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The National Folk Festival partners with the Mississippi NAACP State Conference to present Jackson’s own Bobby Rush Jackson, MS — Today the National Folk Festival announced six additional artists appearing at the 82nd National Folk Festival in downtown Jackson from November 7-9, 2025, the first year of the event’s three-year residency in the capital city. Mississippi, with its rich musical …

Jackson, MS — Organizers are excited to announce the performers featured in the Family Area, and throughout other areas of the festival through pop-up street performances, at the 82nd National Folk Festival in downtown Jackson from November 7-9, 2025. This is the first year of the event’s three-year residency in Mississippi’s capital city. “The Family Area Stage is a vital …

Phil Wiggins, arguably America’s foremost blues harmonica virtuoso, passed away on May 7, 2024, a day shy of his 70th birthday. His history with the NCTA goes back decades as a frequent performer at our festivals, a valued collaborator on many tours, and later, a board member for many years. His kindness was felt by so many of us, and …

MEDIA RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2022 CONTACT: Caroline O’Hare, National Folk Festival Local Manager / nff@ncta-usa.org     Announcing the Maryland Traditions Folklife Area Program at the 81st National Folk Festival   SALISBURY, MD (June 14, 2022) – Today, the 81st National Folk Festival announced the Maryland Traditions Folklife Area & Stage program, sharing details about the performers, craftspeople, and demonstrators who will be featured in this …

San Juan, PR – Today the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), the National Park Service, and La Casa de la Plena, announce a historic new collaborative and free public performance project, Pleneando en el Castillo San Cristóbal. This new series of interactive and family friendly workshops and performances feature Plena, a Puerto Rican heritage expression, rooted in oral …

Bring America’s premier celebration of traditional arts and culture to your community! 2021-2023 National Folk Festival applications now being accepted

Taking place in our nation’s capital, the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship awards ceremony and concert honors extraordinary practitioners of the folk and traditional arts in the United States. The NCTA has had the honor of producing this NEA honorific for 34 years. You can read more about this marvelous event here. The 2018 NEA National Heritage …

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