Montreal- based Japanese psych-rock group TEKE::TEKE performs at the Northern Current music festival in Saranac Lake’s Riverside Park in September 2022. (Enterprise photo — Lauren Yates)

SARANAC LAKE — Cultural diversity has always been Northern Current’s mission, and its lineup for this Labor Day weekend certainly reflects that. Blues, Afrobeat, jazz, rock, folk, country — performers will mix these and other ingredients into a musical gumbo.

The free, family-friendly music festival takes place annually on Sunday of Labor Day weekend (Sept. 3 this year) in Riverside Park at the corner of Main and River streets. It will go from noon to 9 p.m.

Bywater Call will headline the festival. The Toronto-based band is a hybrid of rock, blues, R&B and Southern soul, led by powerhouse frontwoman Megan Parnell, guitarist Dave Barnes and a vibrant horn section.

Kaleta & Super Yamba Band ignites Afro-funk dance parties, hailing from Benin, Nigeria and New York City. Kaleta’s guitar chops earned him decades of touring and recording with the likes of Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Lauryn Hill and more.

Huntress & the Holder of Hands features Morgan Eve, who grew the band after the loss of her husband Dave Lamb, and the bond they shared as the duo Brown Bird, who last performed in Saranac Lake at the Waterhole nearly a decade ago. With the ambition to perform live and explore past personal grief, Eve and her band build harmony, string and bass-driven pieces influenced by post-metal, blues and Americana music.

The Soggy Po Boys, native to New England, explore what makes the music of New Orleans so special. You’ll hear musical traditions beyond NOLA jazz including some traditional Caribbean tunes, as well as Meters funk, soul, brass band and street beat music.

The DiTrani Brothers blend melodies and driving rhythms, influenced by elements of Balkan music and early American jazz and swing.

Richie & Rosie are a dynamic duo hailing from Trumansburg. Born 150 miles and a few decades apart, their sound is at the junction of Americana, old-time and folk, with fiddle and banjo instrumentation. Rosie will be the first artist to perform at Northern Current twice in a row; in 2022 she performed with her other band Rose & The Bros.

High on the Hog, based in Saranac Lake, features Tyler DeZago, Marion Hoezel and Bill Chamberlain playing old-time and classic country music.

The Midnight Stargazers, a quartet based in Bloomingdale, play “cosmic country” songs, many of the written by band leader Rocky James.

The festival will include a kid zone with activities from Play ADK and ADK ArtRise, plus four local food vendors and a merchandise tent for Northern Current gear and band merchandise.

This is a rain-or-shine event, with a giant tent to offer protection from inclement weather.

The inaugural Northern Current in 2019 took the reins from Hobofest, a community festival held every year on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend for a decade. The COVID-19 pandemic forced Northern Current to take 2020 off, like many other events, but it returned in 2021, 2022 and this year.

Northern Current is made possible with the support of event sponsors North Country Community College, Adirondack Health, Waterhole Music Lounge, Hotel Saranac and Play ADK; as well as music sponsors Fiddlehead Bistro, Long Run Wealth, Cape Air, Edward Jones, Nori’s Village Market, Barley Sandwich and Northern Power & Light. Additional support is provided by Explore Adirondack Frontier, the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, the Cloudsplitter Foundation, the Charles R. Wood Foundation, and other businesses and individuals. To become a sponsor or learn how to support Northern Current, email Chris Morris at chrjmorris@gmail.com.

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Northern Current lineup

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• Bywater Call

• Kaleta & Super Yamba Band

• Huntress & the Holder of Hands

• Soggy Po Boys

• DiTrani Brothers

• High on the Hog

• Midnight Stargazers