The Quebe Sisters Band opens the Lowell Folk Festival tonight at Boardinghouse Park in historic downtown Lowell at 7 pm.

The Lowell Folk Festival and the Newport Folk Festival both happen to fall on the same weekend this year – this weekend. James Reed’s article in today’s Globe notes that that’s not a problem and is certainly no rivalry or folk showdown.

“…because they’re so clearly geared for their own crowds… The reality is that when the Newport and Lowell folk festivals take place this weekend, few music fans will be torn over which one to attend. From their lineups to their settings to their price points, they have little in common aside from that four-letter word in their titles… For the Newport festival… folk has always been synonymous with tradition. But Newport has also stretched traditional boundaries to showcase other strains of music (bluegrass, gospel, blues, country, and, lately, indie rock)… The Lowell Folk Festival tends to be more community-minded while putting a premium on discovering lesser-known roots artists from around the world. This year’s fest, which celebrates its 25th anniversary and runs tonight through Sunday, spans bluegrass (Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper), blues (Shemekia Copeland), Quebecois folk (Le Vent du Nord), Ethiopian pop (Debo Band and Fendika), and Afro-Colombian dance music (Grupo Rebolú).

Read the entire Reed article here at boston.com.

Learn more about the Lowell Folk Festival here