It was at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conference in 2009 that I first really understood what it felt like to have the little snowball that is my musical project grow bigger, faster than I personally could push it...

Don't get me wrong, there have been many people over the years who have offered advice, assistance, and "legs up".  Without them, I would surely have received fewer grants, played fewer shows for fewer people, gotten less press, and made decisions based on stories I tell myself that aren't necessarily true. I need the people around me to encourage me, put me in my place, and share the wisdom they've gained having done what I do for many more years than I've done it!

However, something happened at NERFA 2009 that opened my eyes.  I felt momentum.  I had the distinct feeling that things were happening because other people believed in us, not just because we're persistent and passionate. Or maybe it's because other people believed in us AND we're persistent and passionate... : )

When I decided to apply to showcase at NERFA in 2009, it was because we'd already been doing small tours in the Northeast U.S. for a few years, and it seemed like time to connect with a wider community down there. 

While I was awaiting news about if we had been awarded a Formal showcase, I asked for some advice from my friend, folk singer Greg Klyma who we were sharing a bill with at Caffe Lena (America's oldest continuously operating folk coffeehouse) later that Fall, about who he thought we should try to connect with at the conference.  He kindly passed along the contact info of the manager of a talented young singer-songwriter by the name of Anthony da Costa. Greg told me that Dennis would be able to point me in the direction of private showcases that were well-organized and well-attended at NERFA.  So, I shyly cold-called this guy and much to my relief, he was super warm and helpful.  He gave me several great recommendations of people I should connect with.  This was my introduction to the NERFA community.  It felt immediately warm, welcoming, and infused with a sense of brother and sisterhood.  This isn't always the vibe in the music industry, so I took note and felt grateful!

One of the people Dennis suggested I contact was Michael Kornfeld from Acousticmusicscene.com.  Every year Mike hosts a Thursday night guerrilla showcase at NERFA called the Midnight Hoot, where he invites a whole slew of performers to come play between 11:45pm-3am.   There are no set timeslots and every act plays just 1 song. This showcase provides presenters who arrive at NERFA early (it really gets going on Fri), an opportunity to check out tons of artists during a short period of time and determine who they want to catch more of during the rest of the weekend...

Well, another cold-call later, Michael decided to take a chance on us, and it was confirmed that our first showcase appearance at NERFA was set to be at the Midnight Hoot.

So, picture this.

Oli and I had just driven 9 hrs to Kerhonkson, NY.  That's right. Kerhonkson. Even the border guard had never heard of it.  We were tired, and we were excited.  In a kind of silly and bold way.  What a crazy thing it is to play just 1 song and hope it connects with some strangers in a hotel room who have never heard of you and who have already been bombarded by music from approximately a million folk singers eager to impress.  We'd played many a guerrilla hotel room showcase at other conferences, but this was the first time we'd ever only had just one song to win 'em over. What should we play? We settled on Reverence & Ridicule.

We arrived, bleary-eyed new kids on the NERFA block, at Michael's hotel room, to a crowd that poured out into the hallway. We squeezed in to let Michael know we were there, and then listened to some amazing acts we'd never heard or heard OF before...The sweet harmonies, stunning poetry and solid artistry of Jenee Halstead, Joe Iadanza, and Gathering Time among others. 

When it was our turn, we got up in front of that hotel room of unfamiliar faces and played a song we've played hundreds, maybe even thousands of times.  This is a song we know inside out.  This song is the epitome of familiar to us.  Holding the hands of my most familiar song, I felt able to connect with these unfamiliar folks.  This is a song that it's rare for us to leave out of a set.  It's like our logo song or our mantra song (depending on if you're feeling like an ad agency or a yogi).  We picked that song because it felt like the most "us" song we could think of, and if we only got one song to introduce ourselves to this new community with, what better song to play?!

Well, thank goodness we chose what we chose because there was a kind, enthusiastic, (and I would later find out, a fellow fan of hugs) Folk radio DJ from WFUV in NYC, in the room that night, by the name of John Platt.  John took a liking to us and our tune.  He liked it so much he was nearly single-handedly responsible for creating what turned out to be an amazingly affirmative weekend at NERFA.  He showed up at our other showcases through the weekend and SPREAD THE WORD.

Up until NERFA 2009, I'd always felt that we were kinda just doing our thing in the quiet corners at other conferences.  It felt hard to "poke" out.  Every so often someone would hear us in a showcase, react enthusiastically and we'd get a gig out of it, but I'd never felt like we'd really stood out before.  For some reason, at NERFA it felt like we were poking out.  In retrospect, part of the reason for this I think is that more of the music at NERFA '09 seemed to be slanted towards traditional Folk or Americana...It was more infused with alt country and blues, and less infused with jazz, soul, funk or world music. Oli brings his R&B and funk background to our music, and I can't help myself but dance a lot while I sing, and it seemed like they don't see as much of that...Maybe that's why. Or maybe the stars were right.  Or maybe prayers were answered. Who knows.

John wrote in his post 2009 conference blog, "It was a late night showcase that introduced me to Layah Jane, a 28 year old blonde from Toronto (yet another Canadian!), who took  my breath away on the first night with a song that blended folk, jazz, and reggae. I ended up seeing her, with various friends, four times, and each time she captivated us with the sensual joy of her performance and the rapport with her guitarist and partner, Oliver Johnson."

It was such a heart-opening honour to play for such receptive industry folks at NERFA '09.  It was the affirmation I really needed that Fall.  It helped me start to feel like the near decade of work I'd put in, was beginning to crystallize into something more concrete and sustainable.  In the years since then, we've booked many gigs that either directly or indirectly came from that one song in that one hotel room at 2am...And, we've had the pleasure of continuing to build warm relationships with great folks like Mike Kornfled, John Platt, and Richard Cuccaro from Acoustic Live.  After an uber-guerrilla showcase at the Folk DJ meeting that John invited us to play, Richard approached us in the hallway, disappointed he'd just missed us...We were happy to play more, so went back to his hotel room and played another impromptu showcase for a small gathering of new friends:

The next year, you better believe we applied again to showcase at NERFA 2010, and much to our delight we were awarded a Tricentric Showcase (a juried showcase, but not the even more competitively sought after juried Formal showcase...You see, during the Tricentrics, three showcase rooms of juried acts perform simultaneously, while at the Formal Showcase, only that ONE showcase runs). The Tricentrics offered us more visibility and a larger audience than we were able to achieve just performing guerrilla showcases the previous year, and it felt like we were able to continue to build the energy that had sparked at NERFA 2009, during our 2010 Tricentric Showcase...

After NERFA 2010, John Platt wrote in his blog, "The Canadian invasion just keeps coming. No matter where I was listening – at the formal showcases in the large showroom at the hotel, at a midsize Tricentric showcase, or one of the late night “guerilla” showcases in a hotel room – some of the best music was coming from North of the Border: the inventive instrumentals of Sultans of String, the supple harmonies of the Toronto trio The Good Lovelies, the equally supple harmonies of the Toronto duo Madison Violet, the sensuous singing of Layah Jane, the solid craft of Jory Nash, the classic songs of Lynn Miles..."  This is a list of Canadian talent that I'm tickled to be a part of.

And now...Drumroll please...

We've been selected to perform a 2011 Formal Showcase!! It is an honour, a thrill, and a great gift to now be preparing to play on the "big stage" for this community who has so graciously welcomed us and supported us. 

Many heartfelt thanks to Greg Klyma, Dennis da Costa, Michael Kornfeld, John Platt, Richard Cuccaro, Martin Stone (for giving us our first booking at NERFA '09 at Ourtimes Coffeehouse), the 2010 Tricentric Showcase Jurors, and the 2011 Formal Showcase Jurors!  Thank you for making us feel at home in your community from night one at the Midnight Hoot.  Thank you for giving me the gift of feeling my little snowball of a musical project gain girth and speed through your efforts and enthusiasm...I continue to be buoyed and inspired by the experience.

xo L