Podcast Episode 181: New Bedford Roots & Branches Festival

Welcome, once again, Jeff Angeley from Podcast Episode 122 and Chris Camarao, from Podcast Episode 135. They have teamed up to create the New Bedford Roots & Branches Festival – Everything Acoustic By and For the People!

Their inaugural year was last July (2023) with a promise to bring, “a new kind of acoustic music festival… to downtown New Bedford!” The Festival is, according to their website, “a free, one-day, acoustic music festival by and for the people.” It is free to all and it is devoted to ensuring the various diverse folk communities of the city are represented on the performance schedule.

New Bedford Roots & Branches Festival aims to have a positive impact on the downtown New Bedford community by hosting local and regional performers of true traditional music, indie folk, acoustic roots rock, contemporary songwriting, and other compositional and exploratory acoustic music. The Festival will continue to work its successful agenda this July by working in direct collaboration with its fiscal sponsor, Downtown New Bedford Inc.

The New Bedford Roots & Branches Festival featured unique indoor “stages” on small downtown business locations, which included Calico, the Pour Farm Tavern, April Evans Beauty Salon, and Destination Soups. Each venue functioned as a unique listening concert while simultaneously bringing attendees directly into the showrooms of their supportive and vibrant downtown business community. Outdoor traditional music performance areas such as Wing’s Court also hosted performances in the heart of downtown New Bedford.

The festival’s co-founders, Jeff Angeley and Chris Camarao speak with The Artists Index’s cofounder, documentarian, and podcast host, Ron Fortier, once again, about their new and highly successful festival collaboration.

The Artists Index uses Zoom to accommodate our guests’ schedules and to allow them to remain in the comfort of their homes, especially those who no longer live on the South Coast of Massachusetts. The home base and studio of The Artists Index are located at Spectrum Marketing Group in Howland Place in New Bedford. If you would like to be a guest on The Artists Index or have a suggestion, please let us know!