✨ Keynote Reveal ✨ + Daytime Programming at FAI 2026

Scott

McDowell

October 30, 2025

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Update

event

FAI 2024

NEWS

Partner

Region

Big Freedia and Tank in Conversation Headline FAI 2026 Daytime Programming

The 38th Annual Folk Alliance International Conference is coming to New Orleans! We are thrilled to announce that this year’s keynote will be a conversation between Big Freedia and Tank from Tank and the Bangas, two trailblazing artists steeped in the musical brew of Louisiana, stitching the area’s enduring musical legacy to its future. The keynote conversation will center around this year’s vital conference theme: RISE UP.

The full Daytime Programming schedule is now available (subject to change).

Featured Interview: Rise Up (and Laugh About It): A Conversation with The Milk Carton Kids

With sharp wit, tender harmonies, and an uncanny ability to find light in the darkness, The Milk Carton Kids embody the spirit of “rising up” — one laugh, one lyric at a time. In this candid conversation, Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan will take a deep dive into the art of humor, harmony, and resilience. Together they explore how authenticity, irony, and songcraft can become quiet acts of rebellion — and how laughter might just be folk music’s most underrated form of protest.

Additional Daytime Programming highlights include:

Harmonizing for Change: Organizing for Impact - Lessons from the Field with Liz Sunde, Tavia Osbey, Ani DiFranco, and Cecila Villar 'Eljuri'
Peer Sessions for industry professionals
Beyond “Woke”: Rethinking Lead Belly in the Era of Cowboy Carter
One Night Live: A New Model to Support Developing Talent
Radio Silence: Keeping Folk Music On-Air & In-Concert Despite Lost Federal Funding

View Full Programming Schedule

Official Showcase Artists Added!

In addition, we’ve added several exciting new Official Showcase Artists to the line-up including:

Kyshona
The Milk Carton Kids
Steve Poltz
Erny Belle
Gabrielle Hope
Yasmin Williams
Leyla McCalla

See all of the Official Showcase Artists performing at FAI 2026. The schedule is subject to change and new artists will continue to be added.

And Don’t Forget…

Tomorrow is the last day to register for FAI 2026 before the rate increase on November 1. Register now to lock in the lowest rate before the conference!

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