The Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association (TKMA) began as a group of friends gathering regularly on Friday nights for potlucks and jammin’ in the kitchen. TKMA was established to further public awareness and interest in acoustical music and other folk arts by promoting and producing the annual Tucson Folk Festival. TKMA is an all-volunteer-operated, member-supported 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
The Tucson Folk Festival is an annual, free, family-friendly folk music festival held in some of the most historic locations in downtown Tucson. The festival features five stages of traditional, contemporary, and ethnic folk and acoustic music that entertains and delights a multi-faceted and diverse audience. The festival brings over 10,000 fans and participants who come from all over southern Arizona, and across the nation to support the American folk music traditions and all the wonderful variations, including American Bluegrass, Blues, Country, Jazz, Celtic, Zydeco, and various styles of Latin and Mexican music. The festival also features a wide variety of food and craft vendors, interactive music workshops, a Children’s Program, Young Artist Stage for youth under 18, a Ballad Tree and the Stefan George Memorial Songwriting Competition. Each year over 1500 programs and 500 posters are printed to promote the festival all over Tucson. Now, in the 32nd year of celebrating the Tucson Folk Festival’s live folk music in Tucson’s downtown, a real achievement for an all volunteer-run community-sponsored event, we hope you will be a continuing or new festival attendee and/or sponsor of this great tradition.
All Tucson Folk Festival sponsorships, advertising and donations enable TKMA to produce and promote current and future Tucson Folk Festivals; such as, booking headliners, paying for sound engineering, space rental, city and county permits, and fundraisers held throughout the year. TKMA and the Tucson Folk Festival are volunteer-run endeavors relying solely on the hard work and generous donations of supporters, volunteers, the community and the TKMA Board of Directors. Thank you for your support, Tucson!