NC Folk Festival Brings Three Free Days of Music to Downtown Greensboro

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The North Carolina Folk Festival returns to downtown Greensboro this weekend for three days of free live music, food, art and cultural programming.

The 2026 festival runs Friday, Sept. 18 through Sunday, Sept. 20. Organizers list St. Paul & The Broken Bones as Friday's headliner, The Roots on Saturday and Molly Tuttle on Sunday, alongside dozens of performers representing a wide range of musical traditions and genres.

Festival hours are 4:30-10 p.m. Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday, and noon-8 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free and the event is open to all ages. Organizers say the downtown footprint also includes food vendors, makers and multiple performance stages.

Visitors can bring low-back chairs and blankets in designated seating areas, as well as empty refillable water bottles. Festival organizers say downtown parking decks, except the Church Street deck, will be available during the weekend for $10 per vehicle per day.

The North Carolina Folk Festival is a Greensboro-based nonprofit event that grew out of the National Folk Festival's 2015-2017 run in the city.