Steve Earle, The Felice Brothers, Great Big Sea, Janis Ian, Kathy Mattea, Tom Paxton and Al Stewart are among the more than 50 acts slated to perform during the 47th annual Philadelphia Folk Festival, August 15-17, at the Old Pool Farm near Schwenksville, Pennsylvania. Featuring three days of traditional and contemporary music (including folk, blues, alt-country, bluegrass, indie folk-rock, world and roots), dance, crafts, an array of children’s activities, and a unique late-night scene (with jamming into the wee morning hours in the 40-acre campgrounds), the Philadelphia Folk Festival is the longest continuously running U.S. festival of its kind. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

AcousticMusicScene.com and Tribes Hill (a nonprofit organization uniting musicians of the Hudson Valley region and their patrons in support of a music community coming together to celebrate human experience through song) will jointly present late-night artist showcases and song swaps during the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.  The festival takes place July 24-27 at Dodds Farm in Hillsdale, New York, located in the foothills of the Berkshires near the tri-state corner of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. 

Among the music festivals of note taking place in Michigan this summer are Blissfest, the Flint Folk Music Festival, the Great Lakes Irish Music Festival, the Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival, Bluegrass in the Park, Riverfolk, and the Great Lakes Folk Festival. (For capsulized information about each of these festivals, as well as web links, click on the headline.]

Here’s a look at a few music festivals taking place in and around New England in July: Greater New Bedford Summerfest (July 4-6 in New Bedford, Massachusetts), Green River Festival (July 17-19 in Greenfield, Massachusetts) and the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (July 24-27 in Hillsdale, New York). In addition, bluegrass festivals are slated for July 4-6 in Stafford Springs, Connecticut; July 19 in South Hadley, Massachusetts; and July 31-August 3 in East Hartford, Connecticut. [For details on these six festivals, click on the headline.]

The 28th annual Old Songs Festival takes place June 27-29, at Altamont Fairgrounds in Altamont, New York. Produced by Old Songs, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in the New York State Capitol Region that seeks to keep traditional music and dance alive through this event, as well as twice monthly concerts, monthly dances and educational programs, the festival will feature an array of folk, Celtic and multicultural musicians. This year’s music will range from the acoustic blues guitar riffs of Scott Ainslie to the Indian vibes of Galitcha, the traditional Quebecois sounds of Le Vent du Nord, and the fine fiddling and step-dancing of the Ottawa Valley’s April Verch and her band. Also featured will be such talented singer-songwriters as Joe Jencks and Si Kahn, the eclectic string band Walt Michael & Co., American folk and blues traditionalists Sparky and Rhonda Rucker, the Scottish quintet Malinky, Irish singer and instrumentalist Andy Irvine, and the Irish fiddle and guitar duo of Liz Carroll and John Doyle, among others. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]