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We are no longer accepting submissions from performers who would like to be considered for the 2013 Montana Folk Festival this July 12-14. Check back in the next few weeks when we announce the full lineup for the 2013 festival.
A key partner in this review process has been the National Council for the Traditional Arts. The professional staff of the NCTA have made recommendations based on the highest standards of quality and representation of the cultural traditions represented by the various performers.
The NCTA staff is composed of persons who are trained in music, history and folklore, have many years of experience in organizing and staging festivals, and most are also musicians (though they do not perform at the festival). This staff attends other festivals and events, and many concerts every year, and does original fieldwork in seeking musicians and crafts people.
Quality and authenticity are the primary selection criteria employed by those who sort the applications and sit on the Music Programming Committee. As regards authenticity, the festival's approach to programming focuses on presenting arts passed down through time in families, communities, tribal, ethnic, religious, regional and occupational groups.
We present artists who are firmly rooted in the community from which their music derives, rather than "interpreters" of tradition, such as contemporary singer-songwriters or "revivalist" performance groups, however accomplished they may be. Beyond that, there is an attempt to be inclusive in terms of race, ethnicity, and region. While the festival strives to include artists that reflect traditions associated with the host community and region, all applicants are held to the same standards.
While the festival strives to include artists that reflect traditions associated with the host community and region, all applicants are held to the same standards.
Obviously, a festival with about 25 performing groups cannot be fully representative of the vast variety of folk artistry in the nation every year. On the other hand, over the years, this event has dealt with the regions and cultures of the nation with fairness.
Finally, any event that deals with applications and solicitations from more than 1,000 performing groups and selects about 25 is certain to decline several hundred very fine groups. Festival organizers regret this, and plead for understanding and good will from all who choose to involve themselves in this process.
The Montana Folk Festival strives to present the very finest traditional artists from across the nation. In making its selections, it is guided by the following definition:
FOLK & TRADITIONAL ARTS – a definition
The folk and traditional arts are rooted in and reflective of the cultural life of a community. Community members may share a common ethnic heritage, language, religion, occupation, or geographic region. These vital and constantly reinvigorated artistic traditions are shaped by values and standards of excellence that are passed from generation to generation, most often within family and community, through demonstration, conversation, and practice. Genres of artistic activity include, but are not limited to, music, dance, crafts, and oral expression. - National Endowment for the Arts.
If you have questions about performing at the Montana Folk Festival, or about any other aspect of the festival, please contact us by using the link below.
