2012 Philadelphia Folk Festival – Thursday

The 2012 Philadelphia Folk Festival officially begins Friday, Aug 17 and continues until Sunday night at the Old Pool Farm in Montgomery County near Schwenksville, Pa. It is produced by the Mt. Airy-based Philadelphia Folksong Society. But on Thursday thousands of campers arrived with their tents and RV’s.

The campers again made a mad-dash across the field to claim the best spots. Also Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band performed a special concert just for the campers.

          Purchase tickets to the 2012 Philadelphia Folk Festival

          Listen to a live stream of the Main Stage concerts

 

 

Among the top attractions at this year’s PHILADELPHIA FOLK FESTIVAL celebration will be:

 

Little Feat – John Hiatt and the Combo – Steve Earle and The Dukes – Lucinda Williams – Mary Chapin Carpenter – Wanda Jackson – The Secret Sisters – City & Colour – Voices of the Wetlands – The Holmes Brothers – Strand of Oaks – The Wooden Sky – Mary Gauthier – Mike Cross – Comas – Paul Thorn – Tracy Grammer – Red Clay Ramblers – Debo Band – Arborea – Chris Bathgate – Brother Sun (featuring Pat Wictor, Joe Jencks and Greg Greenway) – Lori McKenna – Mark Erelli – Roosevelt Dime – Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three – The Gypsy Hombres – Chris Kasper – Griz – Spuyten Duyvil – Zach Stock – The Great Groove Band

 

There will be continuous musical performances Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. through midnight, with workshops, showcases and Main Stage events. This is a change from past years when there was the afternoon series of concerts with a long break then the evening performances.

 

The straight-through concept allows the ticketing to be streamlined, so this year, there will be one ticket for each day, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, as well as the All-Festival ticket, providing admission for all three days at a discounted price.  Aside from deleting the Afternoon Concert, other changes include booking significantly less acts that in previous years, giving the artists more stage time and more room for the potential for collaboration.

 

This is also a family-friendly event. Events for kids are centered in an area known as Dulcimer Grove, the shady area between the Crafts Stage and the Camp Stage, where puppeteers, jugglers, storytellers, hands-on crafts and of course, kid-oriented musicians make it a haven for folk fans 12 and under. Children up to 11 years of age are admitted free of charge to the concert area. Older kids, 12 to 16, will again be eligible for the special “youth ticket”,

allowing them into the grounds for half the regular gate price, when accompanied by an adult.

 

Individual daily tickets start at $52.00, including the 20% Early Bird Discount, or attend for all three days for $116.00; add tent camping and you get an additional concert on Thursday night for $156.00.

NewsWorks photographer Howard Pitkow is covering the entire festival for us and each day we’ll post more photos.