Six More Artists Announced for 82nd National Folk Festival

The National Folk Festival announced six additional artists appearing 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 in the third year, the National Folk Festival will become a major new arts event for the city.

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 six artists announced today include:

• Balla Kouyaté & Famoro Dioubaté (Boston, Massachusetts, and New York, New York) – balafon masters - Two masters of the centuries-old West African balafon explore new musical terrain together, treating audiences to heights of virtuosity and the thrill of the unexpected.
• Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars (New York, New York) – klezmer -An ensemble comprised of members of the world's leading klezmer bands, together they set out to capture the sound and spirit of the raucous, earthy old-country klezmorim of the 19th century.
• Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys (Opelousas, Louisiana) – zydeco - Heir to a family musical legacy, this acclaimed accordionist delivers pack-the-floor renditions of Creole classics as well as his own rollicking brand of traditional zydeco.
• Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois) – pungmul and samulnori - These master artists bring together all the pageantry and energy of a Korean harvest festival with their flying footwork, brilliantly colored dress, and joyful, thunderous percussion.
• Lutchinha (Brockton, Massachusetts) – Cabo Verdean - Arguably the finest Cabo Verdean singer to call the United States home, this inimitable performer will delight audiences with the lilting and soulful strains of this distinctive music tradition.
• Wylie & the Wild West (Conrad, Montana) – cowboy and western music - This world-class yodeler and cowboy singer still lives the life of a working rancher and cutting-horse champion—and is one of America’s most popular western musicians and songwriters.

These outstanding artists join the following performers, who have already been announced:

• 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
• John Primer & the Real Deal Blues Band (Chicago, Illinois) – Chicago blues
• LOS RICOS featuring Sonia & Ismael (New York, New York) – flamenco
• Plena Libre (San Juan, Puerto Rico) – bomba and plena
• Riyaaz Qawwali (Houston, Texas) – South Asian qawwali

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.