Berkeley's Free Folk Festival takes place Saturday at Ashkenaz, and Sunday at the Freight. Thanks to support from the City of Berkeley, admission is free. Sunday's program begins at 1 pm with a workshop, World Songs & Vocal Improv workshop led by Loose Canons, a 2 pm workshop, Rounds Singing, led by Lani Herrmann. At 3 pm workshop, Performing Skills for Open Stage Workshop, led by Freight Open Mic hosts, Sally Tognarelli, and Ben Harvey. From 4 pm to 6 pm, five roots music originals showcase their unique approaches. John McCormick, a modern minstrel with gentle wit, sensitive vocals, and wicked guitar skills, offers arresting originals and graceful renditions of traditional Irish tunes. Tret Fure, a prolific songwriter with a gift for creating lyrical and musical vignettes, mixes joyful up-tempo tunes and poignant ballads. Noe Venable, Dawn McCarthy aka Faun Fables, and Sylvia Herold provide glimpses of their full shows slated for later in the month at the Freight. Sunday evening focuses on innovative acoustic music. Bill Evans distills elements of jazz, rock, classical, and bluegrass into beguiling and riveting banjo pieces, as he celebrates the release of his second solo album, Bill Evans Plays Banjo. Evie Ladin and Keith Terry create a unitary whole of the seemingly disparate elements of body percussion, modern dance, and old-time banjo. Mandolin master John Reischman & the Jaybirds' mix of traditional bluegrass and progressive instrumentals is dynamic and fresh. John is equally at home in jazz, folk, and bluegrass. His tone, taste, and timing are impeccable, and his compositions memorable. The Jaybirds consist of Jim Nunally on guitar, Nick Hornbuckle on banjo, Greg Spatz on fiddle, and Trisha Gagnon on acoustic bass.