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Summer 2013 Folk Festivals!

Sing Out! provides an international listing of folk music festivals and camps, which can be found at www.singout.org/fests.html. Our listing is currently updated to feature festivals throughout the summer. Before making summer road trips, camping excursions, etc., be sure to check if there’s a festival near you! Folk music thrives because of live music and community, both of which are available in abundance in festivals throughout the world. We’ve all heard of huge gatherings such as George Wein’s famed Newport Folk Festival, but you’ll also find a lot to love at smaller gatherings. We hope to be able to provide our fans and readers with a slew of things to do during festival season, and assist our festival friends in finding new faces!

Here are a couple of upcoming folk festivals to look out for in July:

The Mariposa Folk Festival was off to a good start in 1961, with headliners Ian Tyson and Sylvia Fricker, and has been attracting folk music enthusiasts and musicians ever since. This year, it is being held in Tudhope Park in Ontario, Canada from July 5-7. Camp alongside the sparkling Lake Couchiching, waking up to days filled with Tai Chi, afternoons building your own ukulele, and evenings spent listening to Arlo Guthrie and Randy Bachman. Tickets range from $15-150. Please see more details on the website by clicking here.

The name captures it all — Blissfest is pure heaven. Just three years after celebrating its 30th Anniversary, this festival is still relatively young. This year, it will feature Taj Mahal and 44 other folk musicians that you may or may not have heard of but that you’ll enjoy listening to nonetheless. It will run from July 12th through the 14th and is located at the Blissfest Festival Farm in Harbor Springs, Michigan. Visit their website for more info!

The Pleasantville Music Fest packs a whole lot of action into just one day! Noteworthy bands like Delta Rae, Brett Dennen, and Red Wanting Blue are just a few of the talented performers being featured. The festival starts at noon on July 13th, and it ends later that night at 8:30.The festival will take place in Parkway Field in Pleasantville NY, and tickets are $40 for adults. Visit their website for more info!

A great line-up for a great cause sounds too good to be true, but that’s what you’ll find at Musicians Against Childhood Cancer: Bluegrass Classic in Ohio. You can hum along to Junior Sisk, Russell Moore, Rhonda Vincent, Larry Sparks, and Doyle Lawson knowing that you’re helping children live longer, better lives. Tickets range from $17.50-105, and the proceeds are donated to Memphis, Tennessee’s St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.It starts July 17th and goes until the 20th, so even if you can’t attend the whole festival, you can still stop by for a fun, feel-good day! Visit their website for more info!

From July 26-28, Lowell National Historical Park will host a diverse collection of international artists, known as the Lowell Folk Festival. Many unique types of music will be performed, such as Chicago Blues, Dominican Carnival, Quebecois, Italian, West African highlife, and Western Swing. Best of all, this rare festival is free! Visit their website for more info!

– Kelsey Leck