Belonging. Connection. Joy.

Mission

At Folk Will Save Us, we believe culture is a readily available partner in building a resilient, equitable, and just society. We understand the critical role artists rooted in cultural traditions play in providing spaces where communities can make sense of the world on their own terms and create collective vitality.

We work to bring Minnesota communities together around the experience of learning and leaning into roots, and build power and resources for culturally rooted artists doing this important work on behalf of their communities.

Programs and Vision

  • Longfellow Village Band

    The Longfellow Village Band program was founded in 2020 in response to widespread interest in a secular, inclusive space to learn Klezmer music in Minneapolis. At events, musicians and the music-curious meet and learn selections from Klezmer music repertoire, and break bread and share conversation around culture and identity.

  • Folk Will Save Us Podcast

    The Folk Will Save Us podcast features interviews with standout artists using cultural traditions to innovate and inform a healthier, more integrated society. Interviews include: Rebekah Crisanta de Ybarra (Lady Xøk) & Xilam Balam (Los Nativos), Ahmed Ismail Yusuf (author, The Lion’s Binding Oath), Kari Tauring (heritage Nordic staff-carrying woman), Slavka Slavtcheva (dancer and cultural organizer, Minnesota’s Bulgarian community), Daniel Kahn (award-winning Yiddish singer-songwriter)

  • Culturally Rooted Artist Support

    At Folk Will Save Us, we understand the critical role artists rooted in cultural traditions play in providing spaces where communities can make sense of the world on their own terms and address the issues at the core of collective vitality. Just like all artists, culturally-rooted artists need resources to do this critical work on behalf of their communities. Folk Will Save Us provides support in the form of administrative services, grant writing support and consulting, networking opportunities, and professional development and training opportunities so that culturally rooted artists can thrive.

  • Klezmer on Ice

    Folk Will Save Us is excited to support and serve as a co-presenter of Klezmer on Ice again in 2024. Minnesota’s own Yiddish and Klezmer festival, Klezmer on Ice celebrates Eastern European Jewish culture in the Midwest with a weekend of dancing, singing, performances, and workshops — including out on the ice. Save the date, February 1-4 2024!

  • Future Programming Vision

    2023-2024 finds Folk Will Save Us in a growth phase. Learn more about our goals as well seek to expand our work to support a future where all people in Minnesota, especially people who have been marginalized, experience belonging and connection through spaces that nourish cultural self-determination.

  • Di Bayke Klezmer Band

    Do you need music for an upcoming event or celebration? Di Bayke Klezmer Band is a Twin Cities-based Jewish party band playing in Yiddish and Eastern European music traditions, available for hire for community and private events. Past performance engagements include the Cedar Cultural Center and Orchestra Hall.