28th Annual Gamble Rogers Folk Festival is This Weekend

Folk music’s most intimate music festival takes place at the St. Johns County Fairgrounds

For over 27 years, The Gamble Rogers Folk Festival has celebrated the life and musical legacy of Florida native and longtime St. Augustine resident, Gamble Rogers. The upcoming 28th Annual Gamble Rogers Folk Festival will continue these long-running traditions and festivities with over 100 performers on five stages over three days. It will be held from April 12th through April 14th, 2024, at the St. Johns County Fairgrounds, 5840 SR-207, Elkton, Florida.

Gamble was not only a pivotal figure in American folk music, guitarist extraordinaire, humorist, and storyteller but also a local legend and hero, beloved by all who knew him. Rogers was revered by an entire generation of musicians, including the late Jimmy Buffet, who dedicated his album ‘Fruitcakes’ to the songwriter. His status as a local figure was memorialized after his tragic passing on October 10, 1991 when he drowned attempting to save a swimmer in distress off Flagler Beach. The stretch of shoreline was later renamed in his honor. Gamble Rogers received a Florida Folk Heritage Award posthumously in 1993 and was later inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 1998.

Headlining the festival are AJ Lee & Blue Summit and the John Jorgenson Quintet, with supporting acts including Verlon Thompson, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, Remedy Tree, The Krickets, Red and Christopher Henry & Their All Star Band, Wyatt Ellis, and more.   AJ Lee & Blue Summit is a bluegrass band from the Bay Area that draws influences from country, soul, swing, rock, and jam music. Led by singer-songwriter and mandolinist AJ Lee, the band includes Sullivan Tuttle and Scott Gates on steel-stringed acoustic guitars, Jan Purat on fiddle, and Chad Bowen on upright bass. John Jorgenson Quintet is a dynamic, authentic gypsy jazz band led by music virtuoso John Jorgenson, known for his fast guitar licks. In addition to acoustic and electric guitars, Jorgenson plays the mandolin, saxophone, clarinet, bouzouki, and pedal steel and performs as a vocalist. His quintet has been hailed the “U.S. ambassadors of gypsy jazz.”   One of the highlights of the Gamble Rogers Folk Festival is the YoungFolk Stage, where a new generation of musicians have an opportunity to perform on a nationally-recognized professional stage. Mandolin prodigy Wyatt Ellis returns this year with his band as a highlight performance of the YoungFolk Stage.

The Workshop Stage is a unique opportunity for musicians and appreciators to learn more about the art of folk, bluegrass, and Americana through interactive workshop sessions. Topics include The Secrets of Songwriting, Mandolin for Everybody, and Herstory: Women in Music. Performances are scheduled for the Main Stage, the Picker’s Stage, and Gamble’s Living Room, and begin at 5pm Friday on The Main Stage and Gamble’s Living Room and 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday on all five stages.   Tickets prices are $100 for the weekend, $35 for Friday night, $65 for Saturday all day/night, and $35 all day for Sunday, April 14th. At-the-gate general admission tickets are $120 for the full three-day festival (April 12th-14th) or, priced individually, $40 for Friday night (April 12th), $70 for the full-day Saturday, April 13th, and $40 for the full-day Sunday, April 14th. Kids 16 and under are free!   Tent camping and RV sites are still available for festival-goers. On-site showers and restrooms are available for all campers. Tent sites are $30 for the weekend, RV sites are $100 for the weekend, and RV Overflow Parking is $75 for the 3-day festival.   Food trucks, local artisans, craft vendors, activities for kids, workshops, and more will be on-site for delicious bites, shopping, and fun. Well-behaved and leashed pets are also welcome. Bring your blankets, hammocks, and chairs to relax and revel in the mastery of the wonderful tradition of folk music. Tickets can be purchased here.