meet our 2026 finalists
The Not Your Average Folk Contest went nationwide this year, and the response was incredible.
Hundreds of artists submitted music from across the country. A selection committee of musicians, journalists, and industry professionals listened through it all and narrowed the field to this year’s finalists, judging the submissions on the music alone, without artist bios or background information. In the end, every finalist selected happened to be from North Carolina, a reminder that the roots of folk still run deep here at home.
Now it’s your turn.
Listen. Vote. Help choose who takes the stage at the 2026 North Carolina Folk Festival.
D.a.l.i.a
Greensboro, NC songwriter d.a.l.i.a. creates original music in both English and Spanish, blending traditional Latin American folk instruments with contemporary sound. Drawing from her Western classical training and Mexican heritage, her work explores themes across the human experience while celebrating cultural identity and community.
JESSE FOX
Jesse Fox is an indie-folk singer-songwriter from Burlington, North Carolina whose acoustic-first writing focuses on plain-spoken stories and wide-open melodies. After ten years fronting the regional band Love & Valor, he stepped out solo in 2022 and has been carving his own path ever since. He’s now wrapping up his second solo album with producer Phil Amalong. Early singles “Leave” and “Heal” pair pedal-steel lines with honest, plain-spoken lyrics and are the first taste of the record, due later this year.
Mayia Warren
Mayia Warren is a Gospel artist, worship leader and musician from Raleigh, NC. Her sound is a fusion of Gospel, R&B, Neo Soul, and Jazz, distinguished by her deep, soulful vocals and rich, autobiographical songwriting. Her music often addresses personal themes like childhood trauma, navigating life with multiple disabilities and personal faith rooted epiphanies. Mayia has been legally blind since birth and navigates life with albinism, in addition to several invisible disabilities.