D’ADDARIO AT FOLK ALLIANCE 2018

Sponsored by D’Addario

Back in February, D’Addario packed up and took flight to Kansas City for Folk Alliance 2018. There, they teamed up with Cole Clark Guitars and AER Amps to turn a standard, humdrum hotel suite into an all-out folk music showcase, featuring top-notch performances by Molly Tuttle, John Oates, The Mastersons, and the like.

D’Addario’s goal at Folk Alliance was to create a stripped down, intimate environment where festival attendees could inch closer to the true sounds of D’Addario artists. With nothing more than a few rustic stools and some simple lighting, D’Addario kept the focus on the music.

Each day of the festival D’Addario sat down with their artists to dig a little deeper into their songwriting process and learn about their upcoming projects. But they also had a little fun along the way. Extending D’Addario’s existing video series, Raw Talent, artists were given a made-up song title and asked to write a song on the spot. What sounds like a tall order for an amateur player was a piece of cake for these pros. Be sure to catch the six new Raw Talent episodes releasing in a few short months.

While the days of the festival were filled to the brim with shows, clinics, and meetups, the real party started after hours. Every night from 10:00 pm-2:00 am, the music multiplied. There wasn’t a place you could go where music wasn’t being made; from the lobby to the ballrooms to the bathroom stall—folk was taking over. Floors were buzzing with musicians playing in hundreds of hotel rooms, among them D’Addario’s showcase, dubbed “The 615 Sessions.” Big-name artists like Missy Raines, John Oates, Molly Tuttle, Anne McCue, and many more gave attendees a series of near-private performances. No big stage. No smoke and mirrors. Just real, raw sound. And isn’t that what folk is all about?

Check out “The 615 Sessions” on D’Addario’s YouTube channel to watch in full.