The Zeiterion Theater presents the 23rd Annual New Bedford Folk Festival from contemporary, Americana, traditional, blues and Celtic folk music. This year the festival includes folk legend Tom Rush, singer-songwriters Cheryl Wheeler, Garnet Rogers and John Gorka, Americana-bluegrass band Mile Twelve, the folk-fusion Laura Love Duo, Blues masters Paul Rishell and Annie Raines, Hubbie Jenkins of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, the Celtic-Jazz sounds of the Jeremy Kittel Trio and many more.
The New Bedford Folk Festival presents over 90 shows on 8 stages. The festival runs from 11 am to 9 pm both days and is located in the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center and throughout the 11 blocks of historic downtown New Bedford and the Whaling National Historical Park in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Performers are presented in concerts and in the popular festival “workshops” which feature 3 or 4 performers or groups on stage at the same time in one-time, unique shows. Thousands of people from New England and across the nation attend the festival over the weekend, making it a major destination for this summer weekend. This year’s festival promises an exciting and memorable celebration which shows the city of New Bedford at its best.
The lineup of performers for the 2018 festival is: Kristin Andreassen, Bon Débarras, Bourque Émissaires, Matthew Byrne, Connla, J.P. Cormier, Ronny Cox, Cliff Eberhardt, Bob Franke, Dori Freeman, Beppe Gambetta, John Gorka, Hubby Jenkins, Reverend Robert B. Jones, Sr., James Keelaghan, The Kennedys, Jeremy Kittel Trio, Laura Love Duo, The Mammals, Mile Twelve, Grace Morrison, Peter Mulvey, Keith Murphy, Musique à Boucher, Mustard’s Retreat Trio, New Bedford Harbor Sea Chantey Chorus, Emerald Rae, Paul Rishell and Annie Raines, Garnet Rogers, Tom Rush, Claudia Russell and Bruce Kaplan, Amy Speace, Art Tebbetts, Cheryl Wheeler, Brooks Williams
The festival also presents a major juried arts and crafts show which is open to the community and features more than 80 artisans and crafts makers lining the cobblestone streets between the performance tents and venues. They include jewelers, instrument makers, tie dye and caricature artists, local honey purveyors, handmade health and beauty products, pottery and more, representing a rich culture of handmade wares from the Southcoast region and beyond. Also featured at the festival is a Food Court and Beer Garden on Purchase Street in front of The Zeiterion Theater. Festival ticket holders and the public are invited to sit, dine and drink from a variety of food vendors and a full bar, all while listening to the performers on the nearby SouthCoast Stage. Food vendors include Seafood Hut featuring the justifiably world famous New Bedford landed fish and scallops, Acushnet Creamery, Dorothy Cox’s Candies serving Del’s Lemonade, Fancheezical, Timi’s Greek and Middle Eastern Food, Wicked Good Kettle Corn, Sabor Latino, Big T’s Jerky, Teddy’s Lunchbox and Wursthaus III. Patrons can walk through the festival with purchased alcoholic beverages on Purchase Street, between Union and School Streets.
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