Logo: Susquehanna Folk Music Society
Presenting fine traditional arts in Central Pennsylvania since 1985

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Sat, April 5 - A Run For the Arts

A Run For the Arts
JOIN THE TEAM!
Harrisburg
Runners, walkers, friends and fans: TEAM SUSQUEHANNA FOLK is "Running for the Arts" in the Capital 10‑Miler, and we need your support! Join our team, sponsor our run, volunteer, or come out to cheer us on. This race benefits many local arts organizations including SFMS. Our goal is to raise $1000 to fund future programming. Saturday morning, April 5 on the riverfront in downtown Harrisburg. MORE

Sat, April 5 - Spring Coffee House

Spring Coffee House Spring Coffee House Spring Coffee House Harrisburg
Susquehanna Folk Coffeehouses are intimate evenings showcasing Central Pennsylvania's fine amateur acoustic musicians, who play a wide variety of material for an attentive, music-loving audience. This edition of the coffeehouse features acoustic folk from Matt Tarka, Stu Miller, Virginia Masland, and Concerning Clare. FREE Coffeehouse concert on Saturday, April 5 at Fort Hunter Barn, Harrisburg. MORE

Sun, April 13 - Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light

Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light Harrisburg
Rachel Sumner (formerly of Twisted Pine) and her new bandmates take folk far beyond the conventional, with lyric-forward songwriting, snaking chord progressions, acrobatic fiddle and bass, and songs both sweet and biting. Concert on Sunday, April 13 at Fort Hunter. MORE

Sat, April 19 - Tracy Grammer

Tracy Grammer Harrisburg
One of contemporary folk music’s most beloved artists, renowned for her pure voice, deft guitar and violin work, and incantatory storytelling. Joan Baez says, “Tracy Grammer is a brilliant artist and unique individual. Her voice is distinctive, as is her mastery over the instruments she plays.” Concert on Saturday, April 19 at Fort Hunter. MORE

Sat, April 26 - Folk Music at Wildwood Wetland Festival

Folk Music at Wildwood Wetland Festival Harrisburg
SFMS presents Tanjo & Crow and Autumn Sky Hall as musical guests at Wildwood Park’s 25th Annual Wetlands Festival, which will also include wildlife exhibits, nature walks, animals to meet, crafts and food trucks. Rain or shine! FREE family fun and live music on Saturday, April 26 at Harrisburg’s Wildwood Park. MORE

Fri, May 2 - Give Local York

Give Local York York
Support Susquehanna Folk and help keep the music coming in York and throughout Central PA. Your donation through Give Local York will be partially matched. And join us for an open jam session that evening at York Central Market. GIVE ONLINE ALL DAY Friday, May 2 MORE
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Come Run With Us!

in the Capital 10: A Run for the Arts Walkers welcome too!

Jess Hayden and Danielle Houser
Join the Team

What better way to spend a beautiful spring morning than being out along the Susquehanna river with friends, enjoying the fresh air and supporting a wonderful cause?

Come join SFMS to run or walk in support of local arts organizations — including your favorite local folk music society!

There's a 10-mile course and a 10K course, and and walkers are very welcome. If you can’t make it to Harrisburg's City Island bright and early on that particular morning, there's even a way to participate virtually.

...or sponsor our run

Our goal is to raise $1000 to support future Susquehanna Folk events. Any gift will move us toward that finish line.

Either way, thank you so much for supporting Susquehanna Folk, live traditional music, and a world where every tradition’s music is valued.

Please welcome a new member joining our Folk Artists Gallery: Lesl Harker of Dauphin County, PA, who plays and teaches Irish traditional music on flute and tin whistle.

Meet Lesl Harker

Lesl (pronounced LESS-il) plays and teaches a specific regional style of Irish music: the music of East Galway and of her teacher, the late Mike Rafferty. She learned that music in the traditional way, by listening and imitating a master player, and is passing it on to others in the same way.

Explore our Folk Arts Center

Susquehanna Folk is one of a statewide network of folk arts partners supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Our Folk Arts Center was created with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. EXPLORE THE FOLK ARTS CENTER

The board and staff of the Susquehanna Folk Music Society are committed to celebrating and affirming diverse cultures through programming which explores the music, dance, craft and stories of many people. We stand in complete solidarity with the Black community and all marginalized communities to speak out against injustice, bigotry and racial violence.
Rachita Nambiar and her daughter strike a pose as they perform a traditional dance from southern India. They are both smiling and holding their arms and fingers in specific, complex gestures. They are wearing silk saris in bright reds and gilts that contrast with the black background, and wear stylized makeup to accentuate facial expressions that are an important part of the dance.
Sheila Arnold, an older Black woman with very short hair, holds her fingers up in L shapes, like a frame that she is looking through. She smiles as she speaks to her audience.
Narda LeCadre’s hands on a quilt. She is black, and her hands suggest she is an older woman. She is wearing a brown coat with its cuffs turned back, and a rust-colored top. The quilt has blue calico pinwheels.
Curtain call at a Black Opry show, with several Black artists (mostly women) celebrating.
A Black man stands in the corner of a brick-walled room, playing a banjo and gazing down toward his hands.
IMBA Award winner Tray Wellington takes a forward-looking approach to the banjo, an instrument inextricably linked with the Black experience in America. Tray's innovative music puts the cultural touchpoints of the banjo — so often clichéd, stereotyped and whitewashed — solidly in his rearview mirror. [2024-2025 Concert Series]