I’m not sure if this weekend was a dream or reality. Last Wednesday, after playing a show in Chicago, I got in the car to head to Memphis, Tennessee. The next thing I knew I was walking into a hotel lobby full of gig-starving musicians ranging from ages eighteen to eighty. Welcome to: The Folk Alliance.
Folk Alliance is a yearly “Folk Music” convention held in downtown Memphis. What is folk music? You may ask. Well, it’s basically any kind of music – but the number one rule is that it must include an acoustic instrument of some sort. That’s what I’ve gathered anyway. After all, it was the Newport “FOLK” Festival where Bob Dylan was booed of the stage for bringing an electric guitar.
Folk Alliance is meant to be a conference where you schmooze with other artists and promoters to climb the corporate chain of Folk Music. You’re laughing, aren’t you… It’s ok, I would too. I have come to terms with the fact that musicians are quite the characters. And it’s because of us “characters” that Christopher Guest has made millions with movies like “This is Spinal Tap” and “A Mighty Wind”. And after this past weekend, I can’t tell you how accurately he nailed his musical mockumentaries.
There was the old Santa Clause look alike, who boasted on and on about is amazing music series in some random town in South Dakota. There was the stockbroker, running around with his clip-on ponytail desperately trying to get a gig. There were the critics, who hated on everyone even though they had never written a song in their life (They were probably also the people who booed Dylan off the stage). And there was X-hippie, who still thought she was at Woodstock. It was a funny weekend for sure, and in the end very inspiring too. I got to hear a lot of great songs, and saw a ton of talent. If you are a musician, or just someone looking for an excellent people-watching experience, I would recommend going sometime.