PHILLY FOLK FEST

PHOTOS: A folking, funkin' good time at Philly Folk Festival in Upper Salford

Check out photos from the lively, musical and fun annual event at Old Poole Farm.

Photographer / Videographer

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

The Philadelphia Folk Festival. Photo by James Short.

Check out photos from the lively, musical and fun annual event at Old Poole Farm.

Thousands danced, camped, jammed and otherwise rocked out at the Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford Township over the weekend during the Philaldelphia Folksong Society’s Philadelphia Folk Festival, which first made history in 1962.

This year’s event featured numerous musical acts on six stages, with North Wales native and one-half of Hall & Oates John Oates playing on Saturday night.

The Philadelphia Folk Festival.
By James Short

According to The Reporter, Covid called off the festival for two years, but its return in 2022 called for a suspension of the event in 2023 due to financial difficulties.

“They wanted the festival to come back, but they didn’t want just any festival,” said festival director Andy Braunfeld in The Reporter. “They wanted a festival that was just like the one they remembered, here on the farm with the stages up. We decided to try to give it to them.”

Philadelphia Folksong Society Board of Directors President Miles Thompson told the newspaper that turnout was good and ticket sales were great and steady.

“We did not do as many national performers as in the past due to cost-cutting,” said Thompson. “The total number of national performers is smaller, but the number of regional and local performers is greater.”

Thompson told The Reporter the folk scene has been vibrant in the region since the late 1950s and to not continue the tradition would be a shame.

“I think this will give us a head start to seeking out the financial contributions from the community and some of the businesses who may have thought we went away for good,” said Braunfeld in the article. “And hopefully it will help us get back next year.”

The Philadelphia Folk Festival.
By James Short

The Philadelphia Folk Festival
By James Short

The Philadelphia Folk Festival.
By James Short

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James Short

James “Jimmy James” Short is a talented, self-taught photographer with over a decade of experience in photography and videography. A North Penn High School graduate, Jimmy has worked as a freelancer for various local and regional media outlets before joining North Penn Now and Wissahickon Now.