Keynote Speaker: Amy Reitnouer
Amy Reitnouer Jacobs is President of Folk Alliance International. She co-founded The Bluegrass Situation (BGS) in 2012 with actor/comedian/producer Ed Helms, and serves as the Executive Director. BGS has become an advocate for change, diversity, and representation within the broader music community.
Panelist: Michelle Conceison
Michelle Conceison is owner and Artist Manager at MMgt, a faculty member Middle Tennessee State, Chair of IBMA’s Task Force on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Co-Chair of the Nashville Chapter of Women In Music, and is Programming Manager for Folk Alliance International, an organization for which she served on the board for 9 years and is a past-President.
Panelist: Charly Lowry
Charly Lowry is a singer-songwriter and musician from Robeson County, North Carolina with Native American roots. She leads the all-Indigenous band Dark Water Rising, and sings and plays hand-drum with Ulali, an all women singing group. Charly has developed a reputation as an ambassador for her People, the Lumbee, descendants of the Tuscarora of NC.
Panelist: Kamara Thomas
Kamara Thomas is a singer, songspeller, mythology fanatic, multidisciplinary storyteller, director, and community organizer based in Durham, NC. She works with Country Soul Songbook, an artist-driven and -focused media platform and production team that spotlights performances, interviews, in-depth conversations and cultural offerings rooted in their mission to amplify historically marginalized voices (BIPOC/LGBTQIA+) in country, Americana and roots music.
Panelist: Atiba Berkley
Atiba Berkley is President of the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society, and audio engineer, and was on the National Folk Festival Programming Advisory Committee for the Greensboro event.
Panelist: Dom Flemons
Dom Flemons is an American old-time music, Piedmont blues, and neotraditional country multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and historian. He is a proficient player of the banjo, fife, guitar, harmonica, percussion, quills, and rhythm bones.
Panelist: Joe Seamons
Joe Seamons is Director of the Rhapsody Project, an organization he co-founded with Ben Hunter in 2013 to address racism and promote cultural equity. He works with youth in Seattle to explore the influence of regional and personal history through the lens of American blues and folk songs. He serves as board chair of the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center.
Panelist: Brandi Waller-Pace
Brandi Waller-Pace is Founder and Executive Director of Decolonizing the Music Room and is on the board of directors of Folk Alliance International. She has helped to formulate curriculum standards for Texas’ first state-approved African American course. Brandi is an active musician and performs various styles, most often jazz and early American Roots music. She is the founder and organizer of the Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival.