The Birmingham Folk Festival

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The Birmingham Folk Festival

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The Birmingham Folk Festival is a free, family friendly, outdoor festival coming back to Avondale Park on May 16th, 2026. Can't wait to see you there!

Join us for a day of music, community, and art, with live performances of gospel, blues, cosmic country, bluegrass, West African drumming, jazz, dance, and more. Main Stage Schedule:

10:30 // Crestwood Community Band

11:15 // Sahi On Ko Djony

12:00 // The Whistlebees

1:00 // Ruth Black and the Harmonettes

2:00 // The Mountain Grass Unit

3:00 // Sarah Lee Langford

4:00 // Clarence "Bluesman" Davis & Jock Webb

5:00 - 6:30 // Jose Carr's Jazz Jam Session

We'll also have a community space in Avondale Park's Rose Garden Pavilion with the following line-up of activities:

10:30-11:30 // Knowledge, Rhythm, and Understanding: Hip Hop workshop (bring your kids!)

12:15-12:45 // Sahi Omko Djony: West African drumming & dance (all ages!)

1:00 – 2:45 // Old-time music jam (bring your instruments!)

2:00 – 3:00 // Alabama Folk School: beginners’ lessons in harmonica and ukulele (all ages!)

3:00 – 4:00 // Alabama Waldorf School craft session: making hand drums ((bring your kids! all ages welcome!)

4:00 – 6:00 // Bluegrass jam session (bring your instruments!)

The Birmingham Folk Festival is sponsored by Cahaba Brewing Company, Mom's Basement, Friends of Avondale Park, and MANY other community partners and music lovers. Our Board of Directors (organizers) includes Stephen Collins (president), Gottfried Kibelka (treasurer), Burgin Mathews, Axel Barron, Christopher Davis, Edmond Johnson, and Kaydee Mulvehill.

10/15/2026

Tomorrow upstairs at Avondale!!!

08/18/2026

Great new Folk Fest fans!! The Astronauts of Albania are playing this Saturday at Avondale Brewing Company !! The link for tickets is on our story and in our bio! Don’t miss this!

07/16/2026

Can’t wait for this tonight!! Come on out!

⏰ Just one day away!

Tomorrow, we're celebrating Alabama's incredible music scene with three artists from this year's NPR Tiny Desk Contest.

We'll see you at Saturn for Tiny Desk Contest: Best of Alabama (Mostly) Unplugged! 🎶

🎟️ Get your tickets before they're gone.

06/23/2026

Yes! We are so excited about this opportunity for so many of our artists to be broadcast for the city to hear their live set from the fest!

06/22/2026

The Folk Fest recordings will be playing on WBHM 90.3 todd at at NOON AND 7PM!! If you’re already craving the folk fest spirit again don’t forget to tune in!!

06/12/2026

If you weren’t an artist or vendor at BFF this year, you may not be familiar with our restrictions on AI. In keeping with how this festival was conceived, built, and grown - person to person, story from story - we are committed as an organization to hosting an AI-free event, from the inside out.

The Birmingham Folk Festival has and will always prioritize what makes Birmingham beautiful - its people. Join us next year to be a part of what AI could never… the stories of your neighbors, the art made within our shared histories, and the community we are building together.

Our full statement on the use of AI - commitment and justification - is now available on our website.

05/27/2026

Next, an incredibly big thank you to our sponsors!! Even though the Folk Fest is free for everyone to attend, it is not free to put on— our sponsors allow us to ✨pay our artists, rent equipment, bookkeep, pay for police officers, pay for generators, have insurance and licenses and so many other things ✨

THESE FOLKS MAKE IT POSSIBLE!! Without their donations and partnership, we would not exist. So if you see these folks around town give them a huge thank you and make sure you support them throughout the year!

And if you’re interested in becoming a sponsor for the 2027 Folk Fest it’s never too early to start. Fill out the contact form on our website and we’d be glad to have you!

We can only tag 20 folks so here are the rest:
Seeds Coffee Co.
James Rodgers
Coca-Cola
Brasfield & Gorrie
Axel Row Apartments
West Alabama Bank
Birmingham Public Library
Church Street Coffee and Books
Magic City Street Team
Birmingham City Council

05/26/2026

Thank you to our food trucks who worked tirelessly all day to feed us hungry folks!! Thanks for fueling our dancing and painting and singing and quilting and learning and shopping! You make our city so delicious and we’re so happy you chose to spend the day with us ✨✨🍕

05/24/2026

We gotta keep going!! So many thanks to give! Today let’s thank our VOLUNTEERS!!! You carry the festival on your back (sometimes literally) and make it possible for us to remain a free festival (and still make sure we can PAY all of our performers!!). We genuinely could not run without you, and we hope you all know that. THANK YOU!!! ✨🎉🎶💃🏻

05/23/2026

And another THANK YOU to for handeling the beast that is drink service at the Birmingham Folk Fest!! You KILLED it and we were so thankful to have such beautiful members of our Birmingham community hanging with us all day!! 🥂🍻

Address

4101 5th Avenue S
Birmingham, AL
35222

Website

http://www.birminghamfolkfest.org/, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSemcxc20eSbSzh0LcupAEGH9VlHFHA9LJFwjsqXYrnZ

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