Perform at the Conference
Apply to Perform in an Official Showcase
OFFICIAL SHOWCASE SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED. YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED OF YOUR STATUS IN EARLY MARCH. THANK YOU FOR APPLYING!
Official showcases will feature eight artist on Friday and Saturday nights. Each act will have 15 minutes to perform on a stage with professional sound. No backline gear will be provided. There are no other events held during the official showcase. Application fee is $30, there will be no production fees. Selection committee includes professionals from across our industry.
Applicants will be notified of their status in late February/early March 2026. Artists who performed in the 2025 or 2024 SERFA official showcase are not eligible this year.
All applicants will be eligible for the Early Bird Conference Registration Rate up until the date of the conference regardless of whether they are selected as showcasing artists. A registration code will be sent out with the selection results, or you can register for the conference during the regular Early Bird period.
OFFICIAL SHOWCASE TIMELINE
December 12th, 2025 - February 1st, 2026: Official Showcase application period
February 2nd - 20th: Judging period
February 23rd - March 4th: selected artists notified and confirmed
March 13th: Official Showcase Artist announcement
April 1st: all selected artists and accompanying musicians must be registered for the conference or face forfeiture of their official showcase
Click here for the official showcase judging criteria.
Request to Perform in a Private Showcase Room
NEW LOCATION - HOLIDAY INN OWENSBORO RIVERFRONT
Private showcases are booked and hosted by individuals or organizations. Private showcases begin after official events on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings and end by 2:00 am. These showcases are held in a limited number of hotel rooms. The rooms will be used exclusively for music performance - hosts will not be expected to host in their personal hotel rooms.
Hosts and artists MUST be registered for the conference. Performances must be acoustic. Exceptions will be made for keyboard and bass at reasonable volumes.
Private showcase hosts decide who they will schedule in their rooms. Once we have confirmed the list of hosts, contact information will be made available to attendees. We will only provide the contact information for hosts who consent. Some hosts prefer to book their rooms without accepting unsolicited submissions.
There is no deadline for artists to apply to perform in private showcases, but it is in your best interest to contact hosts as early as possible. Private showcase hosts may start booking their rooms as soon as we notify them that they are confirmed to host. You may also introduce yourself in the Google Group and let people know that you are interested in private showcases, but please wait until after we announce that showcase hosts have been notified.
Request to Host a Private Showcase
Anyone individual or organization can request to host a private showcase. Private showcases begin after official events on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings and end by 1:30 am. These showcases are held in designated hotel rooms at the Holiday Inn Owensboro Riverfront. As such, host WILL be allowed to supply food and beverages in their showcase room this year if they are so inclined!
Hosts and artists MUST be registered for the conference. SERFA is limiting the number of private showcase rooms to foster a community of listening and supporting each other. Additionally, SERFA is subsidizing the cost of the private showcase hotel rooms to keep the showcase hosting fee affordable at $50 for one night.
Initially, you may sign up for one night of hosting. You can let us know on the form if you are interested in hosting a second night. If we are able to accommodate that, we will reach out to you directly!
Be a Volunteer
It takes a village to make the conference possible. Volunteers are needed before, during, and after the conference. Please consider donating your time, energy, and talent.
Listed below are the primary volunteer positions we are looking to fill. If there are other ways you want to contribute, just let us know!
Registration/Check-In Desk Attendants – Welcome attendees as they arrive; provide conference materials. Verify registration and payment information.
Official Showcase/Group Meal Monitors - Help ensure only conference registrants attend official showcases, and only attendees who paid for included meals participate in those meals, by checking badges and meal tickets.
Guerrilla Showcases Hall Monitors – Help ensure only conference registrants attend guerrillas by checking badges. Help keep down the noise level and traffic congestion outside performance rooms.
Sound Equipment Load-In and Load-Out - Our veteran, two person sound crew needs people to help with the load-in of equipment Wednesday afternoon and load out on Saturday night or Sunday morning.
Official Showcase Assistant Stage Managers - Help manage official showcase performers on and off-stage; run the Green Room. Reports to Stage Manager. Needed at sound check 4-6PM.
Official Showcase Desk Attendants – Manage showcase performers' merch sales before, during and after showcases.
Workshop Setup – Help make sure workshop rooms are set up and well marked, that presenters have what they need, and monitor the clock. Report to Conference Director.
Runner/Floater – Be available to run an errand offsite or take care of unexpected matters on site. On-call position; car essential, local knowledge and Wednesday availability desirable.
Mentor Sessions Coordinator – Manage signup for mentor sessions. Make sure mentors are aware of session locations and schedule. Report to Conference Director.
Conference Photographer - Document all aspects of the conference for use in publicizing the event and in the next program book. Deliver high resolution photos to the conference director within two weeks after the conference by DropBox, Google Drive, DVD, or thumb drive.
Sunday Morning Cleanup - Gather any conference-related materials left behind on tables, lobby, etc. Discard or retain as appropriate.
Suggest a Workshop, Panel, or Song Circle
We want you to get the most out of your time at the conference. While the workshop schedule is mostly complete, if there is a topic you would like to learn about in a workshop or panel discussion, or if you have an idea for which you would like to be a presenter or panelist, please click the button to fill out the suggestion form.
SERFA has several informal song circles scheduled throughout the conference, generally with a particular theme. If you would like to suggest a theme for a song circle, please use the form below to tell us about it.
Sponsorship and Advertising Opportunities
Our conference wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of our sponsors and advertisers. Please contact Lucy Isabel via email at serfapresident@serfa.org with questions about sponsorship.
Sponsorship Opportunities
Anthology Level Sponsor - $2,500 (one available)
Placement of name and logo in event title 4 registration passes to the conference
Full page color ad on back page of program catalog
1 exhibit table
Signage at main stage events
Announcement of sponsorship at all events during conference
Placement of name or logo on website
Logo prominent in all printed and online promotions
Greatest Hits Level Sponsor - $1,000 (two available)
2 registration passes to the conference
Full page black and white ad on inside cover of program catalog
Announcement of sponsorship at all events during conference
Signage at meals
Placement of name or logo on website
Inclusion in all printed and online promotions
Double Album Level Sponsor - $750 (six available)
Morning or afternoon coffee break sponsorship
Signage at the coffee break table and in program listing
1 registration pass to the conference
Full page black and white ad in program catalog
Announcement of sponsorship at all events during conference
Placement of name or logo on website
Inclusion in online promotions
Album Level Sponsor - $500
1 registration pass to the conference
Full page black and white ad in program catalog
Announcement of sponsorship at all events during conference
Placement of name or logo on website
Inclusion in online promotions
EP Level Sponsor - $250
Half page black and white ad in program catalog
Announcement of sponsorship at all events during conference
Placement of name or logo on website
Inclusion in online promotions
Single Level Sponsor - $100
Support listed on website
Business card black and white ad in program catalog
In-Kind Sponsors
We have a number of unique needs at our conference each year. If you provide a service that you think could be beneficial to SERFA please reach out! Contact Lucy Isabel at serfapresident@serfa.org
Get Creative!
Do you want to do something specific or special? Awesome. Do you want to tweak the benefits to fit your needs? We are open to conversation. Please contact Lucy Isabel via email at serfapresident@serfa.org with questions about sponsorship.
Advertising Opportunities
Advertise in the Program
The program book will be printed in black and white so please make sure the ad is saved as or set as… all images need to be 300 DPI and no larger than 10 MB in file size. Ad deadline TBA.
Full Page 8.625″ x 11.25″at $100.00 per ad
Half Page 8.75″ x 5.625″ at $60.00 per ad
Quarter Page 3.375″ x 5″ at $40.00 per ad
Business Card 3.5” x 2” at $25.00 per ad
Exhibit Hall Table (DEADLINE APRIL 25)
Advertise in person with the purchase of Exhibit Hall Table space. You can reserve half of a table or a full table. All tables will be on display for the length of the conference and there will be specified hours on Friday, May 29th and Saturday, May 30th when we recommend you man your table to greet and network with other attendees.
Full table $110
Half Table $55