A nearly 100-year-old song from the Memphis Jug Band called KC Moan is a favorite of folk musician and songwriter Barry Clyde.

It’s one of the songs the audience at this year’s Brooklyn Folk Festival at St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn Heights will hear Clyde play during his performance.

“I’ve been playing a lot of old music but, you know, learning from people like Mississippi John Hurt and Dave Van Ronk, I kind of incorporate a bit of a finger style with my playing since I’ve been playing solo for the past 15 years or so,” said Clyde, who also works at RetroFret Vintage Guitars in Brooklyn.

What You Need To Know

The 17th Brooklyn Folk Festival runs from Nov. 7 through Nov. 9 at St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn Heights

More than 50 bands and hundreds of musicians will be performing music from all over the world

There are also workshops, jam sessions, dances and, of course, the famous Banjo throwing competition at the Gowanus Canal

The event is presented by the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music in Red Hook

This year’s 17th edition of the Brooklyn Folk Festival runs from Nov. 7 through Nov. 9, and is the biggest yet, with more than 50 bands and hundreds of musicians performing.

Eli Smith co-founded the festival and will perform with his group, the Downhill Strugglers. It all started in 2009 at Red Hook’s Jalopy Theatre and School of Music, which presents the event.

“We have music from all over the world. American Folk, and blues, and ballads, and so on. Music from everywhere: from Mongolia, from Latin America, from Africa, we have a really diverse festival this year,” Smith said.

There are also workshops, jam sessions, dances and, of course, the famous Banjo throwing competition at the Gowanus Canal — a sight to behold.

“Some guy who was a high school shot put champion from Ohio threw it like 100 feet or something. It was amazing,” Smith said.

The festival is all about community. It’s what drew Barry Clyde to Brooklyn from California in 2018. He will be performing in his third festival.

“The community has widened when it comes to all of the people that come from out of town and all the people that are local. To come to the festival every year, that has really opened my eyes and ears to a lot of things that I wouldn’t have heard otherwise.”

For more on the event and for tickets, head here.