Appalachian Festival Returns to FSU Sept. 17 Through 19
Sep 3, 2026 9:00 AM
Frostburg State University’s much-anticipated Appalachian Festival will return to campus for its 21st year from Thursday, Sept. 17, through Saturday, Sept. 19. The free, family-friendly event brings together artists, craftspeople and community members to celebrate the region’s history, culture, music, dance, folk arts, food and more through performances, workshops, displays, discussions and activities. Several community organizations and FSU programs will also be represented. This year’s festival theme, “Dynamic Appalachia: Commemorating Our Region’s Role in U.S. History,” will highlight the region’s rich contributions to the nation’s story.
The festival will culminate Saturday evening with a ticketed concert featuring Grammy-nominated bluegrass icon Missy Raines, a trailblazer of the genre. Born in Cumberland, Maryland, and raised just across the border in Short Gap, West Virginia, Raines brings a powerful homegrown legacy to the stage.
Presented in partnership with FSU’s Cultural Events Series, the concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Frostburg’s historic Palace Theatre. Tickets can be purchased at the door or ordered at ces.frostburg.edu.
A 10-time International Bluegrass Music Association Bass Player of the Year, Raines has earned widespread acclaim throughout her career, including IBMA honors for Recorded Event of the Year and Song of the Year. Her influence on American roots music was further recognized with her inclusion in the Country Music Hall of Fame’s “American Currents” exhibit in 2019, followed by her Grand Ole Opry debut in 2020. Rooted in tradition yet driven by innovation, Raines’ music blends hard-driving bluegrass with fresh musical ideas and fearless creativity. Her band, Allegheny—named for the West Virginia highlands where she grew up—showcases some of today’s most exciting young bluegrass musicians: Ben Garnett on guitar, Eli Gilbert on banjo, Ellie Hakanson on fiddle and Tristan Scroggins on mandolin.
The festival opens Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Palace Theatre with Small Town Universe, a film offering an intimate look at life in Green Bank, West Virginia, a remote community nestled within the National Radio Quiet Zone. There, wireless technologies such as cell phones and Wi-Fi are heavily restricted to protect the signals received by the nearby Green Bank Telescope, the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope.
Friday’s programming will offer a deeper exploration of Appalachian history, culture and identity through a series of presentations, performances and conversations. At 1 p.m., Albert Feldstein will examine Western Maryland’s role in the development of the nation, tracing 250 years of regional history through coal mining, immigration, transportation, industry and other forces that both reflected and shaped the broader growth of America.
At 2 p.m., seventh-generation West Virginian and singer/songwriter Mary Hott will use stories and original songs to explore the human impact of coal mining and the struggles for fair pay, safety and dignity that continue to resonate in Appalachian communities.
At 3 p.m., local author Rayelle Davis will discuss her book, Money in the Mountains: The Cultural Trauma of Appalachia, examining the lasting effects of generational adversity, exploitation and systemic neglect.
The afternoon will continue at 4:30 p.m. with photographer Pedro Ledesma III’s discussion of The Promissory Note: A Visual Audit of the American Dream, his exhibition examining land, education and belonging in contemporary Appalachia. Visitors are encouraged to view the exhibition in the Roper Gallery before the discussion and audience Q&A.
The day will conclude at 5:30 p.m. with a free dinner on the grounds, followed by a screening of award-winning filmmaker Chris Haddox’s Voices Faintly Heard and a discussion with the filmmaker. The visually and sonically rich documentary explores rare archival recordings of folk musicians from West Virginia’s coalfield communities and celebrates the region’s enduring cultural and musical heritage.
Saturday, Sept. 19, will offer a full day of music, storytelling, dance, demonstrations and hands-on activities across the festival’s stages and tents.
The Compton Music Stage will feature a day of traditional and contemporary Appalachian music, beginning at 10:15 a.m. with Frostburg native and accomplished multi-instrumentalist Jody Mosser ’01, joined by touring bassist and vocalist Johnny Calamari. At 11 a.m., master East Galway-style Irish accordion player and 2016 NEA National Heritage Fellow Billy McComiskey will perform with fiddler Rhys Jones and Baltimore-based banjo player and guitarist Richard Hearn.
At noon, the acclaimed Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble will bring the infectious energy of percussive dance, live music and singing to the stage, celebrating the rich multicultural traditions that have shaped American performance. At 12:45 p.m., Black Appalachian Storyteller fellow Appalachian Soul Man Aristotle Jones will perform with the Porch Pickin’ Trio, followed at 1:30 p.m. by the Marshele Bradford Exchange, a four-piece ensemble bringing together veteran musicians from Pennsylvania and Maryland for a lively blend of bluegrass and gospel.
The afternoon lineup continues with the Western Pennsylvania bluegrass and acoustic group Hickory Bottom Band at 2:15 p.m.; Garrett County’s Second Wind at 3 p.m.; the Hampshire County, West Virginia, acoustic band StreamLine at 3:45 p.m.; and Backbone Bluegrass, a string band trio formed at FSU in 2024, at 4:30 p.m. The stage will close at 5:15 p.m. with Day Old News, featuring Jeremie Hamilton, Tom Bond and Sam Lauver and drawing inspiration from the old-time, bluegrass and Americana traditions of the Appalachian Mountains of Western Maryland.
The Sowers Stage will showcase a wide range of traditional Appalachian, bluegrass, old-time and folk music throughout the day. The lineup begins at 10:30 a.m. with The Time Travelers, followed by the Davis Bradley Duo at 11:10 a.m., The Tuesday Night Trio at 11:50 a.m. and the husband-and-wife duo Me & Martha at 12:30 p.m. Singer and songwriter Loretta Hummel will perform with Paul Dix at 1:10 p.m., followed by acclaimed traditional fiddler Rhys Jones at 1:50 p.m.
The afternoon will continue with the Critton Hollow String Band at 2:30 p.m. as the trio celebrates its 50th anniversary. At 3:10 p.m., father-and-son duo Jeff and Myles Thomas will perform traditional Irish music with Madalyn Higgins and Stryder Owens, blending Irish and Appalachian musical and dance traditions. Smith & Roberts will take the stage at 3:50 p.m., followed by old-time Appalachian father-daughter duo Pete Hobbie and Dakota Karper at 4:30 p.m. The Sowers Stage will conclude at 5:10 p.m. with Allegany County singer-songwriter Gilbert Lee and multi-instrumentalist Hanna Livingston, whose performance will highlight a genre-spanning sound that draws from folk, alt-country, reggae and pop.
Chapel Happenings Outdoors will offer music, storytelling, conversation and hands-on activities throughout the day. The program begins at 10 a.m. with the Frostburg Arion Band, a community institution with roots dating to 1877, followed at 11:10 a.m. by old-time musicians Ben Townsend and Bodhi Gibbons-Guinn, who will share music developed through their mentor-apprentice relationship.
From 12:30 to 3 p.m., Appalachian storytelling will take center stage with a series of performances by Francene Kirk, Larry Jent, Adam Booth, Illene Evans and Jo Ann Dadisman. The storytellers will draw on Appalachian traditions, folklore, humor, history and tales from around the world to explore the experiences, cultures and generations that connect communities.
At 3 p.m., Missy Raines will participate in “Arts Beyond the Stage, Arts for Enrichment,” an engaging conversation about creative leadership, collaboration and her experience leading a bluegrass band as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated genre. At 4 p.m., renowned instrument maker Jim Morris will lead a hands-on Canjo Workshop, where participants will build and learn to play a simple one-stringed instrument with a tin-can soundbox. All necessary supplies will be provided, and participants will leave with the instrument they create and the skills to play it.
The Family Stage will feature performances designed to engage audiences of all ages, including The Song Imagineers, a musical journey through Appalachian history and culture led by Ray Owen and Christine Bass; a hands-on jug band experience with Slim Harrison and the Sunnyland Band; Professor Emeritus Sally Stephenson’s nature-themed “Wild in the Woodlands: Nature Songs for Kids of All Ages”; a student showcase from West Virginia folk music school The Cat and The Fiddle; and a lively community barn dance with Slim Harrison and Friends.
Throughout the day, the Folkways Tent will showcase the diversity of Appalachian traditions and the many cultures that have influenced the region. Jay Smar will bring his blend of traditional and original folk, old-time mountain music, bluegrass and gospel to the stage, while Madalyn Higgins will lead an interactive Irish dance session accompanied by live music from Jeff Thomas and Myles Thomas. Additional presentations will explore music from the West Virginia coal fields with Chris Haddox, the cultural influences behind Appalachian music and dance with Footworks, and Black Appalachian culture and community resilience with musician, author and cultural historian Aristotle Jones. The tent will also host a panel exploring the connections among DIY and punk culture, creativity and entrepreneurship in Appalachia.
The Explorations Tent will offer opportunities to learn more about the region, its people and its natural environment through presentations and discussions on traditional Chinese medicine and seasonal wellness, Appalachian cultural trauma, pollinator conservation, the evolution of navigation and wilderness survival, and the folkways surrounding wild foods and medicinal plants. Contributors to Against Absence, a public literary arts project inspired by rare, threatened and endangered species of Allegany County, will also share their work during a special reading. Throughout the day, the Jam Tent will be open to musicians of all ages and experience levels who want to bring an instrument, gather with others and make music together.
The Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) is excited to host a Children’s Business Fair in conjunction with the Appalachian Festival on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Children in grades K–12 are invited to bring their businesses, products and creative ideas to campus and showcase them to the community.
A wide variety of artisans will also be on site to demonstrate local traditions, along with community groups, organizations and food vendors. In addition, the Capering Kids 4-H Goat Club will return with goats for milking demonstrations throughout the day.
The festival and its programming are sponsored by the Cultural Events Series, 91.9 WFWM, the City of Frostburg, the Maryland Traditions Program of the Maryland State Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, Frostburg State University, the FSU Foundation, Inc., FrostburgFirst, Weis Market, Passages of the Western Potomac Heritage Area and Friends Aware.
For more information, visit the festival website at www.frostburg.edu/events/afestival.