ST. PETER — An eclectic lineup of entertainment — from West African dances to rustic folk songs to zydeco music — will be offered at the 2024 Rock Bend Folk Festival.
Now in its 33rd year, the free music and arts festival will be Sept. 7-8 at Minnesota Square Park along Highway 169 on the south side of St. Peter.
This year’s headliners include Wisconsin-based Americana group Them Coulee Boys, folk musician Pat Donohue and country blues stalwarts Saint Paul Mudsteppers.
• Them Coulee Boys offer a blend of folk, punk, bluegrass and rock-and-roll that’s sung in four-part harmony, often with a banjo stomp and rhythm section.
• Donohue is a Grammy-winning fingerpicker who plays old blues, swing, R&B and original tunes. For over 20 years, he was the lead guitar player and songwriter for the “Guy’s All Star Shoe Band” on NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion.”
• The Saint Paul Mudsteppers play country blues inspired by the recorded works of the musicians who lived in the Deep South during the early 1900s.
Two days of music shows will kick off with zydeco tunes by the Everett Smithson Band at noon Sept. 7. Smithson will teach harmonica lessons at the festival Sept. 8.
The Titambe Drum and Dance Ensemble Company in Minnesota will offer a workshop after its performance on Sept. 7.
A perennial favorite for Rock Bend audiences, City Mouse will again return to the festival. Local musicians Joe Tougas & Associates, Kit Kildahl, Crista Bohlmann and Mal Murphy also will appear on the festival’s two stages.
Multiple food and beverage trucks and dozens of art booths will be set up on the grounds.
To learn more about the festival, visit: rockbend.org.