Folk Alliance convenes in Texas

An estimated 2,000 musicians and music industry executives descended upon Austin, Texas, Friday for the 18th annual International Folk Alliance Conference, a five-day event designed to celebrate folk music and dance and to spread its popularity.

The gathering is more trade show than music festival, but performances will be held every night, including a Monday show featuring Arlo Guthrie and many other acts from around the world. That concert will raise money for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

The conference has grown every year since its 1989 inception, when 125 people gathered in Malibu to consider forming a coalition to promote folk music. The alliance was born a year later.