The world’s biggest folk music conference, Folk Alliance, is happening in Montreal Feb. 19 to 23

After a six-year absence, the Folk Alliance International conference returns to Montreal this week. 

The conference, whose 37th annual edition begins tonight at the Sheraton and runs until Saturday Feb. 23, is geared toward the folk music industry to showcase artists, host panels and workshops in the daytime, and offer networking opportunities. It is the biggest folk music gathering of its kind worldwide.

Nearly half (around 45% to 50%) of all attendees are artists, while agents, managers, presenters, venues and radio DJs, among other industry-facing roles, are also in tow. In other words, basically the entire folk music ecosystem is represented in some form or another during this five-day conference.

This year, visitors will be greeted to official and private showcases within various corners of the hotel from both domestic and international folk and folk-adjacent artists (this year’s country of focus is Portugal), with the International Folk Music Awards happening tonight to kick off the proceedings. Montreal’s own Allison Russell serves as the keynote speaker, and will be interviewed by NPR’s Ann Powers.

We spoke via Zoom with Jennifer Roe, FAI’s Kansas City-based executive director (she’d prefer not to talk about the Super Bowl result, as our chat was the day after the big game), to discuss how the conference works, which components she’s most excited for this year, and how John and Yoko’s bed-in for peace inspired the last Montreal edition of the conference six years ago.

Dave MacIntyre: Why bring the conference back to Montreal now?

Jennifer Roe: We have had a commitment to host our conference in Canada about every six years. The last time was six years ago, in 2019. We did not necessarily anticipate coming back to Montreal, but through the process of looking for hotels, Montreal ended up being the best option for us.

DM: Why is Montreal such a great place for an event like this?

JR: It comes down to logistics. In addition to having great support from the local community… we are always concerned about the financial impact of coming to our conference. Many of the folks coming to our conference, we consider them artists, entrepreneurs, managers and small business owners, and really have to look at the bottom line. Affordability is often one of the number one things we look at. 

We’re also limited by how we do our conference, because we try to keep our conference in one space. There’s not many places, or not many hotels, throughout Canada that can really accommodate our event that are at a price point we can afford. 

DM: What do you remember about the last Montreal edition held in 2019?

JR: That 2019 edition was really special. We were at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth. It happened to be the 50th anniversary of Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s famous bed-in that happened at the Fairmont. We were able to tap into that and had our own bed-in celebration where we had folks do their own protest in their own hotel space. We had several artists who did it in the John Lennon/Yoko Ono suite. That was pretty special. 

DM: What are some key differences between this year’s edition and last year’s?

JR: Ultimately, the conference model is the same between last year and this year. The biggest difference will be, obviously, in a different city at a new space. A colder city! (laughs) Being in Montreal, we’ll definitely have more Canadians attend our conference than they do in the U.S., especially the year before. We anticipate about a 10% to 12% attendee growth from our last conference.

Our theme this year is different — our theme is “illuminate” — but again, the conference feel itself is consistent. We certainly are there to network, to engage with each other, and to make sure we’re providing space for that.

DM: What are some of the more notable keynotes, panels and workshops you’re looking forward to this year?

JR: Our keynote speaker this year is Allison Russell. She is doing an interview with Ann Powers, with NPR Music. I’m very excited for that. Allison Russell is ending a series of being on Broadway performing in Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown. If you have not seen that, it’s an amazing musical production. I’m excited to hear what’s happening in her life, to hear her history the last several years and learning from her path of being and working in music full-time. For other panels, we always do wisdom of the elders, which is really hearing the stories of elders in our community, and what they’ve done in life and music and the paths they’ve taken.

DM: Which other components of the conference this year are you personally looking forward to most?

JR: I will tell you, it’s so rare that I actually get to enjoy the conference, because I’m making sure that things that are happening are connecting with people! (laughs) But I know the energy that goes into putting all those pieces together. We take such pride and joy in making sure we have a conference that fills the needs and hits what folks are trying to accomplish. I’m excited to just see all that come together. Our team has put a lot of energy into that. 

Of course, I love the official showcases. There are the private showcases, which are late-night performances in hotel guest rooms. Folks can walk on four different levels from room to room. What I love about the official and private showcases is the ability to discover new music. A lot of people do an excellent job of researching who they want to listen to, which is a lot of work. I think that’s amazing, especially if that’s your job! (laughs) But for those of us who really just get to listen around and hear the music, walking down the hallways for a song or two is really special. 

DM: What would your sales pitch be to convince first-timers to go to the conference?

JR: The Folk Alliance conference is an excellent opportunity for folks to come, especially if you’re part of the music industry and especially if you want to tour in North American markets. It’s a great way to connect with people, to be with people who have the same interests and desires you have, and learn. 

For artists, it’s an opportunity for them not just to showcase their talents, but to collaborate and connect with other artists, who hopefully can help advance their careers by collaborating together. We often provide first-timer scholarships. Make sure you check out our scholarships for coming and joining us in the future. We certainly want our first timers to experience it without much of a risk. ■

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For more on the Folk Alliance conference, which takes place at the Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel (1201 René-Lévesque W.) from Feb. 19–23, please visit their website.

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