The 41st annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, this year celebrating the Mekong watershed, Northern Ireland and the roots of Virginia’s culture, will be held from June 27 to July 1 and from July 4 to July 8 on the Mall between Seventh and 14th streets Northwest.
Hours are from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day, with concerts, special events and dance parties extending into most evenings. Admission is free. For a full schedule, see folklife.si.edu and follow the links.
Evening concerts, some of them interpreted in American Sign Language, are held at one of three regional stages: Northern Ireland’s Lagan Stage, Virginia’s Mountain Laurel Stage and the Mekong’s Nine Dragons Stage. Here’s a concert guide, by date:
JUNE 28
Northern Irish Dance Party: Cuckoo’s Nest and Lucy Mulholland. 5:30-7 p.m. Lagan Stage.
JUNE 29
Ralph Rinzler Memorial Concert: A concert of NEA National Heritage fellows in honor of Bess Lomax Hawes, folk music teacher and performer. Liz Carroll and John Doyle, John Cephas and Phil Wiggins, David and Michael Doucet, Mitchell Reed, Nancy Sweezy. 6-9 p.m. Mountain Laurel Stage. Signed.
Northern Ireland — Friday Evening Concert: Armagh Rhymers, The Low Country Boys, Session Musicians, the Vallely Family, Roisin White. 5:30-7:30 p.m. Lagan Stage.
JUNE 30
Sound Neighbors — Songs and Tunes from Northern Ireland: Patricia Flynn, Four Men and a Dog, Len Graham and Jack Lynch, Lee Lawson, Robert Watt, Mark Wilson. 5:30-7:30 p.m. Lagan Stage. Signed.
Virginia — Roots of the Banjo: Bou Counta Ndiaye Ensemble, Cheikh Hamala Diabate Ensemble, Rex Ellis, Brien Fain, Rhiannon Giddens, Mike Seeger. 6-8 p.m. Mountain Laurel Stage.
JULY 1
Sounds of the Mekong: 6-8 p.m. Nine Dragons Stage.
Latino Virginia Concert: La Sensual, Los Hermanos Lobo, Los Tecuanis. 6-9 p.m. Mountain Laurel Stage.
JULY 5
Sounds of the North: Patricia Flynn, Cathal Sean Hayden, John Kennedy, Gino Lupari, Michael Quinn, Michael Thomas Sands, The Low Country Boys. 5-7:30 p.m. Lagan Stage.
Mountain Music Concert: Brien Fain, Ron Short and David Arthur; Wayne Henderson, Helen White and Jeff Little; Linda and David Lay with Ricky Simpkins; The New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters; Kinney Rorrer and the New North Carolina Ramblers; The Spiritual Seven. 4:30-9 p.m. Mountain Laurel Stage.
JULY 6
Early Evening Dance Party: All Set Ensemble, Lucy Mulholland and Cuckoo’s Nest. 5-6 p.m. Lagan Stage.
Coming to America — Songs, Tunes, and Craic (good times): Patricia Flynn, Len Graham and Jack Lynch, Hidden Fermanagh, Roisin White. 6-7:30 p.m. Lagan Stage.
African American Sacred Music Concert: Madison Hummingbirds, the Paschall Brothers, Virginia Church Choir. 6-8 p.m. Mountain Laurel Stage. Signed.
JULY 7
Sounds of the Mekong: 6-8 p.m. Nine Dragons Stage. Signed.
Dance Workshop and Party: All Set Ensemble, Lucy Mulholland and Cuckoo’s Nest. 5:30-7 p.m. Lagan Stage.
Last Night’s Fun: Craobh Rua, Cathal Sean Hayden, Lee Lawson, Gino Lupari, Michael Thomas Sands, Robert Watt, Roisin White, Mark Wilson. 7-8:30 p.m. Lagan Stage.
JULY 8
Stories in Word and Song: Dave Arthur, Howard Bass, Rex Ellis, Anansegromma, Flory Jagoda, Karenne Wood, Vera Oye Yaa-Anna. 5:30-8 p.m. Mountain Laurel Stage. Signed.
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