GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — The North Carolina Folk Festival is taking place in Downtown Greensboro this weekend and will offer plenty of opportunities for anyone to come and join in on the fun.
Here’s everything you need to know about Friday’s festivities:
What’s Happening on Friday?
5 p.m.
The North Carolina A&T State University Jazz Ensemble will kick things off on Friday with a performance at the Old Courthouse Stage on 221 West Market Street, in front of the old Guilford County Courthouse.
Directed by Dr. Jonovan Cooper, the jazz ensemble features a sizeable big band, a smaller jazz combo and a vocal jazz ensemble.
You may listen to one of their performances on their YouTube page.
Atiba Rorie will also host an African Drum Workshop at Center City Jams Stage at Center City Park on 200 North Elm Street that will teach the basics of African drumming styles.
6 p.m.
Two acts will perform in two different locations starting at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Ethno USA will perform at Cone Health CityStage on 201 East Market Street and Maritzaida will perform at the Van Dyke Stage at the Greensboro Cultural Center on 200 North Davie Street.
Ethno USA is an international musical exchange program run by JM International, which is a network of non-governmental organizations that offers musical opportunities to young people.
Around 40 musicians from across the globe are currently completing a 12-day residency with Ethno USA. It will be their only appearance in the United States in 2023.
“Core values of welcoming and supporting people from diverse backgrounds are imbued into the spirit of the Greensboro community and into our presentation of the NC Folk Fest each year.
“This partnership with Ethno USA is a natural and fitting extension of our shared values to promote cultural understanding through the arts, and we are thrilled to build on that community spirit.”
Amy Grossmann, President & CEO of the North Carolina Folk Festival.
Maritzaida hails from a small coastal town in Puerto Rico and her connection to the arts of her native country led her to a career in music.
She gained an appreciation for the music with the help of her grandparents during her childhood.
She performed live in the FOX8 Studio on Wednesday, you can watch her performance below.
6:30 p.m.
Continuing the evening’s festivities, Nani Vazana will perform on the Lawn Stage at 213 Commerce Place at 6:30 p.m.
Vazana performs in the endangered Ladino language, making her one of the most unique vocal artists in the world.
You may listen to Vazana perform at the Kennedy Center on her YouTube page.
If you were already at the Old Courthouse Stage on 221 West Market Street to see the NC A&T Jazz Ensemble, you can simply stick around for a few more minutes after their performance to see the next act, Damn The Banjos.
Hailing from Nashville, the group American blues and roots rock music act features a Triad native in Jamestown’s Tim Carter.
You may listen to a Damn The Banjos performance on their YouTube page.
The third performance of the 6:30 block is an Open Mic – hosted by Greensboro’s Matty Sheets.
Matty Sheets is best known locally for leading the weekly Green Bean Open Mic and the monthly Flat Iron Open Mic.
Matty Sheets was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2016, at which point began to write and perform musically with a ukelele. He describes music “as his M.S. free zone”.
7:30 p.m.
Josh Goforth & Bryan McDowell are a pair of North Carolina natives that together form an old-time and bluegrass act.
They will be the only performers in Friday’s 7:30 block.
You can watch them at the Van Dyke Stage at the Greensboro Cultural Center on 200 North Davie Street.
You can also see one of their performances on YouTube.
8 p.m.
Leyla McCalla hails from New Orleans and is a Haitian-American multi-instrumentalist whose interest in Haitian culture forms the backbone of her music.
McCalla will perform at Cone Health CityStage on 201 East Market Street in the 8:00 block.
Check out a Tiny Desk Concert featuring McCalla on NPR Music’s YouTube page.
Also performing at 8 p.m. is Kevin Doyle’s Roscommon Soles.
Doyle hails from Rhode Island and is an Irish step dance master. He is accompanied by his band, Roscommon Soles.
They will perform on the Lawn Stage at 213 Commerce Place at 6:30 p.m.
You can watch a performance of them at the Library of Congress on YouTube.
The third performance of the 8:00 block also features an act hailing from Louisiana in Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole.
The group seeks to propel forward the musical customs of French and Spanish contra dance as well as the rhythms of the Congo tribes of West Africa.
They will perform at the Old Courthouse Stage on 221 West Market Street.
9 p.m.
The sole act of the 9 p.m. block will be Larry & Joe.
The duo combines the sounds of Llaerna music from Larry Bellroín’s native Venezuela and the bluegrass sounds from North Carolina native Joe Troop.
You can listen to one of their performances on their YouTube page.
They will perform at the Van Dyke Stage at the Greensboro Cultural Center on 200 North Davie Street.
9:30 p.m.
The North Carolina-based gospel group, Dedicated Men of Zion will perform at Cone Health CityStage on 201 East Market Street in the final performance block of the night.
You can watch an NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert featuring Dedicated Men of Zion on YouTube.
Riyaaz Qawwali, an ensemble act performing Sufi Music from South Asia will appear on the Lawn Stage at 213 Commerce Place in the 9:30 block.
You may watch one of their performances on their YouTube page.
The third performance at 9:30 p.m. will feature a Greensboro native in Demeanor.
Demeanor is a hip-hop artist who fuses Black American roots music with the hip-hop genre.
He will perform at the Old Courthouse Stage on 221 West Market Street.
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The NC Folk Festival will continue from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Be sure to check back this weekend for the full schedule of events on Saturday and Sunday.
