Albuquerque Folk Festival Logo

June 18-19, 2010 at Expo NM!


2010 Information

General Info

Past Festivals






Sign up for the Festival newsletter



Email Marketing by VerticalResponse


See you next year!

Thanks to everyone who made the 2010 Albuquerque Folk Festival a great success! Look for pictures soon!

Here are this year's contest winners:

Talent Contest Winners

The judges said they never want to judge again, after having to pick only two winners among eight fine acts. But judge they did, and the winners of the 2010 Albuquerque Folk Festival Talent Contest are:

Raffle Winners

Congratulations to the winners in this year's fundraising raffle:

The Albuquerque Folk Festival is a non-profit event held with the goal of increasing the public's participation in music, dance and other folk activities.  The 2010 Festival (our twelfth annual!) will be held Friday, June 18 and Saturday, June 19, 2010 at EXPO NM (State Fairgrounds) in Albuquerque. In the tradition of the folk ethic, the goals of the Albuquerque Folk Festival are to highlight non-commercial acoustic folk music and dance activities in the greater Albuquerque region and to encourage individuals to sing, dance and play music.

[Festival images]

What's New at the Festival

Main Stage Acts Set

We're excited to announce our main stage performers for 2010. They are:

In 2009, we introduced a number of new features, and most of those are returning this year.

Two-day Festival!

Once again, we'll have performances, workshops, and a talent contest on Friday night, and more performances and workshops on Saturday night. Several Main Stage acts will perform multiple times, so you'll have more flexibility with your own schedule.

Instrument Petting Zoo

Ever play a balalaika or balafon? Ever blown into a didgeridoo or shofar? Ever strummed an autoharp or plucked a psaltery? All of these traditional folk instruments and about 100 more, covering the musical alphabet from accordian to zampoya, are part of Todd's Musical Petting Zoo, a fully interactive and hands-on exhibition that will be returning to the festival this year. This was very popular last year, and we're excited to be able to bring Todd and his instruments back this year!

Talent Contest on Friday Night

The talent contest will return this year, with separate categories for groups and singles/duos, and the prizes will be an opportunity to perform on the Main Stage on Saturday.

Out of all the talented performers who entered, we've selected 4 one or two person groups and 4 groups of three or more. Here's our list (not in performance order):

One or two persons:

Three or more persons:

See the details here.

New: Dances

The Barn Dance Under the Stars is returning to Saturday night this year, and Bill Hearne's Roadhouse Revue will be providing the music, so get ready to swing the night away. Also on Saturday night is the FolkMADS contra dance with the Albuquerque Megaband.

Don't worry about Friday night; we've got all you dancers covered with a "No Borders" dance featuring the ever-popular Bayou Seco, and a Greek Dance with music by Aegean Sounds, the Southwest's premier Greek and Mediterranean band.

New: Albuquerque Folk Festival Activity Patch

Here's something fun for both kids and adults. Pick up a form from the CD Sales Booth (or download one here). Participate in some or all of the activities listed on the form, answer some questions about those activities, and turn the form in for a free Folk Festival patch. How many activities depends on your age; for example, kids 2-4 only need to do one while kids 15 and older (and adults) need to do all eight to get a free patch. See the details here.

New: Youth Talent Show

This year the Children's Tent will showcase our talented kids with a Youth Talent Showcase from 4 to 6 pm on Saturday. The showcase is open to all kids ages 5-15, either individuals or groups. Start planning now to share your musical and/or dancing talents with the Folk Festival.

New: Pete Seeger Tribute Singalong

In celebration of Pete's 90th year, we'll be singing some of his songs at Main Stage on Saturday at 7 pm. We'll have lyric sheets for everyone in the audience, so be sure to join us for this one-time event.



Festival Images

What else is happening at the Festival

Returning from last year: Folk Festival Presents in Old Town

Can't wait for June 18 for your fix of Folk Festival music? Come on down to Old Town on Fridays (plus a Saturday and a Sunday) for "Folk Festival Presents", a series of folk music programs by local area artists. The program kicks off Friday, May 14, from 6 to 8 pm with Coyote Crossing. For more info, check our Old Town schedule, and see the city's website

Returning from last year: Band Scramble

This will be our fourth year for the Band Scramble, giving musicians and dancers of all levels a chance to be a Main Stage Performer at the Albuquerque Folk Festival. The deal is you put your name and the instrument you play (or dance style) in hat, and we'll put together some randomly organized bands (with dance accompanists). You'll have about 45 minutes to put together two numbers and a band name (that's the hard part), and learn the tunes and be ready to perform them on the main stage.

Coming from Out of Town?

Our sponsor hotel, Sandia Courtyard Hotel & Convention Center is offering special rates for people coming to the Albuquerque Folk Festival. Discounted rates are $49 + taxes for Standard Single, King or Double Queen, and $59 + taxes for Deluxe Double Queen. Rates apply to 1 or 2 adults; each additional adult is $10 more nightly. Rates include their Deluxe Rise-N-Shine Breakfast. There are 2 restaurants on the premises. Call the hotel at 505-296-4852 and mention the Albuquerque Folk Festival and the code CG0427 to receive the discount. The hotel's address is 10300 Hotel Avenue NE, I-40 Exit 165 North & Eubank. The hotel is only 10 mins. from Expo, and a courtesy shuttle to Expo will be available upon request.

Get your instruments out of the closet!

A closet instrument is a musical instrument nobody plays. It sits in the closet year after year while an aspiring musician longs for an instrument to play.

Help the festival and help other musicians by donating your closet instruments. We'll do our best to get those instruments into hands that will use them!

Volunteers wanted!

Want to help out with the festival? With the increased length of the festival, we need your help more than ever! We are a completely volunteer organization. If you enjoy the festival and want to support what we are trying to do for the folk music, folk arts and dance community of Albuquerque, come join us! For further information and to get on our distribution list, email .

Donations wanted!

The festival is a labor of love...but we still have expenses, and we're increasing them this year by adding an additional evening of festival goodness. Any amount will help us make this the best AFF ever! The Albuquerque Folk Festival is a 501(c)(3) organization, so your contributions are fully tax-deductible. Please visit our Donations page to see how you can help the festival.

Thanks to all our sponsors and volunteers!

Thanks to all our volunteers who are helping put on this community gathering. Whether you are a performer, a workshop teacher, a dance demonstrator, a tireless volunteer, an active participant or a fascinated viewer, we thank you all. We couldn't have this successful event if it were not for every one of you and the part you play in making a community event like this come to fruition.

This project is made possible in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs and a grant from the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund of the City of Albuquerque. We also offer our heartfelt thanks to Mayor Richard Berry and the City of Albuquerque and NMArts for their support, as well as to KUNM for broadcasting live from the festival Saturday morning, and many more that you can find on our Supporters page.