Falcon Ridge Folk Festival

The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival is an annual festival dedicated to folk music and dance that takes place in the town of Hillsdale, New York, United States. The festival is typically held on the last weekend of July or the first full weekend of August.

The inaugural Falcon Ridge Folk Festival took place in 1988. It was a two-day event held at a ski slope. After three years, it moved to Long Hill Farm. As of 2016, the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival is a three-day event that takes place at Dodds Farm. It attracts an audience of more than 15,000 from all over the United States.

The festival embraces different styles of folk music and related genres, from country and Americana to bluegrass and polka. However, the dominant style of music in the festival program is folk pop. Well-known folk artists who have performed at the festival over the years include Ritchie Havens, Arlo Guthrie, Janis Ian, Holly Near, John Gorka, Ellis Paul, Tom Paxton, Tracy Grammer, Ani DiFranco, Lucy Kaplansky, Richard Shindell, Dar Williams, Crooked Still, Brave Combo, Eddie from Ohio, We’re About 9, The Nields, Richard Thompson, Eddie Brown, Mark Elliott, Christine Lavin, Lowen & Navarro, Shawn Colvin, and many others.

The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival has several stages that host live performances. The main stage features headline acts that perform throughout the festival. From noon to 5 p.m. on Friday afternoon, it hosts a showcase of between 20 and 30 up-and-coming artists. The main stage is the only outdoor stage at the festival on which music continues well after the sunset.

The Workshop Stage features more intimate, mostly acoustic performances. There’s also the Family Stage that hosts family-oriented performances and activities such as concerts, puppet shows and clowning throughout the daylight hours of the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. The festival’s Dance Tent features various partnered and group dance styles, including square dancing, contra dancing, and zydeco dancing. Here you can dance until the wee hours of the morning, accompanied by live bands.

In the evenings after the scheduled performances are over, the music and fun continue in the camping areas. Informal performances and impromptu jam sessions are held at campfires and in unofficial tents scattered throughout the camping site. That’s why most festival goers prefer on-site festival camping to offsite camping and lodging: it is the best way to fully experience the atmosphere of the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.

In 2020, the event was held online due to the coronavirus pandemic.