resource
Update
event
FAI 2024
NEWS
Partner
Region
Announcing the 2026 Official Showcase Artists
August 19, 2025
resource
Update
event
FAI 2024
NEWS
Partner
Region
FOLK ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL SHARES OFFICIAL SHOWCASE LINEUP OF 150+ ARTISTS FROM 34 COUNTRIES FOR 38TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE
ARTISTS INCLUDE LOST BAYOU RAMBLERS, BRUCE SUDANO, TERRANCE SIMIEN & THE ZYDECO EXPERIENCE, CHUCK PROPHET, PIETA BROWN, RAMY ESSAM, BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN, THE STEEL WHEELS, AND RAINBOW GIRLS
CONFERENCE SET FOR JAN. 21-25, 2026 IN NEW ORLEANS, LA WITH THEME RISE UP
MIKE SEEGER TRADITIONAL FELLOWSHIP GOES TO BRUCE SUNPIE BARNES
New Orleans, LA (August 19, 2025) – Today, Folk Alliance International (FAI) – the leading and largest nonprofit dedicated to serving, strengthening, and engaging the global folk music community through preservation, promotion, and presentation – has unveiled the lineup of Official Showcases for its 38th annual conference, to be held January 21-25, 2026, in New Orleans, LA. The 150-plus artists represent 34 countries and countries of origin. The conference’s theme in 2026 is Rise Up.
Highlights include:
* Two-time GRAMMY winners Lost Bayou Ramblers, who were featured in the PBS show American Epic and whose evolution as a progressive Louisiana French band rooted in Cajun traditions continues to excite, challenge, and redefine both genre expectations as well as cultural preconceptions;
* Bruce Sudano, hitmaker whose songs have been recorded by Donna Summer, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, and Michael Jackson;
* Two-time GRAMMY winners Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience, whose collaboration with Randy Newman was featured in the Disney film The Princess and the Frog;
* The “electrifying” (NPR) San Francisco songwriter Chuck Prophet, who recently recovered from stage four lymphoma;
* “self-styled poetess, folk goddess and country waif, Pieta [Brown, whose] music resonates with a seductive simplicity and lyrical grace”;
* key Egyptian revolutionary, rock artist, and human rights defender Ramy Essam, now living in exile in Sweden and Finland;
* Oh Boy Records artist Emily Scott Robinson, whose last album made year-end best lists from NPR, Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, and No Depression;
* Beth Nielsen Chapman, who has written seven #1 hits, including compositions that have been recorded by Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler, Willie Nelson, Neil Diamond, the Indigo Girls, and Keb’ Mo’;
* The Steel Wheels, of whom NPR said, “Smearing the boundaries separating blues, bluegrass and gospel music, The Steel Wheels’ sound has earned the band multiple awards and a near-permanent place atop independent music and Americana charts”;
* Bodega, CA trio Rainbow Girls, who have over 60,000 subscribers on YouTube and who have been nominated for an International Folk Music Award;
* Steve Martin Banjo Prize winner and the 2019 IBMA Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year Tray Wellington, who performed on the SNL 50th Anniversary with Mumford & Sons;
* one of the best kora players in the world, Austrian World Music Award-winner and Burkina Faso Knight of the National Order, Mamadou Diabate with his band Percussion Mania;
* the “urgent, relevant” (BBC) “uniquely Angeleno mishmash of punk, hip-hop, beat music, cumbia & rock” (LA Times) of Las Cafeteras;
* GRAMMY-nominated Louisiana band Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas;
* Emma Swift, whose album Blonde on the Tracks received Best of 2020 accolades from Rolling Stone, Nashville Scene, No Depression, The Guardian and more.
* ukulele-wielding Taiwanese youtube sensation Feng E;
* the “stark and atmospheric… ambient folk” (Pitchfork) of Great Lake Swimmers;
* five-time GRAMMY-nominated Louisiana musician Sean Ardoin;
* Jim White, who has performed on Conan and Letterman and whose music was featured in Breaking Bad;
* “one of the best pickers on the scene today” (NPR) Cary Morin Duo, who has performed for audiences at the Kennedy Center, The Olympics, Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, and Lincoln Center, whose “music is characterized as Native Americana, with healthy doses of blues, bluegrass, jazz, reggae and folk” (NPR);
* New Orleans-based, Blues Music Award-winning harmonica virtuoso Jason Ricci & Damon Fowler, the latter of whose albums have topped the Billboard Blues Chart;
* “beautiful, soulful, exquisitely simple, and totally essential” (Bandcamp Daily) music of duo Ordinary Elephant;
* GRAMMY nominated Zydeco innovator and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage fest favorites Corey Ledet Zydeco & Black Magic;
* Multiple Blues Music Award-winner Doug MacLeod, whom Jorma Kaukonen called “one of the great blues artists, period.”
* International Folk Music Award-winners OKAN, the women-led, Afro-Cuban roots and jazz duo who have won two JUNO Awards and appeared on an NPR Tiny Desk Concert;
* 2023 JUNO Award-winning blues artist Angelique Francis, who has shared stages with Buddy Guy, Gary Clark, Jr., Joe Bonamassa, Keb’ Mo’, Beth Hart, and more;Luke Winslow-King;
* the all-women Colombian salsa sextet Las Guaracheras, who performed this year at Lincoln Center;
* New Orleans’ Luke Winslow-King, who “seamlessly melds Delta blues, gospel and jazz themes with personal, simplified lyrics that speak to his personal and artistic evolution” (New York Times);
*and two-time JUNO award-winning alternative indie artist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and singer-songwriter Aysanabee.
Of the Official Showcase Artist slate, FAI Executive Director Jennifer Roe said, “We are proud to see so many incredible artists in so many different varieties of folk music, some of whom live right down the street in New Orleans and some who are coming from halfway around the world. The conference will be a focal point for this community to send a powerful message of hope to the world.”
For its 38th annual conference, Folk Alliance International has confirmed its theme to be RISE UP —to rise, respond, and resonate with purpose in the heart of New Orleans. In a city where music marches through the streets and history dances in every note, attendees will gather for a Second Line of Song—a celebration of folk tradition and a call to transformative action.
Of the theme, Jennifer Roe said, “From porch songs to protest anthems, folk artists have always carried the stories that matter—keeping our roots alive while pushing boundaries. In this moment of social, cultural, and ecological urgency, we are called to rise up—as artists, activists, and allies—to keep the flame of folk music burning bright. Whether it’s through a quiet story or a collective shout, this is our second line: our time to follow, lead, and lift each other up.”
According to the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (a product of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Bureau of Economic Analysis), the US arts and culture sector represents 4.2% of the gross domestic product, employing nearly 5.4 million Americans. The arts sector is growing at 6.6%, more than twice the rate of the U.S. economy as a whole, contributing $1.2 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2023.
FAI also announced that its Mike Seeger Traditional Fellowship recipient will go to bandleader/accordionist/singer/harmonica player, songwriter, film actor, and ethnographic and environmental photographer Bruce Sunpie Barnes, who is the leader of the Afro-Creole musical group known as Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots, which performs music with over 100 songs composed in Louisiana Creole and English. Sunpie has co-authored two books created ethnographic photograph exhibitions that are centered on Louisiana culture and music: Talk That Music Talk; and Le Kèr Creole.
Sunpie is the Big Chief of the Afro-Creole Carnival group known as the Northside Skull and Bone Gang. He has “masked skeleton” for 26 years on 5am at Mardi Gras. The group pays homage to its African heritage and brings strong social warning to all of those that witness their 5am Mardi Gras masking tradition to live a good respectful life before physical death. In addition to his official showcase performance, Sunpie will be presenting his traditional practices and perspectives as part of the fellowship.
More About the Conference
The Annual Folk Alliance International Conference is the largest gathering of folk musicians and music industry professionals in the world. This is an experience like no other. Music is around every corner. Legends, rising stars, and industry innovators share career-boosting insights.
An international crowd of artists, venues, labels, DJs, agents, and organizations come together for five days of professional development, networking, and music.
The keynote address features an influential figure in the folk music industry who inspires us and shapes the narrative of the conference – in ways unexpected and magical. The Keynote Speaker for FAI 2026 has yet to be revealed.
Our summits are multi-day experiences that bring together thought leaders, policymakers, industry experts, and artists to foster meaningful dialogue and collaboration across legal issues, Black American music, and international Indigenous music.
Official Showcases highlight the best folk music in the world across a vast variety of genres. Over 160 jury-selected artists perform on the largest stages of our conference to an audience of venue bookers, agents, record labels, DJs, media companies, and more.
The crowd-favorite of every FAI Conference, Private Showcases give everyone an opportunity to perform. Late at night, hotel guest rooms transform into small stages with hundreds of performances hosted by different organizations.
The first night of the conference is the International Folk Music Awards (IFMAs) – the premier recognition of folk music industry leaders, legends, unsung heroes, and rising talent.
About Folk Alliance International
Founded in 1989, and governed by a 21-member board of directors, Folk Alliance International (FAI) is the world’s largest membership organization for the folk music industry and community. Its mission is to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation, and promotion.
FAI values diversity, equity, inclusion, and access, is committed to gender parity in all its programming, celebrates multiple languages and cultures, and actively welcomes participation from marginalized, disenfranchised, and underrepresented communities.
FAI defines folk broadly as “the music of the people” (reflective of any community they are from), and programs a diverse array of sub-genres including, but not limited to Appalachian, Americana, Blues, Bluegrass, Celtic, Cajun, Global Roots, Hip-Hop, Old-Time, Singer-Songwriter, Spoken Word, Traditional, Zydeco, and various fusions.
Additionally, FAI provides information, advocacy, education, and professional development for over 19,000 in its community and oversees an IRS Group Exemption program in support of over 50 US non-profits.
