Lowell Folk Festival

In the 1930s and ’40s, Lowell, Massachusetts native Bette Davis brought the city enormous international respect in the film world. In the ‘50s and ’60s, native son Jack Kerouac brought the city enormous international respect in the literary world. And in the ‘90s and ‘00s, the Lowell Folk Festival has brought the city enormous international respect in the folk-music world.

The longest-running free folk festival in the United States and second largest in the number of performers and attendees (after Northwest Folklife in Seattle), it presents three days of traditional and world music from all corners of the globe ranging from bluegrass, blues and brass to gospel, rockabilly and zydeco. The festival also hosts dance performances, craft demonstrations, parades, and a mouth-watering assortment of local and international cuisine.

BEGINNINGS, SCHEDULE

The event began in 1987, when Lowell was chosen as host city for the National Folk Festival, which has been run by the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) since 1934 and has been held in 26 communities across the US. Lowell continued to host that event in 1988 and 1989, with local organizers taking full control in 1990 and officially renaming it the Lowell Folk Festival, with the NCTA responsible for booking talent and providing production and logistical support.

Since then, it’s been held annually on the last full weekend of July – Friday evening then all day Saturday and Sunday – except for in 2020, when organizers held a virtual event due to Covid-19 restrictions, and in 2021, when the festival was canceled altogether for the same reason.

DRAMATIC GROWTH, GLOBAL VIBE

Staged in the painstakingly restored Mill District along the Merrimack River – right in the heart of the oldest industrial city in the United States – the festival has grown dramatically over the decades. With hundreds of performers, thousands of volunteers and millions of attendees having participated, it’s become an indispensable part of Lowell’s famously multicultural community, rich heritage, fascinating history and uniquely American legacy. Attendance peaked at slightly over 200,000 in the early ‘90s and has hovered between 160,000 and 180,000 since then.

One notable way in which the festival has distinguished itself from others is its thoroughly global vibe. In addition to New England-based solo artists, bands and ensembles– including the Kingfish Singers & Dancers, a traditional Wampanoag group – and those from other parts of North America, it’s featured traditional music performed by groups from as far afield as Cuba, Ukraine, Tibet, Russia, Morocco, Venezuela, Ireland, India, Syria, Mali, Armenia, Brazil, Poland, China, Greece, Crimea and Zimbabwe.

2020 VIRTUAL CELEBRATION, 35TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT

In 2020, when in-person events weren’t possible due to Covid-19 restrictions, organizers held a “Virtual Celebration” online. Thousands watched remote performances by blues and boogie-woogie pianist Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne; rockabilly’s Albert Lee; gospel brass “shout band” Magnum & Company; Nepalese quartet the Himalayan Heritage Band; Cuban jazz ensemble Geraldo Cantino y Los Habaneros; bluegrass sextet Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver; traditional Greek band the Vasilis Kostas Trio; Iroquois dance group Chris Thomas & His Smoke Dancers; and traditional Ukrainian septet Susan Watts & The Wonder Women of Klezmer.

In 2022, to celebrate the festival’s 35th anniversary, there were several special events. First, a 13-part radio series about the festival’s history, produced in the 1990s by WDUQ public radio in partnership with the NCTA, was aired on Lowell-based AM station WCAP; the series was curated from the NCTA’s archives and narrated by Joe Wilson, a regional folk-music legend who spearheaded the first locally organized event in 1990. Second, highlights from previous festivals were posted on the Lowell Folk Festival website. Third, on the Saturday night of the festival, there was a showing of a new documentary on its history. Lastly, the weekend included a video presentation of celebrated past performances along with three new ones recorded exclusively for the anniversary by Irish trio The Alt, Afro-Colombian band Grupo Rebolú and Québécois quintet Le Vent Du Nord.

Admission to the festival has been free since its inception, made possible through support from local businesses, individuals and organizations including the NCTA, the Lowell Festival Foundation, the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce and Lowell National Historic Park. “There’s no better place for experiential learning than this living, breathing celebration,” wrote Christa Lamb, director of media and communications for the Greater Merrimack Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau, about the festival in June 2025. “As someone who cherishes this city, I invite you to be part of the story because what happens here isn’t just entertainment. It’s connection. It’s education. It’s empathy in action.”

(by D.S. Monahan)