What is Filk?

This panel was held in the Hyatt Baker room on Friday morning. The guest speakers were Mark Gunn, Leslie Fish, Andrew McKey, Michelle, and Tom Smith. From the start, these musicians were comical, demonstrating how the filking community is more than a gathering; it’s family.

This panel explained what filking is. Its origins started in 1936, and it had evolved to a genre of folk music geared to science fiction/fantasy fans. As Leslie stated, “It’s folk music of the future.”

Andrew broke it down a little more. He explained filking to be either dependent, based on something you would have to know the background of for the song to make sense, or independent. This is a style where the premise is explained somewhere in the song.

After some discussion, Tom delighted the audience with a song, which this reporter cannot get out of her head. Thanks, Tom.

Truly, filking is something that all con-goers need to experience and enjoy.

Author of the article

Award-winning author Amanda Faith may have been raised in Dayton, but her heart and home is in the South. With a lifelong love of teaching and writing, she had plenty of encouragement from teachers and friends along the way. Loving a good puzzle has always been a fascination, and writing gives her the outlet to put all the pieces together. Being adventurous and loving to try new things, it wasn’t long before her characters found themselves in unusual situations. She loves to put people from two different worlds into new situations and to see how they interact, taking them on journeys they would never have normally experienced. Her current adventure working as a high school English professor turned Media Specialist, writing, and doing paranormal investigations doesn’t slow her down from having a great time with a plethora of hobbies. Her published credits include several short stories, poetry, several journal articles, her doctoral dissertation, and her award-winning book Strength of Spirit. With multiple degrees, she has a passion for learning and exploring new venues. She is a staff writer for The Daily Dragon at Dragon Con. Check out her new website (www.amandafaith.net) or on Instagram (@dramandafaith)