The 83rd National Folk Festival is November 13-15, 2026
Friday, November 13
Ergon/Alliant Stage
7:15 – 7:30 | Opening Remarks | |
7:30 – 8:15 | The Jerry Douglas Band (dobro master) | |
8:30 – 9:30 | Eddie Cotton, Jr. (soul blues) |
Visit Mississippi Stage
6:00 – 6:45 | Cedric Burnside & Rising Stars Fife & Drum (Hill Country blues and African American fife and drum) | |
6:45 – 7:15 | Kick-off Parade—Mississippi Alumni All-Star Band | |
7:30 – 8:15 | Annie & the Caldwells (soul gospel) | |
8:30 – 9:30 | Dat Mighty 9 feat. Big Chief Romeo (Mardi Gras Indian music) |
StateStreet Group Dance Pavilion
7:15 – 7:45 | Cajun dance lesson with Drake LeBlanc | |
7:45 – 8:30 | Savoy Family Cajun Band (Cajun) | |
8:45 – 9:30 | Rebolú (Colombian) |
Saturday, November 14
Ergon/Alliant Stage
12:00 – 12:45 | Rondalla Club of Los Angeles (Filipino rondalla) | |
1:00 – 1:45 | Epi Martinez & Friends (conjunto tejano) | |
2:00 – 2:45 | Rahzel (beatboxing) | |
3:00 – 3:45 | Savoy Family Cajun Band (Cajun) | |
4:00 – 5:00 | Dat Mighty 9 feat. Big Chief Romeo (Mardi Gras Indian music) | |
6:00 – 7:00 | Raiatea Helm (Hawaiian falsetto singing) | |
7:15 – 8:10 | Dexter Allen (blues) | |
8:30 – 9:30 | Mavis Staples (gospel, soul, rhythm and blues) |
The City With Soul Stage
12:15 – 12:45 | Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble (Easter Rock spiritual ensemble) | |
1:00 – 2:00 | Raiatea Helm (Hawaiian falsetto singing) | |
2:15 – 3:00 | Rondalla Club of Los Angeles (Filipino rondalla) | |
3:15 – 4:15 | Keepers of America’s Cultural Legacy at 250: NEA Heritage Fellows—Cedric Burnside, Rahim AlHaj, Jerry Douglas, Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble | |
4:30 – 5:30 | Strings Across Traditions & Borders—Willy Contreras, Riley Hernandez, Jr. (Epi Martinez & Friends); Casey Olsen (Raiatea Helm); Ethan Shaw (Melissa Carper & Emily Gimble); Ahmed Albandawi (Rahim AlHaj Trio) | |
6:30 – 7:15 | Rahim AlHaj Trio (Iraqi oud) | |
7:30 – 8:15 | Capoeira Luanda (Brazilian capoeira) | |
8:30 – 9:15 | Melissa Carper & Emily Gimble (classic country) |
Visit Mississippi Stage
12:00 – 12:45 | Rahim AlHaj Trio (Iraqi oud) | |
1:00 – 2:00 | Saturday Night, Sunday Morning—Eddie Cotton, Jr., Dexter Allen, Annie & the Caldwells | |
2:15 – 2:45 | Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble (Easter Rock spiritual ensemble) | |
3:00 – 4:30 | Steppin’ in the Sip (step team competition) | |
4:45 – 5:45 | Annie & the Caldwells (soup gospel) | |
6:30 – 7:10 | Stanley & the Ten Sleepless Knights (quelbe music) | |
7:30 – 8:25 | The Jerry Douglas Band (dobro master) | |
8:45 – 9:30 | Rebolú (Colombian) |
StateStreet Group Dance Pavilion
12:00 – 12:45 | Savoy Family Cajun Band (Cajun) | |
1:00 – 1:45 | Stanley & the Ten Sleepless Knights (quelbe music)) | |
2:00 – 2:45 | Tay Cheesy (trail ride line dancing) | |
3:00 – 4:00 | Epi Martinez & Friends (conjunto tejano) | |
4:15 – 5:15 | Rebolú (Colombian) | |
5:30 – 6:30 | Eddie Cotton, Jr. (soul blues) | |
7:30 – 8:15 | Rahzel (beatboxing) | |
8:30 – 9:30 | Dat Mighty 9 feat. Big Chief Romeo |
Community Foundation for Mississippi/W.K. Kellogg Foundation Family Stage
12:00 – 12:30 | Jeghetto (puppetry) | |
12:45 – 1:15 | West African Drumming 101 (with Shawn Lawrence) | |
1:30 – 2:00 | 40+ Double Dutch Club (Double Dutch)* | |
2:15 – 2:45 | Mystic Wind Choctaw Social Dance Group (Choctaw social dancing)* | |
2:45 – 2:55 | Junior Ranger Swearing-In | |
3:00 – 3:30 | Jeghetto (puppetry) | |
3:45 – 4:15 | White Tiger Lion Dance Team (Vietnamese lion dance)* | |
4:30 – 5:00 | West African Drumming 101 (with Shawn Lawrence) |
Street Performances at Capitol St. & Congress St.
1:00 – 1:30 | Mystic Wind Choctaw Social Dance Group (Choctaw social dancing) | |
2:00 – 2:30 | White Tiger Lion Dance Team (Vietnamese lion dance) | |
3:00 – 3:30 | Capoeira Luanda (Brazilian capoeira) | |
4:00 – 4:30 | 40+ Double Dutch Club (Double Dutch) |
VitalCore Health Strategies Mississippi Folklife Stage
12:00 – 12:45 | Rising Stars Fife & Drum (African American fife and drum) | |
1:00 – 1:45 | Alan Sibley & the Magnolia Ramblers (bluegrass) | |
2:00 – 2:45 | Eden Brent (Delta blues) | |
3:00 – 3:45 | Annie & the Caldwells (soul gospel) | |
4:00 – 4:45 | Hollywood Luck (hip hop) | |
5:00– 6:00 | Cedric Burnside (Hill Country blues) |
Mississippi Folklife Narrative Stage
12:00 – 12:45 | Choctaw Food Traditions with Leda Isaac | |
1:00 – 1:45 | Award Winning Traditions with Las Delicias | |
2:00 – 2:45 | Mississippi Food Health with the MSU Dept. of Food Science and Nutrition | |
3:00 – 3:45 | Jackson’s Classic Pig Ear Sliders with Geno Lee of the Big Apple Inn | |
4:00 – 4:45 | Working with Woks by the Museum for the Mississippi Delta Chinese | |
5:00 – 5:45 | Soul Food and Southern Cooking with Chef Jarita Frazier King |
Sunday, November 15
Ergon/Alliant Stage
12:00 – 12:45 | Rahim AlHaj Trio (Iraqi oud) | |
1:00 – 1:45 | Melissa Carper & Emily Gimble (classic country) | |
2:00 – 3:15 | Mississippi Mass Choir (gospel) | |
3:45 – 4:45 | Rebolú (Colombian) | |
5:00 – 6:00 | Annie & the Caldwells (soul gospel) |
The City With Soul Stage
12:00 – 12:45 | Raiatea Helm (Hawaiian falsetto singing) | |
1:00 – 1:30 | Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble (Easter Rock spiritual ensemble) | |
1:45 – 2:40 | Islands & Beaches: Music of Encounters & Connections—Raiatea Helm; Uncle Pi (Rondalla Club of Los Angeles); Stanley & the Ten Sleepless Knights | |
3:00 – 3:45 | Capoeira Luanda (Brazilian capoeira) | |
4:00 – 4:45 | Rondalla Club of Los Angeles (Filipino rondalla) | |
5:00 – 5:45 | Melissa Carper & Emily Gimble (classic country) |
Visit Mississippi Stage
12:30 – 1:00 | Stanley & the Ten Sleepless Knights (quelbe music) | |
1:30 – 2:25 | New World Beats: African Rhythm from New York to New Orleans—Rahzel, Dat Mighty 9 feat. Big Chief Romeo, Rebolú, Capoeira Luanda | |
2:45 – 3:40 | Country Crossroads in Texas & Louisiana Sounds—Savoy Family Cajun Band, Epi Martinez & Friends, Melissa Carper & Emily Gimble | |
4:00 – 5:00 | Revival Worship form the Jackson Revival Center (praise and worship music) | |
5:15 – 6:00 | Dat Mighty 9 feat. Big Chief Romeo (Mardi Gras Indian music) |
StateStreet Group Dance Pavilion
12:00 – 1:00 | Epi Martinez & Friends (conjunto tejano) | |
1:15 – 2:00 | Savoy Family Cajun Band (Cajun) | |
2:15 – 3:00 | Tay Cheesy (trail ride line dancing) | |
3:15 – 4:00 | Rahzel (beatboxing) | |
4:15 – 5:00 | Eddie Cotton, Jr. (soul blues) |
Community Foundation for Mississippi/W.K. Kellogg Foundation Family Stage
12:00 – 12:30 | West African Drumming 101 (with Shawn Lawrence) | |
12:45 – 1:15 | Mystic Wind Choctaw Social Dance Group (Choctaw social dancing)* | |
1:30 – 2:00 | Jeghetto (puppetry) | |
2:15 – 2:45 | 40+ Double Dutch Club (Double Dutch)* | |
3:00 – 3:30 | White Tiger Lion Dance Team (Vietnamese lion dance)* | |
3:30 – 3:40 | Junior Ranger Swearing-In | |
3:45 – 4:15 | Jeghetto (puppetry) | |
4:30 – 5:00 | West African Drumming 101 (with Shawn Lawrence) |
Street Performances at Capitol St. & Congress St.
1:45 – 2:15 | White Tiger Lion Dance Team (Vietnamese lion dance) | |
2:45 – 3:15 | Mystic Wind Choctaw Social Dance Group (Choctaw social dancing) | |
4:00 – 4:30 | 40+ Double Dutch Club (Double Dutch) |
Mississippi Folklife Stage
12:00 – 12:45 | Los Preeminentes (norteño) | |
1:00 – 1:45 | Eddie Cotton, Jr. (soul blues) | |
2:00 – 2:45 | The Church of the Living God “Home of the Sacred Steel Players” (sacred steel guitar) | |
3:00 – 3:45 | Edna Nicole & Rev. Slim (Delta blues) | |
4:00 – 4:45 | Lady Trucker (Hill Country blues) | |
5:00 – 5:45 | Jemero Carter & Kindomology (contemporary gospel) |
Mississippi Folklife Narrative Stage
12:00 – 12:45 | Retrospective on Mississippi’s National Heritage Fellows | |
1:00 – 1:45 | Food and Family Gatherings presented by the Southern Foodways Alliance | |
2:00 – 2:45 | Honoring the Legacy of the Blues through Family Music Festivals | |
3:00 – 3:45 | Sinners: Food, Music, and Mississippi Communities | |
4:00 – 4:45 | Continuing Traditions through Mississippi Folk Art Apprenticeships |
Festival Hours
Friday, Nov. 13: 6 – 9:30 PM
Saturday, Nov. 14: 12 – 9:30 PM
Sunday, Nov. 15: 12 – 6 PM
Food and merchandise vendors will open at 5 PM on Friday and 11 AM on Saturday and Sunday.
Other Info
Sign Language Interpreted performances
MPB will be broadcasting live from the Ergon/Alliant Stage throughout the weekend, sponsored by Renasant Bank.