Festival Focus

The Honey Badgers Emerge Victorious

The Honey Badgers was named the winner following the Emerging Artist Showcase at the 2024 Susquehanna Folk Festival in York, Pennsylvania on Saturday, August 10. The Newark, Delaware-based folk and Americana duo of Erin Magnin and Michael Schutz Natrin was afforded the opportunity to open that evening for Hot Club of Cowtown at the Capitol Theatre and received a $1,000 cash prize. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

Philadelphia Folk Festival is Back, Aug. 16-18

The Philadelphia Folk Festival returns to the historic Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford Township, near bucolic Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, August 16-18, following a hiatus in 2023. Thousands of music lovers are expected to converge on the farm, located some 45 minutes from Philadelphia, for the 61st edition of the family-friendly event that is produced and presented by the Philadelphia Folksong Society, a nonprofit arts organization. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article previewing the festival.]

Susquehanna Folk Festival Set for August 9-11

Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy, Hot Club of Cowtown and The Klezmatics headline the annual Susquehanna Folk Festival that that takes place at downtown York, Pennsylvania’s Appell Center, August 9-11. Although the festival’s matinee and evening concerts –- as well as contra and swing dances -- are ticketed, much of its daytime programming (which includes live music, an emerging artist showcase, jams, and family-friendly activities) is free. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article previewing the festival.]
Winners Named in 2024 Kerrville New Folk Competition

Winners Named in 2024 Kerrville New Folk Competition

Six singer-songwriters have been named as winners in the 2024 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. They were chosen by a panel of judges from among 24 finalists who performed two songs each during the New Folk Concerts on May 25 and 26 as part of the Kerrville Folk Festival, an 18-day event at the Quiet Valley Ranch in the Texas Hill Country near Austin and San Antonio. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

Finalists Named in 2024 Kerrville New Folk Competition

Twenty-four songwriters have been named as finalists in the 2024 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters. Chosen from among a record-breaking 1341 entries, the finalists will perform the two songs they submitted on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, May 25 and 26, as part of the first weekend of the 52nd annual Kerrville Folk Festival. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

Entries Sought for Emerging Artist Showcase at 2024 Susquehanna Folk Festival

Up-and-coming roots musicians who would like an opportunity to showcase their talents during this summer’s Susquehanna Folk Festival in York, Pennsylvania have until April 19 to submit application for the event’s Emerging Artist Showcase at the Appell Center on Saturday, August 10, 2024. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

Entries Sought in 2024 Kerrville New Folk Competition

Entries are now being accepted in the 2024 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition for Emerging Songwriters, to be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 25 and 26, 2024, during the first weekend of the annual Kerrville Folk Festival in the Texas Hill Country near Austin and San Antonio. The first 800 entries received by March 15 will be judged, and 24 finalists will be named in mid-April. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article that also includes information about a New Folk Concert Series tour and the initial festival lineup.]

Black Bear Americana Music Fest Set for Oct. 6-8, 2023 in Goshen, Connecticut

The Black Bear Americana Music Festival returns to the Goshen Fairgrounds in Goshen, Connecticut for a fifth year, October 6-8, 2023. Dozens of national touring artists and local New England-based ones will perform on several stages, while music and art workshops are also on the docket. [Click on the headline to continue reading this festival preview.]

AcousticMusicScene.com Co-presents 2023 Huntington Folk Festival on July 22

The 17th annual Huntington Folk Festival is set for Saturday, July 22, at Heckscher Park, located off Main Street (Route 25A) and Prime Avenue, in Huntington, New York. Extending from 12:30 -10 p.m., with a dinner break from 6-7:15 p.m., the free event is co-presented by the Huntington Arts Council, Folk Music Society of Huntington and AcousticMusicScene.com as part of the 58th Huntington Summer Arts Festival produced by the Town of Huntington. An evening concert featuring acclaimed touring singer-songwriters Lucy Kaplansky and Cliff Eberhardt will be preceded by a series of amplified song swaps and an open mic during the afternoon. [Click on the headline to continue reading this festival preview and to view the schedule.]

Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Set for July 28-30

Aztec Two-Step 2.0, The Ebony Hillbillies, The Gaslight Tinkers, Tracy Grammer, Alice Howe & Freebo, David Jacobs-Strain & Bob Beach, Joe Jencks, Lucy Kaplansky, Stephen Kellogg, Nerissa & Katrina Nields, Ellis Paul, Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Livingston Taylor, Tempest, Richard Thompson, Tony Trischka, and Annie Wenz are among the artists slated to perform during the 35th annual Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, July 28-30, 2023 at the Goshen Fairgrounds in Goshen, Connecticut – preceded by a Pre-Fest Day of Tastings & Farm Market and Thursday Night Music Stage on July 27. [Click on the headline to continue reading this festival preview.]
Halley Neal is 2023 SolarFest Singer-Songwriter Showcase Winner

Halley Neal is 2023 SolarFest Singer-Songwriter Showcase Winner

Nashville, Tennessee-based singer-songwriter Halley Neal has been named the winner of the SolarFest 2023 Singer-Songwriter Showcase, which returns in July following a hiatus of several years. She and four finalists have been invited to perform of the festival’s solar-powered main stage in Brandon, Vermont on Saturday afternoon, July 15, and will also be awarded cash prizes. As the winner, Neal will be invited to perform a full set at next year’s festival as well. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]

Los Angeles Folk Festival Debuts Oct. 7-8, 2023

The Milk Carton Kids curate and partner with the Los Angeles Philharmonic to produce the Los Angeles Folk Festival that makes its debut October-7 and 8, 2023 at The Ford -- one of the southern California city’s oldest performing arts venues. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article.]