Ask 10 different people the question, “What is folk music?” and you’re likely to get 10 different answers — all (or at least most) of them valid.

Folk music is as hard to define as rock or pop or any other genre, really. The answer is usually in the ear of the beholder.

For the new Oregon Folk Fest coming to Silver Moon Brewing in Bend, the answer is right there on the crest:

For the folk

By the folk

At its core, folk music is the music of the people. It’s the stories and sounds from a particular community — written and recorded, yes, but also often shared by oral tradition among people gathered together.

It is not associated with an instrument, set of notes, a series of rhythms or a setting on the volume knob, said Bend-based musician Jeshua Marshall, who books live music events at Silver Moon.

“It just seemed to me like there was very much a need for an alternative festival that was focused on folk music, but with the perspective that folk music isn’t just, like, Bob Dylan or somebody finger-picking an acoustic guitar,” Marshall said.

“Punk rock is fast folk music. Hip-hop is like urban folk music,” he continued. “What I want is to help provide a space for a lot more diverse acts and artists.”

So Marshall has brought to life something he’s been thinking about doing for five or six years, he said: Oregon Folk Fest, a two-day celebration of all kinds of folk music happening Aug. 23-24 at Silver Moon.

The lineup includes folk and Americana favorites Brothers Reed, Billy and the Box Kid, Tom VandenAvond, Johnny Bourbon, John Shipe, Joel Chadd and more, plus all-Latina female grunge-pop group Not Your Ex Lover; Canadian global-folk artist Sister Speak; salsa, timba, son and merengue specialists Son De Cuba; and Portland-based “pow wow punk” band 1876, which “proudly represents both the Northern Cheyenne and the Blackfeet nations, singing in both languages,” according to their website. (Also, they seriously ROCK, according to my ears.)

Besides celebrating folk music’s many different shades, shapes and sizes, Marshall hopes to keep Oregon Folk Fest as accessible as possible by keeping ticket prices low. The goal: To expose people to great folk music, even if they don’t typically gravitate to what they think is folk music.

“I hope it’s just fun for everybody. I hope people find some new music and some new acts to listen to. And I hope it just spreads community,” he said. “I think the goal of any folk festival is that people bring their kids and their kids get inspired to pick up the torch and learn to play the banjo or just get into this style of music, and that will preserve it for the future.”

If You Go

What: Oregon Folk Fest

When: Friday, Aug. 23 and Saturday, Aug. 24

Cost: Single-day tickets: $25 in advance, $35 at the door, two-day tickets: $40 in advance, $60 at the door

Where: Silver Moon Brewing, 24 NW Greenwood Ave., Bend

Contact: silvermoonbrewing.com