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NB Roots & Branches Fest starts on July 20 with a folk festival atmosphere

Posted on by Vaseline
NB Roots & Branches Fest starts on July 20 with a folk festival atmosphere

NEW BEDFORD — The NB Roots & Branches Festival is back for a second season on July 20, and this year it’s bigger and better than ever.

With a bold expansion of programming, locations and musical diversity, the free festival promises a day full of acoustic music, visual arts and unique performances by and for the public.

On Saturday, New Bedford comes alive with eight continuously rotating performance areas.

Following the success of last year’s music events, the 2024 festival will expand its offering to include even more music, from genuine traditional music to indie folk, classical, acoustic roots rock, brass bands, contemporary singers, songwriters, dance bands, jazz acts and even compositional and experimental acoustic music.

When and where is the NB Roots & Branches festival

From noon to 6 p.m., the festival presents 30 acts in six unique concert venues: Pour Farm Tavern, Whaling City Sound Stage on Purchase Street, Destination Soups, Cafe Arpeggio, April Evans Beauty Lounge, Co-Creative Center, The Bristol Building and the New Bedford Light Stage on Wings Court.

Guests even get the opportunity to participate in making music.

In addition, there will be a section for families with children and for people who feel young, with fun and interesting activities.

What you’ll find at each location

The plan is to transform the locations for one day into cozy living room concerts, retro folk speakeasies and fashionable bohemian locations, so that everyone can find something to their taste.

The music lineup is just as impressive as the venues. Local up-and-coming songwriters like Molly O’Leary and folk mainstays like Aoife Clancy and Eddie Dillon share the stage with eclectic acts like a string quartet from the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra and a performance by the five-piece steel drum ensemble El Caribe. Jazz lovers will also be pleased with acts like Hot Club Cheese Roll and local favorite Carl Simmons.

And for those looking for something more traditional, NB Roots & Branches offers music that reflects the culture, including Cape Verdean dance music, Portuguese dance, shape note singing, open Irish, old-time and bluegrass jams, Caribbean drums, Quebec ensembles and the odd old Americana.

Where is the parking lot for the NB Roots & Branches festival?

According to Christian Camarao, one of the event planners, people should generally try to arrive as early as possible, as we only have street parking for the festival. Bring change for the parking meters. “We are limited to a small area and through traffic will be largely unaffected by the festival, so parking will not be limited in any way, other than how many people show up,” he said in a previous interview with the Standard-Times.

“There is also a parking garage on Elm Street, close to the festival site, that people like to use,”

Check out this inspiring new activity

One of the highlights of the festival is the new closing event, “Moving Canvas Moving Forward.” Inspired by the Whaling Museum’s Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ‘Round the World, the event features moving panoramas created by local visual artists.

These panoramas are presented as they were meant to be viewed – in motion – and accompanied by live music associated with each individual piece.

What to expect at each location

The full program is available on their site . The lineup includes Roots Run Wild, Hot Club Cheese Roll, The Moldy Suitcases, Fourteen Strings, Breachway and the Molly O’Leary Band. Head to the Whaling City Sound Stage on Purchase Street for performances by Louie Leeman’s Cheap Sneakers, Pepe Bana, Southcoast Brass Band, Pumpkin Head Ted, The Jethros and Amilton Tavares.

On the Fiber Optic Center Stage at The Bristol Building don’t miss Nick LeBlanc, Carl Simmons, Sleeping Turtle, Tiny The Bear, Pebbles of Rain and Milky Maze. At Cafe Arpeggio on the Southcoast Technologies Stage catch Fortune Frenzy, Kim’s Myth, Hooly J Chan, Hayley Sabella, Jake Perone and Vudu Sister.

The New Bedford Symphony Orchestra Stage at April Evans Beauty Lounge will feature performances by Candida Rosa, Up The Anthill, Eddie Dillon, Pioneer Valley Flamethrowers, NBSO String Quartet and The Moonbellies. Discover New Bedford on stage at Destination Soups with MaryBeth Soares & Jim Bean, Sam Babineau, Myles Goulart, Aoife Clancy, Shannon Davis and The Two of Us.

The New Bedford Light Stage at Wings Court will feature El Caribe, Kekeli Drum Ensemble, New Bedford Harbor Sea Shanty Choir, Kekeli Drum Ensemble, and Shape Note Singers. And don’t forget to visit the Southcoast Lessons Jam Stage & Kayla Conner’s Pop Up Shop at the CoCreative Center for an open Irish season with Colin Everett, an old time fiddle session with Julianna Bernardi, and an open bluegrass jam with Jordan Richmond.

Is there a market or extra food and drink stalls?

Unlike the Folk Festival, which had a small market for vendors from businesses, there will be nothing like that, specifically for the festival. There will be the normal small businesses in the town centre that people are encouraged to come to, such as Hewn and Calico. Bands will also be selling CDs (cash sales) at the merch table in Wing’s Court.

What if the performance space is full?

The venues will have standing room with limited seating. If it exceeds standing capacity, there will be a line outside. Visitors will move between the six stages throughout the day; there will be a 15-minute window between each performance for people to move from one venue to another.

Who organizes the festival?

According to its website, the festival is able to offer its events free to the public thanks to the generous support of government programs and altruistic community sponsors.

Notably, this list includes the Massachusetts Cultural Council, New Bedford Creative, Destination New Bedford, The Symphony Music Shop, The Fiber Optic Center, The New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, and Southcoast Technologies LLC.

Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @ChitwoodReports. Support local journalism by subscribing to The Standard-Times in digital or print today.

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