Announcing Second Group of Artists Performing at the 2025 Festival

RICHMOND, VA: The Richmond Folk Festival returns October 10-12, in its twenty-first year as one of Virginia’s largest and most cherished events. Each year, thousands return to Downtown Richmond’s riverfront to celebrate the roots, richness, and variety of American culture through music, dance, traditional crafts, storytelling, and food.

The free festival hosts 200,000 people over a three-day weekend. Featuring six stages and showcasing music and dance from more than 30 performing groups from around the nation and the world, the Richmond Folk Festival today announces 10 additional artists, further enriching an artistically excellent program that honors and celebrates the traditions of diverse cultures and communities.

“The world is coming to Richmond this October,” said Stephen Lecky, director of events at Venture Richmond. “From Hawaii to South Florida, this year’s program is a testament to the dazzling array of cultures and musical traditions that inject spirit and soul into communities across the country. Five of these traditions have never been featured at the festival before, and several are rarely heard outside of their home communities. It’s a special opportunity for audiences to experience something new – and it’s all free!”

The Richmond Folk Festival is presented by Venture Richmond Events in partnership with the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), Virginia Humanities, Center for Cultural Vibrancy, Children’s Museum and the City of Richmond.

Additional artists to be featured at the 2025 Richmond Folk Festival include:

  • Villa 5 (música norteña)

    • Los Angeles, California

Click here for extended artist bios, plus audio and video samples on our website.

Help to Support the Richmond Folk Festival by becoming a Volunteer

Ever wonder what makes the Richmond Folk Festival so great? Sure, it’s the music, food, crafts, and culture, but what makes it even better are the volunteers who show up and support it! From beverage sales to safety escorts to the bucket brigade, each volunteer enhances the festival. It’s also a great opportunity for groups who are looking for fun ways to contribute to the community.

Help support Richmond’s amazing arts and music community – sign up to volunteer for a 3–4 hour shift.

Benefits of volunteering for the Richmond Folk Festival:

  • A FREE Volunteer t-shirt

  • FREE close-in parking during your shift

  • A discount at the merchandise tents

  • A very special chance to join the after-party, where you can rub elbows with some of the festival performers!

We rely on more than 800 awesome folks to help collect donations, sell sodas, pour beer, and more! And it's easy, just sign up to volunteer today!

Encore Performances on VPM

Every Saturday at 5:00pm through October 4, catch VPM broadcasts of favorite performances from the 2023 Richmond Folk Festival. Tune in to Richmond public radio VPM stations 107.3 FM & 93.1 FM for great musical memories.

Festival Hours

Friday, October 10 — 6:30pm - 10:00pm
Saturday, October 11 — 12:00pm - 9:30pm
Sunday, October 12 — 12:00pm - 6:00pm

For more information about the Richmond Folk Festival, visit www.richmondfolkfestival.org. #RVAFolkFest
Text to Give! Text FOLK to 44321.

The Richmond Folk Festival is sponsored in part by: Altria, Dominion Energy, CoStar Group, CarMax, Pauley Family Foundation, NewMarket Corp., City of Richmond, Performance Food Group, Brown Distributing, Community Foundation, Atlantic Union Bank, VPM, Style Weekly, WNRN, 12 On Your Side, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Westminster Canterbury Richmond, Hamilton Family Foundation, National Council for the Traditional Arts, Virginia Humanities, Center for Cultural Vibrancy, Children’s Museum, University of Richmond, Mid Atlantic Folk and Traditional Arts, Fralin Pickup, Davenport, American Civil War Museum, National Park Service, Jam, Inc., Plan 9 Music, RMC Events, PD Brooks, Virginia Housing, Winn Transportation, House of Hayes, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Virginia War Memorial.


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About the Richmond Folk Festival

The Richmond Folk Festival is one of Virginia's most significant events, drawing visitors from all over the country to downtown Richmond's historic riverfront. The festival is a FREE three-day event that got its start when Richmond hosted the National Council for the Traditional Arts’ National Folk Festival, held in Richmond from 2005-2007. In the tradition of “The National," the Richmond Folk Festival features excellent performing groups representing a diverse array of cultural traditions on seven stages. The festival includes continuous music and dance performances, a Virginia Folklife Area featuring ongoing demonstrations, an interactive Family Area produced by the Children's Museum, a folk-art marketplace, regional and ethnic foods, festival merchandise and more. Additional information is available at www.richmondfolkfestival.org.

About Venture Richmond

Venture Richmond, Inc. is a non-profit organization formed to engage business and community leaders in partnering with the City to enhance the vitality of the community, particularly Downtown, through economic development, marketing, promotion, advocacy and events. Venture Richmond provides enhanced property management services for Downtown, Manchester and the Riverfront, including the Clean & Safe program, beautification and landscaping projects, and management and maintenance of Brown's Island, the Canal Walk and the Belle Isle parking lot.

Venture Richmond Events, LLC, produces Friday Cheers, the 2nd Street Festival, and the Richmond Folk Festival, and partners with Sports Backers to produce Dominion Energy Riverrock.

Riverfront Canal Cruises, LLC, operates historically narrated boat tours and private charters of the James River and Kanawha Canal.

Both Venture Richmond Events, LLC, and Riverfront Canal Cruises, LLC, are subsidiaries of Venture Richmond, Inc. For more information visit www.venturerichmond.com.

About the National Council for the Traditional Arts

A leading non-profit in the field, the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) is dedicated to the presentation and documentation of folk and traditional arts in the U.S. Stressing excellence and traditionality, the NCTA presents the nation’s finest traditional artists in major festivals, tours, concerts, workshops, demonstrations, exhibitions, media productions, school programs, cross-cultural exchanges and other activities. It works in partnership with American communities to establish new, sustainable traditional arts events that deliver lasting social, cultural and economic benefits. Over 7,000 hours of the NCTA’s archival audio recordings dating from the 1930s are permanently housed at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The NCTA champions the interests of folk and traditional artists and organizations in the arena of public policy. For more about the NCTA, visit http://ncta-usa.org/.

Venture Richmond, 200 S. Third Street, Richmond, VA 23219