Shamira Muhammad

Jackson will continue to host the festival through 2027.

For NPR News, I'm Shamir Mohamed in Jackson, Mississippi.

And I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington.

The National Folk Festival has been featured in nearly 30 communities around the country, but it's the first time the festival is being hosted in the Deep South.

Mississippi Delta blues musician and artist James Johnson goes by the name Super Chicken.

He makes guitars from items such as electric fans and cigar boxes, as well as an instrument called the diddly bow.

Artists performed bluegrass, West African balafon, salsa, Irish music, and D.C.

go-go.

Jackson will continue to host the festival through 2027.

For NPR News, I'm Shamir Mohamed in Jackson, Mississippi.