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. Become a Folkstage supporter today.
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.
Ariane Lydon From the Archives
June 6, 2026, 8:00 pm
Music wafts like a summer breeze through a greening garden in a 2005 performance by Ariane Lydon.
Santa Cruz River Band From the Archives
July 6, 2024
Selections from The Santa Cruz River Band – Ted Ramirez, the late Michael J. Ronstadt, and Gilbert Brown – recorded live in concert at WFMT in performances from 2006 and 2009.
Carsie Blanton from the Archives
June 29, 2024
Happiest when she stirs up issues-oriented songs spiced with hilarious wit, sassy songwriter Carsie Blanton played Folkstage in 2010.
Kevin So Live at WFMT
June 22, 2024
A strong sense of story and a mastery of blues styles sets Kevin So apart. The son of Chinese immigrants who owned a Chinese restaurant for most of his life, he says he is both 100% Chinese and 100% American. Kevin’s current project is a cover album of songs popularized by the late Taiwanese music icon Teresa Teng.
Kristina Olsen from the Archives
June 15, 2024
In 2004, Kristina Olsen performed a stirring set at WFMT, including one of her signature songs, “My Father’s Piano.” Her immensely fluid voice cannot be contained by a single descriptor, ranging from folk to blues to impressionistic and lyrical.
Giulia Millanta Live From WFMT
June 8, 2024
Texas singer/songwriter and cookbook author Giulia Millanta composes smoky indie-folk with a Florentine flavor. By turns raw, humorous, or introspective, she’s equally creative in the kitchen or on stage.
Terry Klein Live from WFMT
June 1, 2024
Hailing from the epicenter of Texas songwriting, The Austin American-Statesman calls Terry Klein “one of Austin’s top singer-songwriters…” Klein writes piercing songs populated with compelling characters, some from true life.
Toast Bob Dylan on Folkstage from the Archives
May 25, 2024
Dylan turns 83. A collection of his songs performed over the years live on Folkstage by a range of artists from Alice Howe to Ed Holstein to Fink & Marxer, Robin Greenstein to Brother Sun, Claudia Russell to Martin Simpson, The Santa Cruz River Band and others.
Katie Oates Trio Live from WFMT
May 18, 2024
Katie Oates is a preacher’s kid with a rich voice and a warm heart worn proudly on her sleeve. Katie, Parker Foley, and Mathew Tully come to Folkstage to showcase the new album, Edge of a Hurricane.
WLS Barn Dance Centennial Recorded Live at The Hideout
May 11, 2024
WFMT airs an exclusive hour of music, history, poetry, and comedy showcasing Chicago’s role in a century of country music. Artists include Tara Betts, Paul Collins, Girls of the Golden West, Kelly Hogan, Nikki Morgan, Hawk Nebula, Lawrence Peters, Andrew Sa, and more with Barry Irving as emcee.
Mike Agranoff Live from WFMT
May 4, 2024
Mike Agranoff plies his folk trade with intelligence, humor, superb fingerstyle guitar, and English concertina. His music and stories range from traditional tunes to the American Songbook to Americana.
Mike & Ruthy from the Archives
April 27, 2024
Michael Merenda and Ruth Ungar, co-founders of The Mammals, in an expansive 2014 performance including covers, originals and traditional numbers.
Maxwell Street Klezmer Band Live from WFMT!
April 20, 2024
The Maxwell St. Klezmer Band takes the stage with the phenomenal Cantor Pavel Roytman. Enjoy a mix of distinctive klezmer music and songs to mark Passover. Take that, Pharaoh!
Deidre McCalla Live
April 13, 2024
During her extraordinary career, Deidre McCalla has gently commanded many a stage as a Black woman, mother, lesbian, feminist artist in the forefront of showing how Black folk do folk. Live from St. Tim’s Coffeehouse in Skokie.
Folkstage “Sampler” from the Archives
April 6, 2024
During our live on-air membership drive, join in the fun as we highlight lively sets from 2023 by South for Winter, Jonas Friddle, Buffalo Rose, Dom Flemons, and more.
Theater on Folkstage! Recorded Live at WFMT
March 30, 2024
Recorded expressly for Folkstage, hear songs performed during a recent visit from Nolan Almeida and Raye Zaragoza who play Peter Pan and Tiger Lily in the new adaptation of Peter Pan by playwright Larissa FastHorse. Plus, samples from past shows presenting Chicago’s vibrant, folky, musical theatre scene.
Kitty Donohoe Live from WFMT
March 23, 2024
A live solo performance by Kitty Donohoe, whose repertoire is steeped in Irish Heritage and rich with stories of exceptional women.
Burning Bridget Cleary from The Archives
March 16, 2024
The charismatic Rose Baldino’s Burning Bridget Cleary quartet delivers crackerjack fiddle work and tightly woven harmonies in a live performance at WFMT from 2014.
Joe Crookston Live from St. Tim’s
March 9, 2024
A passionate artist, songwriter, guitarist and fiery fiddler, Joe Crookston performs his brave and distinctive songs at St. Tim’s Coffeehouse at St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church in Skokie.
John Gorka Live from Acoustic Renaissance
March 2, 2024
Expansive, warm, sophisticated, astute and wry. It’s all there in the songs and stage presence of a central figure of contemporary folk music: John Gorka.
Bonnie Koloc, Recorded Live at Old Town School of Folk Music
February 24, 2024
The shimmering voice of the Chicago folk scene, Bonnie Koloc, recorded in concert on February 3 to celebrate her 80th birthday, plus selections from other of her live performances.
