First Performer Details Announced for 82nd National Folk Festival

The National Folk Festival announced today the first group of artists who will be performing at the 82nd National Folk Festival in downtown Jackson from November 7-9, 2025. This year’s festival marks the first year of the event’s three-year residency in Jackson. Expected to draw 60-80,000 in attendance in year one and growing to 150,000 by year three, the National Folk Festival will become a major new arts event for the city.

“It’s exciting to finally unveil for the public these eight excellent artists, who highlight the dizzying array of sounds and traditions Jackson audiences can expect from the full Festival program this November,” said Blaine Waide, executive director of the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA). “Blues, gospel, Irish, South Asian qawwali, music from across the country—no matter what you enjoy, there’s going to be something for you at Jackson’s first National Folk Festival. And it’s all free!”

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 eight artists announced today include:

• The Campbell Brothers (Rochester, New York) – sacred steel guitar (African American gospel)
  From electrifying, raise-the-roof solos, to meditative sounds of beauty and reflection, this family-based band is among the finest ambassadors of the sacred steel tradition.
• Dale Ann Bradley (Middlesboro, Kentucky) – bluegrass
  Raised in a Primitive Baptist family in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, this acclaimed bluegrass singer transports listeners with her straight-from-the-holler voice and personal songwriting.
• E.U. featuring Sugar Bear (Washington, D.C.) seen above – go-go
  Led by dynamic front man Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliott, this legendary group, made famous in School Daze, is synonymous with the funky, quintessentially Washington, D.C., dance music known as go-go.
• Eileen Ivers (Bronx, New York) – Irish
  This musical pioneer and innovator, raised in an Irish American community in the Bronx, has won over 30 All-Ireland medals and redefined the boundaries of Irish traditional fiddling.
• John Primer & the Real Deal Blues Band (Chicago, Illinois) – Chicago blues
  This blues legend epitomizes the journey of Chicago blues—born in Mississippi and migrating North to the Windy City, where he was mentored by the greats and held down his career for over six decades.
• LOS RICOS featuring Sonia & Ismael (New York, New York) – flamenco
  Known as “the golden couple” of flamenco, this pair perfectly transmits the tradition’s intimacy, grace, power, and emotional intensity, from precise, lightning-fast steps to evocative vocals.
• Plena Libre (San Juan, Puerto Rico) – bomba and plena
  Underpinned by blistering percussion and punctuated by call-and-response vocals, this raucous band has dedicated themselves to the revival and preservation of one of Puerto Rico’s unique urban sounds.
• Riyaaz Qawwali (Houston, Texas) – South Asian qawwali
  This ensemble shares the centuries-old Sufi tradition known as qawwali, moving audiences and performers into ecstatic trance through repetition, call-and-response singing, and intensifying hand clapping and percussion.

Over fifteen people of different backgrounds—and with a deep knowledge of music and art forms—came together from across Mississippi to serve as the local Festival Programming Advisory Committee. This committee’s role is to consider—and help the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) select—the artists who will perform at the National Folk Festival each year.

“I’m thrilled to see what’s in store for all of us this November,” said Dr. Ebony Lumumba, chair of the National Folk Festival executive committee. “I’d like to acknowledge and thank the Festival’s Programming Advisory Committee for their hard work. Their input has been crucial to ensuring the Festival hits home here in central Mississippi.”

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.

More performers will be announced as they are confirmed.

The National Folk Festival is a partnership of the National Council for the Traditional Arts, the City of Jackson, Visit Jackson, Downtown Jackson Partners, the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership, the Community Foundation for Mississippi, the Mississippi Arts Commission, the Mississippi Humanities Council, Visit Mississippi, and the National Park Service. The festival is FREE to the public.