Five Picks for Folk Fest

There's a whole lotta reggae, bluegrass and guitar-pickin' going on this weekend at the Richmond Folk Festival.

With 23 performers to choose from over the three-day free music festival, it can be hard to figure out which band you should listen to and where you should pull up a seat. Without further ado, we give you our five favorites at this year's Richmond Folk Fest.

Debashish Bhattacharya

Steel guitar from Calcutta.

Bhattacharya has been playing the steel lap guitar since he was three. A master of Indian music, he invented his own steel guitar to better play his music.

Performs: Friday, Oct. 9, 8:45 p.m. at the Altria Stage

Saturday, Oct. 10, 1:45 p.m. at the Altria Stage

Sunday, Oct. 11, 3:15 p.m. at the Altria Stage

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Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys

Zydeco

Break out your dancing shoes for Jeffery Broussard and the Creole Cowboys. Known as the zydeco king of Lousiana, Broussard plays a fierce accordion, backed up with Creole, blues, R&B and zydeco.

Performs: Friday, Oct. 9, 8 p.m. at the Richmond Times-Dispatch Dance Pavilion

Saturday, Oct. 10, 2 p.m. at the Ukrop's/First Market Bank Stage, 5 p.m. at the Richmond Times-Dispatch Dance Pavilion

Sunday, Oct. 11, 2:30 p.m. at the Richmond Times-Dispatch Dance Pavilion

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Clinton Fearon & The Boogie Brown Band

Reggae. Former member of the Gladiators.

A member of the Gladiators, one of Jamaica's most popular reggae bands, Clinton Fearon has been steering his own band since the '80s. He performs traditional reggae with passionate singing and socially conscious lyrics.

Performs: Saturday, Oct. 10, 7:45 p.m. at the Richmond Times-Dispatch Pavilion.

Sunday, Oct. 11, 4 p.m. at the Dominion Stage

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Jorge Negron's Master Bomba Ensemble

Puerto Rican Bomba Percussion and Dance Ensemble

An exciting Afro-Latin ensemble featuring master bomba drummers and flashy dancers. And interesting side note: front man Jorge Negron is a fomer Richmonder. Go Jorge!

Performs: Saturday, Oct. 10, 8:30 p.m. at the Altria Stage

Sunday, Oct. 11,12:15 p.m. at the Richmond Times-Dispatch Dance Pavilion and 4:45 p.m. at the Ukrop's/First Market Bank Stage

Listen to their music here:

Domitila.m4a

Wylie & The Wild West

Western

You may recognize Wylie's signature "Yahoo!" yodel from the "Yahoo!" ads. It's true! Wylie mixes up rockabilly with western and yodelling and puts on a high-energy show. Yahoo!

Performs: Friday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m. at the Ukrop's/First Market Bank Stage

Saturday, Oct. 10 at 1:15 p.m. at Yodeling 101 at the MWV Family Stage and 4 p.m. with the band at the Ukrop's/First Market Bank Stage

Sunday, Oct. 11, 5:15 p.m. at the Richmond Times-Dispatch Dance Pavilion

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If you want to listen to all the great music at the festival, check out the Folk Festival Sampler on TimesDispatch.com, where you can also Build Your Own Schedule, read more stories on performers and much more. Plus, take their Folk Festival guide with you on your mobile device at http://m.timesdispatch.com.

Who do you wanna see at the Folk Fest? Shout our your picks and recommendations on our Comments section!