December 18, 2014

ABQ FOLK FEST Newsletter

Happy Holidays to all you Folk Lovers!

What's in this issue:

• Holiday Gift
• End of Year Donations
• Why Support the Festival?

“Tunes in June” Holiday Gift

We are offering a December Special for a gift of joy for someone you love: Half Price 2015 Albuquerque Folk Festival Tickets

The 2015 Albuquerque Folk Festival will be June 6th, 2015 at the Albuquerque Anderson Balloon Museum. We are in the process of scheduling some great performers for 2015. Plus we’ll have all the usual wonderful workshops, jams, performances, storytelling etc!

December Special tickets are selling for $10 – that’s for the entire day and night of over 130 events!

To purchase these special tickets, send a check to the Albuquerque Folk Festival for “December tickets” along with the name and address of the person receiving the ticket. The postmark must be in December. A letter will be sent to the recipient to show that the name has been added to the will call list (the letter can be further proof and used as a ticket).

Send your checks to:

Albuquerque Folk Festival
PO Box 4837
Albuquerque, NM 87196

If you have questions or would like more information, email sponsors@abqfolkfest.org or call us at 505-294-6909.

If you are not ready to think that far ahead, that’s ok, but remember to mark your calendar for June 6th, 2015!

End of Year Donations?

As long as you’re mailing checks to the Folk Festival, how about making the AFF one of your end-of-year donation recipients? The AFF is a non-profit public charity, so you will get to use the tax deduction if you can afford to help us out a bit this year.

Why Support the Albuquerque Folk Festival?

The Albuquerque Folk Festival Inc. is unusual in that it is educational as well as fun. It provides advocacy for the folk-arts community and opportunity for the general public to experience and participate and take workshops in traditional folk arts activities such as music, dance, storytelling, and puppets. The 2015 Festival is expected to draw 5,000 participants to the Albuquerque Balloon Museum to enjoy a mix of well over 100 exciting performances, workshops, and demonstrations. Now in its sixteenth year, the Albuquerque Folk Festival has become the premier traditional southwest participatory folk-arts event.

Ticket prices are kept low to keep the festival accessible and only cover about 25% of the cost of putting on the festival. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the Albuquerque Folk Festival, a Not-for-Profit 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(2) Public Charity. We offer a variety of donor and sponsor opportunities at all levels of support for community-minded individuals and organizations.

Current sponsors and donors

The Festival, in partnership with the City of Albuquerque, also provides over 10 shows each year as part of the Cultural Services Department, Old Town New Fun series. As part of its outreach programs, the Festival also makes folk music performances available to the Albuquerque Public School system bringing opportunities to experience the arts that would otherwise be unavailable or unaffordable to a wide cross-section of students.

Donation and Sponsor Benefits

Your contribution to the Albuquerque Folk Festival is much more than a charitable gift. It funds a unique, participatory folk-arts festival with links to a large portion of the folk-arts community and its economy. It identifies you as a responsible corporate citizen and associates your product or service with a large, robust, dynamic base of potential customers.

The Festival provides recognition for your support through its website, 3000-3500 Festival Programs and, depending upon your support level, 10,000 flyers, Festival print and media advertising, 5,000 festival participants, your banner at sponsored venues, and many other benefits.

(Our Festival staff will do our best to be flexible and work closely with you to maximize the value of your gift or sponsorship.)

For custom sponsorship packages or questions about how to sponsor a Festival event:

Contact Erika Gerety at sponsors@abqfolkfest.org, or (505) 294-6909

Individual Donations

To donate to the Festival by check:

Make check payable to: The Albuquerque Folk Festival

Mail your check to:

Albuquerque Folk Festival
PO Box 4837
Albuquerque, NM 87196

To donate by credit card:

Just click this button. You'll be taken to a secure site where you can use your credit card or Paypal to donate to the Festival:

Another alternative: Sell or buy musical instruments.

Do you have some musical instruments that you aren't using? Help the Festival, help yourself, and declutter your instrument collection: bring those instruments to the Festival to sell at our consignment sales table (nothing over $500). You get 80% of the proceeds, you get to donate 20% to the Festival, and you'll have room for new instruments!

You can also donate instruments to be sold at the consignment sales table, so 100% of the proceeds go to the Festival. Remember, the Festival is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, so the donation is tax deductible.

OR, are you looking to buy an instrument? Be sure to check the consignment sales table! You might find a great deal and you'll be helping the Festival: 20% of the sales price is donated to the Folk Festival. All sales are cash only. Please pick up your instruments or proceeds by 5 pm on Saturday.

Business Donations and Sponsorships

Your contribution to the Albuquerque Folk Festival is much more than a charitable gift. It funds a unique, participatory folk-arts festival with links to a large portion of the folk-arts community and its economy. It identifies you as a responsible corporate citizen and associates your product or service with a large, robust, dynamic base of potential customers.

The Festival provides recognition for your support through its website, 3000-3500 Festival Programs and, depending upon your support level, 10,000 flyers, Festival print and media advertising, 5000 festival participants, your banner at sponsored venues, and many other benefits.

To donate or sponsor a Festival event: Contact Erika Gerety at sponsors@abqfolkfest.org, or (505) 294-6909.

References

• Guidestar: The Albuquerque Folk Festival

October 15, 2014

ABQ FOLK FEST Newsletter

What's in this issue:

• 2014 Festival Recap
• Immediate Needs
• THIS WEEKEND: New Mexico Dulcimer Festival
• KUNM Pledge Drive
• Heads Up for Entertainers
• AFF 2015 Board and Festival Directors
• Thanks to Retiring Board Members
• Support the Festival!

2014 Festival Recap

What a great 2014 Albuquerque Folk Festival (AFF) with a fabulous line up! It was a successful festival with approximately 4200 people in attendance. We are so sad that we were required, by the Fire Marshall, to completely shut down a few hours early because of the deadly windstorm that hit. Next year, get the T-shirt: Albuquerque Folk Festival, I survived “A Mighty Wind” of 2014. If you have a better slogan idea, let us know. Most importantly we were very pleased that no one was hurt during the strong wind which knocked down some of our tents and other facilities, but we all had a blast till then!

The festival board of directors reviewed some feedback and is working to make more improvements. As always, we welcome your feedback and constructive ideas for improvement and new creativity. As you know, we are all-volunteer, including our board of directors, event directors, area directors, managers and day-of volunteers as well as workshop and jam hosts. We will continue to evaluate and improve AFF to the extent that we are able within the constraint of our financial, logistic, and human resources. To that end, we remind you that we gladly accept your support. If you are willing to take on a role of a manager, director, or event staff volunteer, or just donate some funds, we will happily accept. Thanks for your participation in this community event!

Immediate Needs

ABQ FOLK FEST has a couple of open functional director positions that we need to fill ASAP:

• Vendor Director (coordinates between city, museum and AFF Food Manager, Beverage Manager and Arts and Crafts Vendor Manager)
• Logistics Director (coordinates tent, chair, table, stage rentals and venue locations and set up)

This Weekend: New Mexico Dulcimer Festival

We want to give a shout out to the 5th Annual New Mexico Dulcimer Festival, which is taking place October 17-18, 2014, in Albuquerque, NM. Irma Reeder, one of AFF's board members, directs this event, and Scott Reeder, another AFF board member is one of the instructors. The festival features 40 workshops focusing on mountain and hammered dulcimers, but also Celtic harp, bowed psaltery, autoharp, bodhran (Irish frame drum), penny whistle, guitar, mandolin, and ukulele offered by local musicians and nationally recognized artists from Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, and West Virginia. Absolute beginner dulcimer workshops are offered with instrument rentals available, and loaner instruments provided for some of the other workshops. The festival includes jams, open mic, on-site meals, on-site music/instrument vendor, and public concerts (7 pm each night, $15 at the door, children under 12 free). Concert performers will include two national dulcimer champions, an international autoharp champion, and a national fiddle champion. Musicians have performed at the Smithsonian, the Kennedy Center, the National Cathedral, and the White House, as well as in England, Ireland, Belgium, Japan, and other countries. The dulcimer festival is sponsored by the New Mexico Dulcimer Association, Apple Mountain Music in Albuquerque, and the Music Guild of New Mexico. Info at www.NMDulcFest.com or 505.292.6030.

KUNM Pledge Drive

Please listen to KUNM (89.9 on your FM dial) on Saturday October 18th at 9:00 am during Folk Routes, and then again on Tuesday evening October 21st at 7:00 pm during Home of Happy Feet. There will be a cadre of AFF volunteers be manning the phones during this week’s KUNM pledge drive. Please call in and donate to KUNM. Help support local NPR stations in Albuquerque. KUNM is very supportive of ABQ Folk Festival, and we want to be equally supportive of KUNM.

Heads Up for Entertainers

For people/groups interested in performing, a performer interest / application process will soon be available on the website. People who would like to perform at the 2015 Festival on June 6, 2015 should apply by that link, which will be on the website very soon.

New AFF 2015 Board and Festival Officers

Festival Director for 2015: Gary Libman

Festival Co-Director for 2015: Rachel Zuback

2015 Board of Directors

• Gary Libman, President
• Donna Bauer, Vice President
• William Balassi, Secretary
• Athena Kelly, Treasurer
• Deb Brunt
• Art Brooks
• Rachel Zuback
• Rose Day
• Irma Reeder
• Kyle Malone
• Scott Reeder

2015 Advisory Board

• Scott Mathis
• Erika Gerety
• Peter Esherick
• Jimmy Abraham
• Michael Coy

Festival Functional Directors

• Jim Beall. Volunteer Director
• Art Brooks. Participation Director
• Donna Bauer. Operations Director
• Rose Day. Publicity Director
• Peter Esherick. Scheduling Director
• Erika Gerety. Fund Raising Director
• Kyle Malone. Marketing Director
• Scott Mathis. Archive Director
• Jane Phillips. Performance Director
• Open: Logistics Director
• Open: Vendor Director

Thanks to our Retiring Board Members

The ABQ FOLK FEST would like to acknowledge three people who are retiring from the Board of Directors. Michael Coy who served for several years as Entertainment Director, and Festival Director and then President of the Board as well as Functional Director of Logistics deserves a special standing ovation for his work and dedication. He will continue to work with us to help ensure another successful festival. Patsy Gregory has done an outstanding job as Dance Manager and brought a lot of positive contributions to our Board while working so closely with the dance community we serve. Patsy will be working with our new Dance Manager for a transparent transfer of duties. Amanda Kelsey served for two years on our Board and was able to bring in a fresh approach to many of the issues the Board was dealing with. She was, and continues to be, a very helpful member of the group working at the raffle fundraising information table and collecting feedback which is needed to continue to improve our festivals in the future.

Thank you Michael, Patsy and Amanda. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

We need you! Support Albuquerque Folk Festival

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS!

Join the 700+ Volunteers that currently produce and present the ABQ Folk Festival. In exchange for at least 3 hours of your time, you will gain free admission, a free t-shirt, and have a lot of fun with a great group of music and community-lovers! We are 100% volunteer-run, and while we have an impressive list of wonderful volunteers from previous years, we can always use more help. If you’re interested in getting involved, see our Volunteering page.

HELP GET THE WORD OUT

Don’t forget to “Like” us on Facebook! We’re providing regular updates on upcoming local shows, information on and videos of our performers and other fun tidbits about our festival and our organization that you’ll want to know. Share our page, events and posts with your friends, too. Let’s really get the word out this year!

SUPPORT YOUR FESTIVAL

As many of you know, the ABQ Folk Festival is 100% run by volunteers. Did you know that only a small portion of our financial resources comes from ticket sales? Roughly 30% of the cost of our festival is covered by ticket sales. That means we must fund 70% of our festival though grants, sponsorships and donations from supporters like you. Over the next few years, we’d love to see that ticket-sales dependency drop to zero as we lower the cost of the tickets down to Free. Please help us push toward that goal and consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the Albuquerque Folk Festival, a Not-for-Profit 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(2) Public Charity. We offer a variety of donor and sponsor opportunities at all levels of support for community-minded individuals and organizations. For more information, visit our website or contact us. Thank you for your patronage!

May 30, 2014

AFF BENEFIT CONCERT JUNE 6

The Albuquerque Folk Festival starts a week from tonight, with a kick-off benefit concert featuring The Claire Lynch Band, with Holy Water and Whiskey opening. AFF is teaming up with AMP Concerts to present this special fundraiser for The Albuquerque Folk Festival, a 501(c)(3) public charity. The concert is next Friday night, June 6th (the night before the Festival), at the Balloon Museum grounds, outside under a tent. You can dance (we'll have a floor), enjoy dinner from local food trucks, and get a brew from the Marble Brewery, as well as listen to some great music.

Claire Lynch is the reigning Female Vocalist of the Year for the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and a 2012 recipient of the United States Artists Walker Fellowship. Her career has been decorated with many other accolades, including two Grammy nominations and IBMA Vocalist awards in 2010 and 1997. Dolly Parton credits Claire with "one of the sweetest, purest and best lead voices in the music business today."

Holy Water and Whiskey needs no introduction to AFF fans; they've been delighting audiences at the Folk Festival for years. Their music is infused with spirit, beautiful melodies, intricately woven harmonies, class-act musicianship and stories. We're excited to feature them as the opening act for our benefit concert.

Four of our vendors, Ahhroma's Wood Fired Pizza, Dine and Dash, La Vida Mocha, and the Marble Brewery, will be open Friday night starting at 6:30.

Tickets for this benefit concert are separate and not part of a Festival pass. They are $22 in advance and $27 at the gate (including a $2 service charge on all tickets). You can buy advanced tickets through Thursday, June 5.

Read more about this show, watch videos and buy tickets on the AMP website.

Help kick off the Festival, enjoy a fun evening out, and support the AFF: Buy your tickets now!

More Good Eats

Just a reminder about some dining and fundraising opportunities coming up next week:

• Sunday, June 1: B2B Bistronomy
• Tuesday, June 3: Il Vicino Heights
• Thursday, June 5: Il Vicino Westside

Please join us at as many of these as you can; 20% of what you spend will be donated to ABQ FOLK FEST!

May 29, 2014

ABQ FOLK FEST Newsletter

What's in this issue:

• Featured Performers: Tim O'Brien and Darrell Scott
• Entertainment and Fundraising! B2B Bistronomy Il Vicino Heights Il Vicino Westside
• Community Support
• Sing Out
• AFF Out and About
• Performers Around Town
• Support the Festival: Volunteer! Like Us on Facebook!Donate!

Featured Performers: Tim O'Brien and Darrell Scott

Highly regarded writer/singer/multi-instrumentalists Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott are coming to ABQ FOLK FEST this year. These world-class musicians who, between them, play guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, bouzouki, and mandocello, deliver performances so nuanced, deeply rooted and keenly informed that it is hard to tell where tradition leaves off and invention comes in.

Be sure to check out what these two talented solo performers can do when they play together!

You can catch them on the Mt. Taylor stage at 4:30 pm and the Jemez Stage at 8:30 pm. Tim and Darrell are known for their spontaneity in performance, and you have a chance to go "behind the scenes" in their workshop "Call and response / Listening and Standing on the Edge" at the Workshop 1 Tent at 1:30 pm, where they'll demonstrate and discuss getting in the zone where anything can and does happen.

Pre-Festival Entertainment and Fundraising!

We're all working hard in the week leading up to the Festival...but we're also taking a few breaks for eating...and raising money for the Festival at the same time. Remember that ABQ FOLK FEST is a 501(c)(3) organization, with admissions covering only 25% of its costs, so we're always looking for ways to raise money. Here are some ways you can help us and enjoy yourselves at the same time.

Our restaurant fundraisers are on all sides of the city—something for everyone (several for some of us). Basically there is not much need for cooking in the first week of June—just take it off. We’ll see you for dinner! Then…there’s Claire Lynch…awesomeness (and food and beer and “Holy Water and Whiskey”)…

Sunday, June 1: B2B Bistronomy

Exciting! On Sunday, June 1st, you can help support the ABQ FOLK FEST and support an incredibly community-minded local restaurant, by eating/drinking at B2B in Nob Hill anytime between noon and 9 pm. Do you like antibiotic-free, grass-fed, free-range, sustainable meats in your burgers? Or how about vegan/vegi burgers AND NM craft beers and hand cut fries or salads? Mmmm…it's making me hungry just writing this. B2B has a wonderful program to support non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations like ours called "Giving Back Sundays". Every Sunday, they give 20% from each purchase to a specific cause. Wow. They support local and they support good (real!) food and causes. Now that's a place we want to support too. On June 1st, we'll be there with flyers and information and we need to get at least 300 people out, so come eat and enjoy! See you there. (PS, it is not necessary to tell them you are there for ABQ FOLK FEST, but it would be great if you do.)

Tuesday, June 3: Il Vicino Heights

How about some great pizza at Il Vicino Heights (Juan Tabo and Montgomery). Print out this coupon, bring it in, and they will give us 20% of all the money you spend. Please pass these coupons around to your friends. You all know what great food and drinks you can get at Il Vicino, but now you can support AFF too!

Thursday, June 5: Il Vicino Westside

Can't make it up to the Heights on Tuesday? Get your pizza fix at Il Vicino Westside (near Alameda and Corrales Road). Same deal: Print out this coupon, bring it in, and they will give us 20% of all the money you spend. Again, give these coupons to your friends and support ABQ FOLK FEST by enjoying the great food and drinks at Il Vicino.

Friday, June 6: Claire Lynch

AMP and AFF are working together to bring you a great concert with Claire Lynch. If you have seen her before, you know you have to go again. If you haven’t, you are in for a treat. But there’s more! We will also have food vendors and Marble Brewery starting at 6:30 pm, plus while you are enjoying your food and drink, you will be entertained by our own fabulous Holy Water & Whiskey starting at 7:30 pm. Claire Lynch will begin at 8:30 pm. At 10 pm, if you are still not tired, come join us for a little jamming in the campground. You can make an evening of it. This all takes place under a big tent with beautiful views on the back lawn of the Albuquerque International Balloon Museum (side gate). Tickets are only $22 in advance, $27 at the gate. For tickets and information, see the AMP website. All that fun and raise money too.

Saturday, June 7: Day of the Festival!

We'll be doing a little fundraising at the Festival by selling raffle tickets for two great prizes. You don't need to be present to win.

1. A beautiful guitar and case, donated by Stan Burg at Guitar Vista. The guitar is dreadnought sized guitar, a Baden, of spruce and rosewood, with its hard shell case. Approximate value is $1,150. Raffle tickets are $3 apiece or 4 for $10.
2. Ten hours of Sound Studio time at Sanctuary Sound, thanks to Lee Padilla. Approximate value is $500. Raffle tickets are $2 apiece or 6 for $10.

ABQ FOLK FEST Supports the Community

The Folk Festival considers itself part of the community—both the local folk music community and our Albuquerque community as a whole. Here are a couple of things we'd like you to know about:

Thursday, June 5: Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum

We are getting the word out about a concert and fundraising event for our buddies at KUNM. Remember Laurie Lewis? We had her at the ABQ FOLK FEST in 2012. Well, there's a fundraising concert for our buddies at KUNM on June 5th (after you go for Il Vicino pizza, right?). Here’s what’s happening: Concert by Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, Thursday June 5, 7:30 pm at the Outpost Performance Space, 210 Yale SE. Tickets are $22 at brownpapertickets.com or 505 980 6161. Again, this is a benefit for KUNM.

Project Share

This year, the Albuquerque Folk Festival is donating $1 per ticket sold at the gate to Project Share.

Project Share is a 30-year-old ABQ nonprofit organization serving home cooked meals to the hungry and homeless, including many families with children. More than 40 civic and faith-based groups bring volunteer teams to prepare and serve food to guest-clients at Project Share. Dinners are served six nights per week. Approximately 12,000 volunteer hours per year, offered by more than 400 people, are donated so 39,000 meals can be served annually. Every dollar donated to Project Share goes directly to support this program.

A Little Green

This year, ABQ FOLK FEST has increased its recycling efforts. We'll have volunteers sorting the trash and making sure we recycle as much waste as possible.

We're also encouraging cycling to the Festival by providing a bike valet service, located on the north side of the Balloon Museum grounds, where volunteers will tag and securely store your bike.

And More…

In later newsletters, we’ll be telling you more about some of our other non-profit partners’ events that will take place a little later in the year: Wildlife West, Santa Fe Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival, the New Mexico Dulcimer Festival, and ¡Globalquerque!

Sing-Along: Pete Seeger

When Pete Seeger died this year on January 27, there was a sing-along in his hospital room. What better way to celebrate his life than by singing out?

At the Pete Seeger Sing Along: You Who Sing, and You Who Stand Nearby we will, together, sing the songs Peter wrote like "Turn, Turn, Turn", "Where Have All the Flowers Gone", and "If I Had a Hammer" There'll be songs he taught us--"We Shall Overcome" and "Goodnight Irene". And he liked to pass songs along, so we'll learn a couple that he liked to teach--"Somos el Barco" and "Swimming to the Other Side." And we'll try the last song he sang before he died--"To My Own Brown Earth". If you'd like to get a head start on the songs we're going to sing, you can download our 2014 handout. (These will also be available at the sing-along.)

There are lots of kinds of immortality. Let's sing along with Pete. Join us at the Jemez Stage at 6:30 pm.

ABQ FOLK FEST Out and About

Busking Events

Albuquerque Folk Festival has been out on the town, providing free “community samples” at various convenient locations between now and the Festival. You'll have one more chance this Saturday to stop by and say hello, enjoy some free live music, and pick up a flyer for ABQ FOLK FEST 2014.

May 31

• 10:00-12:00 at La Montanita Co-op on Rio Grande at Matthew - Music For All Seasons

AFF Performers Upcoming Local Shows

Friday May 30

• 7:30 pm Meredirth from Wildewood and Sage from Sage & Jared’s Happy Gland Band perform at Betterday Coffee in Santa Fe
• 7:30 pm Le Chat Lunatique performs at Lemoni Lounge

Saturday May 31

• 8:00 pm Cactus Tractor  performs at Art Bar
• 9:00 pm Wildewood performs at Low Spirits

Sunday June 1

• 6:30 pm Felix y Los Gatos performs at Marble Brewery

Tuesday June 3

• 6:00 pm Wildewood performs at Il Vicino Brewery
• 10:00 pm Wildewood performs at Sister Bar

Friday June 6

• 7:30 pm The Claire Lynch Band, supported by Holy Water & Whiskey perform at Balloon Museum - ABQ FOLK FEST Fundraiser with AMP Concerts

Saturday June 7

• 10:00 am ABQ FOLK FEST 2014!!!!

We need you! Support Albuquerque Folk Festival

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS!

Join the 700+ Volunteers that currently produce and present the ABQ Folk Festival. In exchange for at least 3 hours of your time, you will gain free admission, a free t-shirt, and have a lot of fun with a great group of music and community-lovers! We are 100% volunteer-run, and while we have an impressive list of wonderful volunteers from previous years, we can always use more help. If you’re interested in getting involved, see our Volunteering page.

HELP GET THE WORD OUT

Don’t forget to “Like” us on Facebook! We’re providing regular updates on upcoming local shows, information on and videos of our performers and other fun tidbits about our festival and our organization that you’ll want to know. Share our page, events and posts with your friends, too. Let’s really get the word out this year!

SUPPORT YOUR FESTIVAL

As many of you know, the ABQ Folk Festival is 100% run by volunteers. Did you know that only a small portion of our financial resources comes from ticket sales? Roughly 30% of the cost of our festival is covered by ticket sales. That means we must fund 70% of our festival though grants, sponsorships and donations from supporters like you. Over the next few years, we’d love to see that ticket-sales dependency drop to zero as we lower the cost of the tickets down to Free. Please help us push toward that goal and consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the Albuquerque Folk Festival, a Not-for-Profit 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(2) Public Charity. We offer a variety of donor and sponsor opportunities at all levels of support for community-minded individuals and organizations. For more information, visit our website or contact us. Thank you for your patronage!

May 13, 2014

ABQ FOLK FEST Newsletter

What's in this issue:

• Featured Performers: Birds of Chicago
• New at the Festival!
• ABQ FOLK FEST on TV
• AFF Out and About
• Dining Out to Support ABQ FOLK FEST
• Support the Festival: Volunteer! Like Us on Facebook!Donate!
• Performers Around Town

Featured Performer: Birds of Chicago

ABQ FOLK FEST is excited to welcome Birds of Chicago to our stages for 2014. Birds of Chicago is a collective based around singer/songwriters JT Nero (of the Chicago rock and soul band, JT and the Clouds) and Allison Russell (of the Canadian urban folk band and New Mexico favorite Po’ Girl).

You won’t want to miss what critics are calling “two of the most compelling new voices on the Americana music scene” (Chicago Sun-Times) when JT, Allison, and the other very talented Birds come to the Festival. You’ll have two chances to hear them on the Sandia Stage (at 4:30 and 9:30 pm). You’ll also have a chance to experience the inner workings of bringing a song to life within a band when JT and Allison present a workshop on Arranging Songs for a Full Band at 2:30 pm in the Workshop 4 indoor venue.

New at the Festival This Year

Every year, our organizers, managers and volunteers work very hard to present the best-possible festival and every year we receive really great feedback from our participants and supporters. We hear your feedback and do what we can to to offer improvements year over year. We are proud to announce some additions to ABQ FOLK FEST this year that we hope you’ll enjoy!

LOCAL BREWERIES!

This year, starting at 3:30pm on Saturday, two of Albuquerque’s favorite local breweries will be serving their craft beers onsite at the festival. To enjoy a cold refreshing beverage from Marble Brewery or Bosque Brewing Company don’t forget to bring your ID so you can get a 21+ wristband from the ID station.

BIKE VALET!

The Balloon Museum is conveniently located just off the North Diversion Channel bike path. This year, you can ride your bike on this trail all the way to our secure bike valet, where volunteers will tag and store your bike for you. The valet will be on the north side of the Balloon Museum (south of the Balloon Fiesta Park) Once you’ve dropped off your bike simply walk to the south entrance of the museum for admission to the Fest.

MORE FOR KIDS!

We are thrilled to present the same wonderful activities for kids as in recent years, including a venue dedicated completely to storytelling and a children’s participation tent with fun and educational workshops for kids of all ages. Sunny Birklund’s giant puppets will also be back, as well as Planet Music's hands-on collection of musical instruments, which is always popular with the young and young at heart.

Additionally, we’re very excited to welcome ¡Explora! to ABQ FOLK FEST 2014! Explora will be onsite with many hands-on activities for the whole family to dive into.

This year, one of our vendors, Usborne Books, will have two children’s craft activity tables with ongoing activities until 5 pm. And another vendor, Purlesque, will have facepainting along with henna tattoos.

ARTIST CDs FOR SALE!

ABQ FOLK FEST is proud to partner with AMP CONCERTS this year to provide a merchandise table where all ABQ FOLK FEST performers can make their CDs and other merchandise available for purchase. Stop by the central merchandise location to pick up some new music, buy a festival t-shirt and maybe even purchase your tickets for Globalquerque!

ABQ FOLK FEST on TV

On Thursday, May 22 at 9:30 am on PublicTV Comcast channels 26 and 27, Festival Director Gary Libman and one of our festival performers will join Larry Ahrens on The Morning Brew. Grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy some music and chatting about the Folk Festival.

ABQ FOLK FEST Out and About

Busking Events

Albuquerque Folk Festival will be out on the town, providing free “community samples” at various convenient locations between now and the Festival. Stop by to say hello, enjoy some free live music, and pick up a flyer for ABQ FOLK FEST 2014.

May 17

• 12:00-3:00 at La Montanita Co-op Westside 3601 Old Airport Ave. NW - Adobe Brothers
• 1:30-3:00 at Whole Foods @ Carlisle & Indian School - Red Light Ramblers

May 24

• 12:00-3:00 at La Montanita Co-op Westside 3601 Old Airport Ave. NW - Flagpole Salad
• 1:30-3:00 at Whole Foods @ Carlisle & Indian School - Eagle’s Whistle

May 31

• 10:00-12:00 at La Montanita Co-op on Rio Grande at Matthew - Music For All Seasons

Community Promotion

AFF volunteers will be promoting ABQ FOLK FEST 2014 at the Rio Grande Valley Celtic Festival May 17-18 at the Balloon Fiesta Park. This is a great activity for the whole family and we hope to see you there! Stop by our table for a flyer or a coupon for $5-off general admission at the gate!

Dining Out to Support ABQ FOLK FEST!

We've got two great dining out opportunities in different sections of town So you'll have a chance to enjoy some great food while supporting the Folk Festival on two days in early June! Put these dates on your calendar and bring your appetite! Who knew supporting the Folk Festival could be so delicious! Buon appetito!

• Sunday, June 1st: Enjoy some great burgers (even vegetarian) and brews at B2B. This is a new, very wonderful community-oriented place at Nob Hill. From open until close, everyone who eats at B2B on June 1 will be contributing to the folk festival. The goal is to get lots of people in there. Be sure to tell them we sent you. We’ll be there too. Yum!
• Tuesday, June 3rd: Heads up! You can join us for delicious pizza (and more) at the Il Vicino, Heights location. This requires printing out a coupon and bringing it in. We’ll send out the link when it get closer.

We need you! Support Albuquerque Folk Festival

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS!

Join the 700+ Volunteers that currently produce and present the ABQ Folk Festival. In exchange for at least 3 hours of your time, you will gain free admission, a free t-shirt, and have a lot of fun with a great group of music and community-lovers! We are 100% volunteer-run, and while we have an impressive list of wonderful volunteers from previous years, we can always use more help. If you’re interested in getting involved, see our Volunteering page.

HELP GET THE WORD OUT

Don’t forget to “Like” us on Facebook! We’re providing regular updates on upcoming local shows, information on and videos of our performers and other fun tidbits about our festival and our organization that you’ll want to know. Share our page, events and posts with your friends, too. Let’s really get the word out this year!

SUPPORT YOUR FESTIVAL

As many of you know, the ABQ Folk Festival is 100% run by volunteers. Did you know that only a small portion of our financial resources comes from ticket sales? Roughly 30% of the cost of our festival is covered by ticket sales. That means we must fund 70% of our festival though grants, sponsorships and donations from supporters like you. Over the next few years, we’d love to see that ticket-sales dependency drop to zero as we lower the cost of the tickets down to Free. Please help us push toward that goal and consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the Albuquerque Folk Festival, a Not-for-Profit 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(2) Public Charity. We offer a variety of donor and sponsor opportunities at all levels of support for community-minded individuals and organizations. For more information, visit our website or contact us. Thank you for your patronage!

AFF Performers Upcoming Local Shows

Thursday May 15

• 6:00 pm Floozy performs at Marble Brewery

Friday May 16

• 6:00 pm Red Light Ramblers perform at Placitas Cafe

Saturday May 17

• 6:30 pm Le Chat Lunatique performs at Seasons Rotisserie and Grill
• 9:00 pm Sean Healen Band performs at El Farol in Santa Fe

Sunday May 18

• 4:00 pm Red Light Ramblers perform at O’Neils Pub Uptown (Juan Tabo)
• 4:00 pm Cactus Tractor performs at Marble Brewery
• 5:45 pm Le Chat Lunatique performs at Marble Brewery
• 7:30 pm Wildewood performs at Marble Brewery

Saturday May 24

• 6:30 pm Floozy performs at Albuquerque Balloon Museum for Southwest Sound Fest
• 9:00 pm Cactus Tractor  performs at Albuquerque Center for Peace & Justice

Friday May 30

• 7:30 pm Meredirth from Wildewood and Sage from Sage & Jared’s Happy Gland Band perform at Betterday Coffee in Santa Fe
• 7:30 pm Le Chat Lunatique performs at Lemoni Lounge

Saturday May 31

• 8:00 pm Cactus Tractor  performs at Art Bar
• 9:00 pm Wildewood performs at Low Spirits

Sunday June 1

• 6:30 pm Felix y Los Gatos performs at Marble Brewery

Tuesday June 3

• 6:00 pm Wildewood performs at Il Vicino Brewery
• 10:00 pm Wildewood performs at Sister Bar

Friday June 6

• 7:30 pm The Claire Lynch Band, supported by Holy Water & Whiskey perform at Balloon Museum - ABQ FOLK FEST Fundraiser with AMP Concerts

Saturday June 7

• 10:00 am ABQ FOLK FEST 2014!!!!

March 20, 2014

ABQ FOLK FEST Newsletter

What's in this issue:

• Benefit Concert with The Claire Lynch Band on June 6
• Who's Coming?
• Festival Preview: Ramblin' Jack Elliott
• AFF to support Project Share
• Support the Festival: Volunteer! Donate!
• Support our Supporters

Fundraising Concert featuring The Claire Lynch Band

Join the Albuquerque Folk Festival and dance at our fundraising concert featuring The Claire Lynch Band, with Holy Water and Whiskey opening. AFF is teaming up with AMP Concerts to present a benefit concert for The Albuquerque Folk Festival, a 501(c)(3) public charity. The concert is Friday night, June 6th (the night before the Festival) at the Balloon Museum grounds, outside under a tent. There'll be a dance floor for your dancing pleasure, and food and beverages will be available.

Claire Lynch is the reigning Female Vocalist of the Year for the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and a 2012 recipient of the United States Artists Walker Fellowship. Her career has been decorated with many other accolades, including two Grammy nominations and IBMA Vocalist awards in 2010 and 1997. Dolly Parton credits Claire with "one of the sweetest, purest and best lead voices in the music business today."

Tickets for the fundraising concert are separate and not part of a Festival pass. They are $22 in advance and $27 at the gate (including the $2 "Hold my Ticket" service charge on all tickets). Read more about this show, watch videos and buy tickets on the AMP website.

Who's Coming to the Festival?

The ABQ Folk Fest is excited to be bringing major performers to the Festival this year:

• Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott
• Birds of Chicago
• Ramblin’ Jack Elliott
• Spencer & Rains
• Canote Brothers

In each newsletter leading up to the Festival, we’ll be featuring one of these great acts. In the meantime, check our website for more information about all the nearly 40 performers appearing on our four festival stages.

Ramblin' Jack Elliott at this year's Festival

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott is a 5-time Grammy award nominee who some say is the continuation of Woody Guthrie’s legend and songs. He travels the country performing to packed houses and dazzling the audiences with his singing and playing. We are fortunate to have this 82-year-old legend at the Festival this year.

One of the true greats, Ramblin’ Jack plays heartwarming and toe-tapping music and tells many stories, including the one when he and Woody Guthrie had an argument in a van. Arlo Guthrie says he learned a lot about his father by spending time with Ramblin’ Jack.

You won't want to miss RJE at the Festival this year; he will be performing on the Mt. Taylor Stage at 7:30 pm to the delight of all of our festival-goers.

Folk Festival Supports Project Share

This year, the Albuquerque Folk Festival is donating $1 per ticket sold at the gate to Project Share.

Project Share is a 30 year old ABQ nonprofit organization serving home cooked meals to the hungry and homeless, including many families with children. More than 40 civic and faith-based groups bring volunteer teams to prepare and serve food to guest-clients at Project Share. Dinners are served six nights per week. Approximately 12,000 volunteer hours per year, offered by more than 400 people, are donated so 39,000 meals can be served annually. Every dollar donated to Project Share goes directly to support this program.

Support Your Festival:

Volunteer!

ABQ FOLK FEST continues to grow. It takes hundreds of volunteers to put on a great Festival and this year, new features and functions at the Festival will require even more volunteers. For about three hours of easy work, you'll get free admission to the Festival and a Festival t-shirt.

We're also looking for a few additional managers. Managers work harder and are an invaluable part of making the Festival happen.

If you're interested, please check our volunteers web page. If you have questions, you can email Jim Beall, our volunteer manager.

Donate!

As many of you know, the ABQ Folk Festival is 100% run by volunteers. Did you know that only 30% of our financial resources comes from ticket sales? That means we must fund 70% of our festival though grants, sponsorships and donations from supporters like you. Over the next few years, we’d love to see that ticket-sales dependency drop to zero as we lower the cost of the tickets down to Free. Please help us push toward that goal and consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the Albuquerque Folk Festival, a Not-for-Profit 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(2) Public Charity. We offer a variety of donor and sponsor opportunities at all levels of support for community-minded individuals and organizations. For more information, visit our website or contact us. Thank you for your help!

Support our Supporters

AMP Concerts, a big AFF supporter, has many events offered on their website.

Rick Thayler, another big supporter of the Albuquerque Folk Festival, is offering the following concert: Awna Teixeira, singer/songwriter and one half of the much loved alt folk band Po Girl will be solo at Gig in Santa Fe on April 5th, a Southwest Roots music show. Check the Southwest Roots website for ticket info.

Don't Forget to "Like" Us on Facebook

We’re providing regular updates on upcoming local shows, information on and videos of our performers and other fun tidbits about our festival and our organization that you’ll want to know. Share our page and events with your friends, too. Let's really get the word out this year!