Acoustic soul rocker Buggy Jive selected for Official Showcase lineup at 2026 Folk Alliance International conference in New Orleans
Buggy Jive at the Bitter End in New York City for John Platt's "On Your Radar" series, March 2025.
ALBANY, NY - Aug, 19, 2026 – Folk Alliance International has selected acoustic soul rocker Buggy Jive for an Official Showcase at their 2026 conference, taking place January 21-25, 2026, in New Orleans, Louisiana, according to a press statement released today by FAI staff and showcase jurors.
Official FAI showcases feature select few artists for sets on professionally produced stages at the conference hotel. They offer incredible opportunities for emerging artists to share their music with a global community of industry professionals and fellow musicians. This year’s lineup of Official Showcase artists includes Buggy Jive’s fellow Paz Group singer-songwriter Joy Clark as well as Lost Bayou Ramblers, Bruce Sudano, Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience, Chuck Prophet, Pieta Brown, Ramy Essam, Beth Nielsen Chapman, The Steel Wheels, Rainbow Girls, and many more.
The showcase is a big step for the somewhat reclusive artist as he continues to emerge from his longtime safe space – his basement home studio – for high profile solo-acoustic shows and collaborations, including:
recent opening slots for Macy Gray and Ben Folds;
official and curated main stage showcases at the midwest (FARM) and northeast (NERFA) regional conferences of Folk Alliance International;
a tribute to Joni Mitchell produced by Michael Paz at the legendary Riot House in West Hollywood on the eve of Mitchell’s Hollywood Bowl shows;
a special tribute to Tracy Chapman curated by Righteous Babe Records singer-songwriter Joy Clark at Space in Evanston, IL, as part of the Evanston Folk Festival; and
contributing vocals to hip-hop wunderkind J.B.! a.k.a. Dirty Moses' "Great Day" single, and to two songs on traditional songwriting stylists Lecco Morris & Justin Rivers' upcoming album Spirits.
Last week, Buggy Jive released his new single "This Will Never Be On the Radio," a tongue-in-cheek funky folk-rock meditation on resisting the business and marketing side of making music (cough, cough, cough) as a preview of sorts to the vibe and sonics of the forthcoming album Icarus Ascending. Tentatively set for a Fall 2025 release, Icarus Ascending promises 13 new acoustic soul rock songs contemplating songwriting and storytelling, love and literature, and the festering fears of a divided nation.
Stay tuned.
ABOUT BUGGY JIVE
BUGGY JIVE is a soul rock singer-songwriter quietly uploading music from a basement somewhere in Upstate New York. Equal parts Zeppelin and D’Angelo and Prince and Joni in sound and sensibility, his lyrics often mine the literature of the past to make sense of the present – from Ellison to Morrison to Eliot to Didion – delicately balancing the heaviness with humor.
The artist is a graduate of Niskayuna High School in Schenectady, New York and Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. The artist behind the NPR Tiny Desk Contest favorite “Don’t Quit Your Day Job” may or may not have quit his most recent day job in digital communications at an educational non-profit headquartered in New York's Capital Region. He lives in Delmar, NY, with his wife and two daughters.
POV: When you submit a song about the Tiny Desk Contest to the Tiny Desk Contest. And you clone yourself.
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
The Annual Folk Alliance International Conference is the largest gathering of folk musicians and music industry professionals in the world. This is an experience like no other. Music is around every corner. Legends, rising stars, and industry innovators share career-boosting insights.
An international crowd of artists, venues, labels, DJs, agents, and organizations come together for five days of professional development, networking, and music.
The keynote address features an influential figure in the folk music industry who inspires us and shapes the narrative of the conference – in ways unexpected and magical. The Keynote Speaker for FAI 2026 has yet to be revealed.
The summits are multi-day experiences that bring together thought leaders, policymakers, industry experts, and artists to foster meaningful dialogue and collaboration across legal issues, Black American music, and international Indigenous music.
Official Showcases highlight the best folk music in the world across a vast variety of genres. Over 160 jury-selected artists perform on the largest stages of our conference to an audience of venue bookers, agents, record labels, DJs, media companies, and more.
The crowd-favorite of every FAI Conference, Private Showcases give everyone an opportunity to perform. Late at night, hotel guest rooms transform into small stages with hundreds of performances hosted by different organizations.
The first night of the conference is the International Folk Music Awards (IFMAs) – the premier recognition of folk music industry leaders, legends, unsung heroes, and rising talent.
Founded in 1989, and governed by a 21-member board of directors, Folk Alliance International (FAI) is the world’s largest membership organization for the folk music industry and community. Its mission is to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation, and promotion.
