Tucson Folk Festival

The Annual Tucson Folk Festival ... Free to the Public Since 1986

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The 31st Annual Tucson Folk Festival


TFF Poster 2016
Join us in downtown Tucson April 30th & May 1st for the 31st Annual Tucson Folk Festival. Free to the public since 1986, this year’s event will feature over 120 performers on 5 stages, including headliners John McCutcheon, Nancy McCallion And The Scarlet Lettermen and special guests James Reams & The Barnstormers.




John McCutcheon’s first award-winning song was titled The Ponderosa No-Cream-in-My-Coffee Blues, penned at the greasy spoon of the same name in his Wisconsin hometown. He was all of 15 years old and it won him his high school talent show. “My best friend claims that he still has a cassette of the song,” McCutcheon recently disclosed, “and if we ever have a serious falling out it’s going right up on YouTube.”
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Since those early creative days John McCutcheon has gone on to write hundreds of songs and garnered more than his share of accolades. His eclectic catalog of ballads, historical songs, children’s songs, love songs, topical satire, fiddle and hammer dulcimer instruments, and even symphonic works are among the broadest in American folk music. His thirty-six albums have earned 6 Grammy nominations. His songwriting has been hailed by critics around the world; his song Christmas in the Trenches is considered a classic and was recently named one of the 100 Essential Folk Songs.“What sets McCutcheon’s songs apart is that he’s actually writing about something!” observed well-known folk music DJ Bob Blackman. Whether it’s a musical snapshot of a day in the life of an Alaskan salmon fisherman, a child’s pondering the loss of her first tooth, remembering a moment that was omitted from our history books, lampooning the latest foibles on the national political scene, or celebrating the joy of old love McCutcheon’s songs are always about something small and, at the same time, something much bigger. “All big things start with little things,” he observed, “the way in which a song is able to open up the universal from the personal is one of the great joys of writing.”
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Tucson favorite Nancy McCallion, will top off the weekend on Sunday evening with her, “American roots music with a twist of soul and a dram of blarney,” accompanied by The Scarlet Lettermen; fronted by Nancy McCallion featuring Chris Davis on guitar, Heather Hardy on violin, Karl Hoffmann on bass and Les Merrihew on drums.
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The Scarlet Lettermen is the latest musical project by singer/songwriter and founding member of the internationally acclaimed Celtic/Tex-Mex/Americana band, The Mollys. Nancy and The Scarlet Lettermen perform original Americana with a twist of soul and a dram of blarney. Their repertoire includes new material from their latest CD “Dancing Days” and other original songs from Nancy’s 3 decade songwriting career.
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“James Reams & The Barnstormers’ instrumental amalgam of roots, rockabilly and bluegrass embodies the ‘Three Es of Old-School’: edgy, emotional and exciting. These guys live and die by the code to keep audiences from coast to coast erring on the side of wildly entertained. They accomplish their goal so well.” – Flagstaff LIVE!
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A bluegrass band that was nominated by the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2002 as Emerging Artist of the Year, James Reams & The Barnstormers provide a contemporary take on traditional bluegrass; blending it with innovation and vitality to create their own branch on the “roots” tree. Music critic Jerry Paul (former editor of Acoustica) described lead singer James Reams: “James is such an inspiration to watch. He truly feels his music, and sings from his very soul. If James is ever within your area, he is a ‘must see’ bluegrass icon.” Raised in eastern Kentucky but now living in Phoenix, James Reams puts a layer of desert grit over a solid base of traditional bluegrass music. His band treads the terrain where bluegrass, old-time, classic country and rockabilly meet in the night to swap stories.
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Thank You

… for enjoying the Tucson Folk Festival and supporting TKMA to help keep the music playing for 40 years in Tucson.

Our main event, the annual Tucson Folk Festival, is an all-volunteer-operated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The funds raised during the festival assist us in meeting key expenses to bring about this meaningful showcase of local and national Musicians.

From our generous sponsors and community partners who assist us each season to our members and donors, we thank you for helping us meet our budget.  Please consider becoming a TKMA Member and donating when you can. Help support live, local music at the Tucson Folk Festival.

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