2019 Conference in Review

For our 31st annual conference, we were thrilled to be back in Montréal for the first time since 2005. Our attendance once again eclipsed the previous year’s, with 2,910 attendees representing 47 countries (including 1,499 first-timers!).

With 181 Official Showcases, 2,553 Private Showcases, and over 1,000 speed meetings, the conference presented a strong front for the folk music community.

The conference theme, the Spirit of Creativity, was an exploration of the creative process from inspiration to vocation and a collective conversation about innovation, collaboration, and spirituality in art.

Keynote Speaker: Tanya Tagaq

Celebrated Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq read a few poems from her new poetry book, “Split Tooth”, and shared some of her deep vocal improvisations. The theme of her keynote address covered the nuances of authenticity in creativity. Tanya is a 2014 Polaris Prize-winning recording artist and recipient of multiple Juno Awards, a Canadian Folk Music award, and is a 2016 International Folk Music award nominee.

Artist in Residence

In collaboration with UNESCO, FAI invited Twin Flames to create an original piece that speaks to the importance of language, especially as it relates to identity, culture, and history. The song features vocal support from Inuit students and staff at Nunavut Sivuniksavut Arctic College, along with First Nation and Métis friends live on set with photographer Sean Sisk and videographer Matt Provencal.

Feature Interviews

The International Folk Music Awards

The 2019 International Folk Music Awards were hosted by award-winning Canadian musician and CBC broadcaster, Tom Power, with French translation by Anique Granger. The awards show started with a welcome by the United States Consul General, Robert Thomas, and an acknowledgment that the event was taking place on the unceded territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka, Nation of Kahnawà:ke. The full recording of the show is available here.

Indigenous Focus

Building on five years of intentional outreach and programming, this year’s conference had a focus on Indigenous artists. This included a dedicated Official Showcase stage (sponsored by APTN), a dedicated Private Showcase room, panel inclusion, a screening of “Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World”, and featured artists and speakers including Twin Flames (AIR), Buffy Sainte-Marie (People’s Voice Award), and Tanya Tagaq (keynote). It also included a partnership with Indigenous leaders to present a summit and commenced the appointment of indigenous lawyer and musician Gerald Torres to the board of directors.

Bed-In

On February 16, 2019, FAI held a live-streamed “Bed-In” performance from the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth in Montréal to commemorate the 50th anniversary of John and Yoko’s original recording of “Give Peace A Chance”. Over 300 groups (artists, industry, administrators, and fans) signed up to broadcast their personal version of the song from their own beds (whether at the hotel, or elsewhere in the world). The video of the bed-in is available here.