4th Annual Brooklyn Folk Festival

2011 Festival Highlights Film

admin — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:07:11 +0000

Brooklyn Folk Festival 2011 Highlights

Check out this awesome 4 minute film produced by Natasha Mottola, showcasing highlights from last years Brooklyn Folk Festival!

See You in May For the Brooklyn Folk Festival!

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:01:25 +0000

Down Home Radio Show and The Fabulous Jalopy Theatre announce the 4th Annual Brooklyn Folk Festival taking place Friday, May 18th through Sunday, May 20th in Brooklyn, NY. The 3-day festival includes 30+ bands, vocal and instrumental workshops, a family-friendly square dance, film screenings and as well as the return (in a new form) of the much loved “Banjo Toss” competition of 2011!

The Brooklyn Folk Festival will feature the best in old-time string-band music, folk, blues, song writers, bluegrass, Klezmer, Caribbean and Balkan folk music, songwriters and much more!

This year the festival will be held in Downtown Brooklyn at 345 Jay Street, between Metrotech and Willoughby streets. It is easily accessible from the A,C,F,R,2,3,4,5 & G trains.

Click here to invite your friends to the festival on our Facebook event page!

See the festival lineup here!

Swing Your Partner!

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:59:37 +0000

We can’t wait to dance with you at this year’s Brooklyn Folk Festival square dance! It is a family-friendly affair, so bring the kids and the grandparents!

Banjo-themed Carnival Events!

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:54:16 +0000

Last year, we made a splash with our famous banjo toss competition in which 75 people took up our challenge to see who could throw a banjo the furthest into the New York harbor. The winner was Sean Geil of the band, The Tillers, who took home the new banjo prize for his 62-foot toss! (Click here to watch the prize ceremony.) But, this year the festival is in Downtown Brooklyn, far away from the ocean…so, we’ll be presenting a new competition, or two… Stay tuned! (We know that banjos are hard to keep in tune.)

Showcasing Local Folk Talent

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:30:35 +0000

Four years ago, local old-time musician Eli Smith, host of the online Down Home Radio Show, dreamed up the Brooklyn Folk Festival to showcase the talent emerging from the exploding folk music scene in New York City. Here is a sampling of previous years’ talent.

3rd Annual Brooklyn Folk Festival 2011
Alan Friend • Black Sea Hotel • Boom Chick • Clifton Hicks • Elizabeth Butters • Feral Foster • Hubby Jenkins • Jackson Lynch • Jake Sanders • Jay Gandhi Nitin Mitta • Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton • Kerri Lowe • Lankandia Cissoko • Larry Hanks & Deborah Robbins • Litvakus • Major Contay and the Canebreak Rattlers • Nathan Salsburg • Peter Stampfel & The Ether Frolic Mob • Radio Jarocho • The Americans • The Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues • The Dust Busters • The Little Brothers • The Newtown Gang • The Pearly Snaps • The Roulette Sisters • The Tillers • The Whiskey Spitters • The Whistling Wolves • Uncle Monk • Willy Gantrim • Winston Fleary and the Big Drum Nation Dance Company

2nd Annual Brooklyn Folk Festival 2010
Alan Friend • Banjorama • Blind Boy Paxton • Bobby D’amore • Bob Malenky • Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues • Calamity Janes • Clifton Hicks • Danny Kalb • Dave Harvey • East River String Band • Eli Smith • Elizabeth Butters • Ernie Vega • Feral Foster • George Stavis • Hubby Jenkins • Isto • John Cohen & Annabel Lee • Mamie Minch • Pat Conte • Peter K. Siegel • Radio Jarocho • Rashad Brown • Sam Doores • Stephen Strohmeier • The Bill Murray Experience • The Dough Rollers • The Dust Busters • Willy Gantrim

1st Annual Brooklyn Folk Festival 2009
Alex Battles w/ Banjorama • Blind Boy Paxton • Bob Malenky • Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues • East River String Band • Elizabeth Butters • Ernie Vega • Feral Foster • Frank Hoier • Hubby Jenkins • Jessy Carolina • John Cohen • Mamie Minch • Pat Conte • Sana Ndiaye • Semilla • Strung Out String Band • The Cangelosi Cards • The Dust Busters • The Whistling Wolves • Willy Gantrim

Sounds From the Past…

admin — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:32:59 +0000

Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton performs at the Brooklyn Folk Festival last year. Courtesy of North Carolina banjo player Clifton Hicks, who also performed in 2011.

Clifton Hicks warms up backstage at the 2010 Brooklyn Folk Festival. Film produced by ChiProductions.