The last time Folk Alliance International hosted its annual conference in New Orleans, in January 2020 just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the event brought out more than 3,000 people, including musicians, industry professionals, DJs, lawyers, journalists and even fans interested in just keeping up with the community.
It was FAI’s largest conference to date. And although past conference numbers haven’t bounced back that high since the pandemic, says FAI Executive Director Jennifer Roe, the conference is still expecting around 2,500 people when the organization returns to the Sheraton New Orleans Wednesday, Jan. 21, through Sunday, Jan. 25.
“We knew we wanted to come back,” Roe says. “New Orleans is rooted in music, and we only scratched the surface in 2020.”
The conference also will be in New Orleans in 2030 and 2032.
The Kansas City, Missouri-based nonprofit is focused on the global folk music industry, and FAI’s annual conference is one of the folk community’s largest annual gatherings, with performances, panels, keynote address and an awards presentation.
At its 38th edition, which is themed “Rise Up,” more than 150 artists, representing 30-plus countries, will perform in official showcases, and there are around 125 panels and other events. There also is a large slate of private, listening room-style performances spread throughout the hotel each night.
“When people think of what folk music is, it’s not just what the Grammy defines a folk music album to be,” Roe says. “When we think of folk music, we really think of it as the most broad definition of music that you can possibly think of. The general definition of folk music is music of the people. Music of your people can sound different depending on where you’re coming from.”
Artists like Kyshona, The Milk Carton Kids, Yasmin Williams, Mattias Thedens, Rainbow Girls, The Steel Wheels, Cheikh Ibra Fam and Cyrs Matthews, who is up for several FAI music awards, are among the official showcase performers. And there are many participating Louisiana artists, including Lost Bayou Ramblers, Terrance Simien, Sean Ardoin, Corey Ledet, Joy Clark, Mia Borders, Anna Moss, Kelly Love Jones and the Panorama Jazz Band.
On Thursday, Jan. 21, New Orleans bounce icon Big Freedia and poet and Tank and the Bangas vocalist Tarriona “Tank” Ball will have a conversation as the conference keynote event.
The conference’s annual awards ceremony takes place opening night, with awards for artist of the year, album of the year, song of the year, and the new Global Folk Album Award. FAI also gives a trio of Lifetime Achievement Awards, and this year will recognize Grammy-winner Taj Mahal, zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier — who was the focus of a tribute album and centennial celebrations in 2025 — and Louisiana Folk Roots, for its work promoting Cajun and Creole music.
Before the official showcases in the evenings, the days will be filled with panels featuring musicians and industry professionals, including sessions on Indigenous perspectives on folk traditions, using music and community to promote justice and equity, keeping folk music on air amid federal funding cuts, and the impact of generative AI on music and the industry.
The Black American Music Summit, whose theme this year is “The Unbroken Circle: The Future is Folk,” will host BAMS sponsored panels and an official showcase stage, and there’s a keynote address by arts educator Dr. Quanice Floyd.
There also will be a legal summit with the American Bar Association where lawyers can earn continuing legal education credits.
The festival remembers founder Dan Storper.
Among the New Orleans-based artists who will take part in the conference is Leyla McCalla, who received FAI’s People’s Voice Award in 2023. This year, she’ll play an official showcase and sit on panels about working musicians who are also mothers and on how communities can resist the rise of fascism.
“For the musicians and for anyone who attends, it’s a huge opportunity to meet different people, to hear new artists, to connect not only on the artistic side but on the business side,” McCalla says.
McCalla has been to several conferences over the years, and with a lot going on, she has a few tips: Plan out your days a little bit, check out the schedule (there’s a conference app), and leave some wiggle room.
“Leave some room to just hang out in the bar area or in the lobby,” she says. “You never know who you’re going to see or meet walking through. I would recommend a good combination of planning and leaving some room for serendipity.”
The conference returning to New Orleans also puts a unique spotlight on Louisiana’s music community, McCalla says.
“We need uplifting,” McCalla says. “Our music should be competing on a national level with some of the other acts from Nashville or New York or L.A. It’s really an important move for Folk Alliance to be putting themselves in New Orleans and showing our community some love.”
Conference registration is needed to attend the showcases, panels and events at the Sheraton. But there are some events happening around the city that capitalize on the surge of artists in town, including a Clifton Chenier listening party at Saturn Bar hosted by Smithsonian Folkways; Luke Winslow-King, who is now living in Spain, performing at Chickie Wah Wah; and Putumayo’s Celebrate the World Festival at the Broadside.
Find more info at folk.org.
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