Apply to Become a Performer.

Get Involved at The Montana Folk Festival.

We are accepting submissions from performers who would like to be considered for the 2012 Montana Folk Festival July 13-15, 2012.

Please keep in mind that if you submit materials for consideration, they will not be returned. Artists will not be contacted unless the festival is interested in pursuing festival performance possibilities.

Be forewarned that the selection process for performing artists is highly competitive.

The Montana Folk Festival will continue to adhere to the high national standards set by the performers at the National Folk Festival in Montana.

Potential performers may submit EPKs, links to web sites, or other electronic means of showcasing their talents for consideration. Send these electronic submissions to geverett@montanafolkfestival.com.

Artists may also submit materials such as CDs and DVDs directly by mail if they prefer to the festival at:

2012 Montana Folk Festival
Music Programming Committee
c/o Mainstreet Uptown Butte
P.O. Box 696
Butte, MT 59703

All materials received will be logged in, and will receive preliminary review to assess the quality, authenticity and appropriateness. Qualified submissions will be brought before the music programming committee for further consideration. No materials will be returned. Artists will not be contacted unless the festival is interested in pursuing festival performance possibilities.

A key partner in this review process is the National Council for the Traditional Arts. The professional staff of the NCTA will make recommendations based on the highest standards of quality and representation of the cultural traditions represented by the various performers.

The NCTA staff is composed of persons who are trained in music, history and folklore, have many years of experience in organizing and staging festivals, and most are also musicians (though they do not perform at the festival). This staff attends other festivals and events, and many concerts every year, and does original fieldwork in seeking musicians and crafts people.

Quality and authenticity are the primary selection criteria employed by those who sort the applications and sit on the Music Programming Committee. As regards authenticity, the festival's approach to programming focuses on presenting arts passed down through time in families, communities, tribal, ethnic, religious, regional and occupational groups.

We present artists who are firmly rooted in the community from which their music derives, rather than "interpreters" of tradition, such as contemporary singer-songwriters or "revivalist" performance groups, however accomplished they may be. Beyond that, there is an attempt to be inclusive in terms of race, ethnicity, and region. While the festival strives to include artists that reflect traditions associated with the host community and region, all applicants are held to the same standards.

Each year, we receive more than 1,000 submissions from musicians and their agents. Beyond this, we solicit information about outstanding folk artists from a variety of sources including folklorists, ethnomusicologists, and other cultural specialists engaged with grassroots cultures.

Singer-Songwriters, no matter how talented, will not be selected unless they are deeply rooted in traditional music.

While the festival strives to include artists that reflect traditions associated with the host community and region, all applicants are held to the same standards.

Obviously, a festival with 20 or so performing groups cannot be fully representative of the vast variety of folk artistry in the nation every year. On the other hand, over the years, this event has dealt with the regions and cultures of the nation with fairness.

Finally, any event that deals with applications and solicitations from more than 1,000 performing groups and selects 20 or so is certain to decline several hundred very fine groups. Festival organizers regret this, and plead for understanding and good will from all who choose to involve themselves in this process.

The Montana Folk Festival strives to present the very finest traditional artists from across the nation. In making its selections, it is guided by the following definition:

FOLK & TRADITIONAL ARTS – a definition

The folk and traditional arts are rooted in and reflective of the cultural life of a community. Community members may share a common ethnic heritage, language, religion, occupation, or geographic region. These vital and constantly reinvigorated artistic traditions are shaped by values and standards of excellence that are passed from generation to generation, most often within family and community, through demonstration, conversation, and practice. Genres of artistic activity include, but are not limited to, music, dance, crafts, and oral expression. - National Endowment for the Arts.

If you have questions about performing at the Montana Folk Festival, or about any other aspect of the festival, please contact us by using the link below.