Richmond Folk Festival Announces 25 Artists

The Richmond Folk Festival has announced 25 artists who will be performing at the 2018 Richmond Folk Festival on the weekend of October 12-14.

This year’s program includes a spectacular group of diverse musicians and dancers from around the world; six of these artists carry on cultural traditions that have never been featured at the festival before. In addition to previously announced artists, including gospel, soul, and rhythm and blues icon Mavis Staples and award-winning Irish musician Jarlath Henderson, New Orleans bounce music pioneer Ricky B will perform, as will Chinese wind and percussion masters, the Zhou Family Band, rising jazz star Brianna Thomas, and many more.

With talented performers on seven stages, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. The Richmond Folk Festival’s dedication to opening eyes, ears, and hearts to cultural traditions from all over the world has helped it become the largest festival of its kind in the country. And, thanks to the generous support of community sponsors and individual donors, the three-day festival remains completely free to the public.

“It’s something special to watch Richmonders gather to discover and celebrate cultural traditions,” Venture Richmond executive director Lisa Sims said. “We are extremely grateful to the community for keeping the festival going strong all of these years. It has become a tradition all its own.”

The roster of 2018 Richmond Folk Festival artists includes:

Bounxeung Synanonh (Laotian khaen)
Fresno, California

Brianna Thomas (jazz)
New York, New York

Claire Lynch (bluegrass)
Nashville, Tennessee

Cora Harvey Armstrong (gospel)
Richmond, Virginia

Farah Yasmeen Shaikh (Kathak dance)
San Francisco, California

Jarlath Henderson (Irish)
County Armagh, Northern Ireland

Jeff Little Trio (Blue Ridge piano trio)
Boone, Virginia

Josh Goforth (Appalachian storytelling)
Asheville, North Carolina

Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne (blues and boogie-woogie piano)
Vancouver, British Columbia

Larry Bland & the Volunteer Choir (gospel choir)
Richmond, Virginia

Leroy Thomas & the Zydeco Roadrunners (zydeco)
Elton, Louisiana

Linda Gail Lewis (rockabilly)
Austin, Texas

Lulo Reinhardt (Gypsy jazz)
Koblenz, Germany

Mavis Staples (gospel, soul, rhythm and blues)
Chicago, Illinois

The New York Crimean Tatar Ensemble (Crimean Tatar)
Brooklyn, New York

Orquesta el Macabeo (salsa)
Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico

Pan Franek, Zosia & the Polka Towners (polka)
Muskegon, Michigan

Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus (reggae)
Los Angeles, California

Ricky B (New Orleans bounce)
New Orleans, Louisiana

Sona Jobarteh (Manding griot)
Kartong, The Gambia

Tamburaški Sastav Ponoć (tamburitza)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Tribu Baharú (Afro-Colombian champeta)
Bogotá, Colombia

Vishtèn (Acadian)
Prince Edward Island and Magdalen Islands, Québec

Zhou Family Band (traditional wind and percussion music from central-eastern China)
Anhui Province, China

Zuni Olla Maidens (Zuni dance and song)
Zuni, New Mexico

Click here for extended bios, plus audio and video samples.

Venture Richmond Events produces the Richmond Folk Festival in partnership with the City of Richmond, National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), The American Civil War Museum, the Children’s Museum of Richmond, and the Virginia Folklife Program.

For more information about the Richmond Folk Festival, visit www.richmondfolkfestival.org

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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 as 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 of Richmond, 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 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 both the Downtown and Riverfront including; the Clean & Safe program, beautification and landscaping projects and management and maintenance of Brown’s Island, the Canal Walk and Belle Isle parking lot. Venture Richmond Events produces Friday Cheers, the 2nd Street Festival, the Richmond Folk Festival, and partners with the Richmond Sportsbackers to produce Dominion Energy Riverrock. Venture Richmond also operates Riverfront Canal Cruises. 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

The National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the presentation and documentation of folk and traditional arts in the United States. Founded in 1933, it is the nation’s oldest folk arts organization. The NCTA presents the nation’s very finest traditional artists in festivals, tours, international cultural exchanges, workshops, demonstrations and exhibitions, media productions, school programs, and other activities. It works in partnership with communities across America to establish new, sustainable traditional arts events that deliver lasting social, cultural, and economic benefits. For more about the NCTA, visit ncta-usa.org.