Folk To Go
Friday, Oct. 14
7-7:45 p.m.
Mary Jane Lamond and Wendy MacIsaac on the Altria Stage
Feel the sea in your ears when vocalist Lamond and fiddler MacIsaac perform the traditional, and beautiful, tunes of the Cape Breton Islands.
8-8:45 p.m.
Qi Shu Fang Peking Opera at MWV Stage
This Chinese-American company showcases the Peking Opera tradition in all of its colorful, over-the-top glory. From dance to vocal histrionics to acrobatics, the performance is all about spectacle.
9:30-10:30 p.m.
Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys at Dominion Dance Pavilion
These Bayou legends have been stirring up dance halls and outdoor festival crowds for more than 20 years with kicked up Louisiana grooves. Warn your feet.
Saturday, Oct. 15
12-1:15 p.m.
Winograd’s Nue Tanzhoyz Kapele at Dominion Dance Pavilion
Clarinetist Michael Winograd and dance teacher Steve Weinberg are helping to keep the Eastern European klezmer tradition alive and relevant.
1:30-2:15 p.m.
Imamyar Hasanov and Pajman Hadadi at Martins/Union First Market Bank Stage
Kamacha (spiked fiddle) virtuoso Hasanov and Iranian percussionist Hadadi specialize in trance-inducing sounds that wed Azerbaijani folk with classical poetry and improvisational modes.
2:30-3 p.m.
Horn’s Punch and Judy Show at Martin’s/Union First Market Bank Stage
Punch and Judy puppet shows have been around since at least 1662, and professor Mark Walker is one the form’s contemporary masters. If you like slapstick humor, and don’t mind a bit of interaction with the entertainment, this one’s for you.
3-4 p.m.
Magic Slim and the Teardrops with Big Time Sarah at the Altria Stage
It wouldn’t be a Richmond Folk Fest without some house-rocking blues, and guitarist Magic Slim is one of the few remaining Chicago originals. Plus he’s packing real heat here – the boisterous, tell-it-like-it-is vocalist Sarah.
4:15-5:15 p.m.
The Mighty Diamonds at the Dominion Dance Pavilion
Few reggae bands can boast deeper roots, or smokier grooves, than this Kingston, Jamaica, harmony trio, who gave us the original “Pass the Dutchie.”
5:30-6:15 p.m.
Pedrito Martinez Group on the Community Foundation Stage
Martinez and his quartet evoke the classic rhythms of Afro-Cuban music — so expressive and talented that they can replicate the sound of a 10-piece band. Percussion aficionados are on notice.
6:30-7:15 p.m.
Larry Chance and the Earls on the Community Foundation Stage
Here, experience doo-wop music in all of its harmonic glory when Chance, one of the originators of the form, takes you down memory lane with his soulful street-corner group.
7:15-8:15 p.m.
Stop to eat!
The festival features food from 31 vendors serving specialties that are several cuts above normal festival fare. Newcomers include vegan food truck Goatocado, Hull Street Mexican restaurant La Milpa and Sam Miller’s.
8:15-9:45 p.m.
Tibetan Monks of the Drepung Loseling Monastery on the MWV Stage
With vibrant costumes and temple instruments such as the long horn trumpet and cymbals, the monks aim to bring healing through sacred art and preserve the threatened Tibetan culture.
9:45-10:45 p.m.
Original P at Dominion Dance Pavilion
These founding members of the Parliament-Funkadelic empire (along with their offspring) help keep the P-Funk mission alive by taking it to the stage — proving that funk is still a ham hock in your cornflakes.
Sunday, Oct. 16
12-12:15 p.m.
A tribute to the late Page Wilson at the Altria Stage
This will be a tuneful tribute to the late “Out of the Blue Radio Revue” host, who was a guiding force on the festival programming committee.
12:15-1 p.m.
Redd Volkaert Band with Cindy Cashdollar at the Altria Stage
The master of the Fender Telecaster and Merle Haggard’s former lead guitarist, and the queen of the steel guitar team up to present both kinds of music — country and western. You’ll be amazed at what the touching and bending of strings can do.
1-2 p.m.
Old Bay Ceili Band / “Ceili Dance” at Dominion Dance Pavilion
A ceili is the Irish equivalent of a square dance, and this performance by one of America’s best traditional Irish bands will feature veteran dance caller Jim Keenan.
2:15-3 p.m.
Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba at Altria Stage
Centered on the percussive melodic lines of the lutelike ngoni, the Malian music of Bassekou Kouyate and his band has a layered drive with a strong familial resemblance to the blues.
3:30-4:15 p.m.
S.H. Thompson Memorial Choir at Altria Stage
Formed in 1954 at St. Peter Baptist Church in Glen Allen, this 50-member choir is considered one of the most accomplished, and passionate, in a region filled with great gospel ensembles.
4:30-5:30 p.m.
Chatham County Line at Community Foundation Stage
This stellar North Carolina group plays timeless bluegrass, with enough of a modern touch to keep you guessing.