GOVERNOR, FIRST LADY, COUNTRY LEGEND
TO SERVE AS FOLK FESTIVAL CO-CHAIRS
Haslams and Emmylou Harris
Already Helping With Huge Event
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, First Lady Crissy Haslam and Country Music Hall of Fame member Emmylou Harris have agreed to serve as honorary co-chairs for the 73rd Annual National Folk Festival, an event that is expected to bring tens of thousands of people to downtown Nashville on Sept. 2-4.
All three chairs have been helping with preparations for the huge festival. The festival is a not-for-profit event that will be free for the public. It is expected to draw a mix of out-of-town visitors as well as Tennesseans. Nashville won the right to host the festival for the next three years after an aggressive team recruiting effort led by Mayor Karl Dean.
“Crissy and I would like to welcome the National Folk Festival to Tennessee, and we’re excited it will be with us the next several years,” Haslam said. “This great state’s rich musical history makes it the perfect place to host this festival, and this will be a welcome contribution to the state’s economy from the large number of visitors staying in our hotels and supporting our businesses.”
“This is a free, family friendly event, and we look forward to sharing with our visitors all the great things Tennessee has to offer,” Crissy Haslam said.
Harris said the festival presents a diverse array of American music, has displays of American arts and crafts and offers dance performances, the best of local cuisine and plenty of family activities.
“I am very proud to be involved with this event, because it celebrates the best of our music across many different genres,” the 12-time Grammy Award winner said. “Some of the nation’s best traditional artists will perform, and attendees will find themselves amazed at the variety of entertainment they will experience. It is great that Nashville and the state of Tennessee were able to bring this here for three consecutive years.”
Nashville was chosen to host the festival from among 44 cities across the United States in a competitive selection process.
Created by the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) in 1934, the traveling National Folk Festival is the oldest and longest-running multicultural festival in the nation. It celebrates the roots, richness and variety of American culture through traditional music, dance, craft, storytelling and food, and is currently attracting the largest audiences in its long history.
The 73rd, 74th and 75th National Folk Festival in Nashville are produced by NCTA and Nashville Folk and Roots, in partnership with the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, the Arts and Business Council of Greater Nashville, the state of Tennessee, the Nashville Downtown Partnership, the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
The National Folk Festival is a celebration of traditional music and cultures from all over the United States. This free, three-day public event is estimated to have a $10 million to $15 million economic impact on Nashville per year.
For more information about the National Folk Festival, please visit www.nationalfolkfestival.com