CANCELED: Sugar Maple Music Festival

press release: Because health and safety is paramount, the organizers of the nonprofit Sugar Maple Music Festival, have made the difficult decision to postpone the 2020 festival, scheduled for July 31-August 1, to August 6-7, 2021. The festival will be held at Lake Farm County Park in Madison.

Festival organizers are working to maintain the stellar lineup planned for 2020 if possible, and have already received a commitment from The Gina Furtado project.

Tickets purchased for the 2020 festival will be automatically honored for the 2021 event. Those who would prefer a refund should contact the festival directly at fourlakesmusic@gmail.com. 

Presented by the Four Lakes Traditional Music Collective, the Sugar Maple Music Festival is a two-day outdoor festival in Madison that celebrates traditional music and dance through performances, educational workshops, and interactive jam sessions. This family-friendly festival offers entertainment for people of all ages. The diversity of performances invites people of all backgrounds and ages to enjoy and learn about the performing arts in the beautiful setting of a county park. Local vendors sell concessions, and local, non-profit organizations display information.

Performances, workshops, and jams are held concurrently at three stages. Formal performances take place on the main stage. Artists hold educational workshops and jams in a more intimate setting on the Roots & Reasons stage. This stage provides an unique opportunity for festival attendees to interact with the artists through interviews, discussions, workshops, demonstrations, and interactive jam sessions. Interviews with performers allow festival attendees to learn about the history, culture, and techniques of the traditional arts. Workshops, demonstrations, and jam sessions provide Dane County residents an opportunity to integrate the knowledge and skills of these artists into to our own community.

Our 2020 artists include:

Belen Escobedo – A Latinx musician who stands apart on the musical landscape of the Texas-Mexico border, where, amid the accordion-led conjuntos, she is gaining attention as one of the only musicians still playing traditional Tejano conjunto fiddle music.

Amythyst Kiah Trio – Kiah is a singer/songwriter whose musical influences cross from country, to R&B, to Americana and beyond. Kiah received a Grammy nomination for Best American Roots Song, “Black Myself,” which she wrote for the foursome Our Native Daughters, which includes Kiah, Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla and Allison Russell.

The Gina Furtado Project – Fronted by banjoist, singer and songwriter Gina Furtado, the Gina Furtado Project lays heavy emphasis on catchy, relatable, original material that spans the gamut from bluegrass to swing to gypsy jazz and beyond.

Louisiana-based French/Cajun band Jourdan Thibodeaux et Les Rôdailleurs and Appalachian Roadshow, which honors the music, traditions and history of the Appalachian people and regions are among other great festival acts. 

Learn more about all our confirmed acts, including Robbie Fulks performing the music of Doc Watson and the Short Round Stringband on our website.