ODETTA: (6:30 p.m. May 31) Odetta's blues focus on empowerment, mutual respect, poverty & racism, workingman's problems, and the tireless strength of women. In 1964 Martin Luther King, Jr. dubbed her "the queen of American folk music" after her concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul & Mary, and Dr. King himself. The next year she would march with King from Selma to Montgomery. For decades, in fact, Odetta has been at the forefront of the fight for justice and equal rights in America. And her greatest weapon has always been her powerful voice. Born Odetta Gordon in 1930 in Birmingham, Odetta dreamt of becoming an opera star, but a painful appraisal of racism in America prompted her to chuck classical for folk. "My education on several levels started with my getting into folk music," she says. "I started learning history that we were not being taught in school. The 'heroes' that we learned about in school were the ones who garnered money for themselves and had their boots on our necks." By the '60s she was a fixture in Greenwich Village. Bob Dylan sang nothing but Odetta songs for months after hearing her first recording in the early 1960s. Odetta has continued to tour worldwide and, in 1999, she was awarded a National Medal of the Arts. For the past few years she dedicated herself almost exclusively to blues and spirituals.

THE BE GOOD TANYAS: (8:30 p.m. May 31) A runaway favorite at the Thirsty Ear Festival, this Canadian alt-folk, all-female trio is composed of Frazey Ford, Samantha Parton, and Trish Klein, whose passion for old-time music and talent for creating drop-dead gorgeous harmonies have made them one of the most beloved folk acts to emerge in recent years. Their classic debut, Blue Horse, featured their trademark heavenly harmonies, stirring melodies, and a singular balance of the band''s appreciation for traditional music with its taste for the contemporary. Blue Horse, a critical darling and popular success, catapulted the band to international fame. That record was followed by 2003's Chinatown and, three year's later, Hello Love, one of the most exceptional Americana releases of the decade.

SANTA FE ALLSTARS: (3:00 p.m. May 31) New Mexico's hottest roots band began as a "why not" proposal by a beer-hall waitress. Made up of roots luminaries Sharon Gilchrist, Susan Holmes, Joe West and Ben Wright, the band has very quickly become something of a small-town supergroup. Gilchrist, who recently left the Peter Rowan & Tony Rice Quartet to concentrate fulltime on her Allstars duties, continues to enchant audiences with her top-notch mandolin playing. She played in local bluegrass band Mary & Mars with fellow Allstar Ben Wright, a man just as comfortable ripping through a weird rock set as fingerpicking an old standard. Holmes has been a rhythm section stalwart for years, holding down the bottom end for everyone from Bill & Bonnie Hearne to the Buckarettes. The proudly askew West has long been the alt-country king of Santa Fe, a songwriter known for equal parts parody and straight-up emotion. Collectively they are a powerhouse: smart, fun, and a little twisted.

MASNAVI DANCE COLLECTIVE (4:45-5:15 May 31) is a group of bellydancers who create an evocative journey of beauty with delightful American Tribal, Oriental, Egyptian and Turkish bellydance. Based in Santa Fe, the troupe is made up of five bellydancers of varying backgrounds. Members include Nancy Fatima, Diane Felton, Sally Mittler, Jasmine Quinsier and Ariel Poling, with occasional appearances by Corinna Levy.

KUMUSHA MARIMBA ENSEMBLE (2:15-2:45), an all-woman Santa Fe band, has been performing African "community dance" music on handmade wooden instruments for over a decade. The outfit has performed throughout New Mexico and is a favorite at the Santa Fe Wine Festival, on the Plaza, and at many other community events.

JENNY GAMBLE (3:00 May 31) has been involved as an artist and a producer in the New Mexico scene for a decade, playing events as diverse as the Thirsty Ear Festival, Gathering of Nations, and Rock'n the Rally. Her music features elements of R&B, Americana and folk, and her vocals have been compared to Jewel, Melissa Etheridge and Chrissie Hynde. With only one voice, a violin and an acoustic guitar this music will melt you down and bring you home.

PRISCILLA BACA Y CANDELARIA (2:15 and 4:45) s a spoken word artist, teacher, farmer and lifelong resident of Albuquerque. She has toured the country in support of the "Case of Poetic Justice and Committing Poetry in times of War" project and has read at many venues throughout the U.S. She has published in Maple Leaf Rag III and other magazines and has three chap books in print: La Resolana, Duende, and Sones de Amor. All her work is written bilingually, espanol y ingles. She will perform with guitartist Christian Orellana of Concepto Tambor.

LAURIANNE FIORENTINO (6:30) wound her way through R&B bands, roots-blues trios and even a musical comedy troupe before settling on the bare-bones folk and strong feminine voice you'll hear today. Fiorentino combines rhythm and sensual imagery, ancient themes and modern traditions, and humor and grace in her music. She has recorded with Erik Darling and Michael Stearns, and has shared a bill with Chris Smither, John Spillane, and Richard Shindell, among others.