University of Chicago Folk Festival

05/11/2026

Hello all! Thought I would end out the year by posting some content from the fest that never made it to the gram. What a joy it is to be able to celebrate this wonderful music year after year. We couldn’t do it without every single person that shows up. Thank you all for the incredible year

05/11/2026

Fiddlers picnic was a smashing success!! Incredibly lovely music was provided by patt and possum and incredibly tall trees were jammed in. A perfect end to a wonderful year for the folklore society. Thank you all for your attendance, jamming, and support.

05/09/2026

FIDDLE ON DOWN TO RYERSON

02/25/2026

The Hyde Park Herald published a great post-Festival article about us!

As the skirl of a bagpipe filled Mandel Hall Saturday evening, the audience swiveled in their seats toward the back of the auditorium. Piper Scott McCawley strode down the aisle

02/18/2026

UCHICAGO 66TH ANNUAL FOLK FESTIVAL FEB 20-21

TICKETS IN BIO uofcfolk.org

JOIN US FOR A NIGHT OF CONCERTS, WORKSHOPS, FESTIVITIES, AND FRIENDSHIP

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE

02/17/2026

LISSA SCHNECKENBURGER AND GARRETT CAMERON. CELTIC. FOLK FEST. FEB 20 & 21.

FROM VERMONT AND NEW HAMPSHIRE, FIDDLER LISSA SCHNECKENBURGER AND MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST GARRETT CAMERON BRING NEW ENGLAND TRADITIONAL MUSIC ROARING TO LIFE. LISSA’S QUIETLY VIRTUOSIC FIDDLE PULLS FIRE FROM DOWNEAST MAINE DANCE TUNES, SCOTTISH STRATHSPEYS, AND FRENCH CANADIAN REELS WHILE HER PURE, CLEAR VOICE BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO OLD BALLADS FROM LUMBER CAMPS AND KITCHEN PARTIES. A NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY GRADUATE WITH EIGHT ALBUMS, SHE’S TOURED INTERNATIONALLY AND SHARED STAGES WITH GAELIC STORM, SOLAS, AND CHERISH THE LADIES. GARRETT JOINS ON MANDOLIN, BODHRÁN, AND VIBRAPHONE—FUSING SCOTTISH AND CAPE BRETON TRADITION WITH MINIMALISM AND GROOVE. HIS MANDOLIN SPARKLES IN THE UPPER OCTAVES THEN DROPS INTO RICH HARMONIES AND PERCUSSIVE FORCE. TOGETHER THEY CREATE MUSIC RANGING FROM A RIOTOUS FIDDLE PARTY—FLOORBOARDS THUMPING, BOW HAIR FLYING, DANCERS IN EVERY CORNER—TO THE SOMBER BEAUTY OF CELTIC TWILIGHT.

DONT BE SQUARE.

02/16/2026

ETHAN LEINWAND. BARRELHOUSE BLUES PIANO. FOLK FEST. FEBRUARY 20-21.

ST. LOUIS-BASED PIANIST AND PRESERVATIONIST BRINGING A LOST ART ROARING BACK TO LIFE. ETHAN LEINWAND PLAYS BARRELHOUSE BLUES—A VISCERAL STYLE OF FOLK PIANO BORN IN THE WORK CAMPS AND JOOK JOINTS OF THE DEEP SOUTH—SPANNING RAGTIME, BOOGIE-WOOGIE, AND EARLY JAZZ, ALL WITH A LOW-DOWN BLUES FEELING DESIGNED TO KEEP ‘EM DANCING. HIS PLAYING “CAN EASILY PASS FOR A 1930s CHICAGO MUSICIAN RECORDING FOR THE BLUEBIRD LABEL,” YET HE’S NO RELIC: “WE WANT IT TO COME ALIVE AND FEEL HONEST AND OF OUR OWN TIME.” MOSTLY SELF-TAUGHT. CO-FOUNDER OF THE ST. LOUIS RAGTIME INITIATIVE. TWO SOLO ALBUMS RECORDED THE OLD WAY. CALLED “MUSIC AS IF PEOPLE MATTERED.”

COME HEAR A PIANO REMEMBER EVERYTHING AND HOLD NOTHING BACK.

02/15/2026

A GREAT TIME WAS HAD BY ALL WHO ATTENDED OUR VERY SPECIAL VALENTINES CONTRA DANCE!! Thank you to “the band you’re about to hear” for the lovely music, moose for the calling, and of course everyone who came and danced!! Maybe someone found their special someone… THIS IS YOUR REMINDER THAT ATTENDANCE AT UCHICAGO FOLK FESTIVAL IS MANDATORY!!!!! FEB 20 &21! TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED AT uofcfolk.org I WILL SEE YOU THERE

02/12/2026

HIGH FIDELITY. BLUEGRASS. FOLK FEST. FEBRUARY 20-21.

STRAIGHT OUT OF CHICAGO, HIGH FIDELITY IS A BLUEGRASS BAND THAT BRINGS TIGHT HARMONIES, VIRTUOSIC INSTRUMENTALS, AND BOUNDLESS ENERGY TO TRADITIONAL AND PROGRESSIVE BLUEGRASS. ROOTED IN THE CLASSIC SOUNDS OF THE GENRE WHILE PUSHING ITS BOUNDARIES, THEY DELIVER EVERYTHING FROM HARD-DRIVING BREAKDOWNS TO SOULFUL BALLADS WITH PRECISION AND PASSION. FEATURING MASTERFUL PICKING ON BANJO, FIDDLE, MANDOLIN, GUITAR, AND BASS, THE BAND CREATES A SOUND THAT’S BOTH POLISHED AND RAW, HONORING BLUEGRASS LEGENDS WHILE CARVING OUT THEIR OWN PATH. WHETHER TEARING THROUGH UP-TEMPO INSTRUMENTALS OR SHOWCASING VOCAL BLEND ON GOSPEL-TINGED HARMONIES, HIGH FIDELITY PROVES WHY BLUEGRASS CONTINUES TO THRIVE IN THE MIDWEST.

BE THERE.

02/11/2026

JONTAVIOUS WILLIS. COUNTRY BLUES. FOLK FEST. FEBRUARY 20-21.

HAILING FROM GREENVILLE, GA, JONTAVIOUS WILLIS IS A COUNTRY BLUES ARTIST WHOSE GUITAR, BANJO, AND HARMONICA PLAYING CHANNELS THE SPIRIT OF LEGENDS LIKE TAJ MAHAL AND MUDDY WATERS. DUBBED “THE WONDER BOY” BY BLUESMAN TAJ MAHAL HIMSELF, WILLIS BRINGS AN OLD SOUL TO TRADITIONAL BLUES, GOSPEL, AND FOLK WITH A DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE STYLE THAT CAPTIVATES AUDIENCES. WHETHER FINGERPICKING INTRICATE PIEDMONT BLUES OR DELIVERING SOULFUL VOCALS STEEPED IN TRADITION, HIS MUSIC HONORS THE PAST WHILE PROVING THE TIMELESSNESS OF THE BLUES. SINCE BURSTING ONTO THE SCENE AS A TEENAGER, HE’S TOURED INTERNATIONALLY AND EARNED CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR HIS AUTHENTIC VOICE IN AMERICAN ROOTS MUSIC.

DON’T MISS IT.