Saturdays at 8:00 pm
Put yourself in the room where live folk music thrives
Folkstage is a one-hour concert series featuring the finest traditional and singer-songwriter talent in folk music. Each year, some two dozen concerts come to you live from local venues or WFMT's studio. Previous live performers include Dom Flemons, Connie Kaldor, Bonnie Koloc, Laura Cortese & The Dance Cards, Jim & Susie Malcolm, Abby Posner, and many more. Additional episodes feature selections from 45 years of archival performances, including from the Old Town School of Folk Music.
You might also like The Midnight Special, a thematic mix of folk music and more every Saturday night from 9 pm to midnight after Folkstage.
Folkstage is available for free streaming in two different ways – live during the broadcast and on demand via the rights-compliant 5-hour, non-interactive player below within two weeks of the broadcast.
Scott Cook & Heather Styka LIVE from Acoustic Renaissance
Canadian troubadour Scott Cook tours in his campervan Roadetta. He meets up with Chicago singer/songwriter Heather Styka for a double bill at Acoustic Renaissance Concerts in Hinsdale.
Nell Robinson and Jim Nunally with Ramblin’ Jack Elliot from the Archives
For Memorial Day, we re-broadcast a moving evening of songs, family stories, and soldiers’ letters from the War of 1812 to WWII. Nell Robinson and Jim Nunally brought their friend Ramblin’ Jack Elliot to Folkstage in 2015.
Bryan Bowers From the Archives
Virginia native Bryan Bowers is an autoharp virtuoso, humorist, and story weaver. He spans generations of music and every human emotion in this performance from 2012.
Jason Wilber LIVE from WFMT
Long-time lead guitarist for John Prine, Indiana songwriter Jason Wilber crafts extraordinary songs inspired by sources as varied as a spider hunting its prey, Bigfoot, politics, Picasso, and space travel.
Cheryl Wheeler From the Archives
Among the first performers to visit Folkstage in 1998, Cheryl Wheeler cast her spell over the audience with self-deprecating humor and songs of deep feeling.
Miles & Mafale LIVE from WFMT
Catherine Miles and Jay Mafale are husband and wife, co-conspirators, and storytellers who deliver modern folk with a sparkling flair that springs from their theater backgrounds.
