New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
The 2014 New Bedford Folk Festival will feature the best in contemporary, traditional and Celtic folk music from Saturday July 5 through Sunday July 6, 2014, between 11:00 AM and 9:00 PM.
Featured among the nearly fifty musical acts are Chris Smither, Jonathan Edwards, John Gorka, Poor Old Shine, Vance Gilbert, Christine Lavin and Don White, the Celtic group RUNA and Grammy Award winning children’s entertainer Bill Harley. The festival is located in the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center and the Whaling National Historical Park in New Bedford, Massachusetts. It was selected as a Yankee Magazine “Editor’s Choice” for 2014 and is a Boston Globe Critic’s Pick for 2014. This year, as an added attraction, the Tall Ship, Charles W. Morgan, will be docked at the State Pier in New Bedford within an easy walk from the
festival and will be open to the public.
The New Bedford Folk Festival has seven stages in and around the National Park that range from the 1200 seat Zeiterion Performing Arts Center to the intimacy of the “Meet the Performer” area. Performers are presented in concerts and in the popular festival “workshops” which feature 3 or 4 performers or groups on stage at the same time in one-time, unique musical shows. The festival also features a high quality crafts show with over ninety juried, handmade crafts for sale at affordable prices. Food will also be available including the justifiably world famous New Bedford landed fish and scallops.
The lineup of performers is: Barbo, Beaucoup Blue, Craig Bickhardt, Benoit Bourque, Kate Campbell, Ronny Cox, Joe Crookston, Chrissy Crowley, Cliff Eberhardt, Jonathan Edwards, Marina Evans, Gail Finnie, Bob Franke, Vance Gilbert, John Gorka, Grace Morrison, Bill Harley, Matt and Shannon Heaton, Anne Hills, Michael Johnson, Pete and Maura Kennedy, Mike Laureanno, Christine Lavin, Zoë Lewis, The Murphy Beds, New Bedford Harbor Sea Chantey Chorus, Chris Pahud, Poor Old Shine, Hayley Reardon, RUNA, Chris Smither, Devon Sproule, Spuyten Duyvil, Art Tebbetts, Jeff Warner, Don White. All performers are subject to change.
A limited number of Special VIP Weekend Passes with benefits, including reserved seating, are available by advance purchase only. A regular Weekend Admission purchased in advance online is $20; $15 by purchasing in person at the New Bedford Whaling Museum or the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center. Prices during festival weekend are $20 a day/$25 Weekend Admission/$15 Student Weekend Admission with student ID. Children under 2 are free.
VIP Weekend Passes and Weekend admissions can be purchased at newbedfordfolkfestival.com/2014-tickets/. Become a Facebook fan of the New Bedford Folk Festival at facebook.com/NewBedfordFolkFestival.
Community Partners with the New Bedford Folk Festival are The City of New Bedford, Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford Economic Development Council and Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts. Lead Sponsor for the festival is Southcoast Health System. The New Bedford Folk Festival is supported in part by grants from the Cultural Councils of New Bedford, Fairhaven, Mattapoisett, Marion and Dartmouth, local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
The New Bedford Folk Festival, happening July 6 and 7, is offering a special “We Love Locals” weekend wristband advance price made possible by the generosity of BayCoast Bank. A weekend wristband purchased in advance at the Whaling Museum or the Zeiterion is only $15. That’s 15 festival shows at the Zeiterion plus shows on 6 other stages for this low price. Over festival weekend wristband holders also receive an admission discount at the Ocean Explorium and the Whaling Museum and a discount for purchases in the Whaling Museum store. Note this special price is only available before festival weekend. See you at the festival.
