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This past week (May 18-22, 2022), the International Folk Alliance held their annual conference as a hybrid event this year. For the in-person part, held in Kansas City, Missouri, it was a welcome return to some semblance of normalcy after the pandemic threw a wrench in the plans of countless music events for over two years. A week prior, SERFA (Southeast Regional Folk Alliance) was the first of any Folk Alliance regional group to completely cancel their conference in May of 2020 They also were the “first” regional to meet in person in North Carolina.
It’s inevitable that other regions will follow suit. But Folk Alliance International is the big brother of them all, and this leap of faith was a big one. With infections at a spike last fall, FA pushed their event (which had been planned for late January) forward to the May date in hopes that attendance would be good, and as many members as possible would avoid new infections.
One of the highlights of FAI’s annual conference is its awards ceremony. Awards went to: Crys Matthews for Song of the Year–Changemakers; Allison Russell for Album of the Year–Outside Child; and Artist of the Year was also Allison Russell. Other highlights from the awards include the Lifetime Achievement Award given to the late Nanci Griffith, who passed away in 2021. For brief highlights of all the awards given, click here. But as the award ceremony is always a great celebration not only of honors but live music performances, you are invited to watch the awards in full below.
*This post may contain Amazon affiliate links or affiliate links from other companies, which means The Musically Sound earns a percentage of sales from any qualifying purchases at no additional cost to the buyer. Learn more on our Private Policy page.