Samoa Wilson has been singing folk music since she was 5 years old. It was something she did with her whole family instead of watching television or listening to the radio.

“We just worshipped Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly and Blind Willie Johnson and the Carter Family and all kinds of American music,” said Wilson, who will perform with not just one, but two groups at this year’s Brooklyn Folk Festival at St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn Heights.

What You Need To Know

  • The Brooklyn Folk Festival runs Nov. 10 through Nov. 12 at St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn Heights

  • The festival is in its 15th year, presented by the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music in Red Hook, Brooklyn

  • More than 40 groups and performers will take the stage at St. Ann's, playing folk music from America and around the globe

  • The festival is celebrating 75 years of the legendary folk record label Folkways Records

“There’s over 40 different bands playing all kinds of different kinds of down home grassroots music styles, this year primarily from the United States, but also from all around the world,” Eli Smith, festival co-founder, said.

The festival features a tribute to the 75th birthday of legendary folk record label Folkways Records, with performances from Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Peggy Seeger. There are jam sessions, screenings, workshops and the now-famous Banjo Throwing Contest, where competitors toss banjos into the Gowanus Canal.

“The winner receives free banjo playing classes at the Jalopy Theatre’s School of Music, so if you want to learn how to play the banjo, see if you can get one the old fashioned way by chucking it into the Gowanus Canal,” Smith said.

The festival started at and is presented by the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music in Red Hook. It became so popular it quickly outgrew the venue, but it remains a grassroots endeavor.

“It’s strange world to be thinking we have done this 15 times, especially because we’re a small organization, so we’re hauling all the stuff to the church, we’re setting up the sound, we’ve got 150 volunteers that are helping us, it’s really a community production,” said Lynette Wiley, co-producer of the festival and executive director at The Jalopy. 

It’s an event Wilson says she loves to be part of, allowing for some of the old and some of the new as folk music evolves with the times.

“Because it is human and because it is creative, it must evolve,” Wilson said.

For a full schedule of performances and ticket information, head to the Brooklyn Folk Festival's website.