As I was preparing for my long jaunt up to the 2023 Folk Alliance International conference in my hometown of Kansas City this weekend, I was thrilled to finally spend some quality time on the video chat with the organization’s new Executive Director, Neeta Ragoowansi. She took the reigns at FAI a few months ago, with decades of knowledge and passion for international folk music and artist advocacy. I talked extensively with Neeta about her work as: a founder of SoundExchange; a music industry attorney; the president of the Music Managers Forum; the global co-chair for Women in Music; the co-chair of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Task Force for the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Entertainment & Sports Industries; her time as Senior Counsel of Legal & Business Affairs for the nonprofit Global Citizen; and as a pioneering folk artist from the east coast.
Click the link at the top of this page to hear our full interview, and check out this year’s festival.