Our partners Bandzoogle are expert at making websites for musicians and FAA members are able to get a discount on that service.
Bandzoogle has a guide to make your own site:
“How to make a music website
Are you making a music website but don’t know where to start? Or are you thinking about giving your current website an update?
In either case, this comprehensive guide will show you how to create an effective music website that will impress both your fans and industry professionals.”
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“In both an abundance of caution and as an evasive business viability decision, we have made the decision to move our upcoming conference by three months, from the original February dates to May 18-22, 2022.” – a statement from our partner organisation Folk Alliance International about its annual Conference.
The heralded event will be held in Kansas City, Missouri on the new dates.
To give you an idea as to the scale and sweep of the event, YOU CAN READ A REVIEW OF AN EARLIER CONFERENCE HERE
The registration deadline, which was originally extended to December 22, will now end on March 15, 2022. REGISTER HERE
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We were saddened to hear of the passing of Koady Chaisson of Prince Edward Island trio The East Pointers, who was just 37 years old.
The band posted on their Facebook page:
“It was 8 years ago that Koady turned his life around. He got sober, changed his habits, and dove into healing himself — the kind that many run away from. Just after this, when times were especially tough for him, the three of us made it a point to build on our musical friendship that had been stewing in the background for a few years prior. There was no intention to take it any further than our living rooms — just hearing Koad’s tunes, collaborating and laughing with him was rejuvenating, electric and so special.”
The East Pointers have built up an amazing community around them, not just in Canada but across Europe, in the UK, and Australia where their live performances have always gone down a storm. They have an infectious energy that always finds its way to the heart of an audience.
The East Pointers emerged to rapturous applause, and seemed genuinely at home with the crowd, reminding everyone that dancing was positively encouraged. A show of hands revealed that at least half of the room had been to an East Pointers’ gig there before, and the band set off with a blistering reel set…
Folk Alliance Australia acknowledges the many friends and fans that Koady and The East Pointers had in Australia and especially pass on our most sincere condolences to his life-partner Chloe Goodyear, program director of the Woodford Folk Festival.
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Extract from an article from ‘The Music’ with extra material from us:
As Omicron cases surge, NSW has reintroduced restrictions that will once again have a huge impact on the live events industry with a ban on singing and dancing in hospitality venues and entertainment facilities and major events under risk of postponement. The restrictions will remain until January 27. Tamworth’s large Country Music Festival has been moved from January to April.
Victoria has reintroduced density limits of one person per two square metres at indoor hospitality venues and entertainment venues. The Brunswick Ballroom has closed for three weeks because it was unable to get enough healthy staff to run the shows. The Newstead Live festival has been cancelled.
South Australia and Queensland are also feeling the effects of the Omicron outbreak, with iconic Adelaide venue The Wheaty unable to host shows again until the state’s restrictions allow for at least 50% capacity, while Brisbane live space The Zoo was forced to close for the week as all its events were impacted by COVID. The Brisbane leg of new Aussie festival Full Tilt has also been postponed.
Western Australia’s faces a slew of cancellations across the holidays following Delta breaching the state’s hard border. Tasmania’s Cygnet Folk Festival and Festival of King Island have been cancelled for 2022.
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The future of beloved Queensland event Woodford Folk Festival has been saved, thanks to State Government funding. The Queensland Government has committed $4 million over four years to help the festival rebuild after it was forced to cancel twice due to COVID.
“The impact of this funding on our organisation and our events, primarily the Woodford Folk Festival, is beyond significant,” Woodford Festival Founder and Director Bill Hauritz AM said. “This funding will enable the Woodford Folk Festival to be rebuilt after 2 years absence and to flourish over the coming years, giving thousands of artists and arts workers vital employment and tens of thousands of patrons an opportunity to embrace and engage with the magic of our cultural expression.
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The Board of Folk Alliance Australia would like to wish all members and other participants in the folk music community the very best for the New Year.
Our music sector is off to a bumpy start with the Omicron variant but we expect that lockdowns and border closures are behind us and we fervently hope that the live music outlook will improve this year over time.
We look forward to meeting you all at a folk festival in 2022. Some of the latest news about changes to events in the short term follow.
As we said in our last newsletter, the FAA Board will be looking at several initiatives for our members in 2022:
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Best Wishes
The Board of Folk Alliance Australia (FAA) would like to extend to all our members and other contributors to the folk music community the very best wishes for the Christmas and New Year seasons.
In what has been the toughest times for the live music sector, we are expecting brighter things in 2022 – that we will be able to enjoy the wonderful talents we have here, on display and enjoyed together by our strong folk music community. We look forward to attending some of the great folk festivals that will be kicking off again in 2022 and to meeting up with friends old and new and folk performers again.
FAA Achievements – Australian Folk Music Awards
In 2021 FAA has been trying hard to work through and around the difficulties caused by the pandemic. The most visible of these was the establishment of the Australian Folk Music Awards which brought together and recognised great recordings and other achievements in the recent past. Despite ever-changing government regulations, we managed to have a small live event in Adelaide to showcase the Award recipients and other artists, together with an on-line record through our You Tube channel.
The Awards were a great success with many applications received, large vote numbers for the People’s Choice Award, a good audience for the event, the ability to attract highly-regarded judging panelists and high community interest generally.
FAA Achievements – Other
Into 2022….
The FAA Board will be looking at several initiatives for our members next year:
All of our income goes towards maintaining a national organisation and supporting projects that benefit Australian diverse folk music.
Join the FAA
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Signing up to FAA will enable us to do more – to support YOU, YOUR VENUE, YOUR FESTIVAL, YOUR INDUSTRY, YOUR COMMUNITY.
You can also derive insurance and website benefits through our partners AON and Bandzoogle. Also, as a member, you are eligible for complimentary baggage allowances on certain Virgin Australia flights.
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Next year’s Fairbridge Festival will welcome some of the country’s finest roots, world and acoustic music acts as well as some returning old friends.
Staged in an idyllic bushland setting one hour south of Perth at Fairbridge Village in Pinjarra, Fairbridge Festival will take place 22-24 April.
With the re-opening of WA’s border to those near and far currently underway, in 2022 Fairbridge Festival will host a number of international guests.
From New Zealand arrives the foot-stomping hoedowns, soul-stirring ballads and soaring three-part harmonies of Albi & The Wolves as well as Jenny Mitchell whose music echoes of Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss. Acclaimed arts British performers The Chipolatas will make a welcome return after 5 years and some 26 years since their festival debut.
Festival favourites Mal Webb & Kylie Morrigan and Lucy Wise & Stephen Taberner return, while the gypsy-jazz feels will be strong when the spontaneity of Cigany Weaver takes to the stage.
You can expect to laugh and cry when Ami Williamson (daughter of the legendary John) captives audiences with her songwriting prowess. Then there’s Fijian-born, Queensland-based Andrea Kirwin bringing her 13-piece Yama-Nui Social Club featuring artists from around the South Pacific presenting their soulful music backed by strings, horns and gorgeous backing vocals.
With another 60 acts to be revealed in 2022.
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Australian Folk Music Award winners Charm Of Finches held their album launch at the Brunswick Ballroom on 26 November.
You can read a review of the night from our partners at Listening Through The Lens.
The duo has also released a new video clip – “As A Child” one of the songs off their new record Wonderful Oblivion.
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Folk Alliance International (FAI) has announced this year’s Global Summits:
(1) the Centreing Disability in the Music Industry Summit and
(2) the Folklorist Summit: Tradition as Profession!
FAI’s Global Summits are extended sessions designed to convene academics and industry-specific peers to discuss in-depth and report on the evolving processes, practices, and policies related to the rich ecology of folk music.
Past summits were held for funders, archivists, ethnomusicologists, cultural equity advocates, and Indigenous community members.
Pre-registration and approval is required to attend these events.
APPLY FOR CENTREING DISABILITY SUMMIT
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