Philadelphia Folk Festival
The Philadelphia Folk Festival is a folk music festival held annually at Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia.[1] The hosting organization, the Philadelphia Folksong Society announced a pause in production, cancelling the 2023 festival for the first time in its 50 year history.[2]
Philadelphia Folk Festival
four days on the third week of August
1962-2022
Kenneth S. Goldstein, Bob Siegel, Gene Shay, David Baskin, Esther Halprin, et al
The four-night, three-day festival, which is produced and run by the non-profit Philadelphia Folksong Society and staffed almost entirely by volunteers.[3]
The event hosts contemporary and traditional artists in genres under the umbrella of Folk, including World/Fusion, Celtic, Singer/Songwriter, Folk Rock, Country, Klezmer, Blues, Bluegrass, Hip/Hop, Spoken Word, Storytelling, and Dance.
Gene Shay[4] and folklorist Kenneth S. Goldstein[5] founded the festival, along with George Britton, Bob Seigel, David Baskin, Esther Halpern, Tossi Aaron and others. Shay acted as Master of Ceremonies since its inception until shortly before his death and Goldstein served as Program Director for the first 15 years.[6]
Originally held on Wilson Farm in Paoli, Pennsylvania,[7] each year the event hosts over 35,000 visitors and nearly 7,000 campers at the Old Pool Farm.[8] The event presents over 75 hours of music with local, regional, and national talent on its stages. A special Camp Stage show takes place on Thursday night, hosted by WXPN radio for the nationally syndicated World Cafe with David Dye.[8]
The Philadelphia Folksong Society presents the Philadelphia Folk Festival and has a full-time, year-round staff.[9] The most recent PFS Executive Director, Justin Nordell, served in that capacity from 2007-2023, while past E.D.s include Lauri Barish and Levi Landis.
This festival went online in 2020 and 2021, raising over $200,000 to support artists out of work, as live concerts were cancelled caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Festival returned as a hybrid and in-person live event for 2022.