For 41 years–since before the folk revival of the 60s, since before the Old Town School, since before Bob Dylan made a record–the University of Chicago Folklore Society has brought together legendary and unknown harpsichord pluckers, hog callers, step dancers, shape-note singers, and other practitioners of traditional song and dance under the banner of its annual Folk Festival.
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The weekend of the festival is almost always one of the winter’s coldest–an easy beginning for stories carried home by acts visiting from the south. But the warm hospitality offered by the student, faculty, and neighborhood hosts is legendary. There’s no money for hotels, so the performers are housed and fed by volunteers–often musically inclined sorts who relish the chance to jam with the masters. Saturday night one lucky (and stalwart) band is invited to play the annual party, a dance that spins off more jam sessions, which often last till dawn.
The lineup for the 42nd annual Folk Festival features groups from Quebec, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, as well as Chicago-based performers playing Mexican, Irish, and Serbo-Croatian music. Each night’s show is kicked off by Highland piper Bruce Quintos of the Chicago Police Department’s Emerald Society bagpipe and drum corps. The concerts take place Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 7:30 PM, and Sunday at 6 PM at Mandel Hall, at 57th and University; tickets run $13-$18 for adults or $7 for students, teenagers, and children. A three-day pass is available for $40. Free workshops, jam sessions, and dances are held Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM at Ida Noyes Hall, 59th and Woodlawn. Get more information at 773-702-9793 or www.uofcfolk.org; buy tickets at 773-702-7300.
