Takoma Park Folk Festival Offers Music and More

From African drums to blue grass to socially conscious ballads, fans of folk music will have seven stages of performances to enjoy at the 33rd Annual Takoma Park Folk Festival on Sept. 12.

However, festival committee member Kevin Adler wants attendees to know that the festival — which is held at Takoma Park Middle School — not only offers a wide variety of music but also a crafts show, children's games, food vendors and booths at which community organizations and activist groups will provide information about their programs or causes.

"When someone thinks of the phrase 'folk music,' they might think of a singer/songwriter with a guitar, but it's a lot more than that," Adler said. "What I think is so special about this festival is we think of folk music in the broadest sense possible."

The festival will feature a range of music and dance, including Celtic music and sea shanties in which audience members are encourage to sing along. Dancers from Thailand will perform, and there will be Irish and Israeli dancing, too.

Putting together a daylong program of acts takes a lot of behind-the-scenes planning by the organizing committee, which is made up of volunteers.

Overseeing the Grove Stage is Scott Moore, who has been involved with the festival since 2000. The Grove Stage will feature contemporary folk singer songwriters performing original material, as well as favorite folk songs, he said.

"The performers are really terrific, but their names aren't that well known," he said.

By performing the songs of Paul Simon or Bob Dylan, it gives the audience members who love those songs something to latch onto, and they will go to see that singer, Moore said. The hope is that once the performers have been heard by audience members, they'll gain a following who will want to see them do their original material.

Some of the performers scheduled to appear on the Grove Stage are Spencer Bates, who sings and plays piano; Andrew McKnight, who focuses on songwriting and storytelling about American landscapes; and Lea, a singer who performs a blend of folk, jazz, pop, gospel and soul.

The sound engineer behind the performers will be Art Isaacs, who has overseen the sound systems for the last three presidential inaugurations.

Sound design "is my day job," and the folk festival is my volunteer job, Isaacs said

He has been involved with helping to run the festival on and off for about 20 years. In the early days, the sound systems for all the stages were run by different individuals.

"I don't think there was a coordinator for the whole thing at all. It was just individuals who did it for individual stages, and at some point I took over," he said.

Festival organizers are still looking for community members to volunteer on the day of the festival. About 300 volunteers are needed to help with set up, clean up and several daytime shifts.