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Artists

82nd National Folk Festival Performers

Balla Kouyaté & Famoro Dioubaté

Boston, Massachusetts, and New York, New York

balafon masters

Two masters of the centuries-old West African balafon explore new musical terrain together, treating audiences to heights of virtuosity and the thrill of the unexpected.

The Campbell Brothers

Rochester, New York

sacred steel guitar

From electrifying, raise-the-roof solos, to meditative sounds of beauty and reflection, this family-based band is among the finest ambassadors of the sacred steel tradition.

Dale Ann Bradley

Middlesboro, Kentucky

bluegrass

Raised in a Primitive Baptist family in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, this acclaimed bluegrass singer transports listeners with her straight-from-the-holler voice and personal songwriting.

E.U. featuring Sugar Bear

Washington, D.C.

go-go

Led by dynamic front man Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliott, this legendary group, made famous in School Daze, is synonymous with the funky, quintessentially Washington, D.C., dance music known as go-go.

Eileen Ivers

Bronx, New York

Irish

This musical pioneer and innovator, raised in an Irish American community in the Bronx, has won over 30 All-Ireland medals and redefined the boundaries of Irish traditional fiddling.

Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars

New York, New York

klezmer

An ensemble comprised of members of the world's leading klezmer bands, together they set out to capture the sound and spirit of the raucous, earthy old-country klezmorim of the 19th century.

Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys

Opelousas, Louisiana

zydeco

Heir to a family musical legacy, this acclaimed accordionist delivers pack-the-floor renditions of Creole classics as well as his own rollicking brand of traditional zydeco.

John Primer & the Real Deal Blues Band

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago blues

This blues legend epitomizes the journey of Chicago blues—born in Mississippi and migrating North to the Windy City, where he was mentored by the greats and held down his career for over six decades.

Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

pungmul and samulnori

These master artists bring together all the pageantry and energy of a Korean harvest festival with their flying footwork, brilliantly colored dress, and joyful, thunderous percussion.

LOS RICOS featuring Sonia & Ismael

New York, New York

flamenco

Known as “the golden couple” of flamenco, this pair perfectly transmits the tradition’s intimacy, grace, power, and emotional intensity, from precise, lightning-fast steps to evocative vocals.

Lutchinha

Brockton, Massachusetts

Cabo Verdean

Arguably the finest to call the United States her home, Lutchinha deftly performs the lilting and soulful strains of Cabo Verdean music. This inimitable singer will delight audiences with this distinctive music tradition.

Plena Libre

San Juan, Puerto Rico

bomba and plena

Underpinned by blistering percussion and punctuated by call-and-response vocals, this raucous band has dedicated themselves to the revival and preservation of one of Puerto Rico’s unique urban sounds.

Riyaaz Qawwali

Houston, Texas

South Asian qawwali

This ensemble shares the centuries-old Sufi tradition known as qawwali, moving audiences and performers into ecstatic trance through repetition, call-and-response singing, and intensifying hand clapping and percussion.

Wylie & the Wild West

Conrad, Montana

cowboy and western music

This world-class yodeler and cowboy singer still lives the life of a working rancher and cutting-horse champion—and is one of America’s most popular western musicians and songwriters.

The National Folk Festival presents the nation’s finest traditional artists from across the nation representing a broad array of America’s cultural communities. The National also strives to showcase the traditions of cultural communities historically identified with the host city, state, or region, as well as the arts of newer immigrant communities that are contributing to the state’s cultural landscape. 

 

If you are interested in performing at the National Folk Festival, check out How to be a performer at the National Folk Festival.

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