We headed to Lafayette Friday afternoon from New Orleans, via US-90, past miles and miles of cane fields. Our hotel was in a busy commercial area surrounded by chain restaurants and stores - not a particularly scenic location, but convenient to everything we wanted to do.
That seems to be the way in Lafayette, unless you plan early and book one of
the B&B's in the area. (Maison Mouton, the one we had stayed at in 2002, is
no longer in operation). We wanted to end up at the
Blue Moon Saloon that
night, so we went to find it. What a cool place! This is a hostel / guest
house with live music just about every night. It would be a great place to stay if you
don't mind sharing a bathroom and being in the middle of all the action.
When we were there it was happy hour, just a few people chilling, having
beers at the bar, or sitting on the porch or around the lush back
garden/patio which is surrounded by tropical plants.
The stage is directly behind the guesthouse, (which has some windows that overlook it) facing the bar, covered by a tin roof. One of the most unique venues I've ever been in,
reminded me a little of the place in Luckenbach Texas. After a couple of
Shiner Bocks, we walked a few blocks downtown for some dinner at Don's
seafood, and then to the nearby pavillion for Downtown Alive, a weekly
concert series, which this weekend was the kickoff to the festival. When we
arrived Li'l Nate & the Zydeco Big Timers (son of Nathan "Zydeco Cha-Cha"
Williams) were on stage, playing high energy zydeco to an enthusiastic
crowd. One of the rubboard players was a little kid, maybe a younger
brother? We've enjoyed Nathan Williams Sr. plenty of times, I'm hoping we
will get to see Lil Nate up our way soon!
When we made our way back to the Blue Moon Saloon, les Traiteurs were
getting ready to take the stage. This is a rocking Cajun band that only
gets together occasionally when all the members, who are all involved in
other bands or projects, are in town. Les Traiteurs is Al Berard of the
Basin Brothers on fiddle, Errol Veret (formerly of Beausoleil) on accordion, bassist Gary Newman and guitarist Tony Latiolais, and Sonny Landreth on slide
guitar. I've usually only seen Sonny Landreth with his own band, where the
guitar is the focus; with Les Traiteurs, in a departure from his usual role,
he traded leads with the fiddle and accordion, on mostly familiar Cajun
songs, but in that same unique style of his. The gig was a benefit for the Dr.
Tommy Comeaux fund and the place was packed - there was barely room to
stand, let alone dance, so the indoor/outdoor setting was much appreciated
for taking a breather between bands. After the Traiteurs came the
BlueRunners, another band I have not seen much of. They were kind of bluesy, kind of
country/sourthern rock, and at times they sounded like North Miss Allstars,
but also did some straight-ahead Cajun and Zydeco, including some songs by Boozoo Chavis
and Clifton Chenier.
Goin’ Back to Big Mamou
After that night there was no way we were going to make it out to Café Des
Amis in Breaux Bridge for the Zydeco breakfast at 8:30, but it had been a
while (15 years??!!) since we last visited Mamou, self-proclaimed "Cajun
Music Capitol”. So before heading to the festival, we decided to make the 1 hour drive out to Fred's Lounge, one of a string of small bars on Main Street, across from the
seemingly deserted Hotel Cazan (pictured on the cover of Steve Riley's first
album). Fred’s is a small brick building with a steel door which opens into a raucous Cajun jam and dance that only takes place on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 1 or 2 pm. As soon as you
enter, you are in the thick of it. This week, Sheryl Cormier (accordion
player) was there with her band, which included her husband Russell on
vocals, a young pedal steel guitar player, bassist, and drummer, and Gina
Forsyth, the fiddle player from Bruce Daigrepont's band. There is no stage
or dance floor - the band plays in a loosely roped off area in the the
center of the floor, surrounded by dancing, talking, smoking, drinking
patrons getting their weekend off to a good start. There are a few visitors
like us, but mostly everyone seems like regulars. It is hot outside,
but the air conditioner is blasting, and it is a good thing because the
place is packed. Behind the bar is Tante Sue de Mamou, widow of Fred Tate, the bar’s namesake. (They had owned the bar since the 1940’s but Fred died in 1992.The family sold the place in 1996 but Tante Sue has stayed on as manager. ) Tante Sue greets everyone who comes in, encouraging visitors to sign her guest book. She dances and swigs
out of a bottle of Cinnamon Schnapps (Hot Damn! is her slogan), offering the
bottle to band members and patrons. When she wants to hear a song she comes
out from behind the bar, holding her request in a sign above her head, and
after she bribes them with a few swigs from the Schnapps bottle, the band
accommodates her request for Pine Grove Blues.
This has been going on every Saturday for 60-plus years and is still broadcast on the radio. In one concession to modern times, it can be heard Saturday mornings over the internet on KVPI.
Around 12:30, we stepped out into the blinding sun and headed out of town.
When we got to Eunice, we passed by the KBON studios, which was blasting
Cajun music out at a deserted downtown street. Everyone must have been at
the Festivals Acadiens, which is where we headed next.
Festivals Acadiens
Festivals Acadiens is unlike most of the other music festivals I go to, in
that 100% of the music, food, and other features are local to the area.
About 2 dozen bands were on the schedule and I think all are based in
southwest Louisiana - mostly Cajun with a few Creole / Zydeco performers.
And that is just a sampling of the local talent available! Some of the
bands, like Beausoleil, are often on the road so they seem to relish the
chance to play in front of a hometown crowd, while others like Goldman
Thibodeaux, are more regional. The food is all from local restaurants and
civic organizations, with offerings such as boudin, cracklins, pork chop
sandwiches, fried softshell crab, shrimp or crawfish pasta, jambalaya, gumbo
and more.
It is a very relaxed atmosphere; the festival is free, held in Girard Park, at University of Lousiana Lafayette, so there is no gate and access is from all sides. Parking didn't seem to be a problem- we rolled in around 2:30 and got a spot a few blocks away. At that time Jeffrey
Broussard and the Creole Cowboys were rocking the main stage. We set up
chairs off to the side, in the shade, and caught the last 15 minutes or so,
then went in search of something to eat. I tried some Shrimp Penne and a
Fried Soft Shell crab sandwich which was pretty good. Needed some energy to
keep up with Feufollet, one of the fun-loving younger bands who was up next on the main stage.. Here's a video of them doing Flammes d'Enfer - check out the bass player, he's having
such a great time!
mvi_0123.avi
The next two bands were two more young Cajun bands, Bonsoir Catin - the
mostly all-girl Cajun band with Kristy Guillory on accordion and vocals -
she really belts out some of the old standards, followed by the Pineleaf Boys . Each year the festival honors an artist or group, and this year 's festival was dedicated to Mark and Ann Savoy, who were pictured on a large painting overlooking the main stage. When their son Wilson appeared that day with the Pineleaf Boys, it emphasized the multi-generational, traditional feeling of the festival, as musical traditions are preserved and enhanced at the same time. They were recording a live album, I think, so they were really on fire.
We left a little early, skipping Geno Delafose's performance on the
Heritage stage, because we were planning to go see him later at Grant Street Dancehall,
but then got hopelessly lost trying to find the place after dinner at
Prejeans. Grant Street is not all that hard to find if you know where it is (downtown near the train station), as we found out the next morning when we went on a recon mission to find it in the daytime.
Back at the festival on Sunday we ran into tons of people from New England,
some we knew already, and others we just met for the first time in
Lafayette - small world! So many of us New Englanders have grown to love
Cajun music from all those years at Escoheag and Ninigret. On the main stage, I enjoyed hearing Goldman Thibodeaux, who was on early with his band the Lawtell Playboys, playing old-style Creole dance music; the rubboard player, "Zydeco Joe" was fun to watch. One thing I like about the Lafayette festival is that the people dance right in front of the stage, instead of on the sidelines. No dance floor necessary. It gets dusty but it’s so much fun to do and to watch. There are no rules, nobody telling you to sit down. Those that want to sit back and watch, or talk , stay on the sides, and when they want to get a closer look, or dance,
they jump into the fray. There are people of all ages - some families with
young kids, grandmas, college students, and travelling fest nuts like us.
Another cool thing about this festival is the continuous jam tent. When I
stopped by, Sheryl Cormier was jamming on accordion with several fiddles,
guitars, a few other accordions, triangles, etc...a mix of professionals and
amateurs, some people just stay there and jam all day. Speaking of
jamming, everywhere I turned on Sunday it seemed like Michael Doucet was on stage
with someone. Here with Jimmy Breaux and friends (including Waylon
Thibodeau), there with the Savoy Family Band (this year's festival honorees),
and of course with Beausoleil.
After watching some of Steve Riley, as he closed out the main stage joined
by Christine Balfa on triangle, we left a little early in order to make it
over to Grant Street, where the evening's show was scheduled to
start around 6:45 - a double bill with Bruce Daigrepont and the Creole
Cowboys, plus Cedric Watson of the Pineleaf Boys, and free jambalaya too.
Bruce is one of our favorite Cajun musicians - he does some of the old
classics, but also writes a lot of his own songs, and has a great voice and
energetic accordion style. He seldom comes up our way so we were glad to
see him. After a while, Cedric joined Gina Forsyth for some fine fiddle
harmonies. The band played for almost 2 hours, and are just as good as
ever. There wasn't a huge crowd, being Sunday night, post festival…but it
was really enjoyable, dancing in that large, smooth air conditioned space.
We were also glad to see Jeffrey Broussard and the Creole Cowboys, since we
missed some of their set at the festival. He is a great accordion player,
does a lot of Boozoo Chavis material, only more hard driving, and with the
amazing Classie Ballou on bass they really keeps the groove going. Cedric
jammed with them too, first on fiddle, then he and Jeffrey switched
instruments like the Pine Leaf Boys.
Even though we heard some of the same songs over and over, at the festival, in the dance hall, and on the radio, I never tired of it - that Cajun beat just gets into your soul and won't let go. Cajun and Zydeco bands play at Northeast festivals and other venues fairly often, but
if you like that type of music as much as we do, Lafayette and Festivals
Acadiens is the place to go. And if you can’t wait for Festivals Acadiens, there always seems to some festival going on in Louisiana – this weekend is the Rice Festival in Crowley. In a couple of weeks in New Orleans is the Swamp Festival, which is a two day festival of mostly Cajun and Zydeco bands at Audobon Zoo, and in Lafayette is the Black Pot festival at the Acadian Village. We picked up information in the Lafayette visitors center on hundreds of other festivals – Swine festival, Cracklin festival, Yambilee Festival, and countless others …. There’s at least one almost every weekend and most have great music and delicious food, the essence of festive living!
Lagniappe
Though the focus of this trip to Louisiana was to visit Lafayette for Festivals Acadiens, we flew into and out of New Orleans, and spent a day before and after the festival visiting with friends there and just enjoying the city without the craziness of Jazzfest. On Thursday we met up with our hosts Jenn and Dave and a few other friends at Snug Harbor, where they were having a CD release party for Shamarr Allen. Shamarr is a young trumpet player who we have seen and heard at Jazzfest and other gigs in New Orleans with the Rebirth Brass Band, and Bob French’s Original Tuxedo Jazz Band. This year his funk band, the Underdawgs, was probably the freshest act at the “patry” that takes place on the days between Jazzfest weekends in New Orleans. The CD is mostly traditional jazz with some originals. "Meet me on Frenchmen Street", the title tune, is all about the music and party atmosphere there (yes everyone thinks of Bourbon Street when they think of New Orleans, but many of the good music clubs are on Frenchmen). There are several special guests on the CD, and some of them sat in on the gig, including Irvin Mayfield, Bob French, Paul Sanchez, Ellen Smith. Kermit Ruffins, who sings some of the title track on the CD, was in the house too, but Shamarr’s young son & friend sang that song with him on stage. Besides being a talented musician and just genuinely sweet person, Shamarr runs a music clinic for youths in New Orleans. We and many of our friends are supporting their efforts with an initiative called Fest4Kids, which will be funding a group of kids participating in the music clinics to attend Jazzfest 2008, and possibly helping to sponsor one of the music clinics. You can read more about that program here, and here.
Monday we returned to New Orleans and went back to Frenchmen street for Bob French’s regular gig at dba. Shamarr, Steven (the trombone player from Thursday) and several guests played that night, including blues guitarist Little Freddy King. Bob is a drummer, and also a DJ on WWOZ; and his live show was similar to his radio show, where he plays music and holds court with a steady stream of guests from around New Orleans, who are often subject to some friendly ribbing between songs.
We returned home Tuesday and right back to work…and then Friday were treated to a visit from Beausoleil at the intimate Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River, where we had a chance to dance and visit with the band we had just seen in a completely different atmosphere down in Lafayette. That was followed by a casual Saturday afternoon gig from our local Cajun band, Magnolia….so we could keep that Cajun Groove going a little longer… thus it took a while to get the blog updated this time. The rest of my pictures and some video from the trip to Louisiana can be seen here. Until next time, Allons danser!
More pictures:
NOLA & Festivals Acadiens 2007
Rhythm and Roots was a month ago, and while it's not a Cajun festival, Cajun, Zydeco and other music from Louisiana figures heavily into the mix. Hosted by the Red Stick Ramblers, and featuring bands like Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Corey Ledet, and the Creole Cowboys, the Cajun/Creole component is strong. Now that its over, we hate the thought of a long winter with no more festivals, so this year we have decided to make a trip down to Lafayette, LA, the heart of Cajun Country. We are lucky to have Cajun and zydeco bands visit the northeast frequently, but there's nothing like going to the source. There are festivals almost every weekend in Lousiana, but two them caught our eye. One is the " Black Pot" festival, which we heard about from the the Red Stick Ramblers when they were at Rhythm and Roots. From what I gather, it seems to be more of a nighttime festival, taking place Friday night and Saturday until midnight, with onsite camping (and after hours jams) and features a 'black pot" cookoff. Sounds intriguing - I would love to go to that if we had the time to drive down with the van and camp out. But unfortunately we still have to work to support our festive lifestyle, so flying is a better time-saving option. And what better opportunity to "celebrate the rhythms of Cajun life" than at Festivals Acadiens, an annual celebration of all things Cajun. The free festival takes place in Girard Park near the campus of University of LA. the weekend of Oct 12-14, and is actually four festivals in one: music, food, crafts, and Lousiana folklife/ wetlands. There are 2 stages with continuous music from 11am til about 7, with heavy hitters like Beausoleil, Steve Riley, Wayne Toups, newer bands like the Pine Leaf Boys and Bonsoir Catin, superstar combinations like les Traiteurs, and quite a few I don't think I've seen before, but who I've heard mentioned on KBON. Friday night is Downtown alive, a free concert in downtown Lafayette with T-Sale, and Lil Nathan and the Zydeco Big Timer's). From what I remember, the food is about as good as it is at Jazzfest, if not as varied. Lots of cajun specialties like boudin, cracklins, jambalaya, crawfish any way you want it, shrimp,seafood and other Cajun specialties. At night there are bands playing in clubs like Randols, Grant Street and Blue Moon Saloon. We'll check the Time of Acadiana for other local listings. There is more information on the festival on the Lafayette tourism website, and a pretty good description on the Tabasco website. Joe and I have visited Lafayette before but not in the last 5 years so we are looking forward to it. And we plan to spend a couple of days in our beloved New Orleans pre/post fest Acadiens, so it will be nice to visit there when it's not so busy like it is at Jazzfest. So laissez les bon temps roulez, et Allons a Lafayette!
Last weekend wrapped up the Pawtucket Arts Festival which not only featured some great music but a load of arts and crafts for sale at reasonable prices in the peaceful setting of Slater Park. The soothing sounds of Jerimoth Hill could be heard on speakers set up throughout the area, creating a very relaxed shopping/browsing experience for those of us who shun malls! It put me in such a good mood I signed up to carve jack-o-lanterns for next month’s “Pumpkins in the Park”! But those are not the only festivities taking place in this old mill town which seems to be reinventing itself as a hub for the arts. Next weekend, (Sept 21-22) Sal's Productions brings us an early “Oktoberfest” weekend, with 2 nights of music at the German Club: Duke Robillard (Blues/Swing) on Friday night, and Stumbleweeds ("Hillbilly Boogie"), Jesse Lege (Cajun) and Curley Taylor (Zydeco) on Saturday,with German food and beer for sale. Next week (Sept 29) is the German Oktoberfest which will feature more traditional German music along with the bratwurst and beer. It must be the accordion connection – I think the Germans brought the accordion to America, where it found its way to Texas, and Louisiana, and became a part of Cajun and Creole music. So it only makes sense that one of the best places in New England to hear accordion based music from LA/TX sung in French is at events booked by an Italian-American at the German Club in Pawtucket, right? In case anyone was wondering what is behind that curtain, here's a picture from last year's Octoberfest at the German club: Sometimes festive living means family parties, like last weekend's sweet sixteen and a 50th birthday this weekend... too bad we can't live festively everywhere at once! There is a full schedule of festive events taking place in southern New England this fall as outlined in the Projo's fall guide and weekend articles. And next month festive living heads south...more later.
Last weekend was Rhythm and Roots, which usually means the end of the Cajun/Zydeco festivals around here for the year, but this weekend we got a little lagniappe of Louisiana music at two local festivals. On Friday CJ Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana band played at the opening night gala for the Pawtucket Arts festival. A $10 admission included food samples from a couple dozen local restaurants and there was alot of publicity in the local paper so of course the place was mobbed! The food was amazingly diverse, and really good. I tried some bbq chicken from from LJ's Barbecue, a Portuguese plate from Galito's and some clam cakes and chowder from Tolos restaurant, but there was so much more. We met up with lots of friends from R&R, who are all longtime CJ fans, but I think the band gained a lot of new fans too, judging by the crowded dance floor and the way Clifford the rubboard player was selling CD's and playing rubboard at the same time... at the end he had to recruit someone to stand in for him (on rubboard that is). They played a good long time and it was very hot and steamy under that tent so it felt quite a bit like Louisiana. I didn't take any pictures but there are some on the website of the Pawtucket Arts Festival, which continues through next weekend. On Sunday the Narrows Festival of the Arts was a much mellower but funkier scene with a mix of local and Louisiana/ Texas acts, and all kinds of art for sale right outside the Narrows center, on the Fall River waterfront. When I arrived, Slaid Cleaves (of Maine and Texas) was just getting started. He did not have his full band along, just another guitarist and bass, and they did most of his folkier tunes. (Lydia, Brokedown etc.) There was a pretty good variety of food for sale - Portuguese, seafood, etc.. and the table-and-chair set up with a dance area in front made for a nice relaxed atmosphere. Upstairs, Duncan Walters was playing some rocking country music upstairs with his band. I had never heard him before so that was a nice surprise - always something new at the Narrows. The other band I saw upstairs was Louie Leeman and Cheap Sneakers - I had only seen him do his solo act before, so it was nice to see the full band, which ran the gamut from reggae to rock'n' roll, a cajuny original and a cover of Lucinda Williams' Can't let Go. Henry Butler took the stage around 3:3o, looking suave in a posh red striped suit with a puffy white shirt (kind of like Beethoven). He started off the set with his trademark solo New Orleans style piano, before being joined on stage by Leo Nocentelli and the rhythm section.  (Leo and Henry made up half of the New Orleans Social Club, the highlight of the NJ Crawfish fest earlier this year.) They were just picking up steam with the New Orleans grooves, when Leo broke a string, prompting a very long unplanned drum and bass solo in the middle of Cissy Strut. But then they got back into it, and pulled out all the New Orleans classics, like Fiyo on the Biyo, Pocky way, Tipitina, etc and I was having a Jazzfest moment. Piano heaven! It always seems to take a while for the Fall River crowd to get up out of their seats and start dancing, but when they do, it's "so hard to stop", as Buckwheat says.... So when Buckwheat Zydeco came out the audience was primed... (or maybe it was the Big Nazo Creatures of Fall River that started it...)  Anyway, everyone was ready to zydeco once Buckwheat started - "Hey Fellas! do you know what TIME it is?" - and the rubboard player kept us going....  After a while, Buckwheat called all the kids up on stage for a singalong to "Jeleron", which was sweet. Towards the end he even did a little funky B-3 organ number. Always a good time with Buckwheat, and thanks to the Narrows for putting on another great festival.  More of my pictures of the day's festivities can be seen here.
Joe and I go to many festivals during the year, but Rhythm and Roots is special to us being our “home” festival , and the one that brought us together in a roundabout way. Rhythm and Roots, as well as its former incarnation as the Cajun Bluegrass Festival at Stepping Stone Ranch in Escoheag RI, has introduced us to so much great music, and to all of the other festivals, including New Orleans Jazzfest. This year’s festival was the 10th year of Rhythm and Roots and the 21st consecutive Labor Day weekend festival for me, and it was a spectacular weekend. We arrived early Friday morning and set up camp in our usual spot, with the same great group of friends we have been festing with for years. After we got the van all tarped up and unloaded, I took a nap then rode my bike over to the pond for a swim to cool off and wake up, then returned to camp for our traditional pre-fest feast, where everyone brings something delicious and we raise a glass in anticipation of another weekend of great music and fun shared with friends. As usual, it always takes longer than you think to make your way from the camp to the festival, so I missed Ray Bonneville’s opening set at 5 pm but arrived in time for the second act – the Buddhahood, the best Funk/ Reggae/ Blues/ Latin/ band out of Rochester NY that I’d never heard of. I get to see a lot of live music, but Chuck always manages to introduce us to something new at Rhythm and Roots, and the funky grooves and lively percussion jams of the Buddhahood were a fun way to start the weekend - a perfect lead in for Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeans, one of my favorite New Orleans bands that’s not from New Orleans….they got that semi-secondline funky beat going on. After that we were treated to a soulful set by Racines, a kind of Cajun supergroup with Steve Riley , Kevin Wimmer and other members of Red Stick Ramblers and Feufollet. They said it was their first gig away from Lafayette. I loved their bluesy sound, and they were my pick for the best set of the night. Natalie Macmaster closed out the night – she’s still got it, even after taking several months off to have a baby. Her new band was still working out the kinks but they all took solos, even the bagpiper! I’ve never been a fan of bagpipes, but maybe that’s because I never heard a really good one, like the one that played with Natalie. Afterwards I took the accordion out for a spin around the campgrounds, ending up at the zydeco jam at Eric’s juke joint - that’s always a great place to let your hair down, and crank it up. Saturday was a beautiful hot and sunny day. After a little morning jam at camp, I went to the Blues workshop in the Rounder workshop tent with three guitarists - Bob Halperin (of Li’l Anne and Hot Cayenne), Johnny Nicholas, Ray Bonneville, and Joel Guzman on accordion, all taking turns playing songs and sometimes playing together. With such a contingent of talented musicians assembled, there was more music, less talk than some workshops, which made it flow really smoothly. I was glad to get the chance to see Ray Bonneville, and apparently so was Paul Cebar, who was in the audience, and invited Ray up as a guest during his own set on the main stage later that afternoon. It was so pleasant in the shady tent we decided to stick around for the next workshop, with the Red Stick Ramblers, though I took a break to get some food and check out the Hot Tamale Brass Band. 
The set of the day – maybe the weekend - had to be Los Straitjackets with Big Sandy. With the masks and the Spanish and the surf-rock and the synchronized dance moves they were so much fun! They got mostly everyone up off the chairs and dancing and kept yelling out, "applausio, por favor!". It was a great combination with Big Sandy, who looked so dapper in his black suit, sunglasses and short pants! They did some familiar rock’n’roll songs like “You Really Got Me” etc… in Spanish - Rock en Espanol!
Back at camp, we listened to Steve Riley on the on-site radio broadcast, and returned for Donna the Buffalo, another band that gets everyone up and dancing. It’s hard to stop the herd! Susan Tedeschi closed out the main stage. She was good to listen to , but for me, after a while, I was more in the mood for the wild spirit of the fais-do-do stage with the Red Stick Ramblers & friends. With Jesse Lege on accordion, they were pulling out all the old Cajun classics. Then Steve Riley joined them and it turned into almost another Racines set. Aaiee!
Sunday brought clear blue skies and sun again, a little cooler than Saturday – just perfect!
Started out with another new-to-me band, Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams. Progressive rock and roll with yodeling, accordion and flute, they looked a like a band of gypsies, and they fit right in! My favorite set of the afternoon was from James McMurtry a kind of rebel outlaw songwriter from Texas, with alot to say. Some of his songs paint grim pictures, but they got everyone up & dancing, front and center.
After that I watched the Cajun Kids’ academy perform on the main stage at 6 pm, a rather incongruous follow-up to James McMurty. This is similar to the bluegrass academy for kids they have at Greyfox, only it’s led by members of the Magnolia – who taught the kids a few Cajun songs, cultivating future musicians. Sunday night, Marty Stuart was very entertaining - I thought he was a better fit at R&R with his electric band, than he was at Greyfox with the bluegrass band. He’s a good showman, something people seem to appreciate more at Rhythm and Roots. The bluegrass version of Stayin’ Alive was a big hit, then he really impressed me by joining Bela Fleck on stage, improvising to "Sex in a Pan". There wasn’t really any other bluegrass at R&R so he really had a chance to shine there. The Flecktones were stunning as always but again, I was more in the mood for the Cajun joie de vivre at the fais do-do, this time led by Steve Riley & the Mamou playboys and friends, including Wilson Savoy on piano. To me, that dance tent at the end of night embodies the spirit of the festival. Another amazing all star jam and poof! At the stroke of midnight, that part of the festival was over for another year.
But that doesn’t mean things are over for the night, not at all. Hearing all those accordions throughout the day puts me in the mood to play at night, and there are always some after hours jams. There are musicians all over the campgrounds, some of whom have formed their own bands who play professionally, while others are roaming free agents like me. Our camping crew includes members of the Remnants, who usually draw in a few others once they start singing and playing by the fire. The bluegrass/ jug band contingent from Foster is nearby with Paul and the whole "slow jam" crew from GreyFox. (Except many of the jams at R&R are anything but slow!) Some of those guys play in bands such as Rocky Hollow, Fourth Street String Band, and Loose Roots, just to name a few. A couple from Canada who performs as Ball and Chain had a jam going on at their camp, as did Jesse Lege. Members of Magnolia, Lil Anne & Hot Cayenne, Slippery Sneakers and Girl Howdy are all around. There are lots of folks I love playing music with every year - guitars, banjos, rubboards, fiddles, saxophones, accordions, harmonicas and flutes - anything goes at Rhythm and Roots. It doesn’t really matter what everyone does in “real life”, at the fest we are all the same.
Monday morning we usually take our time with breakfast, since no one really wants to go to work and break everything down but sooner or later it must be done. As we pack up, others roll out of the camp one by one, tooting their horns and saying see you next year! And pretty soon the park starts to look just as it did when we found it, a big open space waiting for another festival, next year. Bon Reve, Rhythm and Roots, til we meet again.
Many of the festival performances are on mvyradio.com and the rest of my pictures can be seen here.
Rhythm and Roots 2007 - fest
CJ Chenier in Pawtucket Sep 7 + Buckwheat Zydeco at Narrows Fest Sep 9
After Summerfest Providence, I was checking out the web to see where Santa Mamba was going to be appearing next, and one of those places would be the Pawtucket Arts Festival. And it seems CJ Chenier will be performing at the Gala at Slater Mill on Friday Night (Sep 7)! That same weekend, Buckwheat Zydeco will be headlining the Narrows Festival of the Arts on Sunday the 9th. It used to be that Labor Day weekend was the main opportunity to see zydeco bands from Lousiana, but now we are lucky to get them on a semi-regular basis.
The Pawtucket Arts festival is in its Ninth Year and actually starts this week with a concert by Counting Crows, Live and Collective Soul at McCoy Stadium, and ends with a free festival in Slater Park the weekend of Sept 15, including the Stone Soup folk festival. Check it out at PawtucketArtsFestival.org The Narrows Festival is celebrating its 6th annual, and will be held outside the Narrows center in Fall River. See the Narrows website for more info.
This past weekend was the first Summerfest Providence. Held at the Port of Providence, at Conley Dock, it featured live music, food, arts, children’s activities and a Pro Volleyball tour. This industrial area, which is in the shadow of the construction site for the new “I-way” bridge linking Interstates 95 and 195, may not be as picturesque as the signature Waterplace Park downtown, but is also not as congested. The festival was in the gravel parking lot where you catch the ferry to Newport, and was organized by the same people who put on a series of music and other festivals at the Newport Yachting center across Narragansett Bay. Perhaps it was conceived as an extension of that scene, which featured acts such as Little Feat, Robert Cray and Joan Osborne earlier this year. The Providence festival had two days of music, with a diverse lineup of Bluegrass, Cajun, Reggae, Latin, Blues, Country, Rock and Pop, but we only caught the last 2 acts on Saturday evening. We arrived shortly after 6 pm to the groove of Santa Mamba, a 6-piece Latin band with a rock’n’roll attitude. They were very entertaining to watch, especially the bass player with the Mohawk haircut jumping around on stage. During the break we went to check out the food vendors, which in addition to the ubuiqitous sausage and pepper sandwiches, also offered such RI treats as Saugy hot dogs, Clam Cakes and other seafood dishes from Johnny Angels of Newport, Brazilian barbeque from Casa Brasil in East Providence, and Jamaican fare from Tina’s in Providence. Wine and beer were for sale (for $4 and $5 respectively), with Corona as the main sponsor displaying two a giant inflatable bottles (in keeping with the Beach Volleyball them, I guess) . Soda and water were also available for $2. In the Volleyball Competition, there were men and women playing in bathing suits, on a sand court, but for “some reason” the women’s side attracted a larger group of spectators… go figure! Then at 8pm the Fabulous Thunderbirds played an energetic 90+ minute set of rockin' boogie blues to an appreciative audience, which had finally grown to a respectable size. The Thunderbirds, fronted by Kim Wilson (the only original member) on vocals and harmonica rocked the house. They did some of their signature tunes such as Tuff Enuff, and Wrap it Up, Why Get Up, and plenty of other danceable songs, as evidenced by the dust cloud in front of the stage. RI sure loves the blues ..maybe some were reliving past shows at Lupo’s. Kim was not even phased by being hit by a beachball a few times, just coolly batted it back out into the audience. We did not return Sunday, opting instead for a bike ride – during which we stumbled across more live music, a local Blues/Classic Rock cover band called Shot in the Dark playing for free in a local park. Sometimes you have to work to find the music, and sometimes it finds you! I can see the Providence Summerfest growing over the next few years. Since I wasn’t there for the whole thing I can’t give my impressions of the rest of the weekend’s festivities, but there is a more complete account in the Providence Journal.
Music Festivals are a great excuse to travel and see other parts of the country that you otherwise might not get to. Take Cincinnati for example – it doesn’t exactly spring to most people’s mind as a vacation destination, and I probably never would have thought to go there on vacation, but we went last year for the Tall Stacks festival. It’s a confluence of steam boats from all over the United States – kind of like the “Tall Ships” events on the East Coast. Because of the logistics involved, it only happens every few years. The last few times, they have expanded it to include a top notch roots music festival, and last year it was 5 days, with such diverse bands as Beausoleil, Del McCoury, Wilco, Old Crow Medicine Show, Blind Boys of Alabama, Sonny Landreth, Tea Leaf Green, Over the Rhine, Roseanne Cash, Mountain Heart, Sonny Landreth, Big Sandy and the FlyRite Boys, Tim O’Brien, Marcia Ball, Buddy Guy and many more. We found out about it on the Petdekat and Jazzfest message boards. The festival was in a city park on the banks of the Ohio. Between festing, we learned about the region, saw some Civil war demonstrations, rode on a steamboat, walked to Kentucky several times for food and fun, and passed a good time with friends from Ohio and Canada. There are a lot of Germans in that area so the food is of the meat and potato variety, but they also had an authentic Hofbrau house. They eat chili on top of spaghetti and have some of the best ice cream in the world. ….who knew? In 2002 we went to Lafayette for Festivals Acadiens, then drove to Austin for the first ever Austin City Limits festival. Being fans of Cajun and Zydeco music, we love Lafayette and had visited it a few times, but had never been to Texas. Austin is a great music city and when we went for that first ACL fest (which we also found out about on the Petdekat board), we arrived on a Monday and spent a few days visiting and touring Austin, San Antonio (the Alamo, Riverwalk), Fredericksburg and other areas. By the time our other friends from RI arrived on Thursday we knew the area pretty well. People at the visitors’ center were surprised that we had come all the way from RI for it – I think they had no idea it would catch on the way it has. New Orleans Jazzfest is the “reason” for our trip to New Orleans every spring, although that one is so much more than a music festival, and over the years we’ve met so many friends there that it is almost like a reunion or convention more than a music festival. New Orleans is such a unique and wonderful place to visit any time, and they seem to have a festival for one reason or another almost every weekend. But during Jazzfest, there is so much going on at the fairgrounds and in the city, it makes your head spin. Fear of Missing Something (or FOMS, as it is called in the Jazzfest forums) is contagious. There is the food, the clubs, arts and crafts, Mardi Gras Indians, parades and secondlines, in-store performaces, meeting up with friends, and other “daze between” happenings that make the week just fly by so fast you need a vacation from the vacation when you get home! While we have many excellent festivals in the Northeast all summer long, and one of the best( Rhythm and Roots) is yet to come, I find myself wanting to plan another festival trip, which can help alleviate the melancholy feeling that comes every Labor Day when you pack up and say goodbye to Rhythm and Roots for another year. These are some of the ones I'm considering: Festivals Acadiens, Lafayette and/or Voice of the Wetlands Oct 13-14. We love Lafayette/ Acadiana, but haven't been there since 2002; and just saw Tab last night so after looking on his website today, I see VOW is the same weekend as Lafayette. Maybe one day of each and a little travelling around. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass San Francisco Oct 6-7 . The lineup is not posted but pollstar lists alot of great acts and its free, and San Francisco is a very cool place to visit. Blues Cruise out of San Diego Oct 6-13. We have never been on a cruise before, but this is the type of cruise I'd go on, if not now, maybe another year. IBMA World of Bluegrass / Fan Fest Nashville Oct 5-7 - an indoor bluegrass festival with an unbelievable lineup. Haven't been to Nashville in a while, but that is also a good city to visit, lots of good music there anyway. There's also some kind of Americana conference in Nashville, later in the month, that looks intriguing. Arkansas Blues and Heritage (aka King Biscuit) Oct 4-7. I have heard so many great things about this one, but don’t’ know much about the area… although I guess its not far from Memphis, and Memphis is pretty cool. Magnolia fest, Florida Oct 26-29 – a camping festival at Suwannee music park in Northern Florida. We went once in 2000 , and passed a good time with some of the PetdeKat Krewe. Fred Eaglesmith Roots Music Train from Albuquerque New Mexico - to Durango Colorado. A rail cruise! I came across this while browsing the web, but that is already sold out. Maybe another year. and perhaps some other candidates will emerge....too bad Tallstacks isn't every year, that was a great time in Cincinnati last year!
The inaugural event is scheduled for this weekend, Aug 18-19. Saturday's lineup looks pretty good - bands include Magnolia Cajun band, Santa Mamba, the fabulous Thunderbirds...and more . Only $10 at Providence Piers (where the ferry to Newport docks) http://summerfestprovidence.com/
This year's annual festival had a great musical lineup, thanks to the Narrows Center for the Arts ' partnership with the city to bring in some top notch roots music acts such as Los Lobos and the Iguanas. In fact, the Narrows sponsored a whole stage to showcase the types of performers they bring to the area regularly and also to promote the upcoming Narrows Festival of the Arts in September. On Saturday, we got there around 6 pm and mistakenly entered into the carnival area. After going through metal detectors and having our bags searched by both FR police and National Guard, and making our way down the noisy and garish midway, I was rethinking the evening's plans, until I found out the music stages were on the opposite side, near the Heritage museum. We exited and re-entered into a much more relaxed environment and set up our chairs just to the right of the sound booth, just in time for Dave Mason, who started right on time at 6:30. I wasn't particularly psyched to see this this band, only being familiar with the 70's lite-rock hits such as "It's only you and me and we just disagree", but Joe reminded me that Dave Mason had been a member of Traffic. We really enjoyed the set, which ended up with jamming renditions of "Hey Mr. Fantasy", "All Along the Watchtower" and "Feelin' Alright".
 Dave Mason
Between sets we met up with several friends, and had some delicious cacoila sandwiches (Portuguese style pork) from the local food vendor. Then Los Lobos came on around 8:00 pm. There was a large area fenced off, right in front of the stage for the local politicos and other VIP's so the rest of the audience was relatively far back and consisted mostly of chair & blanket sitters - but it wasn't hard to go up to the front/ sides to get a closer look and boogie a bit.  The highlight of the evening for many in attendance was the scheduled fireworks at 9:30 so the Los Lobos set was much shorter than usual, with fewer jams, and included more of the crowd pleasing numbers like "La Bamba" and "Good Lovin"; we called it the "Civic event" set. They were just getting going when they had to end it after the one encore of "Cinnamon Girl" so that the fireworks could begin on time. We watched a few minutes then made our way out, pausing to admire the spectacle over the water every so often, and were able to make a relatively quick escape, without getting tied up in traffic. This made Joe very happy!  These types of public festivals are different than other music festivals that attract a core group of fans, in that there are alot of people who are just there for an evening out regardless of the bands scheduled, because it was so inexpensive ($10 for a four-day wristband). But it's nice to see people in the audience who otherwise might not search out this type of music, and who may become new fans. That is how it was for the closing acts on the Narrows Stage Sunday night - Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles, followed by The Iguanas, one of our favorite bands from New Orleans. Sarah and her band played a very loud and rocking set.... perhaps the sound was turned up extra loud in anticipation of the 21-gun salute from the Battleship that was to take place at 7:20 pm, in tribute to our nations veterans ( and also to Jim Haskins, one of the festival's founders who had passed away during the year) . This was following a display of military exercises, known as a "tattoo", with bands and soldiers marching in formation. I caught some of that, including a moving rendition of "America the Beautiful" by the Army band and chorus.   21-gun salute
On my way back to the Narrows stage, which was still rocking, I passed an elderly gentleman who exclaimed, pointing to the Narrows tent, "Now that's how a band's supposed to sound!" Yeah you right, ROCK AND ROLL! When I returned to the Narrows stage, Sarah was closing out the show with an unamplified sing-along, walking around in the audience. By this time she no longer had to compete with the Battleship.
After about a half hour break, the Iguanas took the stage. The chairs were set up in a u-shaped pattern around a dancing area front & center. The Iguanas played a good set, but many people were filtering out because it was Sunday night. There were a few dancers up front, and a few kids dancing around, but most people remained seated, although they seemed to enjoy the music. When they did the song "The Liquor Dance" it was funny because it was a rather sober crowd. It starts out pretty good, and is easy to dance to but then kind of unwinds, to simulate the effects of alcohol. The new trumpet player was really great, and it took them a while to break out the accordion, but when they did the crowd cheered loudly. Joe Cabral, the sax player, remarked "wow I didn't know we were in accordion country here... "to more applause. So they went nuts on a few polkas and conjunto-sounding songs, much to the delight of the mostly still-seated but enthusiastic crowd. Click here to see more of my photos from Fall River Celebrates America
Talk about Blues Power, this guy's got it! Not too many people were at the German Club last night, but those that were got a full strength dose of straight ahead blues. The first set was Bryan on guitar with his band of guitar, bass and drums. Dressed all in black with a black hat, sunglasses and white goatee, he is quite a presence, even though he sits while playing but stands to sing - and really belts it out. The venue is an old fashioned hall with a great wooden dance floor, and tables around the perimeter (That's where most of the zydeco bands, like Leroy Thomas, Nathan, CJ, and Rosie, etc. play when they come to RI for a one-night gig) It accomodates around 200, but there were only about 50-60, including several dancers, who had plenty of room to show off their moves. Bryan is blind so he kept saying, it doesn't matter if there's 3 or 3000, he loves to play for us, and the audience returned the love. A guest horn section of Doug James on baritone sax and " Carl Q" (ex Roomful of Blues) on trombone showed up for the second set, a little late due to Doug's having played with Duke Robillard in Fall River earlier. ( I was going to go there myself, but it was cold & rainy last night so we opted for the indoor venue) When the horns joined the band, it was like a totally different show, so funky and soulful. They did alot of material from the album "Six String Therapy" which was produced by Duke Robillard and recorded in Pawtucket and also featured Doug on sax. So they knew all the songs and did a great job, even though Bryan kept saying they hadn't played some of them since the album was recorded. The Duke was also in the house and sat in on the last tune. I did not realize that Duke has produced a few of Bryan's albums, including the latest, "Katrina was her Name". Another RI - LA connection. So we got a good show last night, I just wish I had brought more people, but I didn't know what to expect. I should have known, if Sal's books em, GO! They are playing in New London Ct tonight, then in NYC I think. Bryan only travels with the four-piece band, but he seems to really like having the horn section, so maybe some guest horns will show up at the other gigs.
The Newport Folk fest on Saturday was as much a traditional “folk” festival as the New Orleans Jazzfest is strictly a jazz festival, which is to say purists probably wouldn’t call it a folk festival at all, but it was fine by me. There are plenty of other folk fests around, including the New Bedford Summerfest in early July. While some of the folkier acts, like singer-songwriter Martha Wainwright and some Canadian fiddlers played on the 2 smaller stages, the lineup on the mainstage consisted of Dirty Dozen Brass band, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, John Butler Trio, North Mississippi Allstars, and headliners the Allman Brothers band. When DDBB opened the festivities at 11:30, many people were just getting there. This year they did something new, setting up reserved seats on half of the field, which were pretty empty for the first few acts, but it made the general admission area much less crowded. It must have been strange for the bands to look out and see people on only one side of the audience and in the back.  DDBB did a good New Orleans style set and there were a few enthusiastic jazzfest-vets in the crowd, attempting to get that secondline vibe going….but we were outnumbered by the chair sitters. At least it was easy to get some good photos early in the day.  After that I went to see a couple of other bands on the outer stages - Martha Wainwright, who had a nice voice but was kind of depressing lyrically, then the Lonesome Brothers, who were quirky and fun hillbilly rock&roll. Caught most of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, who rocked. An announcement was made from the mainstage, something to the effect of “hey, a lot of us here in the stage crew are from New Orleans (because Festival Productions does the Newport festivals too) and New Orleans is still really messed up, but you all should come visit! Come down for jazzfest!” This drew cheers from those of us who’ve been there, but I’m not so sure it would have made anyone else want to go - it was kind of a mixed message.
Fort Adams is a state park and there is usually no alcohol allowed, but this year they tried a “beer garden” way out near the water. The line was a mile long, I heard people say it was about an hour wait just to get your ID checked for the privilege of drinking a $6 beer so far away from the stage it didn’t seem worth it. With Dunkin Donuts as the sponsor, there were plenty of fruity cold beverages for sale at regular D&D prices, And of course there was Del’s (RI frozen lemonade) and other beverages which could easily be made more festive with a little pre-planning.
After grooving to the John Butler trio we went to hang in the shade near the back with some friends. From here we could see all the free-loading boat-people enjoying the fest from the water.  On my way to see Assembly of Dust on one of the outer stages I noticed a crowd at the Gibson guitar trailer, where Grace Potter & the nocturnals were doing an unannounced acoustic set. I could barely get near there to see, but I could hear pretty well and was able to snap a few photos by holding my camera up over head. Then I got a front row seat for a few AOD songs - it was too hot too dance much! I really like that band, especially the keyboard jams. Allman Brothers came on just after 5 pm and played almost 2 1/2 hours.... Luther Dickinson joined them on stage for a version of "The Weight". "Melissa" was nice....We considered leaving a little early just to have an easier time getting out of the traffic but once I heard the first few notes of Mountain Jam, I knew I wasn't going anywhere. That's one of my favorite ABB songs.. so what if we had to wait an hour in the parking lot then it took us almost another hour to wind our way through the narrow streets of Newport to get home. It was worth it.
We were going to go back on Sunday but decided against it - the Newport festival is nice but it sure is a hassle getting in and out of there! So we went to the Seafood Fest at Ninigret park (held at the same place as Rhythm and Roots) but it was kind of lame so we only stayed a little while then just went to hang out at the beach, listening to the re-broadcast of some of the festival highlights from Saturday on WMVY 92.7, including the whole Allman Bros set, then went to the Mews Tavern in Wakefield. Many of the Newport performances are available to listen to on MVY radio online for free, including AOD. The ABB set is going to be available for download on Thursday on this other website called Hittin the Note. The rest of my pictures from Newport can be viewed here .
After days of packing and preparations, I was starting to wonder if sometimes it is too much trouble to have so much fun. But once I arrived on the Hill, I knew that all the preparations were so totally worth it -GreyFox was a beautiful relaxing time. There was only a little bit of rain the first day, which magically ended just as the music started at 2pm on Thursday - and then the weather was gorgeous the rest of the weekend, sunny and dry, not too hot.  As a volunteer I can go a day early, so I arrived on the Tuesday before, set up camp on the hill, then went to hang out at the bottom with friends who had been there for a whole week, just camping and picking and having a good time - but they were like #150 "in line", and there were some who had been there a month or more! My volunteer job is in the info booth, located very close to the main stage, so I get to hand out programs and talk to people all day, and still hear the music while working - it is really fun. (Volunteers have to work a few hours a day anyway). Nickel Creek played Friday night, but were a bit too mellow as a closing act - it was freezing up on that hill! Mountain Heart, who played just before them, and blew us away as usual, might have been a better choice to end the night on an up-note. Sam Bush Band was excellent on Saturday night, playing 'til nearly 2 am. And there were so many new, relatively young bands like the Duhks, the Incredible Stringdusters, Crooked Still, Waybacks, Uncle Earl, Nickel Creek, the Wilders, Mountain Heart. It was high energy all weekend. One of the best jams I heard all weekend was in the campgrounds, with members of many of the younger bands, plus fiddler Casey Driesen, all playing after hours near Uncle Earl's campsite. On Saturday night I brought my accordion by my friends' campsite & elsewhere for some jams, but I got tired of lugging it around, so I left it behind while I journeyed to the top of the hill to listen to others picking.... and wouldn't you know I missed out on a real Cajun jam that was taking place just steps from our campsite! I heard from Joe the next day that Jesse Lege and the Redstick Ramblers were tearing it up over there til the wee hours! oh well, I'll just have to catch 'em at Rhythm and Roots. I have been going to this festival since '92, Winterhawk X. Well, it is still the same in a lot of ways, the same great vibe and atmosphere, and of course the music, and picking, but some things have changed - they've added more musical diverstiy, including a dance pavillion, where people can cut loose to the likes of the RedStick Ramblers, the Waybacks, the Duhks... and they had yoga every morning, which I did and enjoyed very much. It was like being at a bluegrass spa! Especially since they also had massage therapists backstage for staff and performers. They had tie-dying in the childrens' area that I was able to participate in, and they have a bus to take you to Taconic state park during the day if you want so you don't have to drive up and down the hill. They are always trying to improve upon it. This year they have added a farmers' market with locally grown produce and organic meats and dairy products. It is really a unique festival, like a city on the hill. As Ron Thomason( Dry Branch Fire Squad, the "host" band every year) put it, a temporary community that forms every July, a wonderful celebration 
More photos and video from Grey Fox 2007
Years past - 2006 2005 2004
Our first visit to Crawfish fest was such a blast, thank you to everyone that put it on, and all the awesome people we passed a good time with. Cisco & his family had a great canopy area set up towards the back where we all were able to relax and visit, thanks for that! We loved meeting all the new-to-us threadheads (Michelino, Nola, Steeleye, Linza, ScoopJohn) and catching up with our all of our old friends too. Even though Jazzfest was just a few weeks ago, this was more relaxed, less running around. First thing we did Sat when we got there was get us some crawfish, to get in the spirit, and that was really good, as was the jambalaya we tried later on. Oh yeah, and the music didn’t suck either! Especially the Saturday afternoon combination of Bonerama/ New Orleans Social Club. It was an amazing feeling grooving to that set, surrounded by so many blissful people; it felt kind of like the patry because there were so many threadheads dancing so close to the stage, all grinning from ear to ear. I picked up that recording on Sunday too for the ride home. My favorite set on Sunday was Jon Cleary - it was the same kind of thing, with so many people enjoying the music and the vibe. Cowboy Mouth was a lot of fun too, I have only seen them in a huge crowd at jazzfest , so it was nice to be able to get closer in a smaller crowd to see the maniacal Fred. Superchief Trio, who opened up the Delta stage on Sunday was a pleasant surprise. Even though they are from RI I hadn’t seen them before - they do a lot of New Orleans material and older jazz and blues, like Fats Waller, Bessie Smith etc. Just Piano, Trombone and Drums, and the only female trombone player I’ve seen outside of a marching band, she is a good singer too. Happily, the only thing Crawfish Fest was lacking was R - - -. And it differs from most other camping fests I go to in that it ends a lot earlier, and there’s not as much after hours jamming in the campgrounds (though I heard it was livelier on Friday night). The combination of music, food, spirit, and this year’s heat & humidity made Crawfish Fest feel the most like a Louisiana festival than others in the northeast that I have been to – the perfect antidote for post-Jazzfest blues…. or, if you couldn’t make Jazzfest, not a bad substitute. I’ll be back again, thanks everyone! - added to Festive Living Blog 12/11/07 ; Originally posted 6/4/2007 at http://www.nojazzfest.com/chat/showthread.php?t=2506
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