“The Family Area Stage is a vital part of the festival’s commitment to education and cultural understanding,” said Blaine Waide, executive director of the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA). “Families and children of all ages are immersed in new, unique, and eye-opening cultural enrichment and creative-learning opportunities that broaden their horizons and inspire curiosity.”

Family Stage Features Variety

With interactive performances and participatory activities, the Family Area provides engaging, fun, and educational experiences; these activities will be announced later this summer. The Family Stage will showcase a variety of performances—stilt dancing, a Victorian-style flea circus, and interactive music and dance from two Mississippi artists. The four artists announced today are:

• Acme Miniature Flea Circus (Providence, Rhode Island via Barcelona, Spain) – flea circusTrained by renowned psycho-entomologist Professor A.G. Gertsacov, the diminutive stars of this Victorian-style flea circus—Midge and Madge—perform death-defying circus stunts and stunning sideshow antics.
• Chief Shaka Zulu (New Orleans, Louisiana) – New Orleans Black masking craftsman and stilt dancerThis master of Black masking suit design and revered stilt dancer is deeply rooted in New Orleans’s Carnival tradition as well as its interwoven history of Black and Indigenous culture.
• Leaving Legacies (Jackson, Mississippi) –krump danceLed by two of Jackson’s standout dancers and instructors, this group mesmerizes audiences with a highly energetic and explosive style of hip hop dance, embracing its capacity for healing through movement.
• Vasti Jackson: The Soul of Jimmie Rodgers (Jackson, Mississippi) – country and blues
  Multitalented Mississippi guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer presents a program exploring the underappreciated cultural exchange between blues and country music as exemplified by an American music legend. Vasti Jackson’s performances at the 82nd National Folk Festival are made possible through the generous support of The MAX.

Several of these artists, along with others who have been previously announced, will also participate in pop-up street performances, providing festivalgoers a unique way to interact and engage with festival performers. Schedule and festival site details, including performance times, will be announced in the fall.

Additional Announced Performers

Approximately 300 artists—musicians, dancers, storytellers, and craftspeople—will take part in the National Folk Festival, with more than 30 different musical groups performing on as many as six outdoor performance venues throughout downtown Jackson. The artists announced today join the following performers:

• Balla Kouyaté & Famoro Dioubaté (Boston, Massachusetts, and New York, New York) – balafon masters
• Bobby Rush (Jackson, Mississippi) – soul blues
• The Campbell Brothers (Rochester, New York) – sacred steel guitar
• Dale Ann Bradley (Middlesboro, Kentucky) – bluegrass
• E.U. featuring Sugar Bear (Washington, D.C.) – go-go
• Eileen Ivers (Bronx, New York) – Irish
• Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars (New York, New York) – klezmer
• Jeff Little Trio featuring Wayne Henderson (Boone, North Carolina, and Rugby, Virginia) – Blue Ridge piano and guitar
• Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys (Opelousas, Louisiana) – zydeco
• John Primer & the Real Deal Blues Band (Chicago, Illinois) – Chicago blues
• Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois) – pungmul and samulnori
• LOS RICOS featuring Sonia & Ismael (New York, New York) – flamenco
• Lutchinha (Brockton, Massachusetts) – Cabo Verdean
• Ms. Jody (Bay Springs, Mississippi) – southern soul
• Oka Hamma Alla Hilha Alhiha (Redwater, Mississippi) – Choctaw social dances
• Plena Libre (San Juan, Puerto Rico) – bomba and plena
• Riyaaz Qawwali (Houston, Texas) – South Asian qawwali
• Sonic Boom of the South (Jackson, Mississippi) – HBCU marching band
• Tres en Punto (Mission, Texas) – trío romántico
• Wylie & the Wild West (Conrad, Montana) – cowboy and western music

More Info About the NFF

To learn more about these artists and their stories, please visit nationalfolkfestival.com/artists. The National Folk Festival will feature individual artists on its Facebook page (facebook.com/NFFJackson) and Instagram (instagram.com/NFFJackson) throughout the summer.