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For Pittsburgh music fans who consider it a hassle just to get to concerts in Millvale or South Park, traveling to Johnstown might be a tall order.

But consider the wide-ranging and eclectic list of performers. Factor in the free admission. Suddenly, a day or weekend trip to Johnstown over a holiday weekend to hear music sounds like a great idea.

"The Johnstown FolkFest is not a small-town hootenanny!" says Kate Borger, a disc jockey at WYEP, who does "The Sunday Roots and Rhythm Mix." "Their definition of 'folk music' is not limited to a guy with an acoustic guitar. (It's) always eclectic -- from acoustic blues and Louisiana zydeco to gospel, salsa and rockabilly. And they book nationally touring artists from all over the country, so you can see some really famous and renowned musicians who don't often come through Pittsburgh, like Sleepy LaBeef this year."

It began when the National Folk Festival came to town in 1990, and stayed for two more years before moving on to another city. It was such a big hit that the Johnstown Area Heritage Association decided to continue it as the Johnstown Folkfest.

Shelley Johansson, of the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, was smitten years ago.

"I'm from Nashville, Tennesse, and they don't have a free music festival of this quality," Johansson says. "And that's Nashville! The first thing I did when I moved here was go to this festival -- and I was like, 'Damn, that's Robbie Fulks, and he's playing two shows for free.' We saw the lineup in the paper -- how could this be? We don't associate small towns with that kind of major stuff."

This year "folk" proves to be an especially elastic concept. There's the soulful "sacred steel" guitars of the Lee Boys, which could fall loosely under the "gospel" rubric. There's the hippie jam-band circuit stalwarts The Recipe. There's the electric-funk brass band Bonerama, which features multiple trombones. There's the Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience, playing their endangered brand of New Orleans dance music, and Maia Sharp, who's written songs for Bonnie Raitt, Trisha Yearwood and the Dixie Chicks. There's also self-explanatory groups like the Irish Descendents and Jazz in Your Face -- and groups with names like Doll Hospital and Those Darn Accordions that give no clues as to their sounds. You'll just have to find out for yourself.

Johnstown FolkFest

When: 5:30-11:30 p.m. Friday; noon-12:30 a.m. Saturday; noon-11:30 p.m. Sunday

Admission: Free

Where: Johnstown Festival Park, Johnstown

Details: 814-539-1889 or www.jaha.org

Performances take place on four stages

Friday

5:30 p.m.: Tim Dabbs

6 p.m.: Joe Grushecky

6:30 p.m.: Gospel Lights

8 p.m.: Eric Tessmer Band

8:30 p.m.: Rusty Gun Revival

9 p.m.: Balkan Beat Box

9:30 p.m.: Lee Boys

Saturday

Noon: Rachel Allen

12:30 p.m.: Russell Lauf Band

1 p.m.: Irish Descendants

1:30 p.m.: Lee Boys

2:30 p.m.: Doll Hospital

3:30 p.m.: Mark Dignam

4 p.m.: The Recipe

4:30 p.m.: Those Darn Accordions

5 p.m.: Will Hawkins

6:30 p.m.: Sleepy LaBeef

7 p.m.: Eric Tessmer

7:30 p.m.: Maia Sharp

7:30 p.m.: Bonerama

9:30 p.m.: Gamble Brothers

10 p.m.: Balkan Beat Box

10:30 p.m.: Rusty Gun Revival

10:30 p.m.: Terrance Simien

Sunday

Noon: Jazz in Your Face

12:30 p.m.: Gamble Brothers

2 p.m.: Will Hawkins

2:30 p.m.: Mark Dignam

3 p.m.: Sleepy LaBeef

3:30 p.m.: The Recipe

5 p.m.: Irish Descendants

5:30 p.m.: Maia Sharp

6 p.m.: Those Darn Accordions

6:30 p.m.: Billy Price

8 p.m.: Russell Lauf Band

8:30 p.m.: Doll Hospital

9 p.m.: Terrance Simien

9:30 p.m.: Bonerama

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