The 2009 Moab Folk Camp gets underway in a few weeks. Held in Moab, Utah November 1-6, the camp offers six days of musical instruction and interaction including classes in voice (solo and harmony), guitar, harmonica, mandolin, songwriting and even outdoor art.

The Folk Alliance Region Midwest will hold its annual gathering October 8-11 in Bolingbrook, Illinois, near Chicago. Juried “showcase” performances are open to the public. A few of the artists are Curtis & Loretta,  Gloria Attoun and maritime musician Tom Kastle.

The 42nd annual Bascom Lamar Lunsford “Minstrel of Appalachia” Festival will be held Saturday, October 3, at Mars Hill College in Mars Hill, North Carolina. If you are not familiar with the work of this song collector, musician and founder of numerous folk festivals, you might wish to take a look at the compilation put on YouTube a few years ago as part of the college’s 150th anniversary celebration.

The 1st Annual Blue Ridge Foothills Folk Festival will take place on Friday, October 9, 2009, at 6:30 pm at Glen Maury Park in Buena Vista, Virginia. This 1960s era folk concert will feature performances by Josh White, Jr., Jim Connor (former member of the New Kingston Trio, who penned John Denver’s Grandma’s Feather Bed), Ray Blouin (former member of The Wayfarers) and House Mountain Group, and Mrs. C’s Singers.

I don’t know whether she will eventually choose to settle (or be channeled) into a particular style, but right now Thailand-born Burmese singer/songwriter Mary Win is exploring a wide range of sounds from folk to rock to pop. Her lyrics are often dark but her songs are definitely worth a listen. “Snowdrifts” is an example of a song that is more in the folk music pattern. “Suddenly”  is a song she presented last year in honor of human rights efforts in her parents’ native country of Burma.

Mary makes her home in the Seattle area. Her upcoming shows include a performance on Sunday, July 19th at the Strawberry Festival on Vashon Island.

The annual Alaska Folk Festival started Monday in Juneau and continues through this weekend. This year’s “guest artists,” the only paid act in the festival, are De Temps Antan, a traditional band from Quebec. The festival mixes amateur and professional music. Public radio station KRNN is streaming the festival live.

New South Wales, on the east coast of Australia, is the location for two festivals over Easter weekend: the East Coast Blues and Roots Music Festival (“BluesFest”) in Byron Bay, in the far northeast corner of the province, and the National Folk Festival in Canberra, 1,000 kilometers to the south. Both festivals have attracted some outstanding musicians.

Artists playing BluesFest include local acoustic folk performer Cheynne Murphy, gospel legends Blind Boys of Alabama, alternative country husband-and-wife duo Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson, folk duo Nardi Simpson and Kaleena Briggs, known as Stiff Gins (their name a reclamation of a derogatory term for Aboriginal women in Australia) and (I just have to mention this guy) rockin’ blues musician Seasick Steve, a former hobo who became an “overnight success” after years of performing music people didn’t hear.

The National Folk Festival offers folk music and dance performances and workshops. Among the many scheduled artists are Australian band Wongawilli, Scottish-born Canadian singer David Francey, Australian trio The Fiddle Chicks (Emma Luker, Kim Perry and Dee Trewartha) and Australian singer/songwriter Neil Murray. There are so many excellent musicians playing this festival that it was hard to pick just a few representative performers. You can listen to highlights here or check out the program for the full list.

The daily stage-by-stage performance schedule for the 40th annual “peace, love and crawfish” celebration is now available. The first weekend’s scheduled artists (April 24-26) include, among many others, the Lost Bayou Ramblers; Joe Cocker; the Kumbuka African Drum and Dance Collective; a tribute to Mahalia Jackson by Irma Thomas, Mavis Staples and Pamela Landrum; James Taylor; Pete Seeger and Tao Rodriguez-Seeger with Mike & Ruthy; and Etta James & the Roots Band. The second weekend’s performers (April 30-May 3) include Emmylou Harris; Solomon Burke; Bonnie Raitt; Patty Griffin; Neil Young and Buddy Guy.

The annual festival honoring Florida folk musician and songwriter Will McLean (1919-1990) takes place this weekend at Withlacoochee Campground, Dunnellon, Florida. McLean spent much of his life traveling around the state and writing songs based on Florida history. He was awarded the Florida Heritage Award in 1989 and inducted posthumously into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 1996.

This year’s winners of the Best New Florida Song Contest, sponsored by the Will McLean Foundation, will be presented their awards and will perform their songs at the festival. The winners are Garrison Doles, first place for “This Florida;” Chris Kahl, second place for “Out on Cedar Key” and Carla Bak, third place for “Boil that Sugar Cane Down.”

Scheduled artists include The Mayhaws, Clyde Walker and Roadside Revue, to name just a few.

After her crowd-winning performance at the South by Southwest Music Conference last week, singer/songwriter Caroline Herring is headed to Savannah, Georgia for her April 2 concert during the Savannah Music Festival. Caroline’s “Southern Gothic” folk music writings capture the imagination, and her voice is wonderfully easy to listen to. The video on the Savannah site is a great introduction to this singer’s work.

The Swallow Hill Music Association is celebrating its 30th anniversary Saturday night, with RootsFest Denver, an event known in previous years as the Denver Folk & Roots Music Festival. Shawn Colvin, Leo Kottke, the Boulder Acoustic Society and Joe Pug are among the performers. Also playing is the longrunning bluegrass group Hot Rize, currently consisting of Tim O’Brien, Bryan Sutton, Nick Forster and Pete Wernick. A Taylor Leo Kottke 12-string guitar, signed by Leo Kottke and estimated to be worth $3400, will be raffled off at the festival. The location is the Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are available online or at the box office.

Hartsville, South Carolina hosts the Renofest Bluegrass Festival each year during the fourth weekend of March. The event is named for the bluegrass banjo player Don Reno. A major element of the festival is a set of contests: the state bluegrass band, guitar and banjo championships. First-place winners will take home a $1500 cash prize, a Sunburst D18 guitar built by Wayne Henderson or a Deering “Terry Baucom” 5-string banjo, respectively.

Performers for this year’s gathering include Church Street Blues (last year’s bluegrass band competition winner), Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out, Ronnie Reno and the Reno Tradition, and Claire Lynch. More information on the festival and the artists is available in this article by Nick Hilbourn of the Morning News.