performance Alley)
  • 300+ unofficial private showcases (Hotel Rooms)

 

Apr
9
Thu
James Keelaghan, Archie Fisher and Jez Lowe @ Somerville Armory
Apr 9 @ 8:00 pm – 10:30 pm
 James Keelaghan, Archie Fisher and Jez Lowe @ Somerville Armory | Somerville | Massachusetts | United States
James Keelaghan, Archie Fisher and Jez Lowe
Three of the world’s finest songwriters and most respected singers have decided to take their friendship on the road. Having come together for several years while on a cruise they found that their music has a great synergy.  James has toured separately with Archie and Jez and when they again all found themselves staying in the same house last Fall the idea for the tour was born. A benefit for FOLK New England.

Archie Fisher

An avid horseman and master guitarist, singer and songwriter Archie Fisher is Scotland’s foremost Folk music troubadour. He is known in his homeland for a 27-year tenure as the host of BBC Radio Scotland’s award-winning “Traveling Folk” show. Recognized for his contributions to Scottish folk music, he was inducted into the Scots Traditional Music Hall of Fame and in 2006 was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire), a prestigious honor nominated by his peers and bestowed by Queen Elizabeth.

 

James Keelaghan

Called Canada’s finest singer-songwriter by one of the most respected and lauded music journalists of the last 50 years, James Keelaghan is an artist who has proven to be a man for all seasons. As the calendar pages have turned, for almost a quarter of a century now, this poet laureate of the folk and roots music world has gone about his work with a combination of passion, intent and intensity, and curiosity.

Fusing his insatiable appetite for finding the next unique storyline Keelaghan also forges his pieces with brilliantly defined craftsmanship and a monogrammed artistic vision, making him one of the most distinctive and readily identifiable voices of not only the Canadian scene, but as a member of the international singer-songwriter community.

Armed with a songbook that has enlightened and enthralled, and been embraced, by audiences around the world, Keelaghan’s life as an artist is one that is a perpetual journey on so many levels.

 

Jez Lowe

Jez Lowe has built an enviable reputation as a songwriter and performer in the world of acoustic music, and as a recognised musical ambassador for his native North East England, with more than a dozen albums and countless live performances around the world over the last twenty years.

Among those who have recorded their own versions of Lowe’s songs, are Fairport Convention, The Dubliners, The Tannahill Weavers, Cherish The Ladies, Gordon Bok, The Black Brothers, Liam Clancy and literally hundreds of others. Songs like BACK IN DURHAM GAOL, THE BERGEN, GREEK LIGHTNING and THESE COAL TOWN DAYS have generated scores of cover versions around the globe, and are now classics of their kind.

He has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in the world, both solo and with the Bad Pennies, including the main stages at Edmonton Festival (Canada), Tonder Festival (Denmark), The Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian (US), Port Fairy and Byron Bay Festivals (Australia) and at concerts and festivals in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Ireland, Holland, Germany and Spain.