
Gays Mills Folk Festival of Music and Dance
Join us for the 31st annual Gays Mills Folk Festival, a vibrant showcase of traditional music and dance, on Mother’s Day Weekend, May 9-11, at the Community Commerce Building at 16381 WI-131 in Gays Mills, Wisconsin!
Highlights:
Friday evening kicks off with square, contra, and old-timey dancing to live music, suitable for all ages and experience levels.
Saturday day offers family-friendly activities starting at noon, including May crown making, May pole dance, open jams, music workshops, and the beloved fiddle bee.
Saturday evening concert features a talented lineup:
Roochie Toochie and the Ragtime Shepherd Kings will surprise and delight you with fancy fiddling, dueling Hawaiian guitars, ukulele wizardry, a menagerie of toy instruments, vocal harmonies that sound as if they were polished by hand, a musical pig “porkestra,” and whatever else the gang has up their sleeves. Hailing from New Orleans, Nashville and Detroit, they entertain all ages with the joy and creativity of novelty music from the wax cylinder era 100 years ago.
The Down Hill Strugglers bring to life the energy, grit, and soul of string band music from as early as the 1920s and 1930s through their award-winning musicianship and vocals. “The Down Hill Strugglers are, to my ears, the very best interpreters of traditional material presently going.” – Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker
The Cedar County Cobras are guaranteed to get your boots stompin’ with an old time roots and blues feel that will transport you to a juke-joint down a gravel road in rural Iowa. “The duo’s songs are soaked with a pre-war blues essence and are wonderfully performed…. on guitar and foot-drum and… on mandolin and upright bass.” — PhillyCheeze’s Rock & Blues Reviews
Sunday morning concludes with a soul-stirring Gospel Sing at 11:00 am.
Ticket Prices:
– Friday night dance: Freewill donation
– Saturday night concert: $15 ($5 for children)
– Saturday afternoon activities and Sunday morning Gospel Sing: Freewill donation
For more information, visit www.gaysmillsfolkfest.org or call 608-632-2720.
Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate spring, music, and community at the Gays Mills Folk Festival!
P.S. Explore concurrent events at the Gays Mills Spring Festival, including an antique tractor pull, a Little Britches rodeo, and the Sunday pancake breakfast at http://www.gaysmills.org/springfestival.html.
Hourly Schedule
Friday, May 9
- 7:00pm - 10:00pm
- Square Dance
- Old-timey, square, contra, and reel dances; all ages welcome, no partner or experience needed. Live dance caller and live music!
Saturday, May 10
- Noon - 5:00pm
- Activities for All!
- May crown making, May pole dance, open jams, open stage, instrumental workshops, and fiddle bee.
- 7:00pm - 10:00pm
- Concert
- The Cedar County Cobras, The Down Hill Strugglers, and Roochie Toochie and the Ragtime Shepherd Kings
Sunday, May 11
- 11:00am - 12:30pm
- Gospel Sing
- Old-fashioned gospel sing