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About Festival

About the 2021 Virtual Tumbleweed Music Festival

2021 is the 25th Annual Tumbleweed Music Festival.  The Tumbleweed Music Festival is a family friendly event with something for everyone featuring a wide range of free 90 plus performances covering multiple genres.  For the past 24 years our festival has celebrated traditional and contemporary Folk music, Bluegrass, Country, Belly and Contra dance, and more in the beautiful Howard Amon Park on the banks of the Columbia River in Richland Washington.  Along with 4,000 – 6,000 attendees, musicians have come from throughout the Pacific Northwest,the United States and abroad; most notably from Canada and Ireland.   The Festival traditionally takes place outdoors in Richland’s Howard Amon Park along the banks of the Columbia River.

Unfortunately, Due to COVID-19 the park setting is still not a safe place to hold a physical festival.  To keep our local community and Tumbleweed attendees safe, this year’s 25th Annual Tumbleweed Festival is Virtual. Volunteers and performers have applied their diverse skills to make this year’s Virtual Festival a reality.  You can take advantage of this year’s virtual Festival by watching performances anytime anywhere on any of your digital devices.

Each year Tumbleweed designates a theme. This year’s theme is Silver Lining.  The Sunday night concert and the Jane Titland Memorial Songwriting Contest will focus on the theme with both traditional well-loved songs and new offerings written especially for the festival songwriting contest. The Songwriting Concert presents the top 10 finalists Emceed by Wes Weddell.  The winning song can be watched at the Saturday Benefit Concert.

What is there to Watch, Listen, and Take Part In?

Nine Stages, available 24/7!  Any time, anywhere, you can see and listen to folk, sea chanteys, bluegrass, blues, Celtic music, dance groups, and more. At each stage there is a set of 9 or more performances each lasting about 15 to 120 minutes.  Go to our Main page or the “Stage” Dashboard to browse and/or watch the many performances.

North Stage

South Stage:  Traditional Folk and Nautical

West Stage:  Singer-Songwriters

River Stage:  No Age Music, for Children of All Ages

Art Gallery Stage:  Mixed Media

Community Center Stage:  Blues and Bluegrass

Delightful Duos:  Delicious Duets

More Singer/Songwriters

A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock and Roll

Jane Titland Memorial Songwriting Contest Finalists

The Songs of Alice Winship – A Tribute

Friday Night Concert:  Local and Young Bands

Saturday Night Concert

Sunday Night Concert:  Theme Is “Silver Lining”

 

14 Workshops – Live – US Pacific Daylight Time

Workshops run about an hour and will be held Saturday and Sunday from 11am – 5:30 pm.  To view a live or recorded Workshop, please select the Watch button from the Workshop Dashboard schedule.

Shanty Sing – Live – US Pacific Daylight Time

Shanty Sing – live, hosted by Jim Honeyman Sunday 6pm – 9pm.  Come take part in sea shanty songs and much more!  Enjoy!

3 FREE Concerts 

Friday New Horizon Concert:  Local and Young Bands

Saturday Night Concert:  Featuring Badger Mountain Dry Band, Cecilia Eng, and Hank Cramer III and friends.

Sunday Theme Concert:  This year’s festival theme is “Silver Lining” – Micki Perry is MC

During the past 24 years, Tumbleweed Music Festival has gained a reputation as one of the best acoustic music festivals in the Northwest (and last year’s virtual Tumbleweed was cited as one of the best online festivals going!)  It is certainly one of the friendliest, and noted by all for its sense of community, bringing together diverse communities and folks from all walks of life, ages, all levels of musical experience. Watch our festival (and come to the park next year!) to help us carry on the tradition!

Are there any costs involved with the Festival?

The 25th Annual Tumbleweed Music Festival is proud to announce that EVERYTHING is free!  (Except for our merchandise items in the Store, but you knew that, yes?)

Donations

The festival is produced and supported by the nonprofit Three Rivers Folklife Society (3RFS) “to support folk music and bring music and events to people.”

Without the time and talent of our guest performers, Tumbleweed volunteers, sponsors, and donors, our free 2021 Tumbleweed Music Festival would not be possible.  While this year’s festival is virtual there are costs to create and run it; software, hardware, hosting, production, licensing fees, other overhead expenses, engaging performers, advertising, engaging youth, and more.  While money is raised through a combination of sponsorships from the City of Richland, individuals, local organizations, and fund raisers, your continued support is much appreciated by buying Tumbleweed merchandise at our Shop and/or donating to the Three Rivers Folklife Society directly!

Tumbleweed Music Festival – available until at least August 2022

The 25th annual Tumbleweed Virtual Music Festival will be available on-demand at tumbleweedmusicfestival.org for at least a year.

© 2021 Tumbleweed Music Festival - Sponsored by Three Rivers Folklife Society & the City of Richland | Co-sponsored by Northwest Public Broadcasting, OneWorld Telecommunications, Southam Creative, Print Plus, Artmil Design, and Gearhead Grip and Electric.
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