The Story Of People And Place

The Folk Alliance celebrates creativity and supports traditions.

- John Wirt

The 32nd annual Folk Alliance International conference is coming to New Orleans. Running January 22 to January 26 at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, the conference includes keynote speakers Mavis Staples and Rhiannon Giddens, one-hundred-eighty showcasing performers, an opening night awards show plus industry panels, mentoring sessions and networking events.

The 2020 FAI conference theme is The Story of People and Place. In New Orleans, a port city that’s among the most culturally diverse places in the United States, the conference will address diversity, inclusion, immigration, interaction, and influence. Conference registration information is available at folkconference.org/register.

Aengus Finnan, executive director of the Kansas City, Missouri-based FAI, anticipates more than three-thousand attendees from forty-five countries. “Our theme this year is universal,” Finnan said. “Everyone calls somewhere home and that somewhere informs who they are and the stories they tell. The theme is not specific to New Orleans, but it’s certainly amplified by the city and heavily featured in our programming.”

The multitude of music styles covered by the FAI encompass Appalachian, Americana, bluegrass, blues, Cajun, Celtic, Francophone, indie-folk, indigenous, Latin, old-time, traditional, singer-songwriter, spoken word, zydeco, and fusion.