Friday night saw the kick-off of the 53rd annual Philadelphia Folk Festival. Featuring an eclectic mix of folk, blues, rock and bluegrass, the wooded fields of rural Pennsylvania roared to life amidst a mish-mash of music, food, merchandise and hula hoops. It was a solid mix of old and new, as well as national and local. Philly natives Katie Frank and The Pheremones made their 3rd public appearance in the last 7 days, the collaborative project A Fistful of Sugar, and South Philly siblings The Wallace Brothers also pitched in.

The main event kicked off with another Philly-Jersey native John Flynn before breaking in to national blues act Shemekia Copeland and international folk troubadour, Scotland’s Archie Fisher. The evening culminated with two powerhouse bands with distinctly different flavors, starting with the Celtic rock fusion of Tempest, and closing the night out with bluegrass powerhouse, and newest members of the Grand Ole Opry, Old Crow Medicine Show.