Acclaimed singer-songwriter John Gorka and rootsy female Americana group Della Mae headline CT Folk’s 10th annual Connecticut Folk Festival and Green Expo, a free, daylong event, on Saturday, Sept. 12, in New Haven’s Edgerton Park.
The festival, which runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., kicks off with performances by the five top finalists in the 2015 CT Folk Songwriter Competition: Carrie Ferguson (Northampton, MA), Elaine Romanelli (New York, NY), Grant Maloy Smith (Wakefield, RI), Mark Stepakoff (Wellesley, MA) and The Young Novelists (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). One of them will be selected to perform his/her winning songs on the main stage in the evening and also is guaranteed a performance slot in next year’s festival, as well as a $150 cash prize. Paddy Mills (Brunswick, ME), who won the competition last year, will also perform a short set in the afternoon.
Other artists slated to make festival appearances include Matt Borrello, The Lords of Liechtenstein, Professors of Bluegrass, Hayley Reardon, Roger Sprung and the Progressive Bluegrassers, Tangled Up in Blue, and musicians chosen from among those who participated in CT Folk’s Auditions Night earlier this year: Jim & Liz Beloff, The Ebin-Rose Trio, Echo Bloom and Piedmont Bluz. Sets by Gorka and Della Mae will close out the evening.
Throughout the day, CT Folk’s 10th annual Green Expo will feature a wide array of exhibitors, informational talks and demonstrations, workshops and activities to promote sustainable lifestyles. There also will be contra dancing and plenty of workshops and activities for children in the Green Kids Village.
Edgerton Park is located at Whitney Avenue and Cliff Street. Attendees are advised to bring lawn chairs or blankets and plan to picnic. A wide variety of food and beverages will be available for purchase on site, or you can bring your own.
CT Folk is a nonprofit organization dedicated to traditional and contemporary roots music, introducing listeners to emerging singer-songwriters, and to caring for the earth. Although the festival is free, donations will be graciously accepted. Besides presenting the festival, CT Folk also hosts a First Fridays concert series that runs from October through May and promotes folk music throughout Connecticut. For more information, click here or visit www.ctfolk.com.
Like/Follow Us!