Discover April events at ETSU, including the Mountain Made festival, music concerts, a benefit walk and family fun.    

From the return of a traditional folk music festival to campus to theater productions and more, there’s something for everyone at East Tennessee State University in April.

Music lovers will find performances by not only impressive student ensembles from the Department of Music and beyond, but also by big-name, award-winning artists. Theater-goers will enjoy a musical based on a Stephen King classic, as well as an exploration of one of Shakespeare’s most devilish villains by a critically acclaimed Broadway actor.

Just a sampling of the activities planned at ETSU in April includes:

• Mountain Made: Appalachian Folk Festival, a revival of traditional festivals on campus with music, storytelling and regional crafts, will be held Tuesday, April 7, headlined by ETSU alumna and Grammy nominee Amythyst Kiah and storyteller Adam Booth.

• The SGA Spring Concert featuring Flatland Cavalry with special guest Gretchen Wilson will be held April 15 at Freedom Hall Civic Center.

• “An Evening with Maria Muldaur,” with a discussion and performance by the roots music legend on April 10, as well as a String Band Summit from April 9-12 that includes a free public lecture on “Bluegrass and Religion” on April 9, are offered by the Department of Appalachian Studies.  

• A performance of South Indian Carnatic music with the spirit and verve of jazz by the ATMA (Alliance for Tradition in Musical Arts) Ensemble on April 10 is one of the many events presented by the Department of Music, which also include concerts by the Percussion Ensemble (April 12), the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Concert Band (April 18), the ETSU Choirs (April 24) and the ETSU Orchestra with ETSU Opera (April 25).

• “Carrie: The Musical” will be presented by the Department of Theatre and Dance April 15-19, followed by “Lay My Burden Down,” a solo performance by Broadway actor Steve Maurice Jones, the spring 2026 chairholder of ETSU’s Wayne G. Basler Chair of Excellence for the Arts, Rhetoric and Science, on April 25.

• The ETSU Gospel Choir will present “Resound,” a concert featuring gospel singer Tasha Page-Lockhart, on April 25.

• The Martin Center for the Arts will host “Echoes of Reverie and Light” by the Symphony of the Mountains on April 11, “Forever K-Pop – A Celebration Concert” on April 14 and “The Black Jacket Symphony Presents Bon Jovi ‘Slippery When Wet’” on April 30.

• Team ETSU and Friends will hold a Walk to Defeat ALS on April 25 to support the ETSU Health Gary E. Shealy Memorial ALS Clinic and ongoing research.

Explore the full ETSU Calendar at etsu.edu/calendar/default.php.

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