American Center for Folk Music

Why an American Center for Folk Music?

• American folk music has never been the focus
of an institution dedicated to celebrating it on a
professional, permanent basis.

• The Center thus offers a singular and groundbreaking opportunity to celebrate folk
music alongside existing American centers for
rock and roll, country, bluegrass, jazz, and blues.

• As the longtime home of legendary folk pione

er
Pete Seeger, Beacon, New York, is a natural choice for the Center. Siting the ACFM in Beacon honors Pete’s teaching that the power of song can change the world and bring us together.

• The Center promotes and supports the burgeoning Hudson Valley art scene, contributes to the area’s economic revitalization, and to the life of the Hudson Valley’s many creative communities. Mission and Vision:

• Celebrate America’s rich legacy of folk music.
• Deepen public understanding of its contribution to American culture and society.
• Promote today’s vibrant folk music scene and
musicians.
• Provide and support a new cultural hub in the
Hudson Valley, complementing Beacon's rise as a center for the visual arts. The Center will combine performance, research, education, and stewardship of folk music’s material and recorded legacy to tell the story of American Folk Music imaginatively and compellingly to the widest audience.