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June 18-19, 2010 at Expo NM!


2009 Information

General Info

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It's over...until next year!

From 6:30 on Friday evening, through a little rain on Saturday morning, through a beautiful Saturday afternoon, until Feufollet's last encore on Saturday night, with people still dancing away on the Main Stage dance floor...the 11th annual Albuquerque Folk Festival brought joy to the thousands of participants who joined the hundreds of volunteers and presenters at EXPO NM for a fun-filled weekend.

We had some winners at this year's festival:

Talent Contest:

Kids Fiddle Contest:

Raffle Winners

Look for pictures from this year's festival soon. In the meantime, we have pictures from 2005-2008 online. New: Add comments and ratings to the pictures.

We're already thinking about next year's festival. If you attended this year and want to give us feedback, please email and let us know what you think. If you want to help us out (it's never too early to get involved), see our Volunteer information page. If you'd like to receive an occasional email newsletter about the Festival, sign up here:

Subscribe to emailed newsletter list:

Check back here every once in a while; we'll have photos from this year's festival up soon, and we'll start putting up information about next year's festival as it develops.

We hope you'll continue participating in folk activities all year long. You can find more information on many of the groups involved in this year's festival on our Resources page.

See you next year!



We're working on 2010 information.

We're in the early planning stages of the 2010 festival; as soon as we have final information, we'll put it up here. In the meantime, we've left the 2009 information up so you can get a feel for the fun you'll have at the Albuquerque Folk Festival.

2009 Information

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 2009 Festival (our eleventh annual!) will be held Friday, June 19 and Saturday, June 20, 2009 at the State Fairgrounds (Expo New Mexico) 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

We're Underway!

Friday night was a success! And Saturday promises to be even better.

The talent contest winners are Cynical Bird and The Squash Blossom Boys. Be sure to check out Cynical Bird at 2 pm and The Squash Blossom Boys at 3 pm on Main Stage on Saturday.

New: Two-day Festival!

Yes, you read that right! You asked for it, and we're making it happen. The festival is expanding, with 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.

New: Two Raffles!

Musicians! Singers! Friends of musicians and singers! (That should include just about everyone at the Festival...) We'll be raffling off three big prizes in two separate raffles this year.

The first raffle is for a Pimentel guitar. This beautiful guitar, which has a cutaway folk neck, a spruce top, and a mahogany neck and body, includes a hard shell case, and is valued at $1,450.

The second raffle has two prizes from local music production studios. First prize is 10 hours of studio time and the production of 50 CDs from Sanctuary Sound Studio (valued at $800); second prize is 20 hours of studio time at Transduction Productions recording studio (plus the services of a Pro Tools engineer) (valued at $700).

Tickets for both raffles are $5 each or 6 for $25 and proceeds from the raffles benefit the Festival. Bring your wallet so you can contribute to the festival and possibly win a valuable prize. See Festival Fundraisers for more information on both the raffles and our new silent auction.

New: Talent Contest on Friday Night

The details have been firmed up: There will be a talent contest, with separate categories for groups and singles/duos, and the prizes will be an opportunity to perform on the Main Stage on Saturday. We've done the preliminary selection; over 20 groups entered and we've selected 12 to compete on Main Stage Friday night. See the details here.

New: Friday Night Dance

The Barn Dance Under the Stars is moving to Friday night this year, and Syd Masters and the Swing Riders will be providing the music. Syd has been popular on the main stage at previous festivals; this year, you can enjoy him while dancing at the big dance tent. So get ready to swing the night away...and then be sure to stick around Saturday night for the FolkMADS contra dance.

We're also adding a Balkan Dance Party on Friday night, featuring music by Goddess of Arno. So if swing isn't your thing, you can dance in a ring or sing along with Albuquerque's premier Balkan dance band.

Main Stage Acts Set

We're excited to announce our main stage performers for 2009. They are:

New: 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 at the festival this year. A perfect chance for kids of all ages to explore different instruments.

New: 2009 T-shirt Design

Check out this year's t-shirt logo, designed by Gary W. Priester.

T-shirt design for 2009

As always, t-shirts will be available for sale at the Festival, and will be given to volunteers.

And then check out Albuquerque Folk Festival board member Gary Libman modeling for this year's logo:

Gary won't be for sale at the Festival...and he won't be given to volunteers...but he's the one you want to contact if you're interested in entering our new Talent Contest.



Festival Images

What else is happening at the Festival

Returning from last year: Kids' Fiddle Contest

We've scheduled two hours in the Li'l Folks tent for a couple of fiddle contests: one for kids 12 and under and the other for teens 13 to 18. So, kids, get ready to fiddle!

Returning from last year: Folk Festival Presents in Old Town

Can't wait for June 19 for your fix of Folk Festival music? Come on down to Old Town on Saturdays and Sundays for "Folk Festival Presents", a series of folk music programs by local area artists. The program kicks off Saturday, April 26, from 2 to 4:30. For more info, check our Old Town schedule, and see the city's website.

Returning from last year: Band Scramble

This will be our third 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 Martin Chavez 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.