Nancy McLaughlin

A younger Frank Gilliam and his guitar sat in on a jam session during a Fishbone-protege concert in Los Angeles.

"I'm not even sure it was even plugged in," Gilliam, now the chancellor at UNCG, said with a laugh of his turn on a stage with Dirty Walt and the Columbus Sanitation and about 20 others joining in.

The music lover will step to the microphone to introduce the 1990s Southern hip-hop group Arrested Development during the N.C. Folk Festival in Greensboro, as that headliner joins the bluegrass Steep Canyon Rangers and Native American blues singer Alexis Raeana during an eclectic fall weekend of free performances downtown.

"All great cities have a cultural life," Gilliam said of the shows. "The Folk Festival really gives the city a great boost."

The lineup incl

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