Dear Friends,
Many of you have been friends of the Festival from the beginning and we hope you have enjoyed watching the festival grow from a small event into a truly substantial yearly gathering, drawing bands and audience from New York City and across the nation.
The festival features American and world folk music, along with workshops, film screenings, puppet shows and the world-famous Banjo Toss Contest, now also a brand new home made video game!
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“Diverse, spontaneous, countercultural, and trenchant… One of the most vital and spiritually sound folk-music events in the country.”
– The New Yorker Magazine __________________________________________________________
The Brooklyn Folk Festival takes it’s inspiration from the early years of the Newport Folk Festival and other now classic festivals that presented a vibrant array of grass roots traditional music as well as songwriters and better known touring musicians. The festival is curated by folklorist, musician and producer Eli Smith and is the largest yearly production of the non-profit Jalopy Theatre and School of Music. We showcase folk styles including blues, old time, bluegrass, jug band, gospel and music from Latin America, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
The Brooklyn Folk Festival aims to provide amazing music and education at an affordable price for the community. Many festivals, even with large corporate sponsorships are unaffordable. The Brooklyn Folk Festival strives to balance an affordable ticket price with the need to pay the musicians a living wage to present the music they have spent their lifetimes learning. The cost of renting St. Ann’s Church, a beautiful and substantial venue, as well as sound and lighting equipment, insurance, permits, ticketing systems and promotion are great. We have a very small staff, utilize dozens of volunteers and lovingly twist arms to produce this festival.
Please consider becoming a Friend of the Brooklyn Folk Festival. With your support, we can ensure the future of the festival and increase pay to musicians. Many festivals around the country rely on major corporate sponsors and as a result lose independence and excellence. It is our hope to continue to grow the Brooklyn Folk Festival as an independent and vibrant cultural institution. We can’t do this without your help.
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“The festival was a serious display of musicianship, enthusiasm, and, lurking around the edges, ethnomusicological preservation. Its emphasis on old-time and traditional music felt like an antidote to the crass commercialism and relentless cultural innovation—real or imagined—of our contemporary moment.”
– The Brooklyn Rail
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Friends of The Brooklyn Folk Festival will receive tickets attend the Festival, as well as free tickets to events at the Jalopy Theatre throughout the year and more!
To make a tax-deductible donation click the “Donate” button below
or send a check made out to:
Living Traditions
with “Brooklyn Folk Festival” in the memo section
Send to: 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231.
With sincere thanks,
Lynette and Geoff Wiley
Eli Smith
Jalopy Theatre and School of Music
As a thank you gift we are offering the following rewards:
BFF – $1000
3 three-day passes to the festival, 10 tickets to any shows at Jalopy Theatre and four LPs from the Jalopy Records catalog.
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Folk Hero – $500
2 three-day passes to the festival, and four tickets to any shows at Jalopy Theatre
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Benefactor – $250
2 three-day passes to the Festival
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Friend – $100
1 three-day pass to the Festival
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Supporter – $50
Brooklyn Folk Festival t-shirt
