Like the weather Saturday afternoon, the musical lineup at the American Folk Festival this year can be described in one word: hot. Wicked hot. Hot like a big mouthful of chili sauce. Hot as the sun beating down while you sit on the big lawn at the Railroad Stage. Hot like when you get up close and personal with your fellow Bangorians in the dance tent. That kind of hot.

The Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band got things off to a fiery start on the Heritage Stage on Friday night, kicking off the festival with a round of Cajun music designed to do one thing: make you boogie. Daigrepont plays a mean accordion, and led the band through an exhilarating, freewheeling set – it’s no wonder he has been called one of Louisiana’s finest accordionists.

The hottest outfits at the festival were, of course, the amazingly flamboyant, elaborate and colorful handmade ensembles worn by Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles. The band rocked the Kenduskeag Dance Stage on Friday with their blend of funk, soul and blues, while Boudreaux, one of the highest-ranking members of the Mardi Gras Indian tradition, sported his feathered, sequined and beaded costumes.

Over at the Railroad Stage, it was all about Jamaica as Morgan Heritage brought the normally seated crowd to its feet for an uplifting set of reggae tunes. People of all ages swayed to the rhythm, anchored by deep bass, and then were sent to the heavens by the sweet harmonies of Peter and Roy Morgan, two of the five siblings in their true family affair.

Saturday, it was as cozy as a fire in the middle of the Arctic when the Inuit duo Nukariik charmed the crowd at the Two Rivers Stage with an intimate showcase of the traditional throat singing, drum dances and games performed by their people. Sisters Karin and Kathy Kettler faced each other, grasping arms, and made sounds mimicking everything from a mosquito to a river, changing tempo and pitch until one of the sisters broke out laughing.

Nadeem Dlaikan hails from Detroit by way of Lebanon, and the sensual, lively melodies he plays on the nye, a reed flute, bring to mind deserts and hot nights. Dlaikan and his assembled band of fine Arabic musicians performed on the Penobscot Stage to a rapt crowd, and at one point invited any belly dancers in the audience to come up and shimmy during a song or two. To Dlaikan’s obvious delight, a number of dancers obliged.

The harmonies of the gospel quartet the Dixie Hummingbirds were warm and inviting as they performed on the Railroad Stage midafternoon Saturday. For more than 75 years, the “Birds” have been at the forefront of gospel music and were one of the first gospel a cappella groups to come out of the South in the 1920s. Though their lineup has changed as some of the original Birds have passed away, the harmonizing remains as lovely and spiritually moving as ever.

You want to talk about steamy? The merengue band Francisco Ulloa Y Su Grupo Tipico burned up the Kenduskeag Stage after a dance lesson from Eileen Torres that brought hundreds of couples to the floor. Merengue is the simplest Latin dance to learn, but it’s the complex polyrhythms that make the music so intoxicating. Kids wheeled around, older couples dipped and twirled, and many just shook their hips and let loose.

Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All Stars braved the elements on the Railroad Stage Saturday night, after a brief torrential downpour broke the humidity and brought a sense of urgency to their set. The wild, careening brass band kept it fast and furious, in the style of their historical forefathers, the Inebriated Orchestra, a legendary band of 19th century traveling Klezmer musicians.

Saturday ended with Bernard Allison, who put on a scorching show to complete a long day of music. Allison, with his straight-up electric blues, had the crowd screaming for more as he capped off his set with an extended jam, complete with a blistering saxophone solo and Allison playing the guitar with his teeth, a la Jimi Hendrix.

The Railroad Stage can seem a little impersonal, but Allison managed to make it feel like a hot evening at a nightclub – a perfect ending to a downright sizzling day.