New Bedford Folk Festival

05/02/2024

Nice overview about the New Bedford Folk Festival on the Music Museum of New England webpage. Helene and I booked the performers and programmed the festival from 1996 until 2022.. We are proud of what we accomplished.

While the Newport Folk Festival became the genre’s preeminent showcase soon after George Wein founded it in 1959, it wasn’t the first of its kind in New England, nor is it the region’s longest running. The oldest is the New England Folk Festival, which started in 1944 – when the folk-revival...

02/10/2023

“It’s been such a central part of the music scene in New England for 25 years. To have it just suddenly evaporate was a bit of a shock.” Tom Rush.
Thanks to Lauren Daley for a fine article on the New Bedford Folk Festival's farewell.

It was a “gut-wrenching” decision, but organizers recently decided the 2022 festival would now be its last.

02/05/2023

02/04/2023

“It’s hard to thank people enough for the support from the city, from the Zeiterion, from the other entities that we worked under, and then an audience that just kept coming, and that’s what kept us going.” - Alan Korolenko

“It never dawned on us when we started this … that it would become what it became. Never did I think there would be so many people so dedicated to an event.” — Festival musical co-director Alan Korolenko

02/03/2023

Following a triumphant 25th anniversary event in 2022, the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center announces the conclusion of the New Bedford Folk Festival. While alternatives were explored, rising costs made the event unsustainable. The Zeiterion produced this annual festival for five years, keeping it alive after the founders retired as producers. Those additional years brought together hundreds of artists, attracted over 15,000 tourists to the city, employed scores of production professionals, contributed $3M to our local economy, and filled downtown New Bedford with fantastic folk music.
We honor and thank all involved who created a brilliant twenty-five year tradition: the founders and recent musical directors Alan and Helene Korolenko, the dedicated festival staff, the City of New Bedford, musicians, vendors, downtown businesses, sponsors, donors and, of course, the faithful festival goers.

10/03/2022

Winner of 2022's NPR Tiny Desk Contest and Folk Fest favorite, Alisa Amador brings her style of rock, jazz, funk, alt folk and Latin music to Stage Door Live in just one month. Thurs, Nov. 3. Get your tickets (from $20) at www.zeiterion.org/events/alisa-amador

09/19/2022

We are so glad Alisa Amador appeared at the the last two New Bedford Folk Festivals, in 2019 with her parents Rosi and Brian Amador and this past July solo. A superb singer and songwriter.

It’s here that I stopped caring about other people’s labels and honed my 'Boston Boricua Chicana emotional crybaby funky jazzy folk.'

07/25/2022

Send us your photos of the 25th Anniversary New Bedford Folk Festival held July 9 and 10. Love to see them. These fine photos are from friend of the festival, Steve Ide. More to follow.

07/21/2022

Although this was posted several years ago, we thought you would enjoy this. Spontaneous music at the 2016 New Bedford Folk Festival. A little over 90 seconds but does capture some of the magic.

A little jam session broke out at a vendor's booth when musicians from the festival and festival goers started playing together.

07/13/2022

What were your favorite moments from the 2022 New Bedford Folk Festival this past weekend?