NORTH LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Folklife Festival has announced the full music lineup for its inaugural statewide celebration of Arkansas culture, bringing together Grammy-winning artists, nationally recognized roots musicians, gospel groups, folk traditions, community performers, and cultural practitioners from across the Natural State.
Taking place June 26–28 at Riverfront Park in North Little Rock, the free festival will feature performances by three-time Grammy Award-winning songwriter Lucinda Williams, three-time Grammy Award-winning blues legend Bobby Rush, nationally recognized roots musicians Nick Shoulders and Willi Carlisle, acclaimed Arkansas artists Iyuana Childs and Dylan Earl, and dozens of performers, tradition bearers, gospel groups, folk artists, and community musicians from across the state.
Additional performers include Chris DeClerk Band with The Delta Soul Singers, Clarke Buehling, The Creek Rocks, Carolina Mendoza, Jude Brothers, Pam Setser with Tim Crouch and Danny Dozier, Nokosee Fields, Living Waters, Artists United, Rebecca Shipman Coffey, and other artists whose work reflects the diverse musical, cultural, and community traditions found across Arkansas’s six “culturesheds.”
Part of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage’s Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals initiative during America’s 250th anniversary year, the Arkansas Folklife Festival is being framed as “The People’s 250,” a community-centered celebration of the traditions, stories, creativity, and cultural practices that continue to shape everyday life across Arkansas.
Held along the Arkansas River in North Little Rock, the festival reflects the role of the river as a historic connector of people, cultures, commerce and community life throughout the state. The riverfront setting serves as a fitting backdrop for a celebration designed to bring Arkansans together across regions, traditions, and generations…