The National Council for the Traditional Arts, along with Mayor Karl Dean and Compass Records Group, announced today (3/10) that Nashville has been selected as the host city for the National Folk Festival in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
The National Folk Festival is the oldest and longest-running multi-ethnic traditional arts festival in the nation. The Festival will be presented in downtown Nashville for three consecutive years, with the final year in Nashville marking the Festival’s 75th anniversary. Nashville won this honor in a competitive process involving 40 cities across the nation.
“No city in the United States can match the raw talent, creativity, and long history of making music like we have here in Nashville,” says Mayor Dean. “You combine that with our growing international diversity and growing recognition and appreciation for the arts, and you have a city that is well primed to host the National Folk Festival and to create an event of a caliber worthy of serving as the celebration of its 75th anniversary.”
The festival is expected to draw upwards of 80,000 attendees in its first year, increasing to over 150,000 by year three and is expected to have an estimated $10-15 million in economic impact per year. The Festival’s stay is also intended to lay the groundwork for a new annual festival that will continue in Nashville after the National Folk Festival moves on in 2014.
Nashville’s National Folk Festival will be operating as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and will be produced in partnership with the National Council for the Traditional Arts, the Metropolitan Government of Nashville, and the Compass Records Group. A fundraising effort to support the festival is underway and both corporate and private sponsorship are being sought. For more details, contact Compass Records at 615-320-7672.
Gathered at ASCAP to announce Nashville as the new home of the National Folk Festival are (l-r) ASCAP's Dan Keen, Compass Records' Alison Brown, Jerry Douglas, Emmylou Harris, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, ASCAP's Marc Driskill, Compass Records' Garry West and National Council for the Traditional Arts' Julia Olin.
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