Philadelphia Folk Festival

The Philadelphia Folk Festival is a folk music festival held annually at Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford, Pennsylvania, in the vicinity of Philadelphia.[1]

Philadelphia Folk Festival
GenreFolk, Country, Blues, Folk rock
Datesfour days on the third week of August
Location(s)Upper Salford Township, Pennsylvania, USA
Years activeSince 1962
WebsiteOfficial website

The four-day festival, which is produced and run almost entirely by volunteers and sponsored by the non-profit Philadelphia Folksong Society, is claimed to be the oldest continually-run outdoor music festival in North America.[2]

The event hosts contemporary and traditional artists in genres under the umbrella of Folk, including World/Fusion, Celtic, Singer/Songwriter, Folk Rock, Country, Klezmer, and Dance.

Gene Shay and folklorist Kenneth S. Goldstein[3] founded the festival, along with George Britton, Bob Seigel, David Baskin, Esther Halpern, and others. Shay has acted as Master of Ceremonies since its inception and Goldstein served as Program Director for the first 15 years.[4]

Originally held on Wilson Farm in Paoli, Pennsylvania,[5] each year the event hosts over 35,000 visitors and nearly 7,000 campers at the Old Pool Farm.[6] The event presents over 75 hours of music with local, regional, and national talent on 8 stages. A special Camp Stage show takes place on Thursday night, hosted by WXPN radio for the nationally syndicated World Cafe with David Dye.[6]

The Philadelphia Folksong Society presents the Philadelphia Folk Festival and has a full-time, year-round staff.[7] The current PFS Executive Director is Justin Nordell. Past E.D.s include Lauri Barish and Levi Landis.

This festival will go online in 2020, as live concerts were cancelled caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

See also

References
  1. "Philadelphia Folk Festival Archives - Page 4 of 4 - The Key". The Key. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  2. "Philadelphia Folk Festival - Philadelphia Folksong Society". Philadelphia Folksong Society. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
  3. Pareles, Jon (15 November 1995). "Kenneth S. Goldstein Dies at 68; Folklore Teacher and Collector". Retrieved 18 December 2017 – via NYTimes.com.
  4. "Philadelphia Folk Festival: A Short History", That Music Magazine.
  5. "When the Philadelphia Folk Festival Was Held in Paoli" Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society History Quarterly Digital Archives.
  6. "Folk On Folk: Ian Zolitor of WXPN’s Folk Show recaps the Philadelphia Folk Fest", The Key, WXPN.
  7. "Philadelphia Folk Festival", Visit Philadelphia.
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