Since we’re talking 2008…I only went on Friday because in the end, I just wasn’t all that crazy
about the lineups for Saturday nor Sunday, save for Richie Havens, Dave Rawlings and Judy
Collins.
To put it as simply as possible…MORE UPTEMPO ACTS!! Such as Grace Potter on Friday, who
provided a nice dose of rock grit and was a great change-up after Darrell Scott. Too many
“slow” acts wind up being one giant dose of valium for me. That sums up a fairly good
portion of the 2006 Folks Fest.
That said…acts I’d like to see next year that would make me go all three days again:
ACOUSTIC Los Lobos – You only saw the electric side at Telluride, but acoustic, the
band plays material much closer to their Mexican heritage. Most of all, you
will dance your asses off while enjoying the ensemble brialliance of this
great band (who BTW played a fine uptempo rock-n-roll set at New West in
Fort Collins over the weekend). Have them close Friday or Saturday, and
give them up to two hours too! I guarantee that this will not suck!
Richard Thompson – No matter acoustic nor electric! You know he will rule!
Gordon Lightfoot – The “legend” for next year’s festival. His song catalogue speaks for itself.
Martha Scanlon – She slayed it at Grand Targhee, with the help of Travis Stuart and
Thomas Sneed. Superb songwriting, those haunting vocals, and her
stage presence now has plenty of sass! Book her, Craig!
Jonatha Brooke – One half of The Story, with fine songwriting and a warm presence.
Caught her a few times at Newport Folk Festival, where she fared well.
Shawn Colvin – Two words: solo acoustic!
Boulder Acoustic Society – Wonderfully eclectic, with plenty of fine uptempo material
to get the crowd bopping.
Robyn Hitchcock – One of today’s truly underrated artists…and if you pair him with
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, you will hear a special set. Listen to Robyn’s
excellent album with the duo, Spooked, from 2004.
Baka Beyond – Remember Festival of the Mabon 2005 where Nanci Griffith headlined?
Nanci if fine, but Baka stole that day with an infectious, dance-filled,
slightly-Celtic flavored set of world beat music. There were very very few who
were not on their feet dancing! Speaking of world beat…
Baaba Maal – I saw him at Newport Folk in 2000, and it was an African World Music
percussion-rich dance fest.
Cowboy Junkies – A good dark act whom are masters of dirge and hushed dynamics.
Would make for a way cool Saturday night closer.
Bruce Cockburn – Another of those great songwriters, and whom is also a master of
darkness and politics. No matter acoustic or electric…
Dar Williams – Another fine singer/songwriter with plenty of sensitive material, which
you’ll be able to relax to.
Elana James and the Continental Duo – Formerly the Hot Club of Cowtown, the most
lovely Elana would add a touch of authentic western swing to the mix. She
was also good enough to have toured in Bob Dylan’s band in 2005.
Acoustic Hot Tuna – My biased choice, but Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady and Barry
Mitterhoff are absolutely bringing it every time they’re on stage! Their recent
show at the Gothic Theatre was 155+ minutes of pure musical brilliance.
Taj Mahal – If you saw his stellar 2005 Folks Fest Saturday night set, this should be
self explanatory.
The Mammals – They ripped it up that following Sunday…with a balance of uptempo
dance and thoughtful folk.
Natalie MacMaster – One of the best fiddlers around – and a terrific clogger – with
a dynamic stage presence and Lyons will be exposed to the unique music of
Cape Breton.
John Prine – self-explanatory! Has not been at Folks since 2003.
Thank you for the space in allowing an ardent Planet Bluegrass supporter to throw
in my .02.
I gotta agree with John on this one. 2006 Folks Fest was a perfectly good example. I know a lot of people that didn’t come this year b/c 2006 was such a “sleeper.” That being said, I thought this year was a little better, but still nowhere near as good as the 2005 lineup…Mammals, Arlo, Taj, Todd Snider, etc… I especially liked Richie Havens this year and I thought Gillian and Dave’s set on Friday night was friggin awesome :thumbsup. I don’t think that all of the acts should be upbeat…It is Folks fest afterall, but I would like to see a few more high energy acts thrown in the mix. I’ll say it again, I’d really like to see Jeff and Vida at 2008 Folks fest.
Hi, Landshark! :wave I’ve been to many festivals back east, including seven Newport
Folk Festivals, and there was almost always that balance. I enjoy folk
as much as anyone, but the change-ups make a really big difference to me.
Almost all of the acts I listed are well seasoned at Folk festivals, and half
I listed are not uptempo. Again, the key word I’m using here is balance.
I’d certainly welcome Jeff and Vida, too…and most definitely Todd Snider!.
I thought Ray did a fantastic job. It was the deep, moody folk music that not many others could match. he was mysterious, too. This festival didn’t put me to sleep one bit. That’s coming from someone that goes to festivals all summer that have almost no folk music at all.
Some of us folk fans have a higher tolerance for solo artists than other music fans
to answer the threaded question, I wouldn’t mind seeing the John Butler Trio. They are musically talented enough to keep up with the old time folk artists, and they can rock it out very much like Grace and the Nocturnals did/do. They are getting quite popular as well.
check it out, look into it…JOHN BUTLER TRIO from AUSTRALIA
it ain’t folk, but it could blend in easily and wake people up smoothly
John Butler has played Folks not too very long ago and fit in just fine.
And… hey John Wood… your loss for not being around Sunday for Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams.
Also… having Peter Himmelman there WITH his band behind him was sure not a sit down thing!
I love the variety of acts at Folks and wouldn’t want it to be any other way. Some good guy or gal with guitar acts such as Darrel Scott, the great duos such as Gillian and David (yes, i am still hoping for Tracy Grammer and Jim Henry) and the more upbeat bands such as Gandalf.
And weren’t the Ditty Bops just amazingly talented and entertaining?
speaking of entertaining Zoe Lewis is a master of the art. Cheryl Wheeler never disappoints… she is so versatile… and you know that name she mentioned. Kenny White… he is someone I have really enjoyed seeing more than once. Check him out.
Folks festival seems to embrace many branches of the folk music tree… it makes for a great time… there was BALANCE…
and… while I am here… I just want to say that Judy Collins blew me away. I was not expecting that although I was certainly fan back then and like her stuff.
one more thing while I am here. I brought a newbie with me this year… my son’s girlfriend. She loved every minute of the festival.
oh yes… more comments about John’s list. i just saw Elana James in the new arrangement… she is as great as ever. She would probably love to play Folks! Richard Thompson has been there at least twice since I started coming. Taj Mahal played just a few years ago, too. Jorma! That might be a new one for Folks! I am sure that Todd Snider has also been there twice in the last several years., Dar once and the Mammals were there the year they were touring with Arlo. They played their own set.
old favs are always appreciated by their fans… but he new surprises are always real treats. Thanks to all of the PB staff who had a hand in selecting a great lineup for 2007!
I almost forgot about the Ditty Bops. They were really fun! I’d definitely go see them again :thumbsup. I agree with LuAnna about Gandolf Murphy too. He was definitely the most high energy act of the festival and was very entertaining. He certainly provided some balance. Cheryl Wheeler was really funny too.
Great post, LuAnna. While I’m sorry I missed Sunday, I did enjoy some fine electric
Los Lobos in Fort Collins that day (I’ve been a big fan of the band for over twenty
years now!)
With plenty of advanced notice, it really would be timely to try to catch Justin Currie (lead singer/songwriter of that little old Glasgow-based band Del Amitri) for 2008 Folks. Solo album to be released in the UK in October and he ought to be ripe for a summer in the States. IF association with other artists is of any significance, here’s the lineup for Mountain Stage performance upcoming:
December 2 - 6 pm
Cultural Center - Charleston
Suzanne Vega Justin Currie
Moya Brennan
Mary Gauthuer
Ingrid Michaelson
I’d like to see Michael Franti and Spearhead (besides a zillion other people - my kids loved Ani, while I was more into Guy and my wife loved the emo guy and so on…)
Maybe it’s just me (&/or) my generation, but any band that has to tell the audience when to make noise is a band that doesn’t know how to make an audience make noise on its own. Life ain’t a vid, MF.
IMO - Michael Franti is desperately overrated. Spearhead is a youtube alsoran. Maybe evolving beyond the “Somebody Scream!” cheerleading will make MF & SH a band to take seriously. I am not optimistic.
gotta defend pat on this one, saw Franti and spearhead at All Good this year (thanks Adam), and it was my second favorite performance (sam bush being my frist, of course). I couldn’t BELIEVE how involved they got the crowd, and how energized they got us by the end of their first song. A bit too political for TBF in my opinion, however, someone i’d definately like to see again. :flower
I have to say that this is the most ill-spirited and negative comment I’ve seen on the festivarian board so far. “desperatly overrated” is truly a label does NOT apply to spearhead. Maybe it’s the peace, love, postive message that turns you off.
Really, what is wrong with a band stirring up the crowd? The greatest bands know how to make the energy the flow both ways. Franti is a front man he’s a performer it’s his job to entertain and keep the energy moving.
Well, gee… I gotta thank the kind folks who posted after Dean. I was a bit shocked at that post, but I do admit that I’ve never seen Spearhead live, just on the monitor, and so maybe they do suck…
And who I really would love to see is that long haired Texan who played at Rainbow Zion Kitchen in Arkansas at the Rainbow Gathering. I have no idea who he is, other than he and his friends have something to do with Kerrville Festival and one night they played for the Jews at Rainbow. As one of the guys said, “Growing up in Dallas, I never heard much good about Jews, but I gotta tell you, these are the most friendly generous people and that’s why we always play at their camp at Rainbow Gatherings.” The long haired guy sang clear and loud and whaled on the guitar. He reminded me of Hawaiian music, the way he slid smoothly into falsetto. Soon as I find out who the heck he is, I’ll promo him all the way!
I haven’t read the ‘back log’ of posts, but here are some more popular names that I hope aren’t being repeated…everything these guys sing is f-in great!
Alexi Murdoch
Jose Gonzalez
I think Collin Hay would be a lot of fun, too! LOL
