Montana Folk Festival Coming to Butte (And It's Free!)

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Montana Folk Festival - July 11-13, 2025 - Butte, Montana

The Montana Folk Festival returns to the scenic city of Butte, Montana for three days of music and fun with an eclectic lineup that features numerous acts from overseas, nationally-known acts and Montana-based artists. These players will present music that is culturally rich and that goes beyond what one might normally think of as folk music. Here's a look at some of the artists who are set to appear.

International Acts

Paul Beaubrun - Paul hails from Port au Prince, Haiti and he is a member of the renowned band Arcade Fire and has appeared on "Saturday Night Live" and "The Tonight Show" starring Jimmy Fallon. He'll be playing guitar and applying his soulful vocals as he weaves together elements of Haitian Creole, French and English culture.

Khumariyaan - This six piece band is from Peshawar, Pakistan and they blend traditional folk music with modern sounds. They do have some vocals but their music is mostly instrumental. Interestingly, their name translates to mean "the state of intoxication from music."

Bamba Wassoulou Groove - This six piece band (with three guitarists) hails from the African nation of Mali, a place renowned for incredible musicians. Their music is described as dance music with a "wall of sound" featuring Hendrix-like virtuosity, trance voice, drum sections and "evil" bass. Wow!

Yeison Landero - Landero is from Colombia and he plays cumbia music that features his talent on accordion. In the States he has performed at the Kennedy Center in New York and the Lincoln Theater in Washington, DC. He has also performed extensively in Canada, Chile, Mexico, Morocco and Egypt so he has lots of knowledge of global music.

National Acts

Elizabeth King - Soul and gospel singer from Memphis.
Zahra Alzubaidi - Zahra is an Iraqi living in New York and she performs in a variety of Arabic styles.
Fabiola Mendez - Fabiola is from Puerto Rico and she plays the cuatro, Puerto Rico's national instrument.
Shemekia Copeland - The New York-based Copeland, with her soulful readings of roots music, is a favorite on the festival circuit.
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper - Innovative bluegrass from this Indiana-based artist.
Tessa McCoy and the Big Possum Stringband - McCoy is from West Virginia and she rocks the fiddle like crazy; in fact she's the state's Grand Master Traditional Fiddle Champion.
Yamini Kalluri & the Kritya Ensemble - Kalluri, who lives in Michigan, is trained in Kuchipudi Dance and she is a founder of the Kritya Ensemble.
Mariachi Mariposas - This 12-member, all-female mariachi band from Texas will have fans dancing up a storm.
Solas - This New York-based band plays Irish music and they've been honing their craft for three decades.
Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band - Zydeco! Get ready to dance and marvel at Frank's accordion playing. Band is, of course, from Louisiana.
Wayne Hancock - Rock out to the sounds of famed honky-tonk hero Wayne "The Train" Hancock.
Mira Dickey & Lennart Jansson - This duo from Seattle performs using rather unusual instruments, Norwegian fiddles!
Zhantao Lin - This Boston based artist mesmerizes audiences with his music played on the erhu, a Chinese two-stringed instrument sometimes called the spike fiddle.
Rondalla Club of Los Angeles - This is a string ensemble that plays traditional Rondalla music of the Phillipines.
Brinae Ali Quartet - Ali is a tap dancer and jazz performer from Baltimore and she is the artistic director of Tapology, Inc. in Flint, Michigan, her hometown.

Representing Montana

Little Mountain Cree - This band is a family drum group from Rocky Boy, Montana, which is one of the state's seven tribal reservations. Seven members of the group also sing.

All shows are free and take place at various venues around Butte. Artisans like quilt maker Rose Atkinson, the folks from Frecker's Saddlery, beadwork artist Linda King, master luthier Dan Roberts and boot makers Dan and Julia Schwarz will be on hand representing Montana's "folklife." Many First Peoples artists and craftspeople will be displaying and vending their work, there'll be a fashion show featuring Montana Indigenous Designers and of course there will be plenty of food available at the Original Mineyard Food Court.

For more information on the Montana Folk Festival go here.

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