The Ferdinand Folk Festival takes place on September 17, 2022, at 18th Street Park in Ferdinand, Indiana.
2022 Schedule of events TBA-Check back soon
About Ferdinand Folk Festival
Nestled among the hills and fields of southwestern Indiana, the Ferdinand Folk Festival, set in a beautiful 18th Street Park, provides a unique, family and earth-friendly opportunity for people from the region to share a day of live music, art, and environmental/wellness education.
Music
2021 Headliner – Brett Dennen 7:30 -9:00pm
Dennen has cemented himself as an American folk music fixture thanks to a successful string of albums and Top Ten AAA singles. His seventh studio album, See the World, is due out July 23rd on Mick Music, and serves as a follow up to a pair of 2018 EP’s- Let’s and Here’s Looking At You Kid. This new album is a potpourri of experiences and seeming contradictions, while ultimately exploring life’s deepest meaning.
5:45 to 7:00pm – Green Room Rockers
Green Room Rockers (GRR) is a 5-piece American Reggae, Ska, and Soul band based in Lafayette, IN and Chicago, IL. The band formed in 2006 from a collection of college students, including Ferdinand’s own Perry Clark, who bonded over their eclectic music tastes and their particular obsession with old-school Jamaican and soul music. Their unique brand of entertainment fuses hard-hitting grooves, blues-laced guitar, and punchy horn lines with tight vocal harmonies and infectious organ/piano hooks that will make you want to dance the night away. GRR has performed hundreds of shows over the past 15 years and toured all across the United States, Canada, and Europe. They are currently in the process of completing their third full-length album
4:15 to 5:30pm – Andrea Davidson
She recently opened up a combination music venue and arts center in a historic valley called The Pressmen’s Home. She spends the rest of her free time in Nashville where she is studying audio production, writing and teaching one on one lessons through her Whole Artist Coaching Program
3:00 – 4:00pm – Joe Crookston
Joe is a master storyteller whose songs are cinematic in nature with themes of lightness, darkness, weeping willows, cynicism, hope and the cycles of life and rebirth. He states “I’m learning to trust my voice as a songwriter. Be who I am, trust the stories and follow no trends.
1:45 – 2:45pm – Hagedorn Family Band
Local favorites Hagedorn Family Band have graduated from playing on the Kyana Woodstock Market Stage to the Main Stage in just a few short years. Dad Andy (vocals, guitar) along with the kids Henry (mandolin, harmonica, harmony vocals), Gus (drums) and Ella Rose (bass guitar) have gained a great local following and continue to see their popularity grow as they perform more and more shows, locally and regionally. The Hagedorn Family Band will play originals, plus classic country and classic rock songs with a folk/bluegrass style.
12:45 – 1:30pm – Corghan’s Crossing
Comprised of Anna Blanton (fiddle, mandolin, vocals), Charlie Blanton (bass), Chris Fargen (guitar, vocals) and Kelsey Lee (drums, vocals), Croghan’s Crossing is an Irish band that plays traditional Irish music with just a pinch of bluegrass influence. They love to play upbeat dance numbers and will occasionally throw in a fun drinking song, but can also slow down into a beautiful waltz. They have had the thrill of opening for Gaelic Storm at the Mercury Ballroom, Kentucky Homefront and WorldFest.
12:00 – 12:30pm – The Honey Vines
The Honey Vines are an acoustic duo that blends intertwining harmonies with a sweet truth embedded in their own material. Consisting of Andrea Wirth, a veteran from the 2012 Folk Festival, and Melanie Bozsa, two guitar-wielding singer-songwriters from nearby Newburgh Indiana. With influences ranging from folk to blues to acoustic rock, a Honey Vines performance delivers a true soundscape of melodies featuring a message of peace, love and unity
Art
The shaded lawn of the art market is a festival in itself. Dozens of regional artists and artisans display and sell their handmade work while music fills the air. Pottery, photography, clothing, jewelry, Fair Trade items from Third World countries, recycled goods, hula hoops, baked goods, soaps, tie-dyed items, woodworking, and more grace the grounds. A Plein air painter might even set up an easel to capture some of the magic of the festival.
Environment and Wellness
In the center of the art market are about 15 – 20 environmental and community groups—one of the region’s largest assemblies of ecology, nature, health, and wellness educators, including solar energy installers, air quality authorities, forest advocates, LGBTQ awareness/support organizations, astronomers, pet caretakers, organic farmers, music, art, festival, and theatre promoters, and more. Each group is dedicated to creating vibrant communities and a sustainable environment for our children—seven generations from now.
Children’s Events
To honor the children, in and around the lower shelter house, organizers offer a full day of fun and educational programs specifically for the young ones, such as a children’s concert, live theatre, wildlife programs, holding or petting animals, pony rides, storytelling, a harmonica workshop, interactive art, a violin concert, an MLK-inspired Dream Wall, and more. Nearby, across a small bridge, is a state-of-the-art playground with a new “musical park”, a nearby big-bounce “Playtown”, face-painting, and more. Children might even have an opportunity to hold a live animal, handle and play a violin, participate in an interactive storytelling activity, a children’s play, take a train ride through the park, or a pony ride.
Yoga, Tai Chi, Drum Circles, etc.
The festival offers several opportunities promoting health, such as participating in a yoga session by Fire Horse Yoga or a Tai Chi session the morning of the festival, attending a drum circle, and other wellness activities.
Music Workshops and Jam Session
Patrons can participate in a songwriting or music workshop and/or an all-day jam session, where all ages and all talent levels can play together in a fun, informal, and welcoming setting. These events usually take place in the upper shelter house.
Eco-Friendly, Healthful Living
Each year, the festival offers a variety of educational, eco-friendly activities such as meeting regional solar energy installers, solar home tours in the neighborhood, meeting doctors sharing facts about our region’s air quality and health concerns about Indiana’s bottom-ranking environmental record, seeing a new Tesla, enjoying giant renewable energy puppets, touring a tiny house, morning, before-the-festival activities like yoga, Tai Chi, a hike, or a bike ride before the festival, etc.
Tent Talks
Tent Talks—inspired by the renowned TED Talks—are a series of presentations and discussions under two blue tents near the outdoor music instrument play area east of the main playground. Each talk, led by an enthusiastic, qualified volunteer, focuses on a specific theme related to the festival, such as renewable energy, clean air, ukulele playing, garden pollinators, forest protection, knitting, energy conservation, etc. Eight talks, usually two per hour, begin at the top of the hour from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
For more information about the Ferdinand Folk Festival, click here.
