First Performers Announced for 83rd National Folk Festival
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In collaboration with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellows featured in the 2026 program.
Jackson, MS, April 28, 2026 — The National Folk Festival revealed today the first eight artists who will be performing at the 83rd National Folk Festival in Downtown Jackson, November 13-15, 2026. This will be the second year of the festival’s three-year residency in Jackson, and it occupies a momentous place in observances of the country’s 250th anniversary. The 83rd National Folk Festival is an official event of Mississippi’s America250 celebration.
“Hosting the National Folk Festival for a second year is a tremendous honor for Jackson,” said Mayor John Horhn. “This celebration of our nation’s 250th anniversary, and of the artists who keep our stories alive, reflects the spirit, talent, and creativity that define our city.”
“There are no repeats at the National Folk festival, so audiences can expect an entirely new program at this year’s festival,” said Blaine Waide, executive director of the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA). “As we celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary, the 83rd National Folk Festival will feature a special program honoring the best of the best in the traditional arts—from legendary blues, soul, and gospel performers with deep roots in Mississippi, to musicians and dancers that reflect the endless wellspring of artistic excellence and creativity from across the country. Best of all, it’s free!”
The festival is also participating this year in Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals, a series of programs and exchanges marking the U.S. Semiquincentennial and showcasing the country’s remarkable cultural landscape. The National Folk Festival and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival share a common mission to shine a light on the richness and variety of America’s cultural communities and promote awareness and appreciation across cultures. With programming support from the Smithsonian, this year’s festival will honor some of the country’s most acclaimed traditional artists. Numerous National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) National Heritage Fellows—the nation’s highest honor for folk and traditional artists—will be featured in the program.
Approximately 300 artists—musicians, dancers, storytellers, and craftspeople—will take part in the National Folk Festival, with more than 30 different musical groups performing on as many as six outdoor performance venues throughout Downtown Jackson. The eight artists announced today include:
Capoeira Luanda (New York, New York) – Brazilian capoeira Led by the nation’s premier capoeira master, this ensemble will astound with their display of an Afro-Brazilian tradition that fuses dance, martial arts, and acrobatics.
Mestre Jelon Vieira, leader of Capoeira Luanda, received an NEA National Heritage Fellowship in 2008.
Eddie Cotton, Jr. (Clinton, Mississippi) – soul blues This master of soul blues will move audiences, body and spirit, with blistering guitar work, stirring vocals, and a hard-driving style rooted in the church of his youth.
The Jerry Douglas Band (Nashville, Tennessee) – bluegrass “Dobro’s matchless contemporary master,” the greatest innovator of the resonator guitar in the last half century—possibly the greatest ever.
Jerry Douglas received an NEA National Heritage Fellowship in 2004.
Mississippi Mass Choir (Jackson, Mississippi) – gospel Featuring the finest voices in Mississippi churches, one of the country’s great gospel choirs is sure to bring audience members to their feet with its powerful, inspiring, and uplifting sound.
Rahzel (New York, New York) – beatboxing Redefining the possibilities of the human voice, this one-time member of the Roots sparked a beatbox renaissance.
Raiatea Helm (Honolulu, Hawai'i) – Hawaiian falsetto singing One of the preeminent female vocalists from Hawai’i keeping the flame for the islands’ distinctive falsetto singing tradition.
Rebolú (Queens, New York, and Tampa, Florida) – Colombian The foremost Afro-Colombian ensemble in the United States plays the rich, rhythmic, and undeniably danceable music of Colombia’s Caribbean coast.
Rondalla Club of Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California) – Filipino rondalla Arguably the most outstanding Philippine rondalla in the nation, this ensemble is at the forefront of performing and preserving this delightful stringed instrument tradition in the United States.
Tagumpay de Leon, or “Uncle Pi,” received an NEA National Heritage Fellowship in 2021.
Over 15 people of different backgrounds—and with a deep knowledge of music and art forms—came together from across Mississippi to serve as the local Festival Programming Advisory Committee. This committee’s role is to consider—and help the NCTA select—the artists who will perform at the National Folk Festival each year.
To learn more about these artists and their stories, please visit nationalfolkfestival.com/artists. The National Folk Festival will feature individual artists on its Facebook page (facebook.com/NFFJackson) and Instagram (instagram.com/NFFJackson) throughout the summer.
More performers will be announced as they are confirmed.
Performer assets may be downloaded here: bit.ly/NFFPressKit.
The National Folk Festival is a partnership of the National Council for the Traditional Arts, the City of Jackson, Visit Jackson, Downtown Jackson Partners, the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership, the Community Foundation for Mississippi, the Mississippi Arts Commission, the Mississippi Humanities Council, Visit Mississippi, and the National Park Service. The festival is FREE to the public.
