Sittin’ here watching the vendors load out from last weekend’s Folks Fest… What a wonderful weekend of music.
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The Waifs are rockin, loved their set and I absolutly can not get enough of John Prine.
and oh yeah,HOLY HEALTHY SNACKIN’ BATMAN!!! The jumbo snack goodie bags they gave away at the Gomambo booth are killer good… :flower
Holy Looping Fiddle Batman!
The Swell Season… blew me away
I had a great time at Lyons, and I enjoyed all I saw. I spent most of my time in the shade, so I did not overindulge in libations. I went down to the front and enjoyed Jenny Lewis, but I had done my homework and prepared myself with a number of sessions with her latest album, so I knew what was coming, and in that context, the songs came out clear and I will have a better time listening to her stuff.
Two women were looking for Ani DeFranco’s song “If you are not happy as you’re growing older, then you are fucking up.” and I would like to know as well, but that is not the only reason I liked her. it is refreshing to hear someone say things that exemplify freedom at its finest, and nothing is finer than Mother Nature.
Joe Craven gives me hope that we can pass these musical oral traditions down the line. I’m sitting on top of the world right now.
Michelle Shocked and the Waifs, wow, wait, I had a Sunday to remember, but I actually think I was ready and the joy of three days will reside longer than the time I took it all in. I enjoyed it all, including my garden fresh salad with fresh homegrown tomatoes to remind me that it is connected from there to here.
I drove west, through the Monday morning rain, listening to music, letting my emotions settle. It seems that bits and pieces of my soul still linger and are intermixed with the bits and pieces of hundreds of other souls, perhaps thousands of soul pieces, especially song school chunks that rise from the grass, and fall like a leaf from the trees as a particular note touches us all and gives me reason to laugh or drip a tear. The rain waited for us to finish our work setting ourselves right, once again. i can’t think of a better way to spend three days.
Joe Cravin and his looping was a fun thing to watch and hear as well.
Loved the whole festival. My favorites were Tift Merritt and The Swell Season. It was nice having the whole band there with Tift and I have never seen any group better than the Swell Season. Also loved Sarah Sample’s set in The Wildflower Pavilion. I think having certain acts play there is a good thing. It gets you out of the Sun and you get to be up close to acts that you may not have heard of but are still greatly talented. I think some people weren’t really aware of the shows that were in the Pavilion or just didn’t want to leave their tarps. That was their loss.
I’ll have to agree with others that some of the highlights were Swell Season, Tift Merritt, Jenny Lewis. Ani played an unusual and intriguing set w/lots of new material. Jonatha was great, Girlyman was great, Prine was great, Thompson was smokin (though he seemed emotionally preoccupied somehow). Loved Ellis in the Wildflower Pavilion. Loved Abby and Bela, Loved Joy Kills Sorrow. Craven was very cool to recite poetry at the end. Darrell Scott, whew. Michelle Shocked was the most participatory. Heck, hard to pick favorites. I’ve been to about 16 of 20 FF’s, and most folks I talked to agreed that this one was best ever, hands down.
Joy Kills Sorrow was such a nice surprise. I had never heard of them before but I will definitely be checking them out in the future.
I forgot to mention Marc Cohn in my earlier post - a very strong set. What can you say when you have a dozen favorites, except thank you Planet Bluegrass for a remarkable 20th!
When I have low expectations, music helps me rise to the moment. Sitting, listening, feeling the range of emotion wash me clean, I wrote, listened, played, ate and drank, the only thing I didn’t get was sleep. Oh, and I bought too many cds.
I loved Swell Season, the song competition finalists, Michelle Shocked, John Prine, and Richard Thompson. Sorry I had to miss David Wilcox and Ani DiFranco this year, because I had to do my volunteer shift during their sets and couldn’t find any other volunteer to trade with during that time. I also, fortunately, caught Amy Speace’s set at the Wildflower Pavilion. I first heard her there two years ago, when I wandered in out of the rain.