Main Stage Performers
Friday
Saturday
- 11 am Blue Canyon Boys
- 12 pm Los Primos
- 1 pm Talent Contest Winner
- 2 pm Talent Contest Winner
- 3 pm Bayou Seco
- 4 pm Fishtank Ensemble
- 8 pm Blue Canyon Boys
- 9 pm Fishtank Ensemble
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Robin & Linda Williams & Their Fine Group |
Robin and Linda Williams, the Virginia-based duo known for their rich harmonies and original songwriting, delight audiences large and small with a blend of bluegrass, folk, old-time and acoustic country that truly merits the title of “American music.”
Robin and Linda have gained recognition from a variety of sources, winning a nomination from their colleagues at the International Bluegrass Music Association for “Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year” (1995’s Good News). In 1998 they received a Crossroads’ Music “Gold Star” Award for the best Contemporary Folk CD of 1998, and listed in the top 10 “Album Of The Year.” (Devil of a Dream)
They have appeared on The Grand Ole Opry, “Austin City Limits,” American “Mountain Stage,” “Music City Tonight,” and have enjoyed the rejuvenation of The Hopeful Gospel Quartet on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion.”
They have performed in venues ranging from Philadelphia and Kerrville folk Festivals, to bluegrass-oriented festivals such as Winterhawk, Wings & Strings and the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival, to arts centers and concert halls in dozens of states and countless clubs and coffeehouses – not only across the US, but in Canada and Europe as well. Join Robin and Linda and Their Fine Group at the Folk Festival on Friday evening for an evening of unique Americana music.
For more info: robinandlinda.com
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Wagogo |
Wagogo, born, raised and loved in Albuquerque, is an eclectic group of musicians that make a rhythmic cocktail out of their Chicano influences, Northern Mexico folk songs, warm calypso island grooves, and the captivating spirit music of Zimbabwe. Their lyrics are composed mostly by lead singer Armando Ortega, in a blend of Spanish, English, and the Shona language of Zimbabwe. With its diverse repertoire, Wagogo preserves the traditional roots of its music, along with exploring new sounds. Broadcast on radio stations from New Mexico to New York, California, and Zimbabwe, they have been re-invited to the Zimbabwe Music Festival for three years.
Wagogo is one of the longest-standing local New Mexico bands of the past decade or so, and has released five CDs since 1999. Multigenerational crowds in Albuquerque love to dance and sing with Wagogo, and we're pleased to bring them back to the main stage this year.
For more info: www.wagogobanda.com
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Blue Canyon Boys |
The Blue Canyon Boys are one of the premier bluegrass bands of the Rocky Mountain region. Blending incredible brother-duet-style vocals and award winning instrumental proficiency, this energetic band drives audiences to their feet and leaves them with a smile.
Gary Dark plays the mandolin and writes a lot of the band’s original songs. His amazing tenor singing puts the “high” in the band’s high lonesome sound.
Guitarist Jason Hicks also writes songs, and his interest in pioneering guitarists such as Don Reno and Norman Blake has helped him to develop a style that draws from the raw emotional energy of the past.
Drew Garrett slaps a mean bass and his credits include the innovative 80s band “Danger in the Air”, whose members went on to play with bands such as The Dixie Chicks and The John Jorgenson Quintet, and 2 albums with The Domestic Science Club on Discovery/Elektra Records.
Banjoist Jeff Scroggins’ fiery hard-driving style and breathtaking high-speed licks have won him many disbelieving fans and have also helped him to win dozens of banjo contests, including the prestigious National Bluegrass Banjo Championship.
With three well-received recordings, and their win of the prestigious Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band competition in 2008, the Blue Canyon Boys have been steadily working their way into the hearts of bluegrass music lovers across the West. From the first sound of the hard driving banjo to the final rumble of the doghouse bass, the Blue Canyon Boys are sure to entertain and energize.
For more info: www.bluecanyonboys.com
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Los Primos |
Not exactly a mariachi band, even though it plays many mariachi standards, uses many mariachi instruments, and in 2006 won Albuquerque Magazine's Best of the City award in the mariachi band category, Los Primos plays a unique melding of old and new musical styles, combining Latin music that is traditional and nontraditional.
For more info: www.theserenata.com
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Bayou Seco |
Ken Keppeler & Jeanie McLerie of Silver City N.M. are the core of Bayou Seco. They will be joined by long time band members, Scott Mathis (mandolin and guitarron), Linda Askew (guitar) and Terry Bluhm (acoustic bass) for the Friday night No Border’s Dance and the Saturday afternoon set. This is their third time to play at the Albuquerque Folk Festival.
Ken and Jeanie have been making music together since 1978, always with an ear to the regional traditions that capture their interest. The band's performances are filled with tunes gathered from the source, the direct transmission through human contact and interaction. Old Cajun music, New Mexican dance tunes and songs, cowboy songs, and fiddle tunes from the Tohono O'Odham people of Southern Arizona, all played with authenticity and joy. Rare music from the old country and the new world will fill the air, and stories that go with them. Spirited fiddling, banjo and guitar, rollicking accordion, cowboy prairie rhymes and ballads.
Ken and Jeanie are about to head out for a 6 week musical tour in England, Wales and France. Bayou Seco has recorded ten CD’s, and has been on several PBS television programs, and on many radio shows. The CD, “More Memories in Cababi” is a tribute to the Tohono O’odham fiddler, Elliott Johnson, who shared many beautiful old style double violin tunes with the Ken and Jeanie in the last few years of his life. Recent CD's "Sunnyside" and "A Slice of Live" have been highly acclaimed.
For more info: www.bayouseco.com
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Fishtank Ensemble |
The LA Weekly calls them “cross pollinated gypsy music….one of the most thrilling young acts on the planet.” Formed in 2005 and playing everywhere from the hippest LA clubs to festivals, cultural centers, museums, parades, and even on the street, the band includes two explosive violins, the world's best slap bass player, musical saw, flamenco and gypsy jazz guitar, trombone, opera, jazz and gypsy vocals, accordion and one little banjolele. Tackling everything from French hot jazz to wild Serbian and Transylvanian gypsy anthems, Flamenco, and oddball originals, the band is a not to be missed event for world music lovers...and everyone will love this intoxicating mix of music!!
Fabrice Martinez is a gifted fiddler whose travels throughout Europe in a handbuilt, mule-drawn caravan brought him in contact with the master Rom musicians who inspired his signature wild and virtuoso style. While his special love is Romanian folk music, he also plays Gypsy, Hungarian, Swedish, and many other kinds of music.
Ursula Knudson is an operatically trained, well-traveled tri-lingual violinist and musical saw player, known for an uncanny ability to switch musical styles and timbres with her voice from one song to the next. Self-taught on the saw, she won 2nd place in the 2004 International Saw Festival. She sings beautifully in Romanian, French, Japanese, and English.
Douglas Smolens, aka "el douje," is an accomplished Flamenco guitarist, whose album Worlds Collide is a unique and bold mixture of traditional and modern styles, from 'jondo' flamenco to modern day world fusion/drum and bass/techno.
Djordje Stijepovic, formerly a member of leading world music bands in Serbia, also performs solo, provides his signature slap bass for rockabilly band Atomic Sunset, and plays with many well known musicians.
For more info: fishtankensemble.com