Get your groove on at the Philadelphia Folk Festival

The time has come to override your scheduling conflicts and get in the leisurely Philadelphia Folk Festival mind-set.

Singer/songwriter Richard Shindell, who will reunite with supergroup Cry Cry Cry Aug. 19 at the 56th annual Folk Fest in Upper Salford Township, said that family and touring commitments are the main reasons why he, Lucy Kaplansky and Dar Williams haven’t recorded anything new together in 19 years. “I’m in Argentina, Dar’s in New York, Lucy’s in New York,” he added.

Shindell, 57, also feels your pain if you find the Folk Fest’s cornucopia of music, food, crafts, vendors and camping to be sensory overload at first. In a phone interview he said that it takes him a day to get acclimated at music festivals, like this summer’s Hudson River Clearwater Festival, where the folk/rock trio publicly picked up where they left off.

Between all the alternative folk, Americana, traditional, rock, indie, jazz, bluegrass, and other sounds Aug. 17-20, there is a lot to take in. The weekend also includes storytelling, acrobat performances, a kids’ music area, the Give and Take Jugglers, North Star Puppets and more. If you haven’t downloaded the Philadelphia Folksong Society app from the Apple or Google Play store, that’s a good first step to wrapping your head around one of the area’s biggest parties of the summer. The app breaks down the schedule by day, time and stage; directs you to Folk Fest artist bios, music and videos; gives directions to the Old Pool Farm and a map of the festival layout; allows you to buy tickets; and even offers the chance to submit a joke for emcee Gene Shay — who, per Folk Fest tradition, tells corny jokes between sets.

Besides the app, another way to gently ease into the festival is buying camping tickets and attending the Thursday night campers-only show Aug. 17 on the Camp Stage, hosted by “World Café” radio show host David Dye and featuring The National Reserve, Whitehorse and Joan Shelley.

Regional talents Ben Arnold and the 48 Hour Orchestra, Hezekiah Jones, and The End of America are playing on the Martin Guitar Stage the afternoon of Aug. 18. Friday night features The Infamous Stringdusters, David Amram, rising blues star Samantha Fish and Old Crow Medicine Show.

One of Saturday, Aug. 19’s highlights on the Camp Stage is Helen Leicht’s “Philly Local” showcase, with Greg Sover, Jesse Hale Moore and Vita and the Woolf. Making its debut at last year’s festival, the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Young Folk showcase will turn heads with young talent Saturday on the Tank Stage, with Sara Chodak, Jeremy Aaron and Quentin Callewaet.

Later on the main stage, it’s Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Cry Cry Cry, Sierra Hull, John McCutcheon, Runa, The Weight Band with the King Harvest Horns, and Graham Nash.

According to Dar Williams, in addition to the covers from their 1998 album, Cry Cry Cry have rehearsed a new batch of their favorite cover songs. One that she said stood out was fellow main stage act Larry Campbell’s “Another One More Time.” “When we sang harmonies ... you feel like you’re contributing something to the song. It was like we never stopped singing together. Our voices are better and we’re stronger musicians,” she said. “We don’t have a long set; we want a balance of old and new.”