Hello Mountville family, and a special welcome to all of the newcomers who've recently subscribed! Please consider this your invitation - we are excited to welcome you to our 31st annual Mountville Folk Festival June 20-21. 

First thing to do, if you are a Yes or a Maybe, is just hit Reply to RSVP and let us know who and how many, and if you're planning to camp (and where you are coming from if you like - people drive several hours to be here for the weekend). Mountville is intimate, without the dense crowds, trash and mud of larger festivals, yet blessed with a warm community that easily fits dozens of newcomers into a beautiful setting every year. If you'd like to invite music-loving friends, we'd welcome them too - please forward this email for them to subscribe, and/or share our Facebook & Instagram posts. 

If you've already RSVPed, we've got it! We'll send out that confirmation email with address and directions in early June (it's easier to do in a big group to minimize the chance someone falls through the cracks).

Volunteers are the beating heart and engine of Mountville. If you'd like to lend a hand, please sign up for something at our "SignUp Genie" https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F084CA9AC2BA0F94-56776100-mountville. You'll meet some great people and we feed you dinner if you sign up by Wednesday June 18th. Ever think you might like to introduce an act or two? We're always happy to train an aspiring MC - drop us a line!

We know we're sharing quite a bit of news here including the lineup and schedule announcement, and a new opportunity to participate musically - thanks for reading along!

DONATIONS & UNDERWRITERS

We get asked a lot, "how much does it cost to attend?" The honest answer is "whatever you can afford, or whatever it's worth to you," because for most of 30 years we took in enough donations to cover our expenses. We have many very generous people in our Mountville community, but we also know how important music is to our well-being, and we don't want cost to keep people away. Average ticket prices for intimate festivals like ours seem to range $25 to $75 per person per day, and that can be a lot - especially here as the impacts of sudden federal downsizing have hit hard.

Advance donations together with underwriting from our regional music, arts and related business communities really help lower our stress about covering those costs (many due before the festival) - especially if we have a rough weather weekend. So if you're willing and able, thank you for donating in advance. Your generosity helps us continue Mountville into the future for others to enjoy as well. You can use any of these easy links or visit our Support page for these and the offline options (and we always have the jar at Hospitality too):

Venmo | PayPal | Credit Card (via Square)

We are hugely grateful to introduce MCR Consulting as our Festival Underwriter this year, and welcome back Songwriter's Association of Washington, Focus Music, Moore Music in the House Concerts, the Aldie Ruritan Club, Man on a Line Music and the Friends of Franklin Park - thanks to each of you for your generous support! We're also grateful to welcome new underwriters, the Frederick (MD) Acoustic Music Enterprise and Linda Culbert, Long & Foster Realtors.

If you are part of an organization or business interested in helping support Mountville, we have some great packages to connect you with our community from the stage and stream, our website and social media, and take-homes too. Please do reach out before our June 1st printing deadline!

MORE CHANCES TO PLAY!

There are never enough slots in our lineup for all the talented artists we'd love to have play. Although we have a good core of die-hard musicians and listeners at our late night lively Moonshine Jam of old time tunes as well as a Songwriter Circle, we've been wanting to create more opportunities for budding songwriters as well as musicians who come for the day but can't be here for the late night mischief.

So we're thrilled to introduce our Sycamore Song Circle, Saturday from 1-2:30pm. Part curated showcase and part open mic hosted by fabulous singer/songwriter Jillian Matundan, unplugged on the bank of the creek beneath the huge sycamore tree. Please email us if you'd like to sign up to share a song or two - young and/or aspiring songwriters particularly welcome!

FOOD TRUCK & FINE WINE

Mountville has always been “BYO Everything”. We have water and comfort castles, and a few vitals like sunscreen and bug spray at Hospitality just in case you forget, but it's pretty much come self-sufficient for the day or weekend. This year we have another option - you can buy from a variety of Mexican dinners from The Birria Beat truck. You are of course welcome to bring your own picnic basket or whatever else works perfectly with live musical accompaniment.

We also are thrilled to welcome our award-winning neighbors at Endhardt Vineyards who'll be selling wine on Friday night. A delicious partnership that we can't wait to share with you!

SCHEDULE & LINEUPS: DRUM ROLL PLEASE….

We know you love being able to plan your visit to catch your favorite artists and hear the first-time Mountville performers (noted by *). And do we ever have a Mountville for the ages lined up for you…..

FRIDAY JUNE 20

4pm - Camping area opens
5pm - Gates open
6pm - EVENING CONCERT featuring:

• 6pm Lisa Taylor (Herndon VA) - A rare solo set from a Mountville original - and a favorite singer/songwriter!
• 7pm Teghan Devon* (Myersville MD) - indie folk singer/songwriter & Berklee grad with a gift for “emotional wrecking ball” songs
• 8pm ilyAIMY (Baltimore MD) - the original high-energy songwriter duo Heather Aubrey Lloyd & Rob Hinkal
• 9pm Songwriters-in-the-Round: Kipyn Martin (Sykesville MD), Randy Barrett (Alexandria VA) and host Andrew McKnight (Lincoln VA)

After Main Stage, Moonshine Jams & Songwriter Circles begin (all welcome to participate)

SATURDAY JUNE 21

Noon - Gates reopen for 1-day visitors
1pm - SYCAMORE SONG CIRCLE beneath the big tree by the creek, hosted by Jillian Matundan (email to sign up in advance)
3pm - CONCERT featuring:

After Main Stage, Moonshine Jams & Songwriter Circles begin (all welcome to participate)

SUNDAY JUNE 22

Everything is subject to change of course, and all timing is approximate. Rain or shine, but shine greatly preferred. 

That is more than enough for this newsletter! Our website has an extensive Frequently Asked Questions section as well as links to preview all of this year's performers and visit our generous underwriters! Our next newsletter will come about 2 weeks before the festival with up-to-date details for your visit, but in the meantime look for frequent updates on our social media and website. 

We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you here June 20th and/or 21st. We wish you and yours a safe, relaxing and meaningful Memorial Day weekend!