The 20th Anniversary program consisted of one music stage with daily programming to help celebrate the anniversary of the first festival. Different musical genres from across the United States were presented. Many of these groups had been "festival favorites" in previous years. Among the performers were Creole and Cajun bands from Louisiana, cowboy singers from Louisiana and Texas, a Texas-Mexican conjunto band, gospel ensembles, an Irish band, old-time and country bands, a Piedmont blues singerguitarist, and San Juan Pueblo singers and dancers. For the evening dance parties, Latino music from the Washington, D.C. area was featured, with Central American and Andean ensembles.

Nicholas Spitzer and Thomas Vennum, Jr. served as 20th Anniversary Music Program Curators, Phyllis May as Consultant, and Arlene Liebenau as Program Coordinator. Peter Magoon served as Dance Parties Coordinator, with Phyllis May as Consultant.

The 20th Anniversary Music Stage and Dance Parties were made possible by the generous support of the Music Performance Trust Funds, a non-profit organization created by U.S. recording companies to fund live and free performances (Trustee, Martin A Paulson).