To most, “folk music” has a specific connotation - acoustic, rural, bound to North American history. But in a broader sense it is the music of communities and lineages. It is music that changes yet survives through generations. It encompasses far more than Dylan clones in coffee shops strumming three chords over blasé poetry.

If the folk music community of today has an unofficial centralized gathering, it may be the Folk Alliance Conference. Folk Alliance is a collective of industry movers and shakers, emerging and revered artists, and those who otherwise preserve the music, whether through dedicated work or simply the act of being a fan. Simply loving folk music is sometimes enough to help keep it alive, after all.

In anticipation of Folk Alliance returning to Toronto this year (Feb. 20 - 24, at the Delta Chelsea hotel) we spoke with Executive Director Louis Meyers about what it has to offer music fans.

Do you still have a lot of preparing to do?

I’m doing a lot of writing descriptions for panels and this and that, finishing up artist bios for those who didn’t bother to get them into us, or those that sent an article from Spin Magazine from the ‘80s as their “bio.” With this many people coming there’s just so much data that has to be cleaned up.

Would you say Folk Alliance is more industry-focused, or artist-focused?

Half and half! One doesn’t exist without the other. One of the main goals is to make sure artists are treated equally with industry people. We don’t do much V.I.P. stuff. It’s really about bringing those masses together, for the most part, and that people get a year’s worth of new relationships out of it.

What can the general public get out of it, aside from concerts?

You know, I’ve been working on the registration list and I’ve noticed that, more than any other year, there are people who just chose “Music Fan” as “Reason for Attending.” That was cool to see. We’re open to the public on Wednesday night, with nine performance stages at the hotel. A taste of Folk Alliance, for lack of a better term.

It’s interesting that Folk Alliance has a centralized venue / location. I imagine walking around the hotel would be like this surreal intake of music - considering how portable, so to speak, folk music can be.

Yeah, music is everywhere - in the hallways, bathroom, an elevator door might open and a bluegrass band might be playing inside. We encourage the sharing of music outside of the common areas. You’ll have a bluegrass band in one corner, and a celtic session in another.

The Folk Alliance organization was formed in 1989. What was the original intent or philosophy behind it, if any?

It was originally to bring together various folk music organizations, more than individual members. It was to be a collective of groups from around the world. It morphed over time from that to including more individuals (industry people and artists.)

How many of them were dedicated to recording preservation?

Well, a lot of them still are. I don’t know if that’s changed. A primary emphasis among our members is on preservation, and education.

Has the internet age changed that? It’s easier now than it’s ever been in history to hear archived recordings for free.

We’re still sitting on a huge archive of stuff that’s never been released, like recordings from music festivals that no longer exist. We’re got 30 years worth of audio and video archives. Someone just donated the master tapes to Pete Seeger’s Rainbow Quest television show [a showcase of folk and blues artists].

I’ve been waiting a long time to see proper copies of Rainbow Quest.

Yeah, if you can’t find something on Youtube these days it doesn’t exist [laughs.] I haven’t had the chance to think about it yet - the ownership is questionable, but we’re hoping to get it out this year.

The Folk Alliance definition of the genre must go behind the stereotype of the acoustic singer-songwriter.

It’s the bridge between the historical and the contemporary. We want to make sure that singer-songwriters of today understand where the music came from, and the stronger traditionalists have the ability to do what they want to do. Really, we’re trying to make sure that music passes from generation to generation in a commercially viable marketplace. It’s important that not everyone expects to be the next Mumford & Sons - a success like that is pure luck.