Folk College
Workshops • Concerts • Coaching Sessions Jamming • Singing • Dancing
• A fun & friendly weekend of playing & hearing folk music
• Warm, welcoming, and fun
• Pick up an instrument and rekindle your love of music
• Plenty to do for musicians of all levels
• Lots for non-musicians too
• Located on a beautiful college campus in the mountains of Pennsylvania
A Truly Special Weekend
Folk College was founded to help more people learn to play music together. It is a non-competitive environment where you can kindle—or rekindle—your love of playing through folk music. Each year the staff includes nationally known musicians and wonderfully nurturing teachers from a broad spectrum of folk styles. Within one weekend, you’ll have a choice of workshops ranging from old time to Celtic to blues to international, and you’ll get to sing, dance, play, and listen.
Easy to Participate
Many workshops, with subjects like “Learning to Jam,” “Tunes that are Cooler Than They are Hard,” and “How to Play by Ear” are designed to encourage musicians who have been “stuck in their living room,” haven’t picked up their instrument since high school, or maybe just wanted to play an instrument but never dared!
Non-Musicians Welcome
From “Try a Banjo” and “Try a Fiddle” to “Beginning Harmonica” and “Beginning Jaw Harp” and “Fun & Easy Percussion”, there are workshops designed for the total non-musician in mind
Our Faculty
This year’s faculty of musicians includes host band Simple Gifts, Boston-based string quartet featuring New Grass & Swing the Ruta Beggars, two of America’s best loved multi-instrumentalist and folk singers Sally Rogers & Howie Bursen, Celtic roots trio Kalos, quirky singer-songwrite Shanna in a Dress, multi-genre trad Midnight on the Water, groovy Middle Eastern Gypsy Funk Squad, and more.
For a full list and complete descriptions, check out the faculty page.
Folk College Concerts
The Folk College concerts are open to the public with tickets available in advance and at the door. The concerts take place at Halbritter Center for Performing Arts on the Juniata College campus in Huntingdon, PA.
(All Folk College participants have FREE entry to the concerts.)
This is your opportunity to see national talent in our area.
Friday, May 24, 2024 Concert
7:00 p.m. Faculty Concert
Simple Gifts
Gypsy Funk Squad
Shanna in a Dress
Midnight on the Water
Saturday, May 25, 2024 Concert
7:00 p.m. Faculty Concert
Kalos
Sally Rogers & Howie Bursen
The Ruta Beggars
Sunday, May 26, 2024
2:30-4:30 p.m. Student Bands Concert
A key part of the weekend is the Student Bands where Folk College participants have a chance to work with a small group in a band setting. Each band is coached by a professional staff member. The Student Bands are a showcase for unique band combinations, budding talent, and a chance for participants to display new skills learned during the Folk College weekend. The Sunday Student Bands Concert is FREE to the public.
Cost
Tickets for the Friday and Saturday concerts are $20 each ($15 for Huntingdon County Arts Council members).
All Folk College participants have FREE admission.
Tickets are available in advance, at the Huntingdon County Arts Council office at the Huntingdon County Arts Center, 313 12th Street in Huntingdon, and at the door.
Link to Friday, May 24, concert tickets
Link to Saturday, May 25, concert tickets
Folk College is a project of Simple Gifts and the Huntingdon County Arts Council, supported in part by a grant from Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.