Maypole Folk Festival

Saturday, April 29, 4 p.m.

The Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave., Chicago

Tickets: $15 for all-day festival admission

We are delighted to bring the exuberant tradition of Russian folk song to this year’s Maypole Folk Festival, as the lineup branches out to include traditional music from around the world.

The kid-friendly performance time and convivial festival environment make this an event for your whole family. We have some new songs to share that you’re going to love! And the Empty Bottle, as always, remains “dancing friendly.”

One ticket price gets you admission for all the acts throughought the day, so come for the Cossack marching songs and stay for the old-time Americana, Balkan dance-punk, and much more.

Maypole Folk Festival is a celebration of the best of Chicago’s folk music scene. It’s a call to commemorate the coming of the summer, and for all the city’s folks to come together — old-time with bluegrass, Mexican folk with country blues, the young DIY community with the city’s veteran players. It’s a chance to listen and dance to some of Chicago’s best traditional music in one of the city’s favorite alternative venues.

Golosá is Chicago’s one and only Russian folk choir, founded in 1997 at the University of Chicago. We sing sacred and secular Russian folk songs in a mixed-voice a cappella ensemble, and we perform all year long throughout the Chicago area. Auditions are generally held once a year, in the fall.

The ensemble is supervised by Artistic Directors Noel Taylor and Tamara Ghattas. Manager Lauren Makholm handles booking requests, and Kate Mooney is our University of Chicago liaison.

Please visit the events page for information on our future engagements. Even better, sign up on our mailing list so that you will be informed of all the choir’s performances and other activities.