Columbus Folk Music Society

05/28/2026

Bill Cohen was on WCBE last week discussing the Central Ohio Folk Festival, coming up June 6 & 7! You can catch the replay by following the link in the attached post.

Also, some of our folks will be talking about the festival on the following stations if you want to listen in:

WCBE 90.5FM / Friday morning, May 29 at 8:30am

WTTE TV channel 28 / Saturday morning, May 30 at 8:45am

Hear a preview of the Columbus Arts Festival, Columbus Symphony Picnic with the Pops, and the Central Ohio Folk Festival.

Host:

Christopher Purdy, Classical 101 Morning Host, WOSU Public Media

Guests:

Jami Goldstein, chief strategy officer, Greater Columbus Arts Council, Columbus Arts Festival

Jonathan Parrish, vice president of artistic planning and programs, Columbus Symphony

Bill Cohen, Central Ohio Folk Festival, Columbus Folk Music Society

Listen here:

https://www.wosu.org/show/all-sides/2026-05-22/all-sides-weekend-arts-and-culture

05/25/2026

The Central Ohio Folk Festival is around the corner - June 6 & 7 at the new Bank Run Metro Park. Bring yourself or the whole family for a weekend filled with music and creativity!
www.columbusfolkmusicsociety.org/festival
Tickets for 18+ here: http://tickets.columbusfolkmusicsociety.org/
17 & under FREE

05/18/2026

A Musical Tribute to Peter Paul and Mary

From the 1960’s into this New Millenium, Peter Paul and Mary used music to entertain, educate, inspire, and energize Americans to work for a better world. Sunday June 14, four veteran Columbus musicians will pay tribute to PP & M’s legacy with songs, memories, and quips.

Bill Cohen, Joanne Blum, and Joe Lambert will sing and strum the most beloved songs that PP & M seared into the hearts and minds of so many people for decades. Among them: If I Had a Hammer, Blowin’ in the Wind, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, Jet Plane, and Day is Done. Plus, the audience will be invited to sing along on tunes like Puff the Magic Dragon and the Times They Are a Changin’. Some lesser-known PP & M songs will also be in the spotlight because of their powerful meaning: Music Speaks Louder than Words, The Wedding Song, and When the Ship Comes In.

Heidi White will enhance the music with her stand-up bass, the kind that PP & M often used in the background of their songs in concerts and on albums.

The concert will also recall key parts of PP & M’s history and their linking of music and activism. Plus, we’ll test the audience’s memories with fun trivia questions about the endearing trio.

The tribute concert will take place Sunday June 14 at 4 pm at the First Unitarian Church, 93 W. Weisheimer, Columbus 43214. Free parking will be available in the 2 big church lots and on nearby streets.

$15 donations per person are suggested at the door, but all donations will be welcome.

The musicians and sound crew will split the donations with a worthy cause. Half of the proceeds will go to Columbus Food Rescue, which picks up surplus food that restaurants and events might throw away and transports it to food pantries, homeless shelters, and community centers for hungry people to eat.

05/17/2026

Have an outrageous song to share? We’d love to have you perform it at the 2026 Central Ohio Folk Festival as part of our Most Outrageous Song in the World Contest!

Songs should be around three minutes in length and the lyrics should be family friendly. 

For more information or to enter, please send an email to Bob Lipetz ([email protected]) prior to June 6. The performance will be on Sunday June 7 2026, 1:00 – 1:30 pm, at the Bailey Acoustic Performance Tent at the Central Ohio Folk Festival. Festival location and details can be found here: https://www.columbusfolkmusicsociety.org/festival

05/16/2026

Louisville, Kentucky based Mama Said String Band will be bringing their own brand of bluegrass - with a focus on vocal harmonies and contemporary instrumentation - to Nocterra Brewing on Saturday May 30!

Delivering a refreshing reinvention of sounds once forgotten through their own brand of grassroots, Mama Said String Band has been making an impact on the Bluegrass Scene & beyond since their debut in 2016.

When: Saturday, May 30th, 8pm
Open mic and sing-along start at 7pm
Come early to grab a seat (or consider bringing a lawn chair) and some food!

Where: Nocterra Brewing - Powell location, 41 Depot St, Powell, OH 43065

Admission: at-will donations at the door or electronically here (please write “Mama Said” in the comments): https://www.columbusfolkmusicsociety.org/donate

See them in action here: https://youtu.be/Lr1WfGgH1Lw

And check out their website here: https://www.mamasaidstringband.com/

05/15/2026

Louisville, Kentucky based Mama Said String Band will be bringing their own brand of bluegrass - with a focus on vocal harmonies and contemporary instrumentation - to Nocterra Brewing on Saturday May 30!

Delivering a refreshing reinvention of sounds once forgotten through their own brand of grassroots, Mama Said String Band has been making an impact on the Bluegrass Scene & beyond since their debut in 2016.

When: Saturday, May 30th, 8pm
Open mic and sing-along start at 7pm
Come early to grab a seat (or consider bringing a lawn chair) and some food!

Where: Nocterra Brewing - Powell location, 41 Depot St, Powell, OH 43065

Admission: at-will donations at the door or electronically here (please write "Mama Said" in the comments): https://www.columbusfolkmusicsociety.org/donate

See them in action here: https://youtu.be/Lr1WfGgH1Lw

And check out their website here: https://www.mamasaidstringband.com/

05/11/2026

Celebrating School of Music Graduates 🎓

Nicholas Booker from Colorado Springs, CO, graduated with a Ph.D. in Musicology, Ethnomusicology Concentration! He plans on continuing working on a book project, several articles, and applying to postdoctoral fellowships in Canada and the United Kingdom! He also is looking forward to working more with his Cornish, Celtic, British, and Irish folk band, All Those Who Wander!

"Our World Music Showcase has been a wonderful part of my life at OSU! I played with the Andean Ensemble when I started my degree, and I have enjoyed helping to create space for the wonderful musicians in Steel Band, African Drumming Ensemble, our new Bluegrass Band and the many other musical groups we have on campus."

Congratulations, Nicholas! You're a !

05/10/2026

Thank you Sheena for the great collaboration concerts this past week end between The Magpie Consort and CFMS!
Photos by Dr. Booker and L McDonald.