NB Roots and Branches is a free, one-day, acoustic music festival by and for the people taking place July 22, 2023. The festival is free to all, devoted to ensuring the various diverse folk communities of the city are represented on the performance schedule, and it aims to have a positive impact on the downtown New Bedford community. Roots and Branches will be hosting local and regional performers of true traditional music, indie folk, acoustic roots rock, contemporary songwriting, and further flung compositional & exploratory acoustic music. In direct collaboration with our fiscal sponsor, Downtown New Bedford Inc, the festival is creating unique indoor “stages” in New Bedford’s small business including Calico, Pour Farm Tavern, April Evans Beauty Salon, and Destination Soups. Each venue functions as a unique listening concert while simultaneously bringing attendees directly into the showrooms of the vibrant downtown business community. The outdoor traditional music performance areas will be hosted in downtown New Bedford’s Wing’s Court as an official city event sponsored by Destination New Bedford, the tourism department of New Bedford city government. The park directly abuts our concert venues. In those outdoor spaces, authentic experiences of 6 different traditional music cultures will include some scheduled events where festival goers can directly participate in the music making. In addition, our traditional music areas will have performances that represent the demographics of the city and the region as a whole with exciting opportunities to connect our shared present through our various rich and diverse pasts.

2023 Performers:

The Symphony Music Shop Stage at Pour Farm Tavern

12noon Louis Leeman

1pm Roots Run Wild

2pm Hot Club Cheese Roll

3pm Fourteen Strings

4pm Riley Coyote

5pm The Jethros

The Southcoast Lessons Stage at Destination Soups

12 noon Joanne Doherty

1pm MB & the Daves

2pm Shannon Davis

3pm Justin Arena

4pm Putnam Murdock

5pm Molly O'Leary

The Fiber Optic Center Stage at April Evans Beauty Lounge

12 noon The Moonbellies

1pm Youth String Band

2pm Christian Camarao

3pm Pebbles of Rain

4pm Pumpkin Head Ted Trio

5pm Eddie Dillon

The Downtown New Bedford Inc Stage at The Bristol Building

12noon Born October 4, 1998

1pm Carl Simmons

2pm Breachway

3pm John Dalton's Sphere's of Influence

4pm Nick LeBlanc

5pm Olivia W-B

The New Bedford Creative Stages
2 stage areas both located in Wing’s Court

12noon Bluegrass Jam w Paul & Erin Dube

12noon Shape Note Sing with Nate & Jim Bean

1:30 Rancho Folclorico de Recordacoes de Portugal

2pm Old Time Fiddle Session

2:30 pm New Bedford Sea Shanty Choir

4pm Irish Session with Colin Everett

5pm Pepe Bana

Date: Saturday, July 22, 2023

Location: All 6 stages are located within a block of Wings Court in historic New Bedford, MA.

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