NERFA 2015
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Following the keynote speech, the real fun begins – showcases! Besides the Thursday night Folk DJ Showcase, NERFA features two kinds of juried showcases – the Formals and the Quads, as well as more independent “Guerrilla” showcases. The Formal and the Quad showcases run 15 minutes each, the guerrillas are usually the same length but some can be longer as they are independently run. The Formal Showcases present 14 performers on Friday and Saturday evenings. The Formals are presented in a large theater and no other events are held while the Formals are taking place. Following the Formals, another set of showcases called The Quads are held in four large rooms simultaneously, with a total of 48 artists spread out over the two evenings of the Quads. Again, no other showcases are held while the Quads are taking place. Artists for both the Formals and the Quads are selected by separate groups of judges consisting of artists, presenters and DJs. I’ve served on both panels over the years, and it is another difficult task. Judges listen to hundreds of artists submissions in order to make their selections. The judges do not always agree, but they manage to come up with selections that represent the diverse styles that reach to the diverse folk music audience.
As the Friday night Formal Showcase was getting underway, word started trickling in about the terrorist attacks that were occurring at the same time in Paris, France. Not everyone got the news as there is a feeling of isolation at NERFA and the outside world usually does not intrude. Those that knew of the attacks were of course stunned, and I think it showed us the purpose that folk music holds in our lives . We do not use folk music solely to entertain or forget the troubles of the world, rather we use the music to find comfort, solace, search for reason and to feel connected to others. I don’t recall any of the Formal Showcase artists discussing the news from Paris directly, but the songs they offered touched upon themes that are at the core of folk music – love, peace, strength and community. We often turn to folk music for inspiration and guidance, and tonight it was especially needed.
Jim Gaudet & The Railroad Boys
The evening kicked off with Jim Gaudet & The Railroad Boys. Corny jokes, an old-time country with a touch of rockabilly feel to the music and a mic stand wrapped with the band’s logo helped create a nostalgic return to the days when country music truly represented “country.” Jim actually hails from Albany, New York and he and his band have appeared at bluegrass festivals up and down the east coast. Based on the stellar performance at NERFA, I would bet that this band will soon be adding folk festivals and folk venues to their appearance list.
A young folk-trad band from Quebec was also greeted with an enthusiastic response. Les Poules à Colin is perhaps the youngest band to have emerged from the growing Québécois trad music scene, the five member band are the offspring of some veteran Canadian trad musicians, and they have taken the songs they have learned through their families and music camps to create their own arrangement of traditional as well as original songs and tunes.
The NERFA program book describes The Young Novelists as “Simon & Garfunkel meet Johnny & June” and I think that says it all. A young couple from Toronto, The Young Novelists made several notable appearances in the U.S. this past summer including winning the 2015 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition at the Connecticut Folk Festival.
I was also impressed by Robert Jones & Matt Watroba. The pair of folksingers have been traveling the nation on a mission to remind audiences of why “folk” music remains relevant. They put together a program that vividly highlights folk music’s power to celebrate history and work for social change. I’ve never seen folk songs so expertly and entertainingly explained and shared. In lieu of the events taking place in Paris that evening, these songs helped inspire as well as console without directly addressing the story that was unfolding.
John Flynn at NERFA 2015
Singer-songwriter John Flynn came the closest to hitting the story head on. He shared a song called “Mercy” that was inspired by a story of an incarcerated prisoner being released from prison after evidence proved his accuser was wrong, and the prisoner forgave his accuser that robbed him of years of his life. The song resonated with many of the troubling stories we read about today, and John Flynn has rightly earned his role as a modern day troubadour, walking in the footsteps of people like Woody Guthrie and Phil Ochs.
Immediately after the Formal Showcase concludes, the audience at NERFA disperses to the four separate rooms that are presenting the Quad Showcases. These additional juried showcases were originally called the Tri-Centric and limited to three rooms, but they were so successful that a 4th room was added to provide more opportunities for artists. Unfortunately, you can only attend one performance at a time, so there is a lot of maneuvering and planning as concert attendees move from room to room to see as many artists as they can. Personally, I try to seek out performers I have not seen before, but there are always a few artists that I want to see again as I like to follow their progress as performers and hear new songs.
Ron Olesko and Efrat
One artist who I had to go see was Efrat. Efrat was on my radio show just a few weeks prior to NERFA, but I had yet to see her with her band in front of a live audience, and this would also be her solo debut at NERFA. She previously appeared at NERFA when she was a member of Spuyten Duyvil, and I was excited to see how she would handle her new repertoire and how the audience would receive her. I gave her high marks on both counts. Efrat invited some friends to join her, an you can imagine the sweet sounds made from a backing chorus that consisted of Mara Levine, Meg Braun and Annika Bennett. There was a lot of energy in the room and the performance was surely a sign of more great things to come!