Did you miss our July coffeehouse, which was the first round of the Delmarva Folk Hero contest's qualifying rounds?

If so, you blew it.

But you can redeem yourself, because Round 2 is coming up on September 13th, and will prove to be even more exciting than Round 1.

If you missed it, you missed a full slate of performers with lots of nervous energy, a couple of curious moments ("did he just say "amphibian?"), many surprises, and awful lot of talent that we hadn't been introduced to before.

What a thrill it was to see this kind of energy on our coffeehouse stage. I can't wait to hear what September 13th holds.

We've already heard from many musicians that are very interested in performing, so make sure you're there to participate in the selection of the 2008 Delmarva Folk Hero. The audience gets to vote on their favorite performers. Artists are encouraged to arrive by 7pm, because there are only 12 slots, and it's first-come-first-served on performer slots.

And new for this upcoming coffeehouse - the performers will get in for free from now on. A prior Friends of Folk rule has recently been modified to waive the admission fee for performers.

The admission for this coffeehouse for spectators is just $3 for members and $5 for non-members (what? you're not a member yet??). What can you possibly do for this price and have this much fun??? (ok, don't answer that question...)

Here's the way the contest works:

Candidates must perform in one of the two upcoming Delaware Friends of Folk’s Open Mic Coffeehouses, held in July 19, 2008 and September 13, 2008. At those coffeehouses, ballots will be distributed to the audience (performers are encouraged to bring friends!). The top performers from those 2 Open Mics will be Finalists and will be asked to perform on the Main Stage of the Delmarva Folk Festival on Friday evening, October 3, 2008.

At that Friday evening Festival performance, ballots will again be distributed to the audience (again, get those fans and friends to come out and vote for you!). The best performer will be dubbed the 2008 Delmarva Folk Hero, and will be awarded a prize package which will include:

• $100 cash
• Longer performance slot (50 minutes) on the Main Stage on Saturday (the following day)
• Invitation to appear with Mark Rogers live on the air on WSTW 93.7's Hometown Heroes show
• Recording Studio time with West Street Studio in Dover, Delaware
• Photo shoot with professional photographer Eric Young
• More prizes may be added still!

There are a few “rules and guidelines” to be mentioned:

• Candidates should present a genre similar to the ones typically presented by the Delaware Friends of Folk – Folk (traditional, new, or “singer songwriter”), Bluegrass, Blues, Celtic, Jazz, New Age, World, Old-Time, Roots, Story-telling.
• Candidates should be solo through 4 performers, with a strong preference toward fewer performers in any act, to simplify changeovers. No drum kits, please.
• Ballots will be distributed for the audience to vote for their favorite performer. No proxy, delayed, or internet voting will be allowed – you must be present to vote.
• The Board will review the ballots, and will use them to help make the final programming decision on the finalists, as well as the final winner. The Board does not anticipate overruling the audience vote, but reserves the right to do so.
• The Finalists will each get a performance slot on the Friday night of the Festival. Each slot is anticipated to be 25 minutes long, but this may change depending on the number of Finalists chosen.
• The Finalists must be available to perform at the designated time on Saturday in the event that they win, or will forfeit the entire prize package.
• The Finalists will be announced on September 25th.

It all starts at 7:30 pm, September 13, in the Wesley College Chapel, corner of Division and N. Bradford, in Dover. Admission will be $3 for members and $5 for non-members. Students are half-price, and ages 12 and under are free. We’ll have plenty of hot coffee, cool drinks, and sweet snacks. Come out, bring a friend, and see it happen.

-- Beth Fizell, DEFF Board Chair

How exciting that our Delmarva Folk Festival is only a month away! We have quite a line up this year with some exciting artists and some awesome folk hero contest winners. We also have new vendors ready to impress you and an exciting array of kid’s activities.

There is still much to be done to get our venue ready and make our event the best folk festival around. Our committee continues to work hard but we could really use more help with a long list of things that need to be done. Perhaps you have some time to spare? The 2008 Festival Delmarva Folk Festival wants you! Give our volunteer coordinator, Pauline, a call at (302) 399-6209 to sign up.

We will be having work parties every Sunday beginning September 7. That would be September 7, 14, 21, and 28. The work parties will start around 11am and go to about 4pm. Bring any equipment you can - gloves, hammers, rakes, pruning and cutting equipment (there's a lot of brush and trees to cut back). Wear old clothes, bring some water and snacks, and come help us out! If you put in 5 hours of volunteer work at the site, you'll get into the festival for free!

Remember, you can buy festival tickets, workshop tickets, camping reservations, and your yearly membership on our website. Take advantage of advance ticket prices to save money.

The next Delmarva Folk Festival meetings will be Wednesday, September 24rd at 6:30 at Sheridan’s in downtown Smyrna. Any one with an interest in the Festival is welcome and encouraged to attend. I hope we see you, your family, and your friends at the Delmarva Folk Festival on October 3rd and 4th.

For the upcoming 17th Annual Delmarva Folk Festival, we took Folk and put it in a blender with a whole bunch of its derivative genres. As a matter of fact, there is not a single artist performing at the festival that is a “Straight-Up Folk Artist” (assuming there is such a thing), which in my mind means it’s a true celebration of the influence, reach and flexibility that Folk Music has had through the ages.

You can get more information at this link.

And you can get your tickets here. This year we actually LOWERED the price, so it's just $15 if you pay in advance and are a Friends of Folk member. Get your tickets today!

Check out the Line-up!

	Hoots & Hellmouth the wild guys from the Philly area will close out our Saturday night event with an exciting set that will blend gospel, bluegrass, Folk, jam band, and blues. They use stomp boards for percussion, and I will challenge you to watch their set and not be inspired to get up and want to stomp along with them. They’ll also be doing a fun family-oriented set at 4pm out by the Kids Tent. See video here
	Ernie Hawkins a master of blues and ragtime guitar (a la Rev. Gary Davis), Ernie Hawkins has put out over a dozen instructional DVDs on the technique. I guarantee you’ll have one of those “how-do-his-fingers-do-that” moments while watching him. In addition, if you’re an emerging guitarist yourself, you’ll be able to participate in a workshop with Ernie for just $15 at 4pm. What a great opportunity to learn a old/new guitar technique from a true master. Bring your own guitar, and sign up in advance – space will be limited. See this Video Clip from YouTube
	Nothin' But Trouble This local blues band is going places. Their electric blues sets are second-to-none, featuring Joey Fulkerson, formerly of the Hurricanes, and former sideman for Chubby Checker. He’s joined by Greg Haughey on bass (formerly of the SuperTonics), Chris McAffee on Guitar and Billy Meyers on Drums. Last year they won the Baltimore Blues Challenge and went to Memphis this past January to compete in the International Blues Challenge, and they’re going back next year, since they’ve already won sponsorship by the Blues Society of Western Pennsylvania! You’ve got to check out their very timely latest song, “Joe Biden Blues” on their myspace page. Hear a sample.
	Kevin Burke & Cal Scott Kevin Burke is recognized as a master of Celtic Fiddle – originally from the UK but now living in Oregon, he has performed and recorded solo, in various duos, as well as with the Bothy Band, Patrick Street, Open House, and in a trio call the Celtic Fiddle Festival. He’ll play with guitarist Cal Scott to provide a journey through Celtic music’s finest. A video for your enjoyment here.
	Christine Havrilla Trio Christine calls her own music NeofundadelicFolkpoptwangrock, which is right in line with our festival’s genre-blending proclivities. She’s a great guitarist, writes passionate songs, and has a voice with depth and range. She’ll be accompanied by a few of her friends who supply ample harmonies, and some extra Folk/blues seasoning. Video available here
	Kate Klim Kate is a delightful young pianist, vocalist and songwriter who has consistently blown us away every time we’ve had the pleasure of seeing her. Her songwriting shows depth and creativity, whether she’s singing about the co-dependent relationship between Guippetto and Pinocchio, New Year’s resolutions, or personal empowerment. See a Video here.
	Chapel Street Junction These guys were also finalists at last year’s Delmarva Folk Hero Contest, and they’re always a hoot to have around. They do a variety of bluegrass and old-time music, with a few Celtic numbers thrown in for good measure. They blew everybody away last year with their pumped-up, bluegrass-tinged cover of the Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride”. Hear music samples here.
	Butch Zito & Teri Dobra We’re bringing back Butch and Teri this year – they were finalists in last year’s Delmarva Folk Hero contest, and they serve up a great variety of Folk, old-time, and bluegrassy kind of numbers, with great harmonies. Hear music samples here. See a Video here.
	Bad Wheel Jonny Bad Wheel was the winner of the Delmarva Folk Hero contest last year, and we’ve brought him back for several events since them. In what we hope will become a new tradition, we’ve asked him to host the Friday evening contest this year, delivering a set of his blues and old-time songs, providing us time to tally the votes so we can announce the winner.

-- Beth Fizell, DEFF Board Chair

You may have seen our 2008 Festival line-up, which proudly listed the Robert Hazard Band as a performer. Robert's agent had been bugging me for several years to get to our little festival in the woods, saying that Robert was very anxious to play here. Delaware had a special place in his heart, as he wrote his mega-hit "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" in Delaware (in a bathtub, in 15 minutes, but that's a story for another day...).

Unfortunately, at our August Festival meeting, we heard the news that Robert had died of complications from surgery for pancreatic cancer the day prior. Of course we were all shocked and saddened - he had performed at a very successful coffeehouse in 2006 for us, and had performed locally at 2 Cooldog Concert shows, and we were looking forward to hearing more new music from him.

After a bit of reflection, we realized that we had only a short period of time to find a replacement artist for that time slot. We thought about the artists that we would have liked to perform at the festival, but didn't have enough spots for, and it became obvious very quickly. We called our friends Nothin' But Trouble, and had ourselves a deal.

Joey, Greg, Chris and Billy will be playing the same set - 5pm, just after the dinner break, and we're thrilled we were able to get such high caliber talent right from our own backyard, and on such short notice. I hope you're planning to join us at this year's festival, and will make sure you're there to hear Nothin' But Trouble at our little bit of paradise in the woods.

If you'd like more information about Robert Hazard and his music, you can see http://www.roberthazard.com. Donations are being accepted at http://artscenteroldforge.org/ in Robert's name.

-- Beth Fizell, DEFF Board Chair