Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers have been selected to represent Bluegrass music at the 75th National Folk Festival to be held in Greensboro, NC in September. The National Folk Festival announced last week that for its 75th anniversary, the Festival will feature 300 artists on seven stages in downtown Greensboro from September 11 – 13, 2015.The three-day Festival is FREE to the public with an expected attendance of over 100,000. First presented in 1934, the National Folk Festival is the nation’s oldest and longest-running multicultural traditional arts festival and has been produced by the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), since the beginning. The National Folk Festival is a traveling event hosted by a community for three years before moving to a new location. The National’s stay has seeded legacy festivals (all free) in many former host communities including: the Lowell Folk Festival, the Great Lakes Folk Festival (E. Lansing, MI), the American Folk Festival (Bangor, ME), the Richmond Folk Festival, the Montana Folk Festival (Butte), and more.
“The richness and variety of American culture never ceases to amaze. The National Folk Festival brings together all of these astonishing artists—who represent so many different facets of our nation’s cultural landscape—in one place. Each one of them is a national treasure. It’s going to be a very special 75th anniversary year,” said Julia Olin, Executive Director of the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), which is co-producing the Festival with ArtsGreensboro.
Of their participation in the National Folk Festival, Joe Mullins states, “I attended the National Folk Festival for the first time in the 1990s when the NCTA brought it to Dayton, Ohio. The multi-cultural atmosphere is something I really appreciate. We have entertained at NCTA events in Montana and Massachusetts over the past couple of years. Entertaining and workshopping at the National event will let us introduce Bluegrass to thousands of new fans. Plus, Greensboro is already a great bluegrass market so we expect long time fans to join us for an exciting weekend!”
Of their participation in the National Folk Festival, Joe Mullins states, “I attended the National Folk Festival for the first time in the 1990s when the NCTA brought it to Dayton, Ohio. The multi-cultural atmosphere is something I really appreciate. We have entertained at NCTA events in Montana and Massachusetts over the past couple of years. Entertaining and workshopping at the National event will let us introduce Bluegrass to thousands of new fans. Plus, Greensboro is already a great bluegrass market so we expect long time fans to join us for an exciting weekend!”
In addition to the National Folk Festival news, JMRR are also celebrating another #1 song with “The Last Parade” on the Singing News Bluegrass Top 10 for July. Written by Steve Bonafel and based on a true story, “The Last Parade” is featured on the band’s latest Rebel Records release, Another Day from Life. The song has been well received by both radio programmers and fans alike, and afforded JMRR the opportunity to make a donation of $3000 last November to the Patriot Guard Riders™ through the digital download of the song. Another Day from Life continues to climb the charts and is #11 on the National Bluegrass Survey’s Top 15 Albums with the title track coming in at #15 on the Top 30 Songs chart for July.