PANEL SCHEDULE - SWRFA 2026

Thursday September 24

2:30–4:30PM Voice (Sycamore Room)

Panelist: Karen Oliver

A - Learn whether you take a full breath, and how to do that. Learn how to control the use of that breath.

B - Learn where you hold tension that gets in the way of allowing the full expression of your voice

C - Are you facing stumbling blocks with your voice? Let’s dive into those as time allows.

Karyn Oliver found her voice at a young age, and was lucky enough to meet people early on who taught her how to use it in a

sustainable, healthy way. She is a classically trained vocalist who has performed everything from chamber music to rock with

some musical theater thrown in for good measure. She later became certified as a Yoga instructor, and has learned to bring these

2 disciplines together to help herself and her students.

2:30 – 4:30PM Beyond the Gig: Finding New Ways to Get Your Music Out There (Oak Room)

Panelists: Martin Gilmore & Jana Pochop

There are a lot more ways to build a career in music than playing clubs, festivals, and traditional concert venues.

This panel will explore some of the less traditional places musicians can perform and find new audiences, including

senior centers, libraries, school assemblies, house concerts, workshops, and other community spaces. We’ll also look

beyond live performance at things like podcasts, YouTube, online teaching, subscription platforms, and other ways to

earn money, reach new listeners, and promote your music. Panelists will share some of the things that have worked

for them and offer ideas for using the skills you already have to create new opportunities for your music and your

career. Maybe you have an idea to share too!

Jana Pochop is an Albuquerque-based songwriter, producer, and music industry professional whose career has included touring,

booking, tour management, merch, social media and artist consulting, in addition to performing and producing her own music.

Martin Gilmore is a Colorado-based songwriter, performer, and educator who has built a career through touring, teaching,

workshops, school programs, online education, YouTube, podcasting, and other opportunities both on and off the

traditional concert stage.

2:30–4:30PM Multiple Capos, Altered Tunings and the Simplified Songs Project (Magnolia Room)

Workshop led by: Bill Nash

This workshop is about expanding musical possibilities on the guitar and will introduce you to the magical world of

multiple 3 string capos with altered tunings! The focus of the workshop is to begin to open up your musical thought

processes to experimentation. There will be a packet of charts available of preferred places to put the 3 string capo in

all altered tunings for students who attend. It starts here and continues throughout the weekend. There will be a

sign-up sheet at the mentoring table across from Registration.

2:30–4:30PM Local 1000 (Pecan Room)

Panelists: Daniel and Faith Senie

Local 1000 is the Traveling Musicians Union - American Federation of Musicians. This will be a gathering sharing

information about the organization and what it means to be a member.

3PM MENTORING/CONVERSATIONS/CONNECTING (Registration Area)

This occurs by appointment Thursday through Saturday

Friday September 25

9AM FIRST TIMERS PANEL (Elm Room)

Panelists: Hilary Adamson, Paul Barker, Sarah Golden, and Roxi Copland

Great introduction to How To Get The Most From Attending a Conference like SWRFA. Fun and informative. Not just

for First Timers, we can all learn and be reminded of new ways of reaching out to connect.

10AM MENTORING/CONVERSATIONS/CONNECTING (Registration Area) Continued from Thursday

10-11:30AM Focus on Venues (Pecan Room)

Venues/Presenter Peer Session (Open Forum style) A time for Venues including House Concerts, Coffeehouses,

Theaters and Festivals to meet one another face to face to visit, discuss, ask questions and share ideas.

Please bring yours.

10–11:30AM Voice with Katie The Performer’s Self-Massage Workshop (Oak Room)

Panelist: Katie Pudhorodsky

Whether you sing, play, or spend hours on the road, your muscles can either support your performance or work

against it. In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn safe, simple, hands-on self-massage techniques for the jaw, neck,

and tongue to release muscular tension that can affect comfort, movement, vocal freedom, and ease of performance.

Gain a basic understanding of why the muscles of the jaw, neck, and tongue become overworked, then learn safe

self-massage techniques you can use before, during, and after rehearsals, & performances.. Whether you’re a singer,

instrumentalist, or music industry professional, you’ll discover practical ways to care for the muscular side of

performance health so you can perform with greater ease and recover more effectively. Leave with techniques you’ll

use from rehearsal to encore. Taught by a structural massage therapist specializing in head, neck, and jaw function.

10-11:30AM The Business Behind the Music (Sycamore Room)

Panelists: Alissa McCain, Alyce Zawacki, Marguerite Zamora, Lisa Sretenovic

Presented by Alissa McCain with Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts / Introduction to TALA

Alyce Zawacki and Marguerite Zamora - Attorneys for Creatives | Alyce Zawacki Law, PLLC | Austin Entertainment, Intellectual

Property and Small Business Law. Copyright basics and the importance of registration. Joint works and collaborative works.

Lisa Sretenovic, CPA - LAS Consulting CPA PLLC and TALA Accounting Director, Bookkeeping Tax Accounting Consulting

Coaching. Accounting for artists who earn from songwriting, performing, teaching, producing, licensing, merch, grants,

speaking, consulting, & workshops. A comparison of a publishing vs an administration agreement, terms, & what to look out for.

Building a career in music means navigating the business behind your creative work. This practical program will help musicians

and songwriters protect their work, navigate collaborations, and better understand publishing and administration agreements.

We’ll also tackle the accounting side of a modern music career, including how to manage multiple income streams.

1:30-3PM Building Your Brand: Marketing for Musicians (Oak Room)

Panelists: Lindsay Taylor, Shannon Holt, and Adam Dawson

How do you build a recognizable brand as a musician without making it feel fake or forced? Marketing professionals Lindsay

Taylor and Shannon Holt will talk about branding for musicians and how to present yourself and your music in a way that makes

sense to the people you’re trying to reach. The conversation will also cover websites, social media, building an audience, and

other practical ways musicians can better market themselves and their work.

Lindsay Taylor is the Executive Director of Queen Bee Music Association in Santa Fe and a musician and arts administrator with

a background in marketing, brand development, audience engagement, and nonprofit leadership.

Shannon Holt is the Marketing & Retail Manager for the Kerrville Folk Festival, where she oversees marketing and promotion for

one of the country’s longest-running festivals dedicated to songwriters and folk music.

Adam Dawson is unapologetically a music nerd who owns and operates Broken Jukebox Media, a full service album PR and

radio promotion company that serves Folk/Americana/Roots artists. They simultaneously keep him young and make him old.

He also spends far too much time corralling and dressing his small dogs. Every day he wakes up and gets to be a small part of

spreading great songs to the world, is the best day of work anyone has ever had.

1:30-3PM Music Publishing, Royalties, Sync Licensing & the Music Business (Sycamore Room)

Panelists: Steven McClintock, John Guertin, and Barry Coffing

The music business has changed a lot over the last several decades, but how much has really changed for songwriters? Panelists

will talk about years working as songwriters, publishers, and commercial music producers, and what the business looked like

when publishing companies, record labels, and commercial studios played a much different role in a songwriter’s career. Together,

they’ll talk about what has changed, what hasn’t, and what songwriters should know about navigating the music business now

and how a songwriter makes royalties (or money) in today’s music industry.

Steven McClintock is a veteran songwriter, publisher, and producer whose 50-plus-year career includes more than 250

songwriting credits, over 200 television and radio commercials, extensive film and television work, and staff-writing positions

with publishers including Island Music, the Welk Group, George Tobin Music, and Sony/ATV. (stevenmcclintock.com)

John Guertin is the Founder of CleaRights. He has 25+ years of experience in the music, tv, film and entertainment industries

with companies such as Turner Broadcasting (Cartoon Network, CNN, TNT/TBS), Universal Music Group, EMI Music

Publishing, Carl Fischer Music and the United States Copyright Office handling music clearances, licensing fee negotiation,

contract management and publishing catalog administration.” (clearights.net)

· Barry Coffing’s music licensing company Music Supervisor Inc. represents over 20,000+ labels, libraries, and music artists

for film and TV licensing. Barry has been an artist (WB Records), songwriter, composer, producer, engineer, music supervisor,

and label owner (Sony RED distribution), as well as writing and producing music for Films, TV, Jingles, and Ad Agencies.

(wegetartists.com)

Saturday September 26

10–11:30AM Music Industry Non-Profits that Offer Services and Create Opportunities for Working Musicians (Sycamore Room)

Panelists: Rachel Hanss Blair, Vanessa Lively, Karen McElhatten, Andrea Magee, and Pat Buchta

These agencies are active in Austin and Texas and are great models for being inspired to ask questions and find out what

organizations like these exist in your city or state and/or how you can be the founder/creator of one.

Rachel Hanss Blair LCSW-S Chief Strategy Officer, Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) The mission of the Health

Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) is to provide Austin-area musicians access to affordable health, wellness, and prevention

services to strengthen their quality of life in support of our vibrant music culture.

Vanessa Lively, Founder Home Street Music and Executive Director for over 9 years, and touring artist for over 25 years. Home

Street Music is a nonprofit that empowers people who have experienced homelessness by hosting music circles that build

community, restore confidence, and reclaim dignity through the healing power of song, as well as providing job opportunities to

working musicians and previously unhoused artists since 2017.

Karen McElhatten Swan Songs Director of Programs - Swan Songs® is an Austin-based nonprofit that fulfills musical last wishes

for individuals near the end of life by organizing a private concert featuring their requested style of music.

Swan Songs supports live music in a community by compensating artists for the concerts.

The first affiliate - Swan Songs Portland OR - was established in 2024.

Andrea Magee, Founder of Music Helps and an established, Belfast-born artist who has been living and sharing her gift of music

in the Austin community for the past 9 years. “Music Helps EVERYTHING. For me music is love and has been a healer in my life

in so many ways. I felt in my heart it was time to give back and I am genuinely so excited to be a facilitator for music to work its

magic again but this time through our non-profit.” A non-profit organization offering outreach programs that utilize the healing

and enrichment benefits of music

Pat Buchta Executive Director, Founding Board Member of Austin Texas Musician. An experienced political advocate, cause

marketing professional, and creative leader dedicated to advancing Austin’s music, policy, and nonprofit sectors. Vision: To

create a sustainable, inclusive, and empowered local music community where musicians can thrive artistically and economically.

Mission: To connect, empower, and amplify Austin’s music community through advocacy, education, and economic opportunity

ensuring every musician can show up, speak up, and be heard. Advocacy, Educatioomic Development For Central TX Musicians.

10-11:30AM The Craft of Songwriting (Oak Room)

Panelists: Martin Gilmore, George Ensle, and Sara Beth Go

There’s no single way to write a great song. Songwriters Martin Gilmore, George Ensle, and Sara Beth Go bring distinctly

different styles, perspectives, and approaches to the craft, and in this panel they’ll explore the many ways a song can come to

life. From inspiration and first drafts to lyrics, melody, structure, storytelling, revision, and knowing when a song is finished,

the conversation will examine what each writer does differently, and where their approaches overlap. Through examples from

their own work and years of experience, Martin, George, and Sara Beth will offer a practical, engaging look at the choices, habits,

instincts, and techniques that shape a songwriter’s individual voice.

Martin Gilmore is an award-winning Colorado songwriter, guitarist, and educator whose roots-based writing has earned top

honors at the Telluride Troubadour Competition, Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase, and Kerrville New Folk

Competition.

George Ensle is a veteran Texas songwriter and master storyteller who emerged from Houston’s legendary 1960s folk scene

alongside Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, has released 15 albums, and has earned songwriting honors from Kerrville and

numerous other competitions during a career spanning more than five decades. Addressing: The Zone; The three-legged stool;

Another good day of writing; The Briarpatch; Serving the Song; Music is Big Medicine

Sara Beth Go is a Nashville-based songwriter and mental health therapist whose emotionally incisive folk-pop writing includes

“Hurt People,” recorded by Tim McGraw, and who was named a 2025 Kerrville New Folk winner.

1:30-3PM Using Social Media Ads to Sell More Tickets (And Anything) (Oak Room)

Panelist: Jesse Gillenwalters

Tired of posting into the algorithm void? In this panel, you’ll learn how to make social media actually work for you by harnessing

the power of targeted ads to sell tickets, promote new music, and grow your audience. We’ll break down what an ad really is (hint:

it’s not a boosted post), how to get started, and the kind of marketing, content, and copy that actually drives results. Perfect for

artists, venues, and anyone ready to get butts in seats, elevate visibility, grow mailing list, and maybe even move some of that CD

inventory out of your basement!

Panelist – Jesse Gillenwalters is a digital marketer for musicians at Indepreneur.io. He has worked one-on-one with over 150

musicians to help them achieve 6-figure revenues, sold out shows, and Billboard-charting album sales. Utilizing a sales-first

marketing approach, Jesse is passionate about liberating artists from gatekeepers by putting the power to monetize and grow their

audience into the artists’ hands.”

1:30-3PM Changes in Career Path based loosely on the book ‘The Midnight Library’

OR The What If’s of Life (Sycamore Room)

Panelists: Rich Warren, Robin Bienemann, Catherine Miles, Jay Mafale, Brandon DeMaris, and Billy Crockett

A recent novel, The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig, tells of a woman, who unhappy with her life seeks to end it, only be

offered many alternative choices about which she’s dreamed, including become a wildly successful musician. Another what-if,

the AppleTV series Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch, relies on quantum mechanics and string theory to reveal the simultaneous

alternative lives we may be leading in different “slices” of the universe. While it’s not required to read or watch either of these to

participate in this panel, they provide insight into our “other” selves.

If there’s any profession that traverses alternate universes, it’s traveling musicians and songwriters who face multitudes of choices

in navigating and focusing their careers. The single most important decision concerns choosing to be a professional musician and

songwriter. What single event or limited combination of events led you here today as a professional artist? Project where you see

yourself in the future. What steps would you take or recommend others to travel from here to that destination. Have you set a

goal that if not reached you would leave being a professional musician?

At the same time, let’s fantasize of what you would be doing today had you not chosen (or been propelled) into a career in music?

Some of you on the panel, and in this room, work “day jobs,” while others are in the music business full-time. In any event, do

you work your day job to support your music career. Would you have chosen a much different profession for a career were it

not from your passion for music? Be honest, if you were not making music and writing songs, what would you envision yourself

doing today? And how does this other portion of your soul affect your music?

Rich Warren Moderator - DJ and retired host of WFMT’s “The Midnight Special,” and host/producer of “Folkstage” an in-

studio concert series. Recipient of Folk Alliance International’s “DJ of the Year” award in 2008. He spent 52 years, as a DJ,

festival organizer-producer, (City of Chicago Folk Festival, among others), coffee house manager, concert producer and host

and recorded over 1,000 live performances. He also reviewed CDs and wrote for “Sing Out!” magazine and was a nationally

syndicated audio/video columnist for major newspapers. AND our very own SWRFA Emcee extraordinaire!!!

Panelists – Robin Bienemann singer songwriter known for his brilliant and sometimes funny view of our world, Catherine Miles

and Jay Mafale are a musical duo. Catherine is also a vocal coach and Jay is a studio producer and engineer. Brandon DeMaris

singer songwriter, Good Wolf ticketing service and Dad, Billy Crockett singer songwriter, producer, and co-owner of Blue Rock

Foundation and Studio. Deb Rouse Executive Director of Kerrville Folk Festival Foundation