A beloved campus tradition returns Feb. 13-15 as musicians pick up their harps, fiddles, banjos and more for the University of Chicago Folk Festival.
Over its 55-year history, the Folk Festival has showcased the broad range of folk music—from bluegrass to Irish traditional music to Delta blues—and brought some of the country’s most important folk musicians to campus, including the Stanley Brothers, Earl Scruggs, Willie Dixon, Doc Watson, Muddy Waters and the Staples Singers.
The festival is also notable for one folk icon who didn’t appear: a young Bob Dylan auditioned for the first University of Chicago Folk Festival in 1961, only to be rejected by the organizers. “The poor kid wandered around looking miserable,” according to a 2001 account by Paul Levy, a UChicago student who let Dylan stay at his Hyde Park apartment for a few days.
This year’s festival features a diverse mix of bluegrass, blues and old-time folk, according to student organizer Chris Kyriazis of the University of Chicago Folklore Society.
“The lineup of performers showcases the incredible breadth of folk music, and I’m excited to introduce a new generation of University of Chicago students to their work,” Kyriazis said. “We’re thrilled to continue this important tradition, which has been so important to the cultural life of Hyde Park and the city as a whole.”
The festival will feature a performance by 26-year-old blues sensation Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton. The multi-instrumentalist performs classic blues and ragtime numbers with a 1930s flavor.
“When Jerron Paxton plays and sings the blues you know that he is true blues to the core…Paxton’s fabulous singing voice, roots blues virtuosity and esoteric repertoire place him on top of the blues heap,” Living Blues magazine wrote of Paxton.
Also performing are John Lilly, an acclaimed singer-songwriter and interpreter of the works of Hank Williams and Jimmie Rogers; blues guitarist Mississippi Gabe Carter; and the duo of Irish fiddler Gráinne Murphy and harpist Marta Cook.
In addition to the evening performances, folk groups from around the city will offer free workshops on harmony singing, beginning harmonica, yodeling and even sea shanty singing. The Old Town School of Folk Music’s popular “Wiggleworms” workshop for families will be held on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in the Ida Noyes third-floor theater.
The University of Chicago Folk Festival takes place Feb. 13-15. Evening concerts take place at Mandel Hall, 1131 E. 57th St. Daytime workshops are held at Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 E. 59th St. Tickets are $10 for students, $15-25 for seniors and $20-30 for general admission. For more information, visit uofcfolk.org.
—Prof. Jacqueline Stewart
