Original image of Jolie Holland and Anna Moss by There Stands the Glass.
I immersed myself in sweeping swathes of sound at the Folk Alliance International Conference when I wasn’t working on a related story that will air soon on KCUR. The choose-your-own-adventure component of the expansive annual summit is enormously appealing. In addition to conventional American folk, I heard Scottish balladeers, Ukrainian hurdy-gurdy, Italian chamber music and Malaysian bedroom pop. I’ve ranked my favorite of the approximately fifty performances I took in at the industry gathering.
1. Willi Carlisle (My Instagram clip.)
2. Jolie Holland (photo above)
3. Justin Adams and Mauro Durante (My Instagram clip.)
4. Trond Kallevåg (My Instagram clip.)
5. Louisa Stancioff (My Instagram clip.)
6. Ensemble Sangineto (My Instagram clip.)
7. Allysen Callery (Sandy Denny lives.)
8. Scott H. Biram (My Instagram clip.)
9. Humbird (political prog-folk)
10. Mitsune (My Instagram snapshot.)
The conference is leaving Kansas City. A friend invited me to join him in Montreal for next year’s conference. It’s a tempting proposition.