Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival Set for Nov. 22

The David Grisman Quintet and The Avett Brothers headline the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival. Set for Saturday, November 22, from noon to 11 p.m., at the Congress Theater, the festival also will feature more than a dozen other acts – both homegrown and touring musicians – with musical styles ranging from bluegrass and blues to roots and jam-band. Early-bird general admission tickets are $31. A portion of the proceeds will support the research efforts of the Chicago-based Save Tiny Hearts Foundation, which seeks to help eradicate congenital heart defects in children. For more information and to order tickets, visit www.cbgbfestival.com.

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The Americana Folk Festival Set for Nov. 1 in Tennessee

Jeff Black, Alison Brown, Casey Driessen (of the Sparrow Quartet), Robby Hecht, Jars of Clay, Gretchen Peters, and The Silver Seas are among the more than 30 local and nationally touring artists slated to perform on three stages during The Americana Folk Festival on Nov. 1 at Montgomery Bell State Park in Burns, Tennessee, The park is situated in the hills of middle Tennessee, 30 minutes west of Nashville. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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Folk Festivals Slated During Columbus Day Weekend

Folks in and around Denver, Colorado and Taunton, Massachusetts have an opportunity to discover and hear some good folk, blues and roots music over the Columbus Day Weekend. The Swallow Hill Music Association in Denver presents its 17th Annual HarvestFest, Oct. 10-12, while the 2nd Annual Taunton River Folk Festival takes place Oct. 10-13. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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World United Music Festival & Radio Conference, Nov. 14-16

The Roots Music Association’s inaugural convention, radio seminar and music festival, originally slated to take place earlier this summer, has been rescheduled for the fall. Renamed the World United Music Festival and Radio Conference, the three-day event will take place November 14-16 at a 500-acre site in San Marcos, Texas, located between Austin and San Antonio. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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Philadelphia Folk Festival Features Old Faves & New Talents

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.]

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AcousticMusicScene.com Joins with Tribes Hill to Host Late-Night Song Swaps at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival

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. 

[To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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It’s Music Festival Time In Michigan

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.]

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Music Festivals Abound in New England in July

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.]

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Old Songs Festival Set for June 27-29 in Altamont, NY

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.]

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Irish Festivals Springing Up Across the Northeast, Midwest

Several Irish festivals will be taking place in the Northeast and Midwest over the next few weeks. These include the 31st Annual East Durham Irish Festival in New York's Catskill Mountains, May 24-25; the 22nd Annual Gaelic Park Irish Fest outside Chicago, May 23-26; and both the Fairfield County Irish Festival in Trumbull, Connecticut and the 15th Annual Riverfront Irish Festival in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, June 13-15. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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Falcon Ridge Preview Tour Plays 23 Northeast Venues in May

Performing songwriters Joe Crookston, Anthony da Costa, Lindsay Mac and Randall Williams – emerging artists who were voted “most wanted to return” by 2007 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival attendees – help the festival inaugurate its 20th anniversary year during a 23-show preview tour in May. The tour, which kicks off May 1 at the venerable Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, makes stops at notable coffee houses, theaters, clubs and house concert series across the East Coast. [To read the entire article and see the tour schedule, click on the headline.]

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