National Folk Festival (USA)
Encyclopedia
The National Folk Festival is an itinerant folk festival
in the United States
. Since 1934, it has been run by the National Council for the Traditional Arts
(NCTA) and has been presented in 26 communities around the nation. After leaving some of these communities, the National Folk Festival has spun off
several locally run folk festivals in its wake including the Lowell Folk Festival
, the Richmond Folk Festival, the American Folk Festival
and, most recently, the Montana Folk Festival.
in 1934, the National Folk Festival is the oldest multi-cultural traditional arts celebration in the nation and the first event of national stature to put the arts of many nations, races and languages into the same event on an equal footing. Some of the artists presented at the first festival are now legendary and the recordings and other documentation made possible by the National are precious. W.C. Handy's first performance on a desegregated stage was at the 1938 National. It was the first event of national stature to present the blues
, Cajun
music, a polka
band, a Tex-Mex
conjunto
, a Sacred Harp
ensemble, Peking opera, and others.
in 1938, and served as the festival's honorary Chair.
Then it went to cities of New York, Philadelphia, and Cleveland.
Oklahoma City and Nashville followed, and then the festival returned to Washington, D.C., in 1960. The National Folk Festival struggled through the 1960s, never staying in one place for more than a year. It was held in various places such as Florence and Covington, Kentucky
; St. Petersburg, Florida
; Denver, Colorado
; Syracuse, New York
; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
; and Knoxville, Tennessee
.
Ivo Papasov & Yuri Yunakov - Legends of Bulgarian "Wedding Music", Cheick Hamala Diabate
Ensemble - West African jeli
, Chuna McIntyre - Yup'ik Eskimo Traditions, Marcia Ball
- New Orleans boogie-woogie
piano, Prem Raja Mahat - Nepalese Music and Dance, First African Baptist Choir - African American gospel, Bernard Allison
- Blues, Sankofa String - African American string band, D.W. Groethe - cowboy poetry
and songs and Papa Susso
- kora
master. Also featured at festival is music from the Crooked Road. These artists include: Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys (Sunday Only), No Speed Limit, Carter Family Band featuring Dale Jett, Linda Lay, David Lay, and Deborah Jean Sheets, White Top Mountain Band, Crooked Road Band, The Round Knob Singers, Kirk Sutphin and Sammy Shelor, plus dancers Brenda Joyce and Shannon Joyce.
These artists join Cephas & Wiggins
(Piedmont blues), The Paschall Brothers (African American a cappella gospel), Mariachi los Camperos de Nati Cano (Mexican mariachi
), Mountain Heart
(bluegrass
), Los Pleneros de la 21 (Puerto Rican bomba y plena), Khmer Classical Dance Ensemble (Cambodian) and Frank London
's Klezmer Brass Allstars (Jewish klezmer
), The Madison Hummingbirds (African American gospel brass shout band
); J. P. Cormier
(Cape Breton fiddle
r), Hayden Thompson & The Rhythm Rockers (Rockabilly, Dervish
(Irish), The Savoy Family Band (Cajun) and Zydeco Joe and the Laissez Le Bon Temps Roulez Band (zydeco)completing the list of performing artists at the 67th National Folk Festival.
, the "Godfather of Go-Go"; the Skatalites, the group that virtually invented ska
and whose members are considered founders of the modern Jamaica sound; and the Mahotella Queens
, an acclaimed South Africa mbaqanga
ensemble. http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137835426626&path=%21flair&s=1045855936229. The Richmond Times Dispatch announced a month prior to the festival that Mahotella Queens would not be performing.
Other announced artists were:
"Gulf Coast Musical Traditions" segment was added later and featured traditions affected by Hurricane Katrina
and are as follows:
Several additional acts were announced less than a month before the festival and include http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190590489 AltaiKAI (kai throat singers from the Altai Republic
, Russia), Grace Chang
(Chinese zither
), Jamesie & the All-Stars (scratch band
, aka quelbe music, from the island of St. Croix), and Warner Williams and Jay Summerour
, playing Piedmont blues
.
, July 11–13, 2008. Acts included:
Folk festival
A Folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music.-Canada:Alberta*Calgary Folk Music Festival*Canmore Folk Music Festival*Edmonton Folk Music Festival*Jasper Folk Festival*Wild Mountain Music FestOntario*Barriefolk...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Since 1934, it has been run by the National Council for the Traditional Arts
National Council for the Traditional Arts
The National Council for the Traditional Arts is a private, non-profit arts organization based in the United States that promotes the traditional arts. It organizes the National Folk Festival.It is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland....
(NCTA) and has been presented in 26 communities around the nation. After leaving some of these communities, the National Folk Festival has spun off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
several locally run folk festivals in its wake including the Lowell Folk Festival
Lowell Folk Festival
The Lowell Folk Festival is the second largest free folk festival in the United States. Only Seattle's Northwest Folklife is larger, both in attendance and number of performance stages. It is made up of three days of traditional music, dance, craft demonstrations, street parades, dance parties, and...
, the Richmond Folk Festival, the American Folk Festival
American Folk Festival
The American Folk Festival is an annual folk festival held during August in Bangor, Maine. Founded in 2005, the festival is free and has an open admittance policy. A 2008 study showed that the festival brought in a total of 9.8 million dollars of tourism revenue to the city of Bangor.-External...
and, most recently, the Montana Folk Festival.
Beginnings in St. Louis
The National Folk Festival in the United States (known also as the National) was first presented in St. LouisSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
in 1934, the National Folk Festival is the oldest multi-cultural traditional arts celebration in the nation and the first event of national stature to put the arts of many nations, races and languages into the same event on an equal footing. Some of the artists presented at the first festival are now legendary and the recordings and other documentation made possible by the National are precious. W.C. Handy's first performance on a desegregated stage was at the 1938 National. It was the first event of national stature to present the blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
music, a polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
band, a Tex-Mex
Tejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...
conjunto
Conjunto
Conjunto literally translates as "group," and is regionally accepted in Texas as defining a genre of music that was born out of south Texas at the end of the 19th Century, after German settlers introduced the button accordion. The bajo sexto has come to accompany the button accordion and is...
, a Sacred Harp
Sacred Harp
Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that took root in the Southern region of the United States. It is part of the larger tradition of shape note music.- The music and its notation :...
ensemble, Peking opera, and others.
Other locations
Eleanor Roosevelt was involved in the National's move to Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1938, and served as the festival's honorary Chair.
- In 1934, NFF was held in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
- In 1935, NFF was held in Chattanooga, TN
- In 1936, NFF was held in Dallas, TexasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
- In 1937, NFF was held in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
- In 1938, NFF was held in Washington, DC for five years (1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942)
Then it went to cities of New York, Philadelphia, and Cleveland.
- From 1947-1955, it stayed in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
Oklahoma City and Nashville followed, and then the festival returned to Washington, D.C., in 1960. The National Folk Festival struggled through the 1960s, never staying in one place for more than a year. It was held in various places such as Florence and Covington, Kentucky
Covington, Kentucky
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 43,370 people, 18,257 households, and 10,132 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,301.3 people per square mile . There were 20,448 housing units at an average density of 1,556.5 per square mile...
; St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
; Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
; Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
; and Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
.
- From 1971 until 1982, the National was held in Vienna, VA at Wolf TrapWolf TrapWolf Trap may refer to:* Wolf Trap, Virginia* Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Wolf Trap, VA* Wolftrap anglerfish , a family of anglerfish* A microbiology experiment of Wolf Vishniac...
- In 1985 and 1986 the National was held at Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area, a newly formed park an hour south of Cleveland, OhioCleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
- In 1986 the National was held in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to commemorate the refurbishment of the statue of LibertyStatue of LibertyThe Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886... - in 1987, 1988(50th anniversary), and 1989 the National was held in Lowell National Historical ParkLowell National Historical ParkLowell National Historical Park is a National Historical Park of the United States located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Established in 1978 a few years after Lowell Heritage State Park, it is operated by the National Park Service and comprises a group of different sites in and around the city of...
in Lowell, MassachusettsLowell, MassachusettsLowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
. Lowell continues with the Lowell Folk Festival each year since. - In 1990, 1991, and 1992, the National was held in Johnstown, PennsylvaniaJohnstown, PennsylvaniaJohnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
- in 1993, 1994, and 1995, the National was held in Chattanooga, TN http://personal.cfw.com/~dday/SCFCphotos.html http://www.mamouplayboys.com/history.html
- in 1996, 1997, and 1998 the National was held in Dayton, OhioDayton, OhioDayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
. Dayton continues with the CITYFOLK festival each year since. http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/FOLK_FES.HTM - In 1999, 2000, and 2001, the National was held in East Lansing, MichiganEast Lansing, MichiganEast Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located directly east of Lansing, Michigan, the state's capital. Most of the city is within Ingham County, though a small portion lies in Clinton County. The population was 48,579 at the time of the 2010 census, an increase from...
- In 2002, 2003, and 2004, the National was held in Bangor, MaineBangor, MaineBangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
. Bangor continues with the American Folk FestivalAmerican Folk FestivalThe American Folk Festival is an annual folk festival held during August in Bangor, Maine. Founded in 2005, the festival is free and has an open admittance policy. A 2008 study showed that the festival brought in a total of 9.8 million dollars of tourism revenue to the city of Bangor.-External...
each year since. - In 2005, 2006, and 2007, the National was held in Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. Richmond continues with the Richmond Folk Festival each year since. - In 2008, 2009, and 2010, the National was held in Butte, MontanaButte, MontanaButte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
. Butte continues with the Montana Folk Festival. http://www.montanafolkfestival.com/ - In 2011, 2012, and 2013(75th anniversary), the National will be held in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.
2005 Festival Acts
The 2005 festival includesIvo Papasov & Yuri Yunakov - Legends of Bulgarian "Wedding Music", Cheick Hamala Diabate
Cheick Hamala Diabaté
Cheick Hamala Diabate is a musician from Mali, West Africa who has been nominated for a Grammy award. Using Adelphi, Maryland as his home he travels all over the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. He has performed at the Kennedy Center, the United States Senate, and the Smithsonian...
Ensemble - West African jeli
Jeli
Jeli is a town and territory in Kelantan, Malaysia. As of 2000, the district's population is estimated to be 42,882. Jeli is administered by the Jeli District Council. Jeli is bordered by the state of Perak to the west, Thailand to the north, Tanah Merah district to the north east and Kuala Krai...
, Chuna McIntyre - Yup'ik Eskimo Traditions, Marcia Ball
Marcia Ball
Marcia Ball is an American blues singer and pianist, born in Orange, Texas but who grew up in Vinton, Louisiana. She was described in USA Today as "a sensation, saucy singer and superb pianist.....
- New Orleans boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie has the following meanings:*Boogie-woogie, a piano-based music style*Boogie-woogie , a swing dance or a dance that imitates the rock-n-roll dance of the 1950s*"Boogie Woogie" , a song by EuroGroove and Dannii Minogue...
piano, Prem Raja Mahat - Nepalese Music and Dance, First African Baptist Choir - African American gospel, Bernard Allison
Bernard Allison
Bernard Allison is a blues guitarist based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota.His father, Luther Allison was a Chicago blues musician...
- Blues, Sankofa String - African American string band, D.W. Groethe - cowboy poetry
Cowboy poetry
Cowboy poetry cp is a form of poetry which grew out of a tradition of extemporaneous composition carried on by workers on cattle drives and ranches. After a day of work, cowboys would gather around a campfire and entertain one another with tall tales and folk songs...
and songs and Papa Susso
Papa Susso
Alhaji Papa Susso is a griot or jeli, master kora player, and director of the Koriya Musa Center for Research in Oral Tradition. He was born 29 September, 1947, in the village of Sotuma Sere in the Upper River Division of The Republic of Gambia, West Africa. The Susso family represents a dynasty...
- kora
Kora (instrument)
The kora is a 21-string bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa.-Description:A kora is built from a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin to make a resonator, and has a notched bridge. It does not fit well into any one category of western instruments and would have to be...
master. Also featured at festival is music from the Crooked Road. These artists include: Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys (Sunday Only), No Speed Limit, Carter Family Band featuring Dale Jett, Linda Lay, David Lay, and Deborah Jean Sheets, White Top Mountain Band, Crooked Road Band, The Round Knob Singers, Kirk Sutphin and Sammy Shelor, plus dancers Brenda Joyce and Shannon Joyce.
These artists join Cephas & Wiggins
Cephas & Wiggins
Cephas & Wiggins was an American acoustic blues duo, composed of guitarist John Cephas and harmonica player Phil Wiggins . They were known for playing Piedmont blues.- History :...
(Piedmont blues), The Paschall Brothers (African American a cappella gospel), Mariachi los Camperos de Nati Cano (Mexican mariachi
Mariachi
Mariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. Throughout the history of mariachi, musicians have experimented with brass, wind,...
), Mountain Heart
Mountain Heart
Mountain Heart is an American folk/rock/country band. The current lineup is:-Awards and recognition:The group's entertainment, instrumental, and vocal prowess are widely acclaimed in bluegrass and other acoustic music circles...
(bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
), Los Pleneros de la 21 (Puerto Rican bomba y plena), Khmer Classical Dance Ensemble (Cambodian) and Frank London
Frank London
Frank London is a New York City-based trumpeter, bandleader, and composer active in klezmer and world music. He also plays various other wind instruments and keyboards, and occasionally sings backup vocals. With The Klezmatics, he won a Grammy award in Contemporary World Music for "Wonder Wheel...
's Klezmer Brass Allstars (Jewish klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
), The Madison Hummingbirds (African American gospel brass shout band
Shout band
A shout band is a traditional, soul based musical style that arose in some predominantly African American Protestant churches in the 1920s.-History:...
); J. P. Cormier
J. P. Cormier
J.P. Cormier is a Canadian bluegrass/Folk/Celtic singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in London, Ontario in 1969 and began playing guitar around age five. As a child he displayed an unusual ability to play a variety of instruments by ear and won a guitar contest at age nine.Mr...
(Cape Breton fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
r), Hayden Thompson & The Rhythm Rockers (Rockabilly, Dervish
Dervish
A Dervish or Darvesh is someone treading a Sufi Muslim ascetic path or "Tariqah", known for their extreme poverty and austerity, similar to mendicant friars in Christianity or Hindu/Buddhist/Jain sadhus.-Etymology:The Persian word darvīsh is of ancient origin and descends from a Proto-Iranian...
(Irish), The Savoy Family Band (Cajun) and Zydeco Joe and the Laissez Le Bon Temps Roulez Band (zydeco)completing the list of performing artists at the 67th National Folk Festival.
2006 Acts
2006 NFF was held October 13–15, 2006 and attracted nearly 100,000 attendees.http://www.nationalfolkfestival.com/ Performers included Chuck BrownChuck Brown
Chuck Brown is a guitarist and singer who is affectionately called "The Godfather of Go-go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed in and around Washington, D.C. in the mid- and late 1970s...
, the "Godfather of Go-Go"; the Skatalites, the group that virtually invented ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
and whose members are considered founders of the modern Jamaica sound; and the Mahotella Queens
Mahotella Queens
The Mahotella Queens are a South African singing group formed in 1964 comprising Hilda Tloubatla, Nobesuthu Mbadu and Mildred Mangxola...
, an acclaimed South Africa mbaqanga
Mbaqanga
Mbaqanga is a style of South African music with rural Zulu roots that continues to influence musicians worldwide today. The style originated in the early 1960s.-History:...
ensemble. http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137835426626&path=%21flair&s=1045855936229. The Richmond Times Dispatch announced a month prior to the festival that Mahotella Queens would not be performing.
Other announced artists were:
- Kenny & Amanda (Kenny & Amanda Smith Band)
- Le Vent du NordLe Vent du NordLe Vent du Nord is a folk music group from Quebec, Canada. The band, formed in 2002, performs traditional Québécois music in French...
- The Quebe Sisters BandThe Quebe Sisters BandThe Quebe Sisters Band is an American fiddle Western swing group from Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The band consists of sisters Grace, Sophia and Hulda Quebe as well as Joey L. McKenzie on guitar and Drew Phelps on upright bass...
- Santiago Jiménez, Jr.Santiago Jiménez, Jr.Santiago Jiménez, Jr. is a folk musician who has won a National Heritage Fellowship in 2000 for lifetime achievement in traditional Tex-Mex/folk music. His father, Santiago Jiménez Sr. was a pioneer of conjunto music...
- Yuqin Wang & Zhengli Xu
- The Boston EdgeJoe DerraneJoe Derrane is an Irish-American button accordion player, the greatest exponent of the D/C# system diatonic accordion.Derrane's parents were Irish immigrants. His father played accordion and his mother the fiddle...
: Joe Derrane, Seamus Connolly and John McGann - Chuck Brown
- The Lee Boys
"Gulf Coast Musical Traditions" segment was added later and featured traditions affected by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
and are as follows:
- Don Vappie and the Creole Jazz Serenaders
- The Lost Bayou Ramblers
- Willie KingWillie KingWillie King was an award-winning blues guitarist and singer, known for shunning fame and playing at a local bar in Mississippi.-Biography:...
& The Liberators
Several additional acts were announced less than a month before the festival and include http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190590489 AltaiKAI (kai throat singers from the Altai Republic
Altai Republic
Altai Republic is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the town of Gorno-Altaysk. The area of the republic is . Population: -Geography:...
, Russia), Grace Chang
Grace Chang
Grace Chang , aka Ge3 Lan2 , is a Chinese actress and singer.Born in Shanghai, Chang moved with her family to Hong Kong in 1948....
(Chinese zither
Zither
The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
), Jamesie & the All-Stars (scratch band
Fungi (music)
Fungi is the name given to the local musical form of the British Virgin Islands. It is also the native music of the U.S. Virgin Islands, where it is known as quelbe. Fungi music is an expression of Virgin Islands culture as it shows the islands' African and European influences in a unique sound....
, aka quelbe music, from the island of St. Croix), and Warner Williams and Jay Summerour
Warner Williams and Jay Summerour
Warner Williams and Jay Summerour are an American folk duo, who sometimes perform under the name Little Bit of Blues. They have played at a number of folk and blues festivals, as well as at concerts at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C...
, playing Piedmont blues
Piedmont blues
Piedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
.
2007 Acts
The 2007 NFF ( 69th National Folk Festival ) was held October 12–14, 2007. Festival organizers announced June 19 the first of more than 25 performing groups expected to play at this year’s National Folk Festival, to include:- ProfessorPunch and JudyPunch and Judy is a traditional, popular puppet show featuring the characters of Mr. Punch and his wife, Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Punch and one other character...
John Styles, Punch and JudyPunch and JudyPunch and Judy is a traditional, popular puppet show featuring the characters of Mr. Punch and his wife, Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Punch and one other character...
-style slapstick hand puppetry - percussive dancers: Jason Samuels SmithJason Samuels SmithJason Samuels Smith is an American tap dance performer, choreographer, and director.-Biography:Jason Samuels Smith, a native New Yorker, was born on October 4, 1980 to professional performing arts parents Sue Samuels and JoJo Smith...
(African American tapper) and North Indian KathakKathakKathak is one of the eight forms of Indian classical dances, originated from Uttar Pradesh, India. This dance form traces its origins to the nomadic bards of ancient northern India, known as Kathaks, or storytellers...
master Pandit Chitresh Das, - Grupo FantasmaGrupo Fantasma (American band)Grupo Fantasma is an eleven-piece, Grammy Award winning Latin funk orchestra from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2000 from the merger of two Austin acts, The Blue Noise Band and The Blimp, the band emerged with a sold out show at the former Empanada Parlour in Austin...
: Latin band from Austin, Texas that plays Mambo, merengueMerengue musicMerengue is a type of music and dance from the Dominican Republic. It is popular in the Dominican Republic and all over Latin America. Its name is Spanish, taken from the name of the meringue, a dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar...
, salsaSalsa musicSalsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
, and cumbiaCumbiaCumbia is a music genre popular across Latin America. The cumbia originated in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where it is associated with an eponymous dance and has since spread as far as Mexico and Argentina... - Vishten, young Acadian musician from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia
- Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver - bluegrass and gospel legend and National Heritage Fellow winner
- The Holmes BrothersThe Holmes BrothersThe Holmes Brothers are a vocal and instrumental trio originally from Christchurch, Virginia. Mixing sounds from blues, soul, gospel, and rhythm & blues, they have released nine original albums, with two reaching the top 5 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart. They have gained a following by playing...
blues-based American roots music - DL Menard with Terry Huval and the Jambalaya Cajun Band -- Honky-tonk Cajun music
- Maggie Ingram and the Ingramettes -- gospel singers from Richmond, Virginia
2008 Acts
The 2008 NFF (70th National Folk Festival) was held in Butte, MontanaButte, Montana
Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
, July 11–13, 2008. Acts included:
- Alex Meixner Band -- Polka
- Celtic Fiddle Masters: Liz Carroll and Jerry Holland with Donna Long and Kieran O'Hare -- Irish and Cape Breton
- Clinton FearonClinton FearonClinton Fearon is a Jamaican reggae singer and musician born on February 13, 1951 in Saint Andrews, Jamaica. He has lived Seattle, Washington since 1987.-Jamaica:...
-- Jamaican Reggae - Grace ChangGrace ChangGrace Chang , aka Ge3 Lan2 , is a Chinese actress and singer.Born in Shanghai, Chang moved with her family to Hong Kong in 1948....
-- Guzheng (Chinese Zither) - Hula Halau 'O Lilinoe -- Traditional Hawaiian Hula
- Juan Manuel Barco y su conjunto -- Tex-Mex
- Le Vent du NordLe Vent du NordLe Vent du Nord is a folk music group from Quebec, Canada. The band, formed in 2002, performs traditional Québécois music in French...
-- Québécois Music, Song and Dance - Montana Masters of Cowboy Poetry: Wally McRaeWally McRaeWally McRae is a rancher, an American cowboy, a poet and philosopher.Wally McRae runs the Rocker Six Cattle Co. ranch on south of Forsyth Montana. McRae attended grade school and high school at nearby Colstrip, Montana. He graduated from Montana State University in 1958 in zoology and ...
and Paul Zarzyski -- Cowboy Poets - Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas -- Zydeco
- Oinkari Basque Dancers -- Traditional Basque Dancing and Music
- Rahim AlHajRahim AlHajRahim AlHaj is an Iraqi American oud musician and composer.-Early life:AlHaj was born in Baghdad, Iraq and began playing the oud at age nine...
-- Iraqi Oud - Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca -- Congolese / Cuban
- Rodney Miller & Airdance -- New England Contra Dance
- Scott Fore, and Spencer Strickland -- Appalachian
- Shemekia CopelandShemekia CopelandShemekia Copeland is an American electric blues vocalist.-Career:Copeland was born in Harlem, New York City, United States. She is the daughter of Texas blues guitarist and singer Johnny Copeland...
-- Blues - Terry “Harmonica” Bean -- Acoustic Blues
- The Berntsons -- Norwegian American
- The Brotherhood Singers -- A Capella Quartet-Style Gospel
- The Fox Family -- Metis fiddling
- The Quebe Sisters BandThe Quebe Sisters BandThe Quebe Sisters Band is an American fiddle Western swing group from Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The band consists of sisters Grace, Sophia and Hulda Quebe as well as Joey L. McKenzie on guitar and Drew Phelps on upright bass...
-- Texas Fiddling and Harmony Singing - The Seldom SceneThe Seldom SceneThe Seldom Scene is an American bluegrass band formed in 1971 in Bethesda, Maryland.-Early history:The band formed out of the weekly jam sessions in the basement of banjo player Ben Eldridge. These sessions included John Starling on guitar and lead vocals, Mike Auldridge on Dobro and baritone...
-- Bluegrass - Wylie & The Wild West -- Western Music
- Yamncut -- Salish dance, drumming and song
- Yuqin Wang & Zhengli Xu -- Chinese Rod Puppetry
- Yuri Yunakov Ensemble -- Bulgarian Wedding Music