The Montana Folk Festival will remain a new and exciting event each year at the same time it remains very familiar to anyone who has attended in previous years. The Montana Folk Festival will continue to feature multiple stages with continuous live performances by some of the best traditional performers in the nation, including Montana’s finest, some of the region’s best traditional artists, ethnic and festival foods, a lively Family Area, two fine traditional art markets and Folklife demonstrations and workshops that focus on a new theme each year that highlight Montana’s heritage. The event is presented in the spectacular setting of Butte, Montana surrounded by iconic headframes that evoke Butte’s underground copper mining heritage, tall buildings from the late 19th century and early 20th century, and spectacular views of the Northern Rockies in every direction.

We invite other organizations, individuals, and corporations to support the event as it moves toward its tenth presentation in 2023 (ten as the Montana, 13 counting the three years as the National Folk Festival from 2008-2010) as a tourism engine and cultural magnet that will continue to feature top national cultural acts, as well as showcase Montana’s rich heritage. The Montana Folk Festival will continue to market the natural and cultural wonders of Montana to new visitors in the middle of Montana in the middle of July. From the beginning, the goal has been to build coalitions and collaborations of arts and festival sponsors to ultimately support established summer festivals throughout Montana as well as to create a permanent base of support for the annual Montana Folk Festival in Butte.

Folk Festival Information and History:

The Montana Folk Festival is one of the Northwest’s Largest FREE Outdoor Music Festivals.

The Montana Folk Festival features performances and demonstrations by over 200 of the nation’s finest musicians, dancers, and craftspeople. It showcases multiple performances by more than 20 Artists/groups on six stages including a dance pavilion dedicated to participatory dancing, a family stage with performances appealing to children of all ages, and a Montana folklife stage. In addition to the performance stages, there are several themed festival areas: the Montana Folklife Area, the Family Area, two Festival Marketplaces and the Festival Food Courts.

The festival site is situated in the heart of the nation’s largest National Historic Landmark District. Open-air and tented sites will provide a variety of performance venues ranging from intimate stages to amphitheater-sized venues. The Original Stage, which offers a panoramic view of Butte’s historic high rise buildings and the surrounding mountains, is located on the site of the historic Original Mineyard, with its dramatic headframe that is a remnant of Butte’s early days as an underground copper mining center.