Richmond Folk Festival: Acts you won’t see anywhere else

• Debashish Bhattacharya: A student of the lap steel guitar since he was 3, Bhattacharya also learned to sing before he could talk. At age 20, the native of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) became the first slide guitarist to win the President of India Award; he's now invented slide guitars to incorporate that sound with traditional Indian raga.

Performing: Friday, 8:45 p.m. Altria Stage; on Saturday, 1:45 p.m. Altria Stage; on Sunday, 3:15 p.m. Altria Stage.

• Khogzhumchu: Since its inception, the folk festival has corralled two very different styles of throat singers. This year's offering hails from Kyzyl, Tuva, (the Russian Federation) and performs Tuvan throat singing. What does that mean? It's best described as a form of overtone singing that evokes the sounds of nature -- whistling wind, trotting horses, trilling birds. If that sounds too foreign, consider how the singers feel: This is their first trip to the United States.

Performing: Saturday, 3:45 p.m. MeadWestvaco Family Stage; on Sunday, 2 p.m. Dominion Stage and 3:45 p.m. Ukrop's/First Market Bank Stage.

• Sounds of Korea: Founded by Sue Yeon Park in New York, the performance troupe focuses on traditional attire, choreographed drumming and ensemble dance numbers, all with roots in Buddhist shaman rituals. In 2008, Park was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts.

Performing: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Altria Stage; on Sunday, 1 p.m. Altria Stage.

• Sophia Bilides Trio: The concept of Greek cabaret is likely a foreign one to most people, but Sophia Bilides will enlighten with her performance of "Smyrneika," a cabaret tradition among Asia Minor Greek refugees in the 1930s-40s. Bilides, a second-generation Greek-Italian-American who learned the music growing up in a Greek community in Connecticut, also plays the "santouri" (hammered dulcimer) and zilia (finger cymbals). She'll be joined by Mike Gregian on "doumbeleki" (drum) and Tom Babbin on "kythara" (guitar).

Performing: Saturday, 3 p.m. Dominion Stage; on Sunday, 1 p.m. Dominion Stage and 4:30 p.m. Altria Stage.

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• Lloyd Arneach: A member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, Arneach is a master storyteller who believes that "there is great power and wisdom in the old stories." Performing: Saturday, 2 p.m. MeadWestvaco Family Stage and 4 p.m. Genworth Parawing (up the hill); on Sunday, 1 p.m. Genworth Parawing and 3 p.m. MeadWestvaco Family Stage.

• Paul Zarzyski: He's known as Montana's cowboy poet laureate and often writes and performs free verse. Performing: Sunday, noon with Wylie Gustafson at Altria Stage and 2 p.m. solo at Genworth Parawing.

• North Bear: A young group from Lame Deer, Mont., their intense drumming incorporates elements of R&B and hip-hop into traditional sounds. Performing: Saturday, 1 p.m. Altria Stage, 3 p.m. MeadWestvaco Family Stage and 5 p.m. Genworth Parawing.