FARM Virtual Mentor Sessions are back!!
FARM is hosting occasional virtual mentor sessions with knowledgeable and experienced members of our music community who are willing to pass some of that on to you. Each month we’ll have 3 – 6 mentors available to talk with you on a multitude of topics. These are one on one 15 minute sessions held on Zoom.
Are you Interested in being a Mentor?
If you are someone who has unique expertise in one or more areas relating to the music industry and are interested in volunteering a couple of hours to share that knowledge, we welcome you to reach out to us. Please email Annie Capps at connections@farmfolk.org.
Coming up on August 11, 2p – 4pm Eastern / 1p-3p Central
We’ve curated a batch of amazing humans with extensive knowledge of the music industry and willingness to share that with you. Below you can read more about them (as if you don’t already know =)
Marilyn Rea Beyer
Marilyn Rea Beyer joined WFMT-FM in 2020 hosting The Midnight Special and Folkstage live concert broadcasts in her native Chicago. Marilyn is a former music director and on-air host at WUMB-FM in Boston (1995-2015) where she did more than 1,000 live artist interviews. She served on the board of Club Passim. She has had careers in PR, high-tech, and speech communications education, performs spoken word, and is a deft emcee. In 2023, Marilyn was inducted into the FAI Folk DJ Hall of Fame.
Ask Marilyn about:
- promoting to radio
- writing promotional copy
- creating an engaging interview
- matching your talents to venues
- stage presence/patter
- what it means to be a radio
- professional
Cindy Cogbill
Cindy Cogbill is the Programming and Community Director at Folk Alliance International, where she leads year-round programming, educational initiatives, and the annual conference. Based in Memphis, Tennessee, she’s spent her career bringing people together through music, live events, and nonprofit work.
Cindy loves connecting artists and industry professionals, creating spaces where people can learn from one another, and helping turn good ideas into real opportunities. She believes some of the best moments in this industry happen through relationships, curiosity, and simply showing up for your community. She’s looking forward to meeting participants, sharing what she’s learned along the way, and hearing about the paths others are creating for themselves.
Elexa Dawson
Elexa Dawson is an acclaimed singer-songwriter whose red-dirt honey vocals and rhythmic guitar style explore themes of land, community, and human connection. Her latest album, Stay Put, reached #9 on the Folk International Chart, following Wanderlust (#11), while her debut solo release, Music is Medicine, earned a Native American Music Award for Best Country Recording. A Citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, Elexa is also the founder of Good Way Gardens, a Kansas-based land and arts organization, and serves as Board President of Folk Alliance Region Midwest. She is a Kansas Touring Roster Artist, Music to Life Juried Artist, and Mid-America Arts Alliance Interchange Fellow.
Areas of interest:
- Portfolio careers
- DIY pros and cons
- Values-based success
- Non-profit organizations
- Community-building
- Audience building
- Arts ecosystems
Greg Ferraiolo
Greg Ferraiolo is a music industry veteran and co-founder of Musician Indie Coalition, a Next-Gen artist development company helping musicians build sustainable, full-time careers. As the co-founder of Skill Tree Records and former VP of Nile Rodgers’ record label, Greg has contributed to 200+ album releases and coordinated live events for icons like Prince and Dave Matthews. His current focus is ConcertCollab, a community-powered booking service empowering musicians to share stages, so they can play to larger crowds and book consistent shows.
Mentoring Topics: As someone that specializes in artist development, I can advise on any career / business related topic. Some topics include:
- Career Planning
- Marketing + Branding
- Growing an Audience and
- Professional Network
- Developing Income Streams
Jim Fleming
Jim is the founder and president of Fleming Artists, a music talent agency known and respected in the industry for its emphasis on fairness and excellence with an emphasis on long-term relationships with both venues/promoters and with the artists and their teams who are represented by the agency.
Established in 1979, Fleming Artists has been responsible for the touring careers of hundreds of artists over the past 47 years.
Current clients include Garnet Rogers, Connie Kaldor, Holly Near, Judy Collins, Christine Lavin, Shane Koyczan, Jeff Daniels, Bryan Bowers, Joshua Davis, Kenny White, Jane Siberry, The DonJuans, Kevin Kling, and John McCutcheon. Fleming Artists has been based in Ann Arbor, Michigan since its inception.
Jim can share information on
- how to build a business
- where to spend your time, energy (and money)
- how to build a roster (or, if you represent yourself, how to best position yourself to accomplish what you set out to do)
- how to develop relationships with buyers/promoters/venues
- how to cut fair deals for all parties, and
- how to sustain long-term relationships in an always changing environment.
Joe Jencks
Joe Jencks is a 27-year veteran of the international Folk circuit, an award-winning songwriter, full-time touring artist, and a celebrated vocalist. Jencks’ CD Poets, Philosophers, Workers, and Wanderers earned #1 Artist, #1 Album, and #1 Song on the Folk Alliance/Folk DJ Chart and spent several weeks at #1 on the SIRIUS XM Americana Chart. Joe’s song Lady of The Harbor was the #1 song on the Folk Alliance/ Folk DJ Chart for the year 2013. Joe was musical director for an annual retreat – Warriors Heart to Art – writing songs with military veterans. Joe is a dual US-Irish citizen and toured as a Cultural Ambassador with the U.S. State Department during the Obama administration. Joe has produced close to 3 dozen records, has been a guest lecturer at several universities and music camps, and in his spare time is also a volunteer DJ on Folk Music Notebook, hosting and producing the show, My Highway Home.
Some of the areas Joe can help with:
- Booking a Tour
- Healthy Touring Practices
- Songwriting
- Music Theory for Songwriters
- Music, Activism & Advocacy
- Vocal Wellness
- Radio & Podcast Hosting/ Production
- Think Outside The Box