Hi, Nancy Carey Johnson, Singer/Songwriter here. I was just thinking about an "up and coming" festival I've had the privilege of being a part of called FODfest. It occurred to me that you may not know FOD so I thought I'd give you a little bit of history. The founder/organizer/promoter of FODfest is a guy by the name of Todd Mack. Todd is another one who wears many hats: He is also a singer/songwriter, owns and runs a recording studio, is producer of the syndicated radio show Off the Beaten Track, is a husband and a father (very important hats), and is as I said the founder/organizer/promoter of FODfest, children's book author - and those are just the hats that I know of!

In case you're wondering, FOD stands for Friends Of Danny's (Daniel Pearl), who if you'll recall, was the Wall Street Journal Mid-East Bureau Chief and the first journalist to be kidnapped and brutally executed during the war in Pakistan (sadly) leaving behind his wife who was 6 months pregnant. Todd and Danny (who was also an accomplished musician) were fast friends and band mates for years. Needless to say Danny's grizzly, untimely death was devastating to Todd. But what to do? Well, Todd did what he does so well, he invited friends and family who knew Danny over and they jammed around a bonfire in Danny's honor. From that first humble party, FODfest took on a life of it's own, blossoming into an international event and in the words of Todd Mack "FODfest, Inc. is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to strengthen, empower, and educate communities through the universal language of music.". Not a bad thing, not a bad thing at all!

If you get the chance, I would recommend you attend a FODfest performance and when you do, remember and honor Danny Pearl, the man who lost his life to bring truth to the world. - Nancy