I trekked up to New Hampshire on Sunday for a NEFA conference, in search of gigs in the Great Northeast. Matchbook.com is the site of various artists like me looking to expand into NE. Always a mixed bag.

I met some wonderful artists, including two folks I’ve appreciated from afar. Bill Shontz, from the legendary family music duo Rosenshotz, a fine clarinet (etc.) player, and founder of the Children’s Music Hall of Fame. It’s a new site for finding folk like myself, playing for kids and families. Check it out: www.childrensmusichalloffame.com My music will be up soon.

Another fellow I enjoyed connecting with was Jeff Warner, another member of a duo Warner and Davis. A tape drifted into my hands and ears while booking Godfrey’s. A wonderful folk performer for many years, and, as I found out, son of two folklorists who did alot of work in NC, and collaborated with the legendary Frank Profitt, old time banjo player and man who took it on himself to find and preserve his own family’s and region’s music. Frank was a banjo maker, as well, and Mike Cooney first introduced me to his fretless banjo.

Not many booking folks there, but it’s the first year of the conference. Meeting fellow artists tends to make the event memorable.