Narrows Festival of the Arts

On the heels of Rhythm and Roots, the Narrows Festival of the arts took place outside the Narrows Center in Fall River, under clear blue skies and warm sunshine. 2 Lousiana bands (Beausoleil, Dirty Dozen) + 2 Texas bands (Hot Club of Cowtown, Seth Walker) on the outdoor stage added up to Big Time Bon Temps! Between sets we were entertained by a variety of creatures ranging from a multi-colored dragons, an octopus, some faeries, and a dancing eyeball!


Here's a video of what one observer called a technicolor snufalupagus, kicking up its many heels to Hot Club.

MVI_2618.AVI

Inside, several local bands took the stage, among them Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade, an old fashioned jazz combo consisting of Tess on vocals and guitar, accompanied by a stand up bass, drums....and a clarinet/ sax player. Classy and relaxing, they offered a chance to chill indoors between dancing up a storm to Beausoleil, and gettin' down w/ the Dirty Dozen.


Narrows Festival 2009


Audio is available on MVYRadio.com
http://mvyradio.com/music_info/narrows_festival_2009.php

Rhythm and Roots 2009

What a year for Rhythm and Roots! After losing half the summer to unseasonably cool temperatures and rain, we were blessed with perfect weather for Labor Day weekend– sunny skies and cool breezes, followed by clear moonlit nights that had me up past 4 am every night.

This year we welcomed old friends and new, camping with most of our usual krewe, and helping to set up some spots for about a half dozen newcomers, friends we had met at Crawfish fest and/or on the Jazzfest message board (aka Threadheads). Lots of my jamming buddies were nearby in their usual spots as well, so it worked out perfectly.

After our opening night barbecue/ celebration, we went to hear the music. Friday was loaded with great music - Nouveau Honkies, the Duhks, and I was pleasantly surprised by Eilen Jewell - last time I saw her she was more folky sounding, but this time she had a killer rockabilly / Americana band with her. Too bad they showed up late due to traffic problems and had to shorten their set. Enjoyed the Travellin’ McCoury’s - it was nice to have some real bluegrass at Rhythm and Roots this year, just as it is nice to have the Red Stick Ramblers or Steve Riley show up at Grey Fox. Lee Boys with the Travellin’ McCoury’s on Friday were the highlight of the festival for me. Their first song was like a mantra for the weekend – “Let’s celebrate –we gonna have a good time! ” Robbie's electric banjo sounded especially good with the steel guitar, and the back and forth solos between all the bluegrass and sacred steel musicians worked out well.

I liked Cedric Watson's new band, Bijou Creole, which had a real African sound with the different percussion instruments.

Tab Benoit's set in the workshop tent on Saturday was my second favorite set at the festival. It was similar to the shows I’ve seen him do at Chan’s in Woonsocket - he is best in a smaller venue. Besides the jokes he was also able to enlighten the audience to the plight of the Louisiana wetlands, mentioning the Voice of the Wetlands fest and other things he is involved with. For his mainstage set, Steve Riley sat in on some of the zydeco tunes.

Asleep at the Wheel was great Saturday night, very tight as usual, and featured a brief guest appearance by Johnny Nicholas. I didn't get into Hot Tuna much - I know they are legends and all, but it just sounded too much like a garage jam-band to me.

Papa Mali was good on Sunday - he was fun to dance to, but I wished he would have sung more. "Ode to Billy Joe" was especially groovy, and I really liked his version of "I Shall Not be Moved". The Frank Family Band was hitting it with all they had, with their 2 drummers, and sometimes alternating, sometimes playing together. I found it funny when the young niece who is always dancing on stage finally sang a song and it was Boozoo Chavis' "Leona had a Party".

Mitch Woods was entertaining, but seemed to have to work very hard to get people up off their butts. There is something about the R&R crowd - even though there are always a lot of dancers under the two tents, people in front of the stage like to just sprawl out on their blankets or sit back in their chairs, and that seems a bit frustrating for some of the performers.

I love Jerry Douglas’ music, but when I saw him on the schedule for Sunday night, I was worried he was going to put us to sleep - far from it! People were actually dancing to it on the dance floor near the main stage. I was one of them - that was the best way to stay warm, too. Great Big Sea was an excellent choice for a closing act with their raucous energy and fun songs and even a light show! That was one of the only bands I was unfamiliar with - my first time seeing them but it won’t be the last. I liked how they alternated between traditional sounding folk tunes / drinking songs/ and pop hooks and harmonies.

After the last set in the dance tent, which featured Steve Riley with special guests like Cedric Watson, producer Chuck Wentworth got up to say a few words as is the tradition. It was especially moving this year in light of all the obstacles he had to overcome to be there this year, as well as the local politics that threatened to move the festival (but did not!)

I know some people had financial limitations this year that prevented them from coming – I should have mentioned earlier that R&R is a volunteer run festival, and that can be a good low cost way to enjoy the fest. In exchange for a few hours work each day you get free weekend camping pass/admission, meals, a t-shirt and more fun than you can imagine. I did it for many years, and still do at Grey Fox bluegrass festival. I just can’t at R&R anymore because I don’t want to miss anything, and I love playing music after hours. This is the most accordion friendly and diverse-jamming festival I go to… and I do have to sleep some time! This year was the best for after-hours jamming,due to the weather, the full moon, and combination of players on the scene.

I really want to thank all the new people for coming, esp. those that travelled a great distance… and I sincerely hope they and others will join us for Rhythm and Roots again. If you like Cajun/ Louisiana and other roots-music, being in RI for Labor Day weekend is the next best thing to being in Louisiana in October/November... As Steve Riley so eloquently reminded us in the closing set on the dance stage, RI's Cajun / LA roots run deep starting with Dewey Balfa’s visit to Newport Folk fest in 1964 and going through more than 2 decades of Cajun festivals here in the Biggest Little which has evolved into the more diverse music festival that is Rhythm and Roots.

And for those that missed it, many of the sets are available on MVY Radio.

http://www.mvyradio.com/music_info/rhythm_and_roots_festival_2009.php

Festive Memories and Traditions

One of the reasons I haven't been able to keep up with this blog as much as before is we were busy moving , and in the process I have come across so many photos, mementos, t-shirts, programs, etc from 20+ years of festing... not to mention all the lagniappes people pass out at New Orleans jazz fest. So one thing I was hoping to accomplish with this blog was summarizing these memories in an online format, so much easier to retrieve! But I still have all these boxes of memorabilia which I am trying to condense and consolidate. Maybe a good project for the winter!

One other thing I have been thinking about lately, with all these 40 year anniversary shows about Woodstock on TV, is how lucky we are to have these events to return to year after year. I was not old enough to be aware of the Woodstock festival as it unfolded, but I spent my high school years idolizing some of those great rock icons of the past and wishing I could have been there. This year was also the 40th anniversary of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest, which even though I could not attend this year, I can look forward to making it next year. While Woodstock was a one time event, we have several annual festivals, like Jazzfest, GreyFox, Rhythm and Roots, Crawfish Fest, Lowell Folk Fest, and so many others that we can return to year after year. These festivals are not exactly like Woodstock, but they bring together large groups of people with a common spirit, embodying a sense of community and culture - especially the camping fests. Having these annual festivals gives us a chance to reunite with our friends every year, and it also gives the people who organize these festivals a chance to improve upon them year after year. I wonder how many of them were at Woodstock and thought, "Hey I could do better than this! " Looking at some of the experiences of Woodstock makes me appreciate these festivals even more. For example, the first few acts were unable to take the stage on schedule so Richie Havens had to play an extended set and returned to the stage 6 times.... then at the end, Jimi Hendrix, who was supposed to play on Sunday, ended up playng Monday morning to a much depleted crowd. We may take for granted all the work that goes into putting on these events, but seeing that footage of Woodstock makes me appreciate the fact that most of these annual festivals I go to run smoothly and on time despite glitches in weather and performers not being able to make it sometimes. So all we have to worry about usually is choosing where to be at what time - the multi-stage format is another improvement upon Woodstock which, from what I can tell, seemed to take place all on one stage. And we don't have to worry about not having enough food and water. To the contrary, some of the fests, eg., Jazzfest is as much a food-fest as a music fest; and at the camping fests, we bring our own as well as buy from the various vendors. Kudos to all of the organizers for making them happen again and again and giving us something to look forward to, as I am to this weekend's Rhythm and Roots festival. So far the weather forecast is good, and many friends will be attending. Because of this, Labor Day weekend is as festive as any holiday I know. More info here at Rhythm and Roots

A Trio of Midsummer fests

July 14-19 - Greyfox

I arrived early on the Walsh Farm to volunteer, it is fun being there before everyone else, watching things unfold. Many improvements have been made to the site since last year, for example, the addition of some food vendors up on the hill near the main stage, and the quaint but rustic tractor-shuttles have been replaced by school buses. It made for a much more convenient festival experienc. The weather was good most of hte weekend except some rain on Friday required some heavy mud-slogging on Friday night and Saturday morning. I was glad I had my big yeller boots! Mountain Heart seems to have gone in a new direction, more rock nad jam influenced - they did a pretty good verion of Whipping Post, complete with keyboards, and drums. also Superstition. But they can can still pull wail out the straight ahead bluegrass too. liked it. Musically, my favorite part of the weekend was the 2 back to back workshop sets, one with Casey Driesen showing off his fiddle wizardry, including an amazing arrangement of Billie Jean. That was followed by a guitar workshop with Josh Williams, Danny Knicely from Tim O'brien's band, (and a band that played there a few years ago, Corn Tornado and Chris Eldridge from the Infamous Stringdusters.

I was camped out not too far from the dance tent, so that was the place to be - The RedStick Ramblers rocked it all three nights - and I also enjoyed the Waybacks there earlier Friday Night

Sunday was the biggest surprise of the weekend, when the Lee boys woke eveyrone up with their eye-opening and butt-shaking sacred Steel music. Looking forward to seeing them at RHythm and roots, here they will also share a set with Ron and Robbie McCourys.

July 25 - Lowell Folk Fest

Great time in Lowell this weekend! We got there around 4 pm Saturday afternooon, caught Dr Michael WHite w/ Liberty Jazz Band, then DL Menard - who substituted for Rosie Ledet , joined in the 2nd line with Glen David Andrews, then went to see the Lucky Stars western Swing, had Thai food for supper, followed by some more Michael White, andTrudy Lynn (blues singer).



We were lucky enough to get a room at the Doubletree downtown, so Sat night we were treated to the most amazing afterhours jam sessions in the hotel! Glen David Andrews would pop in from time to time with his trombone, sing a few songs, then wandered back off and someone else would lead a song. Some of the players in the jam included members of the NY Klezmer band, Sierra Hull's bluegrass band, the Lucky Stars Western Swing band , the trumpet player from Michael White's, some Cajun players, some fiddlers, and many more, a little bit of everything. It was an amazing mix just like the whole Lowell folk festival. There are so many songs that everyone knows, from all different backgrounds, like Bill Bailey, Sittin on Top of the World, etc.... musicians from all different backgrounds were equally well-versed.



Sunday morning, after a Brazilian breakfast, we headed over to Boarding House park to see an acapella gospel group - they were really great. Then, Sierra Hull at 1pm - a new young talent, kind of like mandolin-playing version of Alison Krauss! I think what is unique and special about this festival is all the performers play all weekend, and there is lots of interplay between all of them, who play multiple times all weekend in unique combinations that you would not ordinarily see. For instance there was a workshop/ performance on Sunday that included a sort of interview session / Q&A that made the connections between NY Klezmer and NO traditional jazz musicians . Left around 4 pm Sunday so it was an intense 24 hours, and even though we got to see alot we missed some too... can't be everywhere!



August 1 - Podunk Bluegrass festival

Missed this the past few years due to the Newport folk festival, but this year we returned to this 90% bluegrass festival (The other 10% this year was Natalie MacMaster) that takes place on a baseball field in a city park. We arrived on Saturday afternoon, parked the van in a shady spot, just in time to see some of Gold Heart, (last year's band contest winnder) followed by Rhonda Vincent and the Rage. I enjoyed all the bands on the stage, but what I like most about this festival is the atmosphere, it is very relaxed and laid back.

For the evening set it was

James King Band
IIIrd Tyme Out
Steep Canyon Rangers

Dailey Vincent Band

Rhonda Vincent
Natalie MacMaster

Most of the bands I had seen elsewhere before but Dailey & Vincent were new to me. They were a lot of fun with their clowing around, all wearing hats tossed up from the audience, but their singing and playing was superb. James King sat in a few songs too. Natalie Macmaster , who hasn't toured much lately due to her growing family and is as talented as ever. She was a good sport, relaying stories of her travelling travails. She got everyone up out of their seats and dancing too.

After the concert I found a fun jam with friends from Grey Fox and , even though I didn't have any instruments with me I was able to sit in on bass for a bit. I may have been a little rusty on that, but that jam has inspired me to play more guitar lately, and more bluegrass, so it was fun.

Crawfish Fest 2009

Not much time for festive living lately, but I did make it to Mike Arnone's 20th annual Crawfish Fest in NJ last weekend. Beautiful weather, great music, food ,and friends - what more could you ask for?

Pictures from Sunday

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/572811410DyODVg

RI Mardi Gras Ball

Today is Mardi Gras in New Orleans, (and elsewhere) but here in New England it's hard to find a parade on a cold Tuesday. But we celebrated Mardi Gras on Saturday at the annual party at Rhodes on The Pawtuxet, courtesy of Lagniappe Productions.

Music by the Hot Tamale Brass Band, Jeffrey Broussard and the Creole Cowboys, Steve Riley and CJ Chenier put all of us fest-starved new Englanders in a party mood! The Creole Cowboys kicked it off with their hard driving Boozoo-style zydeco, and it's always fun to watch the ultra cool Classie Ballou on bass. Steve Riley was equally dazzling on fiddle and accordion, then invited some of the Hot Tamale horns up on stage for a few songs, including a great version of Fats Domino's "Be my Guest". CJ Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band were as good as ever, reunited with their old rubboard player, Clifford.

Every year when we first see the initial announcement in the Rhythm and Roots program, it's hard to get excited about something that seems so far off, when we are, after all, in the midst of one of the best festivals of the year. But when that weekend in February finally rolls around , it is so much fun to get together with all of our festival friends, some of whom we haven't seen since Rhythm and Roots. Everyone I talked to seemed so happy to be on the homestretch towards spring, looking forward to better days. I may not even know everyone's last name, or where they work or live, but when we are all dancing in the front row, grooving to Hot Tamale Baby for the thousandth time, "I feel like I'm home", (yeah you right)

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/570254311fGcaOA

* Nathan Williams, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Cha's

Free Your Mind

There's nothing like a festival to free your mind from the stresses of every day life. And when it comes in the middle of the doldrums of winter, when there's not much else going on, it can be just what's needed to lift your spirits. The annual Joe Val Bluegrass festival held at the Sheraton in Framingham this past weekend was a welcome little vacation not far from home. And without having to deal with camping and weather, you can really just enjoy the music and people at the fest, instead of having to worry about building a shelter from the storm. From the time we checked in late Friday afternoon we never even needed to venture outside for the next 48 hours, except to put our stuff in the car at checkout time. In between music and visiting with friends we got to enjoy a swim in the indoor pool, and a few trips to the fitness center including a session on the Wii, with virtual skiing, soccer, and hula hoop!

As far as the music presented on the stage, the Steep Canyon Rangers on Friday night were my favorite. I had seen them there before, but I kind of forgot how good the Steep Canyon Rangers were. They had some really good harmonies, and well crafted instrumental arrangements, with a healthy dose of showmanship to keep it interesting.

Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper heated things up on Saturday night in typical fashion, with Mike flailing away on the fiddle accompanied by a crew of top notch musicians, including a new young banjo player.

The closer for Saturday was the Kruger brothers, who finally took the stage after what seemed like a very long set up time. They started out with several of their trademark classical/acoustic /instrumental pieces including the usual romp through some movie theme songs.... Then they were joined by Adam Steffey on mandolin, and Bobby Hicks on fiddle, in the debut of the Kruger Brothers Bluegrass Project. These two veteran award winning musicians added a much more hard driving bluegrass dimension, which helped wake me up after nearly being lulled to sleep in the hot dry air of the crowded ballroom. And afterwards, there was much more foot-stomping bluegrass to be heard in the halls of the hotel, all night long.

Josh Williams on Sunday was an amazing guitar picker and singer with a sweet voice, whose playing seemed effortless. At such a young age, he is already a veteren of several bands, including Rhonda vVncent & the Rage, and has already established himself as an accomplished musician, recognized recently as IBMA guitar player of the year. Although I had to leave before the final act of the day, the much anticipated Dailey & Vincent (whom I hope to catch at Podunk later this year), I was glad for the chance to see Bobby Osbourne for the first time, a legend from days gone by. Opening with Jimmy Martin's Sunny Side of the Mountain, his strong and mournful voice was unmistakable.

Bobby Osbourne

This year's festival featured a new Showcase Stage in a separate room downstairs near the vendors, where several local bands played, including Back Eddy bluegrass band, who seem to be expanding in both sound and personnel. Another one I caught was Late Night Radio, a mix of bluegrass, swing and jazz. I was drawn in as soon as I hear them doing the Waybacks' Compadres of the old Sierra Madre. For some reason I'm always drawn to whatever is a little different at the festival, whatever stands out.

Bluegrass Accordion

Speaking of standing out, I play accordion, and I go to bluegrass festivals, and sometimes I'll join in a jam, if I come across one that seems open to it. Usually, whenever I bring the accordion out at a bluegrass jam, like this weekend, people are surprised to see it, and will make comments like, "Wow, bluegrass accordion!" or "Hey, I have an accordion, but I never thought of playing bluegrass on it!". When I wrote the title of this post, Free your Mind, I was thinking of them. Bluegrass is one of the only kinds of music that I know of where the audience is made up of so many musicians who like to participate. I didn't even like bluegrass music too much until I had the chance to play it, although my first intro to playing bluegrass was not on an accordion, but on a borrowed stand-up bass. Because bluegrass festivals present the most opportunity for joining in a jam, and that is the instrument I play the most, I've learned to play bluegrass accordion. This is not something I've really set out to do, it has just sort of happened.

So why play bluegrass accordion? For one, the accordion does not have to be tuned, so it is always ready to go. I play a keyboard rather than a button style, so I can play along in any key. It's really fun to play bluegrass accordion because at times you can play the parts of guitar/ bass/ banjo/ mandolin and fiddle, all in one instrument, depending on the makeup of the jam. If there's no fiddle player, you can play fiddle tunes. If there is no bass player, you can play the bass part. It is very flexible.

For a bluegrass jam, I like to use a smaller 12-bass model because it is not as overpowering as a larger one, but I also play a 48 bass with different stops (tones). If there is a bass and some guitar players around, you don't have to play the bass side, . But if you do play the chords on the bass side, it can kind of mimic the guitar chords. Most of the songs are simple 3 chord structures and familiar tunes, and the bass side of an accordion has the 1-4-5 chords conveniently next to each other. The only thing you have to watch out for is that, in some of the larger jams, you may not be able to hear yourself, and you could easily be playing the wrong bass chords with your left hand, and it will mess up the person on your left, so its usually best to just use the right hand if it is a large group.

Some of the more traditional string bands do not always greet the arrival of a bluegrass accordion with open arms, but at a good size festival, you can just move on past them. If you come across a jam that has maybe one percussionist, like an egg-shaker or scrubboard player with good rhythm, that's usually a good sign it is an accordion friendly jam.

When you first get into a jam, chop along to the rhythm with the mandolin on the right hand side, fingering the chords and adding in a few fills here and there like a banjo. When it's your turn to take a break, play a little melody as a lead, like a fiddle. Single notes are fine, but mixing in some double and triple notes sounds better, like double and triple stops on the fiddle. The swingier and bluesier songs, and the old-time country tunes and ballads, lend themselves more easily to the accordion, but any mid-tempo 3-chord song can easily be played on the accordion. Throw in a few seventh notes or chords on the bluesy numbers. On a slow song, less is more. On all of them actually - while it is tempting to wail away on the accordion and it is easy to get carried away, you just have to be mindful of the whole group, and wait your turn. And I usually sit out the really fast, breakneck bluegrass songs like Foggy Mountain Breakdown, because they just sound better on banjo. And that's how you play bluegrass accordion. Or at least that's how I do it...it may be unorthodox, but it is fun.

Rhythm and Roots Stays Put

According to an article in the Providence Journal, the Rhythm and Roots festival will return to its present location at Ninigret Park in Charlestown, RI. This is good news, after it was reported last year that the festival may have to find a new location due to proposed changes in fees collected by the town. I can't think of a better spot for this annual end-of-summer bash than the wide open grassy fields of Ninigret park, with its on site swimming, playgrounds, plenty of room for camping, and proximity to ocean beaches. I wish I was there right now!

Snowed In

We're in the depths of a snowy New England winter and it looks like I've let my little blog here fall by the wayside. Partially because I didn't take a fall festival trip last year, and have been busy with other things, and its cold and dark and boring around here this time of year. But the sky is brightening in the late afternoon again, and there are a few festive happenings on the horizon that will help us get through the rest of the winter until the new festival season is in full swing again. Feb 7 is a Mardi Gras celebration in Woonsocket, RI, with a couple of zydeco bands, a dinner and masquerade. Although it is scaled back from the multi-venue event it has been in years past, it should still be a good time. More info can be found here: http://www.nrica.org/mardigras.html

The following weekend, Feb 13-15, is the Joe Val Bluegrass festival at the Sheraton in Framingham, MA. This is an indoor bluegrass festival complete with mainstage performances, picking parties, and music workshops. It's kind of like a conference for festival fans. See a review of last year's festival here

Feb 21 is the annual Mardi Gras Ball at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet, in Cranston RI. Featuring 3 popular acts from Louisiana - Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, CJ Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band, and Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys - plus the Hot Tamale Brass Band from the Boston area, are scheduled to appear. Many fest-goers from Rhythm and Roots usually turn out and make it feel more like a night in the dance tent at that festival, than a one-night event in the middle of winter. As a warm-up to Saturday night's festivities, Sal's Productions is hosting their annual "Fat Friday Zydeco Frenzy" with Andre Thierry at the German Club in Pawtucket, which makes it feel even more like a festival weekend.

Maybe we can't have outdoor parades and carnivals this time of year up here in the frozen north, but we can look forward to these indoor festivals and events. Those will make February breeze right past, taking us into another fine festival season.