2023 LOWELL FOLK FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES
FULL PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Folk Music, Crafts and Food From Around the World
Showcased Throughout Lowell, MA July 28-30
Complete Festival Schedule Here
(Lowell MA-July 17, 2023)The2023 Lowell Folk Festivalin Lowell, Massachusetts, hosts its 36th annual event Friday, July 28ththrough Sunday, July 30th, with music, traditional crafts and foods that span the globe. Thisfree3-day celebration presents world-class musicians playing folk music from different cultures and traditional craft artists with their apprentices, giving festival-goers an opportunity to experience the remarkable diversity of the arts. More information, including a complete schedule of performances, activities, and foods available for purchase representing cuisines from 5 different continents, is available atlowellfolkfestival.org.
The Festival opens onFriday, July 28, at 6:15pm with the Parade of Flags atBoarding House Park,led by Haitian musiciansLakou Mizak. Local community members representing the diverse cultures who call Lowell home, will carry flags across the stage representing their country and cultures of origin. The Opening Ceremony will include remarks bylocal officials and thefestival producing partners.
Friday evening’s performances on the Boarding House Park stage and the Dance Pavilion kick off a remarkable weekend of world-class musicianship that makes the Lowell Folk Festival one of the largest and most respected in the country. A full performance schedule is online atlowellfolkfestival.org.
“On behalf of all our producing partners, we are thrilled and honored to share great artists from around the world in one of the most welcoming communities in the country,” said Lee Viliesis, Lowell Folk Festival Coordinator.
The 2023 Lowell Folk Festival also features moderated conversations/demonstrations that provide audiences the opportunity to hear Festival artists from diverse cultural backgrounds explore the connections, similarities, and differences in their musical journeys.
Saturday at Market Street Stage tap dancer Jason Samuels Smith, percussionist Bernard Linette, Heart of Afghanistan’s Sohail Karimi, and Mouhamadou Sarr (Sona Jobarteh) have a syncopated chatTo the Beat;aConversation in Rhythm.Hot Club of Cowtown’s Whit Smith, blues legend Melody Angel and sacred steel guitar powerhouse Fran Grace will talk about all things guitar in a session calledGuitar Slingers: Swing, Blues, Steel.
Also on Saturday at Saint Anne’s Churchyard,Fiddling Around the Worldhas violinists Liz Carroll (Trian), Elana James (Hot Club of Cowtown), Valeria Glava (Cheres) and Tim Laughlin exploring how adaptable the violin is to music of diverse cultures. Igor Iachimciuc, who plays tsymbaly (a type of hammered dulcimer) in the Ukrainian group Cheres, joins kora virtuoso Sona Jobarteh and her bandmates Angelo Freire and Bernardo Saldanha to exploreRites of String: Lisbon to Lviv.
Sunday’s conversation at the Market Street Stage brings together fado singer Sara Correia, Ahmad Fanoos (Heart of Afghanistan), and Linda Lay (Springfield Exit) to exploreSongs of Longing, Loss and Love.At Saint Anne’s Churchyard, Fred Thomas and Chuck Mead will compare notes inFrom the Opry to Soul Train: Rockabilly and R&B Troubadours. Billy McComiskey (Trian), Victor Cebotari (Cheres), Drew Simon (T’Monde), and Sandy Theodorou (REVMA) will discuss their beloved “squeeze box,” in a session titledAll Boxed In.
Foods From Around the World,
“One of the things we love about the Festival is that it gives us a chance to share the many tastes of Lowell’s cultural cuisines with guests who come from all over the country to attend this event every year,” said Viliesis.
At Boarding House Park, the Dance Pavilion and Market Street, Festival goers will be able to purchase a wide variety of foods prepared and sold by local non-profit community organizations with proceeds benefiting these numerous worthy projects and programs. Foods from a wide array of cultures including Portuguese, Brazilian, Greek, Polish, Asian, Latin, African, Burmese and so many others, promise a rich and diverse culinary and cultural experience for hungry folk arts lovers of all ages.
Major support for the Lowell Folk Festival comes from Mass Cultural Council, the City of Lowell, Saab Family Foundation / Saab Center for Portuguese Studies, Pridestar/Trinity EMS, Richard K. and Nancy Donahue, Demoulas Foundation, John Hunnewell Trust, Middlesex Community College, Merrimack Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau/ Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, UMass Lowell, Mahoney Oil/Eastern Salt, the Greater Lowell Community Foundation, UMass Lowell Inn and Conference Center, Enterprise Bank, Aubert Fay Foundation, and Jean D’Arc Credit Union.
The Lowell Folk Festival is produced by the Lowell Festival Foundation, the City of Lowell, Lowell National Historical Park, the National Council for the Traditional Arts, the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Lowell Community Foundation, and the Greater Merrimack Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The 2023 Lowell Folk Festival is Friday July 28-Sunday July 30 is free to the public, and presented on various stages throughout downtown Lowell, MA. For additional information, along with performance schedules, visitLowell Folk Festival.
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Full List of Performance Lineups:
Cheres, celebrated as “the best purveyor of authentic Ukrainian folk music in the United States” plays atSaint Anne’s Churchyardon Saturday at 1:15pm and Sunday at 5:15pm, and atBoarding House Parkon Sunday at 1:00pm.
Chuck Mead,a true Rockabilly and Honky-Tonk legend, performs atBoarding House ParkFriday at 7:15pm, on theMarket Street StageSaturday at 4:30pmand atDance PavilionSaturday at 7:30pm, and Sunday 1:15pm.
Fran Grace,who was proclaimed a “Queen of Sacred Steel” by the Sacred Steel Hall of Fame performs atMarket Street Stageon Saturday at 3:30pm; on Sunday she’ll be atBoarding House Parkat 12:00pm andMarket Street Stageat 4:05pm.
Fred Thomas of the JB’s,one of most influential bass players alive today, will perform Saturday atDance Pavilionat 5:20pm andBoarding House Parkat 9:30pm; and atDance PavilionSunday at 5:05pm.
Heart Of Afghanistan Feat. Ahmad Fanoos & Sohail Karimiperform songs spanning Afghanistan’s rich and complex musical heritage on Saturday atSaint Anne’s Churchyardat 4:15pm, and atMarket Street StageSaturday at 1:15pm, and Sunday at 12:00pm.
Hot Club of Cowtowncelebrating over 20 years together, is widely recognized as one of the finest ensembles in western swing and hot jazz today, and can be seen on Saturday atBoarding House Parkat 8:30pm and at theDance Pavilionon Saturday at 12:00pm and Sunday at 3:45pm.
Jason Samuels Smith,called the next greatest American tap dancer in the tradition of Savion Glover, Gregory Hines, and his own grandfather Benjamin Smith- who trained the legendary Nichols Brothers, performs Saturday atBoarding House Parkat 2:05pm and onMarket Street StageSaturday at 6:15pm and Sunday at 1:00pm.
Lakou Mizikbrings music, community, and spiritual connection from their native Haiti to backyards (and festivals) across the globe. They perform on Friday at 8:45pm atDance Pavilion, Saturday atBoarding House Parkat 5:20pm and atJohn and Merrimack Streeton Sunday at 2:30pm.
Melody Angelhas received criticalpraise as “the Future of the Blues” and will perform atBoarding House ParkFriday at 9:15pm and Sunday at 5:30pm . On Saturday she will be at theDance Pavilionat 8:45pm and Sunday at 2:30pm.
The Red Trouser Show, featuring Tobin Renwick and David Graham, will perform their “never-before-seen combination of precision acrobatics paired with daring feats,” Saturday at 4:30pm and Sunday at 12:30pm atJohn Street and Merrimack Street,
REVMAperforms music from a wide spectrum of Greektraditions, ranging from lively island dances to mesmerizing polyphonic ballads. They will be performing on Saturday atDance Pavilionat 1:15pm andBoarding House Parkat 3:05pm. They also perform Sunday at 3:00pm atSaint Anne’s Churchyard.
Sona Jobarteh, a rising world-music phenomenon and the first professional female Kora virtuoso to come from any West African Griot dynasty, performs atBoarding House Park Friday at 8:15pm and Saturday at 4:05pm, and at theMarket Street StageSaturday at7:15pm
Springfield Exit,led by Linda Lay, considered one of the best singers in grassroots bluegrass and country music, playsBoarding House ParkSaturday at 12:00pm and Sunday at 3:15pm. On Sunday, they play atSaint Anne’s Churchyardat 12:00pm.
T’Monde, Louisiana’s acclaimed Cajun ensemble plays at theDance PavilionFriday at 7:15pm, Saturday at 3:50pm, and Sunday at 12:00pm,as well asBoarding House Parkon Sunday at 2:00pm.
Trian,thought to be the best trio of Irish musicians in America, playsSaturday atBoarding House Parkat 1:00pm, atSaint Anne’s ChurchyardSaturday at 6:15pm and Sunday at 1:45pm, and theMarket Street StageSunday at 5:20pm
Zuni Olla Maidens, perform traditional Zuni dance and song (current members of the Zuni Olla Maidens are all from the same extended family that has led the group since the 1940s) Saturday atJohn Street and Merrimack Streetat 12:00pm, Saint Anne’s Churchyardat 2:20pm, and theMarket Street Stageat 5:30pm. On Sunday they’ll beSaint Anne’s Churchyardat 1:00pm.
