FloydFeast

FloydFeast...an aptly coined title that I can't claim but will use to start this year's look back at what's evolved into a lovingly-crafted treat for all the senses near milepost 170 on the Blue Ridge Parkway every July.  Kris Hodges and his partner-in-dreams Erika Johnson have conceived and brilliantly executed this mountaintop celebration of music and its singular capacity for removing the walls that divide us to reveal the ties that bind.  Over four days on seven stages, the tunes pour out from players of all stripes, a dizzying accomplishment of scouting and scheduling on the part of the fully-engaged Mr. Hodges, his dedicated staff and legions of volunteers.  If you haven't, do take a look at the Website to peruse the rich list of performers. FloydFest is a time of discovery...of music you've never experienced that resonates with what you inherently recognize as well done.  And a generous helping of the familiar favorites.   Throw in the splendid scenery, the blissed-out fans, the creative campsites and the most mouthwatering array of festival food you'll ever find, and you have FloydFest 8...the Revival.  And even though I had to bug out before it was over this year, I'm still full to the brim with great memories and deep admiration and gratitude for all who made it happen.

Much of this year's event was captured in HD by a crew shooting for the Virginia Department of Tourism for a promotional video and maybe a documentary on the phenomenon that is FloydFest.  After a dust settling downpour the night before things got started, the weather was summer-perfect and the festers showed up in big numbers.  Leftover Salmon and String Cheese survivors respectively,Drew Emmitt and Bill Nershi  and their bandmates pulled a fine first-day set on the Dreaming Creek main stage as did Chapel Hill rockers and Floyd-faves The Old Ceremony with front man Django Haskins serving up the proper mix of thoughtful lyrics and rock & roll attitude.  Last year's top popular vote getter among a fertile field of emerging artists, William Walter & Company worked the Hill Holler stage and the main over the weekend.  With tasteful support from lead guitarist Tucker Rogers, bandleader Willie Walter played the crowd like a harp, tossing out t-shirts, CDs and even scanty logo wear just for the ladies.  And the boys can PLAY.  They'll be at Sine here in Richmond on August 21st.  But there are other kinds of front men...

...like the remarkable reverend from the Little David Old Regular Baptist Church just outside of Haysi, Virginia, elder Frank Newsome.  A former coal miner with black lung, he still sings a capella praises to The Lord from his dog-eared songbook with riveting clarity and power.  The Rev. Mr. Newsome sang and talked with old friend Jon Lohman on the Virginia Folklife porch stage and will be coming to share more testimony with us at our Richmond Folk Festival October 9th-11th.

And from my old hometown of Staunton came last year's Telluride Troubadour winner Nathan Moore with a couple of gentle sets of self-made story songs.

New York's stylish and sassy Smart Brothers, Jay and Lou were crowd pleasers with their youthful exuberance and their retro-sounding repertoire.

One of my top discoveries this year was Toronto-based brother band The Sadies, a kind of alt-country Gram Parsons-inspired quartet led by Dallas and Travis Good.  Sporting tailored western-cut suits, they easily proved there was substance as well as style.  Travis' vintage Telecaster even sported a Scruggs-style tuner to facilitate the twang.

I'm realizing I've been ignoring the distaff side of the lineup, so here's daughter of rock-royalty, Levon's daughter Amy Helm with the most excellent group Olabelle, who did a couple of choice tunes penned by their namesake Ola Belle Reed including "High On A Mountain Top" and "I've Endured,"  both popularized by Tim O'Brien.  

Adrienne Young left Little Sadie behind and was back at FloydFest with her new band Old Faithful comprised of Andre Eglevsky on bass, Oliver Craven on fiddle and vocals and another notable offspring, John Starling's son Jay on Dobro.  Her caring spirit shines through all that she does including a coming event celebrating rural ingenuity and craftsmanship starting this Friday called the Backyard Revolution up in Albemarle County.  Click here for more details.  And The Duhks flew south once more from Winnipeg to render a few more of their inspired and ultra-musical sets with Sarah Dugas' soaring vocals and confident stage presence.  Here she shares a knowing smile with banjoist/vocalist Leonard Podolak, who, incidentally was also smiling...trust me.  These guys also packed the Va. Folklife Porch for an informal sit-down set to the delight of the care- and hair-free fans of all ages. 

Another first for me was witnessing the sultry showpersonship (new word too) of Grace Potter.  With her hot band The Nocturnals from the great state of Vermont, Grace rocked through a strong set on the main stage, after waiting for the lights to come back on...literally.  We had a site-wide power outage near the end of Grupo Fantasma's preceding Friday night set and it took nearly two hours to find the off-site breaker responsible.   All stages continued in the old acoustic way.  The whole thing was handled with great aplomb thanks to savvy scrambling by the crew led by production director John McBroom and main stage manager J. P. O'Connor.  A well-oiled machine indeed.

So many logistics, so many talented people executing so well both on stage and off.  And I left out so much.

FloydFest is a living monument to what a good idea can become with proper nourishment.  And it's set to happen again the last weekend in July, 2010.  I hope I'll see you on the Parkway for Love Potion # 9.  Can I get a witness?

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Back down in River City, I'd like to give you some save-the-dates for our JAMinc offerings upcoming:

As Peter, Paul & Mary prepare for what could be a final bow at Wolftrap next month, their two loyal sidemen, bassist Dick Kniss and multi-instrumentalist Paul Prestopino have agreed to re-join old fan and friend George Turman for our first summertime Studio Concert at In Your Ear Recording on August 21st.  Some other special guests you might hope for are in the wings as well.  This should be a memorable evening on many levels and reservations will be available online probably this week.  Check back. 

In September, we've booked harmonica titan Howard Levy, who helped Bela Fleck get the Flecktones started two decades ago (whew!) and is currently dazzling audiences with his musical diversity.  That's on Thursday, the 24th. 

Then in October, we've got two things...on Saturday, the 17th JAMinc and the Virginia Historical Society proudly present Music From the Crooked Road with the Dixie Bee-Liners plus Wayne Henderson & Helen White.  Wayne and Helen played back to back sold out shows for us last year at In Your Ear.  This fall, one of the top contemporary bluegrass bands in the country join the bill in VHS' beautiful Robins Family Forum auditorium on The Boulevard.  And former MerleFest songwriting contest winner Wil Maring and her singer/stringman Robert Bowlin play our In Your Ear Studio Concert Series on Friday, October 30th.

One more...on November 19th at In Your Ear, JAMinc welcomes the winners of Prairie Home Companion's "Great American Duet Sing-Off" held this past spring, Anne & Pete Sibley from the foot of the Tetons out in Wyoming to IYE.  A footnote...autoharpist Bryan Bowers who graced our stage last November underwent successful prostate surgery early this month and is mending nicely.  As we wish him many more years on the road, tune in to Page Wilson's Out O' The Blue Radio Revue this coming Saturday night from 8-10 on WCVE 88.9 FM and hear a generous segment of that magical evening.  Or streaming live here.

This Sunday at Cafe Diem, 600 North Sheppard, some of our best will play tribute to one of their own, our too-soon-departed Gary Gerloff.  Proceeds will benefit an education fund for his two fine kids.  Here's the lineup with times:

        1. Just Dessert 1:00 p.m.

        2. Page Wilson & Reckless Abandon 1:50 p.m.

        3. Dominic Carpin & Armistead Wellford  2:35 p.m.

        4. Terry Garland & Bruce Corson  3:10 p.m.

        5. The Revinyls 3:50 p.m.

        6. DJ Willams Projek 4:25 p.m.

        7. Little Ronnie & Grandukes 5:10 p.m.

        8. Gayle McGee & Nocturns 5:50 p.m.

        9. Charles Arthur Trio 6:30 p.m.

      10. Billy Ray Hatley & The Show Dogs 7:05 p.m.

      11. The Big Guys 7:45 p.m.

      12. The Taters 8:25 p.m.

      13. The Janet Martin Band 9:05 p.m.

      14. Manny Green & Members of the Gary Gerloff band  

Times won't be exact but come early and stay late. 

$15 cover.  There'll be a lot of love in the room, for sure.

And one last thing...noted string player/instructor Adam Larrabee went to his car last week behind Key Signatures on Grove Avenue to get his banjo out of the back seat.  To his surprise the rear passenger window had been broken out and there were now two banjos in there.    So he's selling the extra one.  But seriously folks, Adam does have a nice Stelling five-string for sale at a bargain price.  Contact him at alarrabee@earthlink.net if you're interested, or if you have one you've been trying to ditch.  His back window's still not fixed.

Peace out...T

Full Glory...

The July full moon over Jackson, Wyoming was a moving and melancholy sight, and looking back at the image tonight, on the 40th anniversary of man first setting foot on that distant source of wonder, elegantly underlines the fleeting nature of time and the precious nature of what we can do with it.  My window on the west has closed for now, and I'm lamenting how quickly the small memories fade and how quickly the routine returns.  I'm so grateful for the 30 days I had with my favorite girls and for even the already forgotten moments...there were so many.  The "magnificent desolation" Buzz Aldrin described exactly four decades ago and the rugged terrain found in the part of America we just left, make one at once thankful for our comforts and yearning to be more at one with the elements.  The craggy majesty of the Tetons was something I'd been preparing for for years albeit insufficiently.  These timeless sentinels that tower above Jackson Hole, snow-covered year round, are breathtaking in their testimony to our inconsequentiality. 

But this is a music blog after all so I'll share a few thoughts about our big Friday night in the old copper-mining wild west town of Butte, Montana.  Home to hundreds of saloons and up until the 1980's a vibrant and legal red light district called "The Line," Butte inherited the National Folk Festival from our ten times larger and far more genteel hometown.  The venues couldn't be much more different...Richmond's modern urban skyline up against the falls of the James vs. Butte's lingering frontier attitude toward wide-open dancing and drinking in the streets....no cooler checks, no sneaking beer into plastic cups here, no sir.  And instead of our wilderness river, Butte has the Berkeley Pit, a massive hole in the ground on the eastern side of town that's not only full of toxic water, it's a major tourist attraction.  So the county seat of Silver Bow County has a little harder edge.  But what a fun place to hear music.  We only were able to take in opening night which included a great Irish band, the Pride of New York, Sierra Hull and Highway 111, Magic Slim & The Teardrops, a solid Chicago blues unit, and BeauSoleil avec Michael Ducet.  The Cajun legends closed the "Original" main stage that 1st night, beneath the scarlet-trimmed and iconic headframe from the old mining days that was used to lower men into the deep shaft and pull the ore to the surface.  On a hill overlooking the town, it was a fitting and imposing centerpiece for the National, which of course has left our 2nd annual Richmond Folk Festival in its tailings.  Artists playing Butte and headed east to join us in October include Bob French's Original Tuxedo Jazz Band from New Orleans, North Bear from outside Butte, and Wylie Gustafson, the Texas yodeler made famous for his .com cry, "Ya-hoo-ooo."  It runs the 9th thru the 11th and we'll be expecting you.    

Back home in the comfort zone a week later (Boulder to Richmond in 3 days), we had to check out the John Cowan Trio at Ashland Coffee and Tea.  Actually his drummer Bryon Larrance had a previous gig, and John Frazier had a best-friend's wedding.  So it was just John with his most seasoned side-men Shad Cobb and Jeff Autry.  And it was just right...a tasty set list including favorites like Tim O'Brien's "Hold To A Dream," some sweet jams on the Moody Blues' "Tuesday Afternoon" and Jeff's instrumental composition "East Meets Wes" (Montgomery).  And there was also a silky Sinatra tribute dedicated to the memory of John's dad, "In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning."  The boys just finished recording a Christmas album...more than worth waiting for the November release on Koch Records.  Standards like "Silent Night, " "O Holy Night," "I'll Be Home For Christmas," and even "Ave Maria" gain new meaning with John's perfectly-controlled power.  And wait 'til you hear the rousing new take on "Let's Make A Baby King."  It'll be a Christmas to remember.

And I want to pat my pal Page Wilson on the back for a fine free show at Dogwood Dell on Saturday night with a top-drawer Reckless Abandon alongside including Bill Lux, Jay Gillespie, Charles Arthur and Jim Skelding.  Their 1st set closer, Michael Burton's "Night Rider's Lament" was as fine a tune as I've ever heard them render.  And he was doing the Out O' The Blue at the same time!  Magic.

Speaking of King Charles, he'll be doing a solo show at AC&T's new homegrown Wednesdays slot on August 5th...he can do it all, so get out and support the live stuff.  And this Thursday, the 23rd, Chris Fuller, Frank Coleman, Jackie Frost and the Taters take the Ashland stage in a benefit for the Bluemont Concert Series coming to the Center of the Universe later this summer. 

Jesse Harper's opening for Dean Fields at Capital Ale House's downtown music hall this Saturday and then of course this is FloydFest 8-The Revival weekend, Thursday-Sunday up on the Parkway.  I only need to hyperbolize if you've never been...it's one of the coolest and far-ranging fests in the nation...give it a try; you'll be hooked.

Finally for now, JAMinc's got such a fine lineup set for this fall's Studio Concert series that we're getting started in August at In Your Ear Recording with George Turman welcoming back his friends and Peter, Paul & Mary sidemen Dick Kniss and Paul Prestopino...and likely some other special folk sitting in.   It's on the 21st and you can check our Website soon for reservations.  In September we've snagged harmonica master and original Flecktone Howard Levy.  In October, it's past MerleFest songwriting winner Wil Maring with John Bowring, and in November, Jackson Hole's Anne & Pete Sibley who last spring took top honors at the Great American Duet sing-off on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion.  Join us for a great season that also includes the Dixie Beeliners with Wayne Henderson & Helen White at the Virginia Historical Society on October 17th.  Ticket info soon.

A good year for howling at the moon...TT

 

(George Turman photo by Charles Dunton)

At the drop of a pin…

I can’t remember when I’ve been to a concert where the audience has been as reverently attentive.  No whoops, no shouting of requests, and very little spontaneous applause after instrumental solos.  The Punch Brothers were treated to the respect one might expect for a renowned string quintet, which of course they are, at the century-old auditorium at Boulder’s Colorado Chautauqua.  From the Website:

Before radio and television, the Chautauqua Movement united millions in common cultural and educational experiences. Orators, performers, and educators traveled a national Chautauqua circuit of more than 12,000 sites bringing lectures, performances, concerts, classes, and exhibitions to thousands of people in small towns and cities. Theodore Roosevelt called Chautauquas, "the most American thing in America."

The Boulder site is one of only three remaining Chautauquas in the country, and the Brooklyn-based band rose to the acoustic potential of the ancient all-wood shed.  Their wide-ranging two setter included Chris Thile’s entire “Blind Leaving The Blind” suite plus such surprises as Gabe Witcher’s  happy homage to Roger Miller, “Kansas City Star,” a collaborative new nod to “Rye Whiskey,” and a tribute to former hometown heroes Hot Rize as their finale with Nick Forster’s “Shadows In My Room.”  Chris Eldridge proudly shared that he’s been playing the late Charles Sawtelle’s D-28, thanks to Nick.  As many times as I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing this band’s prowess, this may have been their finest hour.

Being out here in these new Rockies, as compared to our ancient Appalachians back home, one can’t help but be changed by their majesty and be struck with a deep sense of gratitude for having so many wonderful and wild places to visit from sea to shining sea.  But forget about finding any Smithfield ham out here.

Of course there’s no hiding from the media even in the wilderness, so the continuing accounts of Michael Jackson’s premature passing came to perfect fruition for me thanks to an email from old friend and radio colleague Kirby Carmichael.  Here’s Kirby with a 13-year-old MJ on a Richmond visit.  Innocence lost…rest in peace Michael.

TT