David Amram, Roy Book Binder, David Bromberg, Arlo Guthrie, Levon Helm, Jorma Kaukonen, Tom Paxton and Tom Rush are among the music luminaries slated to perform during the 50th annual Philadelphia Folk Festival, August 18-21, 2011. Joining them at the Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford Township, near Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, for the longest continually running festival of its kind in the U.S. will be a number of up-and-coming touring artists like Dan Bern, Justin Townes Earle,David Wax Museum, the Canadian female duos Dala and Madison Violet, and Philly’s own Hoots and Hellmouth, as well as many other locally-based artists.

The festival is produced and presented by the nonprofit Philadelphia Folksong Society. Lisa Schwartz, its president, noted that festival organizers looked to a theme of Past, Present and Future to mark the event’s golden anniversary and pay tribute to its musical roots. “We really want to honor our musical lineage and highlight not only our heritage artists, but also the new traditionalists who will help to teach future generations to love folk music,” she said.

Gene Shay, a veteran folk DJ who has hosted and produced folk radio shows in Philadelphia for nearly 50 years and has been the festival’s beloved emcee since its inception in 1962, shared similar sentiments in a phone interview. Citing changing demographics and acknowledging the festival’s eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary music that stretches the boundaries of folk, Shay said: “We have to mix it up a little more to keep the old legacy performers while, at the same time, getting people in who never even heard of them… just to keep it alive and keep the audience from atrophying.

Gene Shay

We have to continually reinvent ourselves,” said the WXPN-FM DJ, who has been called the “Godfather of Philadelphia Folk Music” by The Philadelphia Inquirer and hailed as “the dean of American folk DJs” by the Philadelphia Daily News. The Folk Show with Gene Shay airs Sunday nights from 8-11 p.m. on WXPN, while Shay also can be heard on the Folk Alley stream on Wednesday and Saturday from5-7 p.m. ET.

Eager to retain its vitality, continue to attract crowds, and help broaden its appeal to younger people who are not part of the aging core audience of folk music aficionados, the Philadelphia Folksong Society brought in Point Entertainment’s Rich Kardon and Jesse Lundy to shake things up a bit in 2008.

In addition to featured performances on the Martin Main Stage, the festival lineup includes such musical workshops as acoustic blues (with Book Binder, Bromberg, Kaukonen, The Philadelphia Jug Band & Bob Beach, Rush, and The Wood Brothers), Husbands & Wives (featuring Bromberg and Nancy Josephson of Angel Band, Kim & Reggie Harris, The Kennedys, and Shannon Lambert-Ryan and Fionan de Barra of RUNA); and Topical Songs (with Bern, John Flynn, John Francis and Paxton). Angel Band joins Dala and Madison Violet for a harmony workshop, while banjo, fiddle and clogging workshops also are slated. Dry Branch Fire Squad, John Hartford String Band and Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen are sure to please bluegrass fans, while Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Terrance Simien, and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue add to the musical gumbo by providing a taste of Louisiana.

Locally based artists of note Birdie Busch, Hoots and Hellmouth and US Rails play the main stage on Friday afternoon, along with winners of the Unsung Heroes Campground Competition – The Philadelphia Jug Band and Hog Maw, while RUNA and Burning Bridget Cleary — who were a highlight of the 2008 festival when they shared a stage for a split bill — bring their very different styles of Celtic music to the festival, along with Scotland’s Battlefield Band and California’s Tempest. WXPN’s Helen Leicht hosts a Philly Local Showcase on Saturday afternoon, featuring Jim Boggia and Suzie Brown, while the PFS-sponsored Philly Music Co-Op hosts other area artists that afternoon.

RUNA (Photo: Jayne Toohey)

In addition to musical performances on several stages, there will be dancing to bands on the 3,500- square-foot covered pavilion known as the Lobby Stage, crafts, and an array of children’s activities in the shady Dulcimer Grove (including interactive musical events from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day). There’s also a festival within the festival for those who opt to camp onsite and enjoy some late-night revelry and musical merriment. — a unique scene with campfires, jamming and song circles into the early morning hours on the 40-acre campgrounds that’s chock-a-block with tents.

“One of the things that has made our festival so special is camping and meeting old friends and reviving memories,” said Shay. “The festival tends to be a reunion for people [who also] see artists get together because they happen to be at the same festival. I’m really looking forward to seeing some great collaborations — those improvised, jam band-like, one-of-a-kind moments with artists who you’d rarely see together tend to be very special. When it does happen, it’s magic,” he continued. “These are the things we pride ourselves on. We’re trying to get more of that without forcing anyone’s hands.”

Reflecting on the festival over the years, Shay said: “There’ve been wonderful concerts and surprises all along,” He cited the time when John Denver performed “Leaving On a Jet Plane,” a song he’d just written, as well as early festival performances by Judy Collins, Theodore Bikel and Janis Ian as examples. “Dylan [whom Shay had brought to Philly in the early 1960s for his debut concert in the area, when he played for 40 people] showed up in the early 70s unannounced with David Bromberg, although he stayed backstage,” he recalled. Shay also remembered it being so cold on the countryside in September 1962 when the first festival was held that he could see Pete Seeger’s breath.

During each festival, between acts on the Main Stage, select videotaped performances from past festivals are screened – many featuring performers who are no longer with us. ”When we started to use video, people could see the artists close up. They could see things like Doc Watson’s picking style,” said Shay, noting that he plans to screen more of them this year. Shay has been known to sprinkle in some corny jokes between the video clips. “Every now and then I’ll tell a dumb joke, but I’m planning to limit that this year,” he says.

For more information about the festival and to order tickets, visit www.folkfest.org or call the Philadelphia Folk Festival office at 800-556-FOLK.