Music fans will flock to the Goshen Fairgrounds in Goshen, Connecticut, July 26-28, for the 36th annual Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. A Pre-Fest Day of Tastings & Farm Market and Thursday Night Music Stage on July 25 precede the festival.
Anne Saunders, the festival’s artistic director, expressed delight that Falcon Ridge stalwarts Vance Gilbert, Nerissa & Katryna Nields, and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams are returning –along with Family Stage faves The Storycrafters — while Woodstock, NY-based husband & wife Americana duo Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams will make their Falcon Ridge debut. So too will Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and country-rock pioneer Richie Furay — who was a founding member of Buffalo Springfield, Poco and Souther, Hillman & Furay.
Among the other artists and acts slated to perform are the Adam Ezra Group, Annie & the Hedonists, The Black Feathers, The Ebony Hillbillies, Tret Fure. The Gaslight Tinkers, Craig Harris, Alice Howe & Freebo, David Jacobs-Strain & Bob Beach, Steve Postell, Sam Robbins, South For Winter, Amilia K. Spicer, and Annie Wenz.
The popular festival, which will feature four stages of music, officially kicks off on Friday afternoon, July 27, at noon. That’s when 13 artists have been invited to perform in the 2024 Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase on the festival’s Mainstage. Appearing in this year’s showcase are (listed alphabetically by last name, not in order of appearance) are Carlyle, Allie Chip, Heather Anne Lomax, Louie Lou Louis, Nan MacMillan, Sean Magwire, MQ Murphy, Alex Radus, Tina Ross, Ida Mae Specker, Mark Stepakoff, Tracy Walton, and Dylan Patrick Ward. Although there is no compensation for showcasing artists, each receives full admission, on-site camping and meals during the festival plus a guest pass
The Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase is not a contest, and artists won’t be judged per se during the festival, although the audience is surveyed as to which showcase artists they’d like to see return the following year to participate in a Most Wanted Song Swap. In evaluating submissions, a panel of three judges looked for high-quality performances of interesting, well-crafted, acoustic-based material. This year’s judges were Ron Olesko of Folk Music Notebook, singer-songwriter Carolann Solebello and Hannah Stritzker from Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Katie Dahl, Kemp Harris and The Honey Badgers –three of the four top audience-voted showcase performers from last year — will showcase their talents during this year’s Most Wanted Song Swap, as well as in other performance slots during the festival.
An Activities 4 Kids Area, Circle of Song acoustic community stage, Family and Workshop Stages, and Dance Barn also will begin on Friday afternoon, July 26, while evening Mainstage performances and nightly dancing are slated to follow the daytime programming. Mainstage performances extend until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, while Sunday’s musical festivities wrap up at 6 p.m. For those camping on the fairgrounds, there will be some late-night musical revelry featuring an array of informal jams, artist showcases and song circles that help foster a sense of “folk” community and a different kind of festival experience.
The Black Feathers will play the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival for the first time.
Tret Fure, a Virginia-based singer-songwriter also making her maiden flight at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, shares their excitement. “I’m delighted to be part of the lineup,” she said. “It’s gonna be a very moving weekend, I feel, on the heels of the recent passing of Tom Prasada Rao [a much-adored member of the folk and singer-songwriter community]. I know that there’ll be a lot of love for him there, so I’m just delighted to be part of the weekend.”
While live music may be Falcon Ridge’s main draw, festivalgoers also can enjoy a variety of ethnic and good ole Americana cuisines with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, while and array of international craft vendors will be plying and selling their wares.
Thursday Night Music Stage Precedes the Festival and Features Nine Talented Acts
Prior to the start of the actual festival, the aforementioned Pre-Fest Tastings & Farmers Market will take place on Thursday afternoon, while Scotten Jones (a co-founder of the Lounge Stage that hosted live music on Thursdays for many years) and Kathy Sands-Boehmer of Harbortown Music host a Thursday Night Music Stage beginning at 5 p.m.
“Being given the opportunity to present some artists on the Thursday Night Music Stage is a real labor of love,” said Sands-Boehmer, a former concert presenter who curates it. “So many folks come to the fest a day or two early so this is a great chance to experience music together before the actual festival begins on Friday.”
Artists slated to appear on the Thursday Night Music Stage include Mya Byrne, Goodnight Moonshine, Honeysuckle, Eva James, Kat and Brad, Heather Maloney, Miles and Mafale, Grace Morrison, and The Rough and Tumble.
“We are thrilled to be playing the Thursday Night Music Stage this year,” said Eben Pariser who, with his wife Molly Venter, is part of the New Haven, CT-based guitar & vocal duo Goodnight Moonshine. “Molly and I are old-school Falcon Ridge alums, having both won the emerging artist showcase with our respective bands, Red Molly and Roosevelt Dime,” He noted. “Even as everything changes, it’s nice to know that some things stay the same – like the feeling we get when we reunite with our Falcon Ridge community.”
Three-day festival tickets are $250 with camping or $175 without camping. Single -day tickets also are available for $65. All three-day tickets include Pre-Fest Thursday admission, while tickets for Pre-Fest Thursday also can be purchased for $20 at the gate. Children ages 12 and under will be admitted free, while tickets are heavily discounted for teens. The campgrounds will open by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24. More information on the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival can be found at falconridgefolk.com.
Like/Follow Us!