Cape Folk Fest

05/29/2026

Getting the word out about Folk Fest in one week and 2 days! 🥳

https://www.kfvs12.com/2026/05/28/cape-folk-fest-back-second-year-june-6/

https://www.krcu.org/community-calendar/event/2nd-annual-cape-folk-fest-18-05-2026-11-53-18

05/21/2026

Coming up in 2 weeks and 2 days!!🤩🥳

05/15/2026

Yes, there will be food and beverages available at Cape Folk Fest ‘26! Cash bar inside and pretzels in the parking lot by the (very awesome) Wat's Knots! We will be checking IDs and providing wristbands for bar patrons, so please plan accordingly. Guests may also bring their own snacks and non-alcoholic drinks. https://www.facebook.com/WatsSmokinBBq

Caterer

05/13/2026

Headlining Cape Folk Fest ‘26 are the SWAMP BOYS! Hailing from rural southern Illinois, Matthew Evans (guitar, vocals), Jarron Evans (guitar, vocals), Josiah Evans (banjo, vocals), and Tanner Troutman (standup bass) bring a hard-driving acoustic sound that will make you want to dance. Check them out at the links below, and come to 509 Morgan Oak St. on June 6 to hear their live performance! They take the stage at 9pm. Yee haw!
Swamp Boys Matthew Evans Josiah Evans 🤘🏻

Swamp Boys Tiny Desk submission:
https://youtu.be/oLKEoA6Nrf8?si=09vIlzmnsGKJ5nFe

Audio from Folk Fest ‘25: https://t551ab098b61dbf37.starter1ua.preservica.com/portal/en-US/collection/sdb%3ASO%7C7c4cf4e3-65f9-40c7-9e2c-66dafe41a696
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05/07/2026

We are one month out from Cape Folk Fest ‘26 and the planning is happening for real. A new activity at Cape Folk Fest this year will be a free tie dye booth, weather permitting. The outdoor tie dye will be run by independent artist and musician Nate Kisat, socials linked below. You can bring your own shirt or purchase one from our merch booth!

Instagram: .kisat
https://unitedmasters.com/a/nate-kisat
https://www.tiktok.com/.kisat/video/7604353245837823263

05/01/2026

So excited to reveal our new logo today, created by southern Illinois native Beth Mathews. Today she is based in sunny L.A. and has become known for her vintage-inspired digital graphic designs. For this project, Beth drew inspiration from a quilt featured in the Lands' End All-American Quilt Collection of 1992. She selected “LIBERATE” as the font, described as “a deliberately imperfect display font inspired by the history of quilting as protest and women’s craft as a form of liberation.” See more about her work at the link below. So perfect! We will have shirts and posters for sale at Cape Folk Fest on June 6. Hope to see you there!
https://www.bethmathews.com/
https://www.instagram.com/bethmathews/
https://www.loc.gov/item/qlt000424/

04/21/2026

Did you know that Missouri passed a State Band Law in 1929 granting communities the right to levy a tax in support of a municipal band? Marching bands were part of the scene in Cape well before that, with the first documented marching band organized around 1910. The wide support for music education in Missouri has given thousands of young people the opportunity to play music. Cape Central High School has been offering music education since 1912! It’s cool to live in a state with such a robust history of supporting all kinds of musical performers.

Learn more:
https://www.krcu.org/2024-07-16/almost-yesterday-cape-girardeau-municipal-band-begins

https://www.krcu.org/arts-culture/2023-02-13/exposition-cape-central-director-of-bands-discusses-the-schools-band-program

See a map showing access to music education in school at https://artseddata.org/

02/05/2026

A little bit of history behind THE FORGE at 509 Morgan Oak. According to the City of Cape Girardeau Historic Preservation Commission, this building was originally constructed in 1942 to house Cape Feed and Seed. At the time it was situated in an active commercial district, very close to the (old) Mississippi River bridge and near Cape Girardeau. You can still see remnants of the feed store in and around the building, including the concrete base of the grain silo just outside. The commission listed this building in 2019 as at-risk of deterioration or demolishment. Luckily, it was purchased and restored by Steve Watkins, a local businessman and musician and today it is a bookable venue. Wedding receptions are common and singer-songwriters of the region enjoy a monthly open mic night.
Cape Folk Fest is so grateful for the opportunity to have our second annual event at this awesome local venue! Hope you can make it on June 6!
https://www.facebook.com/theforgecape/
Freedom Shearon

01/09/2026

WHAT IS Cape Folk Fest? The second annual Folk Fest is planned for June 6, 2026. This event celebrates folk music in a regional context, with modern-day folk musicians from Cape Girardeau, St. Louis and Southern Illinois. In addition to musical performances from Missouraudo, the Mel Pupillo Trio, and Swamp Boys, Folk Fest 26 features "History on Tap," or short talks by historians, and an interview with a special guest. Over the coming weeks, we will highlight these bands and speakers and throw out some interesting history along the way.

This event is FREE to attend, thanks to sponsorship from the Missouri Council of History Education (MOCHE) and SEMO, whose faculty creative research grant funding will allow us to pay performers and speakers at a fair rate and hire student workers to help with planning, set up, recording, and archiving the event. We will make the archive link publicly available once it is all said and done.

We are super excited to have this event at the Forge in Cape Girardeau, thanks to Steve Watkins! The Forge is at 509 Morgan Oak St., right off the Mississippi River bridge. There’s plenty of parking and it is handicapped accessible.

WHY celebrate folk music? Well, folk music is an organic, authentic art form, changing every day and kept alive thanks to countless artists incorporating old-time sounds and styles into their music. To me (Courtney) as a historian, I see folk music as an enormous tree, branching out across time and space to encompass all of human history but deeply rooted in the American story of migration. Folk music has been created and played along the highways and byways across America; in countless churches, poorhouses, jailhouses; on street corners and on big stages. Here in the Mississippi River Valley, folk music has inherited sounds from old-time fiddle and banjo players of the Appalachians and Ozarks and others who migrated on rivers, wagon trails, and railroads in search of a better life. Published histories of folk music, like Kip Lornell’s, Exploring American Folk Music Ethnic, Grassroots, and Regional Traditions in the United States, provide many fascinating details of this timeline.

Folk music - for the people, by the people! 🎻🪕