There has long been a niche for local artists on the weekend the world comes to Richmond. Plunky Branch, Bio Ritmo, NoBS! Brass and others have had featured slots in various years. The Legendary Ingramettes’ rousingly soulful Sunday afternoon closing act has become the spiritual alternative to the high-energy finale at the Dominion Dance Pavillion.

This year, all the regional acts play only once on one of two stages: The Center for Cultural Vibrancy Stage at the new Allianz Amphitheater, and the Family Stage tucked by the Crafts Marketplace and the CarMax Stage. Both the CarMax and Allianz stages are on the mostly vertical side of the crooked L layout of the festival stages. (The Altria stage is at the angle, and the CoStar Stage and Dance Pavilion the horizontal bottom leg paralleling the river.) It is three quarter of a mile uphill walk from the end of Brown’s Island up to the CarMax location. Bouncing between the two – one of the charms of the festival – is both a timing and cardio challenge for some.

At the Family Stage

The Family Stage is typically the least formal at the festival, with one of the highlights of every day being the National Park Service Junior Ranger swearing-in ceremony. Richmond music consortium JAMInc mixes in two local acts each weekend day. On Saturday, it is local rocker Prabir Mehta’s new project adapting Indian ragas for guitar and the picking and puppets American of the Webley Twizzle Project. On Sunday, charismatic singer-songwriter Jonathan Paige Brown opens the day with mystical roots band Holy River following. Notable Norfolk-based blues woman Jackie Merritt brings her traditional stinging and “bones” percussion presentation twice each day. Acts from the mainstream festival, the Beat Ya Feet Academy and the Sinqua Family Hopi hoop dancers stop in on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

The new Allianz Amphitheater Stage

If the Family Stage is informal, the new-to-the-festival Allianz Stage has its own set of rules. There are a few Americana/bluegrass artists hailing from moderately wider afield – Amy Hinkel from Asheville, NC, the Lonesome River Band, and Alum Ridge Boys and Ashlee from Western Virginia. The rest is RVA-centric. Festival favorite, Danny Knicely, has assembled a cross-cultural ensemble fusing Appalachian and Brazilian music. Father and son-led Kadencia’s blend of bomba, plena, and salsa is not only supremely danceable but has been certified as authentic by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture.

Petersburg’s own Rodney Stith provides a spot-on blast of pure soul music, and is one of the tri-cities consistent pleasures. And RVA favorite No BS! Brass has a history that goes back to the early days of the festival, when they not only had conventional spots in the schedule but led the opening parade.

Picks for the Sunday Feels at Allianz:

In a probable emotional highlight of weekend, on Sunday afternoon, local musicians will join for a set supporting local roots musician Justin Golden, who has been waging an ongoing fight against a rare form of cancer (From 1:30-2:45 p.m. RVA Jams for Justin Golden will be held at the Center for Cultural Vibrancy Stage at Allianz Amphitheater).

For years, Golden has been one of the people keeping authentic forms vital in the city; and Richmond musicians have rallied to his cause, performing musical benefits for the last year. As has become tradition, the Legendary Ingramettes close out the Sunday schedule with heartfelt, amazingly rendered, deeply spiritual gospel (at Allianz from 4:30-5:30 p.m.). It is the perfect spot to end the day if you want to sail out on clouds of song.