RICHMOND, VA: The Richmond Folk Festival returns September 27-29, celebrating its 20th anniversary!
Over the past 20 years, the Richmond Folk Festival has grown to be one of Virginia’s largest and most cherished events. It draws fans each year to Downtown Richmond’s riverfront to celebrate the roots, richness, and variety of American culture through music, dance, traditional crafts, storytelling, and food. The event's success over the past two decades has contributed to transforming the riverfront's popularity and growth.
The free festival hosts 200,000 people over a three-day weekend. Featuring six stages and showcasing music and dance from more than 30 performing groups from around the nation and the world, the Richmond Folk Festival today announces 11 additional artists of what will once again make up an artistically excellent program that honors and celebrates the traditions of diverse cultures and communities. To commemorate the event’s 20th anniversary, this year the festival will feature numerous favorites from past years.
“This year’s Richmond Folk Festival is a spectacular mix of the familiar and the new,” said Blaine Waide, executive director of the National Council for the Traditional Arts. “Alongside four musical traditions that are making their debut on Richmond stages, we are thrilled to welcome back a number of ‘best of’ artists from previous years. From the Sahara and the Crow Reservation in Montana to artists from right here in Richmond, this year’s program is a special commemoration of the festival’s amazing success and reach over the past 20 years.”
The Richmond Folk Festival is presented by Venture Richmond Events in partnership with the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), Virginia Humanities, Center for Cultural Vibrancy, Children’s Museum and the City of Richmond.
Additional artists to be featured at the 2024 Richmond Folk Festival include:
(*favorites from past years are indicated with an asterisk)
Albert Lee (rockabilly)
Malibu, California
*Bombino (Tuareg guitar)
Agadez, Niger
*Cora Harvey Armstrong (gospel)
Richmond, Virginia
*Eddie Cotton, Jr. (soul blues)
Clinton, Mississippi
LOS RICOS featuring Sonia & Ismael (flamenco)
New York, New York
Sheryl Cormier & Cajun Sounds (Cajun)
Carencro, Louisiana
*Stepping Back (step team competition)
central Virginia
*Supaman (Native American hip hop)
Crow Reservation, near Billings, Montana
*Tremé Brass Band (New Orleans brass band)
New Orleans, Louisiana
Ustad Noor Bakhsh (benju master)
Pasni, Balochistan, Pakistan
*Wayne Henderson & Friends (Appalachian finger-picked guitar)
Rugby, Virginia
Click here for extended artist bios, plus audio and video samples on our website.
The Sounds of Culture: 20 Years of the Richmond Folk Festival, a VPM Documentary
VPM, working in partnership with Venture Richmond and the Richmond Folk Festival, has produced a television documentary for the 20th anniversary of the Richmond Folk Festival.
Capturing footage of the 2023 Richmond Folk Festival, as well as interviews with staff, artists, volunteers and more, The Sounds of Culture sheds light into Richmond’s best festival and the country’s largest Folk Festival.
The Sounds of Culture: 20 Years of the Richmond Folk Festival weaves the story of the Festival’s history into the broader image of today’s festival. The documentary chronicles the numerous stages, folklife areas and public participation around the expansive festival grounds, with music at the center point of the narrative. Viewers also meet event organizer Stephen Lecky, director of events at Venture Richmond, as he navigates the 2023 festival. Other interviews include current and past performers, volunteers and festival attendees.
The Sounds of Culture: 20 years of the Richmond Folk Festival premieres on Tuesday, September 17 at 8:00pm. It can be seen on VPM PBS Richmond, VPM PBS Charlottesville, VPM PBS Harrisonburg and live streamed on the PBS app. Learn more on our website.
Help to Support the Richmond Folk Festival by becoming a Volunteer
Ever wonder what makes the Richmond Folk Festival so great? Sure, it’s the music, food, crafts, and culture, but what makes it even better are the volunteers who show up and support it! From beverage sales to safety escorts to the bucket brigade, each volunteer enhances the festival. It’s also a great opportunity for groups who are looking for fun ways to contribute to the community. Help support Richmond’s amazing arts and music community – sign up to volunteer!
Benefits of volunteering for the Richmond Folk Festival:
● A FREE Volunteer T-shirt
● FREE close-in parking during your shift
● A discount at the merchandise tent
● A very special chance to join the after-party, where you can rub elbows with some of the festival performers!
We rely on more than 800 awesome folks to help collect donations, sell sodas, pour beer, and more! And it's easy, just sign up to volunteer today!
Festival Hours
Friday, September 27 — 6:30pm - 10:00pm
Saturday, September 28 — 12:00pm - 9:30pm
Sunday, September 29 — 12:00pm - 6:00pm
For more information about the Richmond Folk Festival, visit richmondfolkfestival.org. #RVAFolkFest
Text to Give! Text FOLK to 44321.
The Richmond Folk Festival is sponsored in part by: Altria, Dominion Energy, CoStar Group, CarMax, Pauley Family Foundation, NewMarket Corp., City of Richmond, Performance Food Group, Brown Distributing, National Endowment for the Arts, Community Foundation, Atlantic Union Bank, VPM, WNRN, 12 On Your Side, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Style Weekly, Virginia is for Lovers, Capital Vacations, National Council for the Traditional Arts, Virginia Humanities, Center for Cultural Vibrancy, Children’s Museum, University of Richmond, Fralin Pickup, Mid Atlantic Folk and Traditional Arts, Hilton Richmond Downtown, American Civil War Museum, National Park Service, The Crooked Road, Jam, Inc., Plan 9 Music, RMC Events, PD Brooks, Virginia Housing, Winn Transportation, TNT Auto Rental, House of Hayes, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Virginia War Memorial
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About the Richmond Folk Festival
The Richmond Folk Festival is one of Virginia's largest events, drawing visitors from all over the country to downtown Richmond's historic riverfront. The festival is a FREE three-day event that got its start when Richmond hosted the National Council for the Traditional Arts’ National Folk Festival, held in Richmond from 2005-2007. In the tradition of “The National," the Richmond Folk Festival features excellent performing groups representing a diverse array of cultural traditions on seven stages. The festival includes continuous music and dance performances, a Virginia Folklife Area featuring ongoing demonstrations, an interactive Family Area produced by the Children's Museum, a folk-art marketplace, regional and ethnic foods, festival merchandise and more. Additional information is available at www.richmondfolkfestival.org.
About Venture Richmond
Venture Richmond, Inc. is a non-profit organization formed to engage business and community leaders in partnering with the City to enhance the vitality of the community, particularly Downtown, through economic development, marketing, promotion, advocacy and events. Venture Richmond provides enhanced property management services for Downtown, Manchester and the Riverfront including the Clean & Safe program, beautification and landscaping projects, and management and maintenance of Brown's Island, the Canal Walk and the Belle Isle parking lot.
Venture Richmond Events, LLC, produces Friday Cheers, the 2nd Street Festival, and the Richmond Folk Festival, and partners with Sports Backers to produce Dominion Energy Riverrock.
Riverfront Canal Cruises, LLC, operates historically narrated boat tours and private charters of the James River and Kanawha Canal.
Both Venture Richmond Events, LLC, and Riverfront Canal Cruises, LLC, are subsidiaries of Venture Richmond, Inc. For more information visit www.venturerichmond.com.
About the National Council for the Traditional Arts
A leading non-profit in the field, the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) is dedicated to the presentation and documentation of folk and traditional arts in the U.S. Stressing excellence and traditionality, the NCTA presents the nation’s finest traditional artists in major festivals, tours, concerts, workshops, demonstrations, exhibitions, media productions, school programs, cross-cultural exchanges and other activities. It works in partnership with American communities to establish new, sustainable traditional arts events that deliver lasting social, cultural and economic benefits. Over 7,000 hours of the NCTA’s archival audio recordings dating from the 1930s are permanently housed at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The NCTA champions the interests of folk and traditional artists and organizations in the arena of public policy. For more about the NCTA, visit http://ncta-usa.org/.
Venture Richmond, 200 S. Third Street, Richmond, VA 23219