Maryland Folklife Area & Stage
Presented in partnership with Maryland Traditions, the folklife program of the Maryland State Arts Council
The Maryland Folklife Area & Stage celebrates and showcases the rich, living traditions that create identity and sense of place in communities across the state. With a different theme each year, the Folklife Area will shine a spotlight on the distinctive music, rituals, crafts, occupations, foodways, and other traditions at the heart of Maryland heritage, expressing both the state’s deep history and its evolving character.
Performances, demonstrations, displays, exhibits, and narrative presentations by Maryland master artisans and performers will explore a wide range of topics, including the traditions of its First Peoples, the cultural legacies of early settlers, and the expressions of the newest Maryland residents whose cultural roots are in far-flung places around the globe.
Photo Credit: Edwin Remsberg Photographs
Maryland Masters
At the 79th National Folk Festival, Maryland Masters will showcase traditions held deeply in the state’s diverse communities, including Maryland’s most longstanding residents as well as its newest arrivals. Since 2004, the Maryland State Arts Council has given Folklife Apprenticeship Awards to support master/apprentice teams that carry forward a rich array of cultural traditions to future generations. From Appalachia to the Atlantic and urban to rural, from music and dance to decorative and occupational crafts, Maryland Masters will highlight the breadth, depth, and vitality of the state’s best traditional artists through performances and demonstrations from select past masters as well as the current Folklife Apprenticeship Award recipients.
In Partnership With
Photo Credit: Edwin Remsberg Photographs
Folklife Apprenticeship Awards
Maryland Traditions, the state folklife program of the Maryland State Arts Council, gives out Folklife Apprenticeship Awards to support one-year periods of study between master folklife practitioners and apprentices in order to sustain the traditional arts and practices of Maryland. Apprenticeships can include a variety of art forms and practices, from dance and music to crafts, food, and occupational traditions.
These partnerships are intended to support the traditional transmission of knowledge through one-on-one relationships that subsequently bring those practices to the public through demonstrations and performances. Enjoy performances and demonstrations from this year’s apprenticeship teams throughout the Maryland Folklife Area & Stage on Sunday, September 8.
Maryland Folklife Area Stage Performers
Saturday’s stage program will feature Maryland Masters program participants. Sunday’s stage program will feature the 2018-19 Folklife Apprenticeship Award recipients.
Bill Kirchen
This “Titan of the Telecaster” and living guitar legend will take audiences on a high-energy romp through the last 50 years of American guitar history. Continue reading
Brendan Mulvihill & Emily Martin
Carolyn Rapkievian & Kristine Antanesian
Daryl Davis
This boogie-woogie piano master who learned at the feet of his musical heroes breaks boundaries by tapping into the shared roots of blues, R&B, and early rock and roll. Continue reading
Lustre Quartet & Electric Avenue Quartet
Maryland Folklife Area Demonstrators
