The Flagstaff Folk Festival has a great marketing tool: Mother Nature.
As Tucson and Phoenix start baking under the blistering, punishing assault of 100-plus-degree days, Flag can push the fact that it’s up high — 7,000 feet smack in the middle of ponderosa pine country — which means it stays cooler than the desert floor .
When the festival kicks off Saturday, June 18, you’re looking at a high temperature of 86. It should be only 74 when the first act takes the stage at 10 a.m.
The Flagstaff Folk Festival, sponsored by Flagstaff Friends of Traditional Music, will host mostly Arizona bluegrass, folk and Americana bands on five stages from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Coconino Center for the Arts & Pioneer Historical Museum, 2300 N. Fort Valley Road in Flagstaff. Admission is $5 per person per day, or $15 for the family. For the complete lineup and details, visit flagfolkfest.org and ffotm.org
And if you’re a fan of Flagstaff and folk music, you might want to book a room now for the Pickin’ in the Pines Bluegrass & Acoustic Festival Sept. 16-18 at the Pepsi Amphitheater at Fort Tuthill Park. The star-studded lineup includes Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Mark O’Connor and Hot Club of Cowtown.
Tucson bands also are set to play the event, including Run Boy Run and The Sonoran Dogs.
