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Folk Alliance International was the last big roots music gathering before the pandemic shut down the music business almost one year ago. “It was a major event. We had 3,332 people from 41 different countries, packed inside a hotel,” says FAI Executive Director Aengus Finnan of the New Orleans convention. “It was just the antithesis of what we can do now.” But what they are doing is ambitious and philanthropic.
Late last month, FAI announced the creation of the Village Fund, a new grant program to assist musicians and industry workers in need. The 32-year-old non-profit advocacy and professional association staked $25,000 from its reserves and set a goal of raising $75,000 more for an initial round of $500 grants to 200 recipients. Applications open in April to FAI members and event participants from the past three years.