[141]INAUGURAL FOLK MUSIC CONFERENCE SET OCT. 17-18 AT MTSU

INAUGURAL FOLK MUSIC CONFERENCE SET OCT. 17-18 AT MTSU
Event is Free for Students Who Register by Friday, Oct. 10

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 6, 2008
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Charlie B. Dahan, 615-494-7704

(MURFREESBORO)—MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry and the College of Mass Communication will welcome the inaugural South East Regional Folk Alliance Music Conference to campus on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17 and 18.
“We are expecting between 75 and 100 musicians, songwriters, music business professionals and historians for panels, workshops, concerts and advocacy,” said Charlie B. Dahan, an associate professor of recording industry and conference organizer.
“It’s going to bring some great attention to the college for its outreach to the music community, and we also want to let students know about it so they can attend the panels, workshops and concerts for free by contacting me by Friday, Oct. 10.”
Non-student attendees will pay a $140 registration fee for the SERFA conference, which will feature:
• professional development workshops, panel discussions and mentor sessions aimed at helping musicians continue to grow and develop their craft and their careers, learn more about recording at home/studio, songwriting critique/analysis and more;
• a series of workshops specifically for venues and house concerts to get the Southeast organized for stronger touring options while building bigger audiences; and
• exploring the rich cultures of the Southeast, including old-time/traditional, Appalachian, Celtic, Cajun and more.
Musical performances will include showcases on Friday and Saturday nights—in the State Farm Room of the Business and Aerospace Building and the James Union Building’s Tennessee Room, respectively—from artists Cady Finlayson and Elkin Brown, Danny Flowers, Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwartz, Robby Hecht, Diana Jones, Tom Kimmel, The Laws, Rebecca Loebe, Linda McRae, Claudia Nygaard, Sabrina, The Smart Brothers, Sally Spring, Volatile Baby, and Anna Wolfe.
Registration for the conference begins Thursday, Oct. 16, at 5 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel Murfreesboro and continues Friday morning until the workshops begin at 2:15 p.m. MTSU music showcases are set for 7 to 10:30 Friday and Saturday nights, followed by “Guerilla Showcases” at the Doubletree from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. each day. Saturday’s workshops begin at 9:15 a.m. at MTSU, and the day’s events also include an exhibit hall and mentor sessions.
SERFA is the southeast regional chapter of the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance. The organization’s goal is to provide opportunities for members to network locally and advance the group’s overall mission to increase access to needed resources and expand the breadth of the folk music and dance experience for the general public, Dahan said.
SERFA fosters and promotes member initiatives in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
For more information about the conference, contact Dahan at 615-494-7704 or cdahan@mtsu.edu, or visit the SERFA site at www.serfa.org.

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IN BRIEF: MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry and the College of Mass Communication will welcome the inaugural South East Regional Folk Alliance Music Conference to campus on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17 and 18. The event will welcome musicians, songwriters, music business professionals and historians for three days of panels, workshops, concerts and advocacy; students can attend free by contacting organizer Charlie B. Dahan by Friday, Oct. 10, 615-494-7704 or cdahan@mtsu.edu. For more information about the conference, visit the SERFA site at www.serfa.org.

For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.


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