http://www.lowellfolkfestival.org/

Lowell Folk Festival, Lowell, MA (2026)

06/17/2026

The countdown is on. See you July 24–26.
🎥: The Lmtlss Agency

06/17/2026

Artist Spotlight:

TRES EN PUNTO
trío romántico
Mission, Texas

Trío romántico, a gorgeous music tradition from northern Mexico and the Rio Grande Valley, is often performed by groups with tres in their name, since the style is performed by three musicians. Tres en Punto, a trío romántico from Mission, Texas, adds a cheeky layer to this naming tradition, using a phrase with an everyday meaning of “three o’clock on the dot” to suggest that their trio is exactly on time as well. In their stylish attire—whether sharp traje suits or pressed white guaybera shirts and crisp slacks—and with their impeccable harmonies and fingerings, trio Tres en Punto is precisely the band to carry on the impassioned tradition of this elegant and romantic music.

The trío romántico style, with its poetic themes of unrequited love, took the Latin music world by storm in the 1940s, and retains a deep cultural resonance for generations of listeners in the Valle de Tejas. The trío romántico ensemble features close, three-part harmony singing and virtuosic guitar work—usually two guitars and a requinto (a small guitar tuned a fourth higher)—played by the singers themselves. Tríos románticos perform songs of the heart from a broad range of Latin American forms, particularly bolero romántico, but also Peruvian vals, pasillo, Cuban son, Venezuelan joropo, and Mexican son jarocho and ranchera, among others.

While bandleader Gerardo Calera’s family was full of jazz and classical musicians, he was captivated by the sound of trío romántico. Calera was 14 when he bought a CD featuring a song that had caught his attention, Los Tres Reyes’s “Ódiame”; to his surprise, he says, “I loved the whole thing,” and dedicated himself to learning the guitar and the requinto. In a region of south Texas rife with mariachi players, trío romántico was beloved, but musicians who played the form were few and far between. Eventually, friends connected Calera with Omar Javier, another young musician from Mission. The pair, who have played together for the last 15 years, caught the eye of Gilberto and Raúl Puente, the twin brothers from San Antonio who founded the legendary Los Tres Reyes (The Three Kings) in 1957; these elder statesmen became informal mentors. In 2012, Calera and Javier founded Tres en Punto and have since built a reputation as leaders in the revitalization of trío romántico in their native Rio Grande Valley and beyond.

Tres en Punto’s primera voz, the melody and highest singing part, is beautifully interpreted by guitarist Alberto Ortiz. Omar Javier sings the second voice and anchors the music with his bass. Gerardo Calera adds the lowest, third voice, while picking out the high-string melody on his requinto. The trio has played a small series of shows with Cuban-born singer Bebo Cardenas, the final primera voz of Los Tres Reyes, a fitting tribute to that great band, which retired in 2019. As Cardenas says, his dream for Tres en Punto is to continue to carry on their predecessors’ legacy of playing trío romántico at home and worldwide, allowing audiences to revisit the golden age of this romantic music—and perhaps their own youthful romances as well.

FOLLOW:
facebook.com/TrioTresEnPunto
instagram.com/triotresenpunto

06/16/2026

Artist Spotlight:

THE CHANKAS OF PERU
Andean scissors dance
Peruvian Andes via Port Chester, New York

The Chankas of Peru carry on the legendary danza de las tijeras (scissors dance), an ancient, highly acrobatic indigenous ritual dance from the southern Andes of Peru. This dance survived colonialism, repression by the Catholic Church, and the dislocations of transnational migration to become a powerful symbol of the perseverance of Andean traditions in the modern world, recognized by UNESCO in 2010 as an expression of the “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.”

The name “scissors dance” refers to a pair of polished iron rods resembling scissor blades that are held in the dancer’s right hand and provide a percussive accompaniment to the intricate and acrobatic steps. Performing in dazzling, carnivalesque embroidered outfits, scissors dancers (called danzaq in the Quechua language) are ritual specialists whose traditional role was to bring balance to their community by mediating between the human, natural, and spiritual worlds. Because the spirits addressed included the underworld deity, Spanish colonial authorities unsuccessfully attempted to suppress the scissors dance as a form of devil worship. For residents of the Chankas’ region, however, the danzaq, who come primarily from a hereditary class of professional performers, have always been a source of pride. Throughout the dry season in the Andean agricultural calendar, competitions called atipanakuy bring scattered villages together in celebration. A cuadrilla (team) consisting of a dancer accompanied by a violinist and harpist represents each village, and two or more cuadrillas face each other in a symbolic duel involving a rigorous series of difficult dances that may last up to 10 hours. Although each dance has a narrative arc, a repertoire of traditional movements, and a larger ritual purpose, the combination of steps is largely improvised by the danzaq in order to demonstrate superior skill and bring honor to his village.

As Peru transformed into a mostly urban society, the scissors dance also took root in migrant communities in Lima. Dancer Walter Velille learned the tradition from his father while growing up in Lima, and travelled the world performing before settling in Port Chester, New York, in 2005. There, in the large Peruvian community of Westchester County, he and fellow dancer Luis Aguilar formed the Chankas of Peru. The other members of this celebrated cuadrilla are Alejandro Velasques and Jorge Gonzales, playing harp and fiddle respectively. Recently, the ensemble has added an additional dancer, Jorge Astuyauri, and a new layer to their sound with Carlos Ferndandes on guitar and quena, a small wooden flute from the Andes. Together these astounding performers continue the tradition of the scissors dance, which has transcended stigmatization and dislocation to become a potent—and profoundly inspiring—symbol of Andean culture.

06/16/2026

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT:
PENIEL GUERRIER
Haitian dance
Astoria, New York

Peniel Guerrier is an internationally renowned Haitian dancer, choreographer, drummer, and educator who has dedicated his life to preserving and promoting Haiti's rich cultural heritage. His captivating energy, undeniable talent, and deep spiritual connection to his craft shines through in every performance, dance class, and lesson. The vibrant colors of the attire worn on stage and the infectious rhythm of the drum infuse to create a space where the spirit (and spirits) of Haitian Voudou come alive. Guerrier’s deep passion and dedication to the practice of Voudou is apparent in every step. “Voudou is like light, it’s everything. Your connection with yourself … ’cause when you hear the drum, the drum means something to you,” says Guerrier.

Haitian Voudou is a deeply complex religion with West African origins, reflecting generations of unbroken traditions, knowledge, and artistry through faith. Forcibly brought to the Caribbean and Americas, enslaved Africans intertwined their beliefs with Roman Catholic imagery and saints, hiding their original faith through the religion of their captors. From this combination, Voudou emerged as traditional faiths from West Africa took on new meaning in the Caribbean. Percussion, dance, and singing are the foundation of Haitian Voudou, with all three serving as the basis for lwa, or the divine spirits that are the intermediaries between devotees and Bondye, the Supreme Creator. A variety of complex dances are associated with different lwa, all having their own distinct rhythms and movements.

Voudou was everywhere in his neighborhood in Saint-Marc, Haiti, and a young Peniel Guerrier was captivated. He sought out ways to learn the deeper meanings behind Voudou, despite growing up with strictly Protestant parents. A chance introduction to Haiti’s National Theater would lead Guerrier from observing to actively learning, and then performing traditional Haitian Voudou drumming and dance. At just 16, his blossoming talent and captivating style when performing the ceremonial dances would catch the attention of the legendary Odette Weiner, founder of Ballet Bacoulou. Peniel continued his education under Professor Herve Maxi and Tamboula d’Haiti, a dance company based at the National School of Arts at Haiti State University and was soon accepted into Haiti’s National Theater. He toured throughout Haiti and internationally with the organization for the next eight years before moving to New York City where he has become a pillar of the Haitian dance community, teaching thousands of students over the years and currently directing two of his own companies.

Guerrier has made it a central mission to pass on his vast knowledge of Haitian Voudou drumming and dance traditions to others. A 2025 Recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, the nation’s highest honor for traditional artists, Guerrier’s dedication is clear both through his deep knowledge of the traditions, and his teaching. Deeply rooted in Haitian history and traditional Vodou practices, Guerrier treats dance not merely as performance, but as a vital cultural language that connects spirit, community, and identity.

06/16/2026

Sponsor Spotlight:
MAJOR SPONSOR - LMTLSS (The Lmtlss Agency)

Our official documentation partner, responsible for many of the reels and photos you see here from Lowell Folk Festival 2025-2026.

LMTLSS Media is a creative production agency that combines great storytelling with smart strategy to help brands grow. From directing visual styling to managing national commercial campaigns, the agency handles high-end creative projects and large-scale marketing budgets from concept to ex*****on. By managing all the complex logistics and production planning, LMTLSS delivers high-performing media that drives real business results.

06/16/2026

Sponsor Spotlight:
MAJOR SPONSOR - Rockland Trust

Rockland Trust is founded on a set of core values.

We build strong relationships with our customers, helping business owners grow their companies, and helping individual consumers be successful by providing straightforward products and convenient service. Our success is based on having respectful and knowledgeable bankers, as well as robust technology available to our customers. These values instilled within our company are reflected in our level of service as well as our ongoing commitment to our community.

At Rockland Trust each relationship matters. No matter large or small, old or new, we are committed to serving and meeting every customer’s needs. As a result, we have very loyal customers who stay with us, deepen their relationship, and tell their friends about Rockland Trust.

06/16/2026

The energy is unmatched when the whole community comes together. 🥁✨
🎥: The Lmtlss Agency

06/15/2026

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT:

THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY BROTHERHOOD SINGERS
(The Brotherhood Singers)

African American a ca****la gospel quartet singing
Covington, Kentucky

The Northern Kentucky Brotherhood Singers are passionate and joyous practitioners of the deeply spiritual art of unaccompanied gospel harmony singing. The group has emerged onto the national gospel scene during a revival of interest in this venerable vocal tradition, and one listen to its glorious harmonies makes it clear that this renewed popularity is long overdue.

The gospel quartet style has its roots in spiritual traditions of the American South. Enslaved Africans combined English hymns with West African rhythms and vocal traditions to create a musical form that expressed both Christian devotion and the desire for freedom. The written record mentions gospel quartet singing as early as 1851; after the massive international popularity of the Fisk Jubilee Singers starting in the early 1870s, many quartets came to be known as “jubilee quartets.” When the early recording industry turned its attention to the African American market in the 1920s and ’30s, several “modern” southern jubilee quartets of the day were among its most popular recording artists. From that era emerged some of the Brotherhood Singers’ greatest influences—legendary quartets like the Golden Gate Quartet, the Dixie Hummingbirds, and the Soul Stirrers.

Covington, Kentucky, native Eric “Ric” Jennings was already a dedicated gospel choir member when he founded this jubilee quartet at Covington’s Ninth Street Baptist Church in 1988. Today the group has six members: Ric Jennings, Eric Riley, Stace Darden, Mike Wright, Samuel Norris Jr., and Willie Lavelle Thompson, Jr. So how does a sextet of men sing as a quartet? Gospel quartet singing has four vocal parts, but parts are often doubled for emphasis or musical depth. A ca****la singing, Jennings notes, is “like being on a rope without a net,” so each member goes where he is needed in the context of a song.

The group also goes where it is needed in terms of its performances. It has shared its uplifting music in hospitals, nursing homes, concerts, festivals, and churches of all faiths. Over the past three decades, the nation and the world have taken notice of this talented ensemble. The Northern Kentucky Brotherhood Singers have performed at major national festivals and in Washington, D.C., at the Library of Congress. They are also trusted performers to deliver their soulful rendition of the National Anthem at sporting events all over the Midwest, including NFL and NBA games. Internationally, they have toured France, Italy, Portugal, and Russia—and made 17 trips to Spain. How is it that Spain has become such a frequent stamp in their passport? In the late ’90s, the Dixie Hummingbirds passed along a Brotherhood Singers cassette to their European manager. A few months later, the group received a call to fill in for the Hummingbirds on a tour in Spain, and the rest is history.

06/15/2026

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT:

Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes and Drums
fife and drum
Middlesex County, Massachusetts

New England is widely considered the heartland of fife and drum music in the United States. The region is known for its “ancient” corps, which play traditional military field music and dress in period clothing. Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes and Drums (MCV) was formed in the early 1980s after members were inspired by military history and culture that had been showcased during American bicentennial celebrations; this year is sure to mark another such spark of interest in the tradition as celebrations of the country’s semiquincentennial take place around the region.

Musicians have been a pillar of militaries around the world for centuries, creating distinct sounds that bring a sense of pride to all who listen. Primarily consisting of the fife and snare and bass drums, the steady rhythms helped soldiers march as a unified group, while also acting as a signal alerting troops when to assemble or take meal breaks, among other tasks. The bass drum and rope-tension snare drum are key components, with the performers sometimes adding in flourishes with their drumsticks. The fife originated in medieval England, and although it was a later addition to military ensembles, a version with metal bands at the end for reinforcements has been adapted for use in fife and drum bands. These instruments combined have become an instantly recognizable symbol of militaries across the U.S. and Europe.

Forty years on, Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes and Drums is still thriving, with members as young as 16 years old. All who join are dedicated to preserving traditional American and European music, dance, and culture while also expanding their repertoire with other compositions from the 17th and 18th centuries and beyond. MCV plays in a variety of settings, including alongside orchestras like the Boston Pops. In Lowell, this beloved fife and drum band will lead the opening parade on Friday night, kicking off the festival in a fitting ode to America’s 250th birthday.

Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes & Drums on Instagram:
instagram.com/mcvfifesanddrums

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