Kansas City Folk Festival (KC Folk Fest) returns for another spirited event in Washington Square Park on Saturday, May 17, 2025 from 11am-8pm. With a superb lineup featuring touring and local roots artists across styles including: Chamber Folk, Old Time, Americana, Bluegrass, Blues, R&B, Singer-songwriters, and Hip Hop, KC Folk Fest boasts four stages, delicious food trucks, and an extensive craft market chock full of local vendors. Heralded as a grassroots “people’s fest,” this is the fourth annual event organized by a community-led board of musicians and artists.

Lineup includes nationally renowned Americana blues artist Sunny War, Old Time Cherokee fiddler Nokosee Fields, local gospel rock outfit Jamogi and the Jammers, Tex-Mex family band Stranded in the City led by the Reyes Brothers, chamber folk ensemble KC Queertet and more. For full lineup, visit: www.kcfolkfest.org.

Programming by community partners include a garage band-style open mic sponsored by Kansas City Young Audiences, youth songwriter contest by Heartland Song Network, and showcases by KC Fringe and No Divide KC.

Supported by grassroots campaigns such as as our “Dandelion Donor” campaign ($100x100 “Seed” Donors), “Fun Raisers” such as FolkyOkie Karaoke and community outreach events like Pickball - a jam-friendly brand of kickball - alongside local sponsors, community partners and arts grants such at Missouri Arts Council’s Folk Arts Grant, KC Folk Fest continues its legacy as an all-ages, admission-free city festival whose mission is “to celebrate the music and arts of our neighborhoods, region and beyond” – all while paying its artists a living wage. As a zero-waste event with recycling and composting available on-site, KCFF encourages visitors to follow the National Parks mottos “Pack it in, pack it out” and “Leave it better than you found it.”

HISTORY OF THE FEST: Originally founded as a public outreach event for Folk Alliance International’s annual industry conference in 2016, FAI transitioned the fest over to local stakeholders in 2019. “Kansas City Folk Festival” incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 2021 and produced their first outdoor folk festival on Saturday, May 22, 2022 in Washington Square Park, KCMO.