NERFA - Day 1 Recap

So, I’m at my first conference of any sort, NERFA – the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance – in Kerhonkson, NY. It promises to be a fun filled weekend of a lot of music and absolutely no sleep… well, little sleep anyway.

I arrived yesterday around 4:30. In looking around at all the early arrivals so far, I realized it’s so weird to see so many faces I recognize, probably from Falcon Ridge. Most of whom do not yet have names to go with them for me, but I’m sure I’ll be making many friends in a short time.

I am pulling double duty this weekend, because I’m here as both a musician (please book me at your venue, I’m the best rhythm guitarist and songwriter EVER) as well as a venue booking agent (please come play at my venue, we’re the best hosts EVER). In kind of a sick way, I’m looking forward to the challenge of wearing both hats. In a more realistic way, I’m wondering how the hell I’m going to pull this off, followed by “why in the world did I think it was a good idea to have a table in the exhibit hall”!

On to the more important stuff… dinner last night was absolutely fabulous! I was invited to sit at a table with Siobhan Quinn, Michael Bowers, Mary Lou Troy, Fred Kaiser, and about 6 other folks whose names I did not catch. I also met lots of folks in passing with whom I have only emailed so it was nice to meet in person, and others who are Facebook friends but we’ve never met in person. I’m also looking forward to hearing in their guerilla showcases.

Then, it was off to the Suzi Wollenberg Folk DJ showcase which was well attended and very enjoyable. After that, it was guerilla showcase heaven! This is where many folks here get a chance to play for an audience outside of the formal showcases. People basically go from room to room, pop in for a few minutes to listen, then run off to the next room to either listen to someone else. I was not selected to play in any of these, but maybe next year when my name and music are a little more recognized, I’ll get a few. I did get a "golden ticket" and will play a couple of songs in a showcase on Saturday afternoon, which is totally cool! With this being my first NERFA, I just want to get a feel for how this all works before jumping head-first into it all with playing in or hosting showcases. Make no mistakes, guerilla showcase time is complete and utter pandemonium, and a lot of fun! I’m looking forward to the informal jam sessions in the stairways and lobby as well!

Anyway, I'm running on about 5 hours of sleep with a very full day ahead, so I apologize if any of this in incoherent! So that’s all for Day 1, I’ll catch you up on Day 2 when I can!