New Salem music festival and concerts Sept. 5–7

Abreanna Blose
| Reporter assisted by AI

Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site will host its annual Traditional Music Festival and Bluegrass Concerts from Sept. 5-7. The event has been a staple at the site since 1980, according to a community announcement.

Performers from across the Midwest will showcase their talents on instruments such as dulcimers, concertinas, bones, autoharps, fiddles, banjos and guitars throughout the historic village. Electric instruments are not allowed.

History interpreters in period clothing will demonstrate life in central Illinois during the 1830s.

Bluegrass concerts are scheduled for 6-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Kelso-Hollow outdoor amphitheater. There is limited availability for musical groups interested in performing on stage each night. For more information, call 217-632-4017 or email [email protected].

The weekend’s festivities are free and open to the public. In case of rain, performances will move indoors to the visitor center auditorium.

Event schedule

Friday and Saturday, Sept. 5–6

Bluegrass concerts, 6–10 p.m. at Kelso-Hollow Amphitheater

Saturday, Sept. 6: Traditional Music Festival, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Performances by musicians from the Midwest and Texas
Live music throughout the historic village
1830s reenactments by history interpreters

Sunday, Sept. 7

Voices of the Village – History of Lincoln’s New Salem, 1 p.m.
Visitor center auditorium performances:
- Between the Strings and Me at 1 p.m.
- Mackville at 1:45 p.m.
Historical discussion at 2:40 p.m. covering:
- The Civilian Conservation Corps
- Village reconstruction
- 100-year anniversary of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources

This story was created by reporter Abreanna Blose, [email protected], with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.