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Nineteen North Carolina performing groups and individuals will appear in downtown Greensboro from September 9 – 11, 2016 at the 76th National Folk Festival. The free event in 2016 marks the event’s second year of its three-year residency in Greensboro. Last fall, the 75th National Folk Festival attracted more than 102,000 attendees to downtown Greensboro for the FREE, three-day weekend.
The North Carolinians form almost half of the entire artistic roster. They include people with roots in North Carolina that go back many generations and immigrants from southeast Asia, Mexico, Ireland, Liberia, Senegal, Puerto Rico, and Eritrea. They range from a spectacular performance jump rope team to an international pop star, from astonishing young bluegrass musicians to a flea circus.
Haywood, Buncombe, and Wilkes Counties in the Mountains will also be represented.
The Alt – Irish: Three masters of Irish music—Asheville guitarist John Doyle; accordionist, whistle player, singer and composer Mick McCauley; and singer and guitar- and bouzouki-player Eamon O’Leary—have come together to celebrate the songs and spirit at the core of the tradition. The ballads, tunes, and new and rediscovered songs each artist brings to The Alt reflect their love of the traditional music that has been a touchstone of Irish identity for generations. They also build on the heritage of Irish immigrants who settled in Appalachia, where Irish song provided some of the building blocks for old-time, country, and bluegrass. In choosing to record their first album, the eponymously titled The Alt, at a cabin in North Carolina’s Appalachian Mountains, The Alt embraced this fruitful musical lineage.
Balsam Range – Bluegrass: All the members of this bluegrass supergroup grew up—and still live—in Haywood County, N.C. Their fourth album, Papertown, was the 2013 IBMA Album of the Year. The band is: 2015 IBMA Bass Player of the Year Tim Surrett; North Carolina Heritage Award winner Marc Pruett on banjo; luthier and award-winning gospel singer Caleb Smith on guitar; the “Jimi Hendrix of the mandolin,” Darren Nicholson; and 2014 IBMA Male Vocalist of the year Buddy Melton on fiddle. Together, they’re Balsam Range.
Two years ago, 12-year-old flatpicking phenom Presley Barker of Traphill, founded the band ShadowGrass with Kitty Amaral, age 14, of Elk Creek, Virginia. Kitty is a show-stopping competition fiddler who is currently apprenticed with bluegrass singer Linda Lay and master musician Scott Freeman through the Virginia Folklife Program. Presley has studied guitar with Blue Ridge masters Steve Lewis and National Heritage Fellow Wayne Henderson. Last year, Presley made his mark by defeating his mentor Henderson in the adult division guitar competition at the Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention. The other members of ShadowGrass are also stars of the regional competition scene: 11-year-old upright bass player Kyser George, 15-year-old banjo whiz Clay Russell, and 16-year-old mandolin player Luke Morris.
About the 2016 National Folk Festival: Co-produced by the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) and ArtsGreensboro, the National Folk Festival is celebrating the second year of its three-year residency in downtown Greensboro in 2016. The FREE, three-day event is America’s longest-running festival of traditional arts. nationalfolkfestival.com
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