| It’s hard to believe the Delmarva Folk Festival just
a few days away. October 5 & 6 are looming out there somewhere
and while we’ve got a lot done, there’s still a lot
to do. We have an ongoing need for volunteers in a couple of important
areas, so get up with Kae Johnson or Jan Crumpley, the Festival
co-chairs, if you want to help out and get in for free. We’re
also in the middle of site preparation and can really use some help
getting the place ready to go.
The music is the reason for the Festival, and this year we’ve
got one of our best lineups ever. We’re glad to welcome back
some favorites from previous years like Crabmeat Thompson, Sand
Creek, Celtic Harvest, Sam Shaber, and Vic Sadot and Planete Folle.
It’ll be especially good to welcome back Pete and Maura Kennedy
after a too-long absence. And new to our Festival this year will
be the Bro. Joe Baione Trio, Jeff Black, The Salivators, and Jeff
and Vida .
But that’s all for Saturday and we can’t forget about
our special Friday night show, hosted by Nik Everett. As you likely
know, our coffee house audiences in February and July selected their
favorite “Folk Heroes” and we’re gonna put seven
of these acts on stage Friday evening beginning at 7:00 for about
20 minutes each. This will be like a super open-mic coffee house,
with Nik doing a few tunes, then followed in short order by Chapel
Street Junction, Miller, Bad Wheel Jonny, Larissa Moore, Butch Zito
and Teri Dobra, Sean Cheezum, and finishing with Jonny Maduro. Nik
will wrap up the evening with a few more songs (he’ll have
a new CD at the Festival) while the votes are counted and hopefully
around 11 pm we’ll be able to announce the winner. A flat
$5 gets anyone in for this special Friday show.
On Saturday, things kick off at 11 am with our friends in Celtic
Harvest bringing authentic interpretations of Irish and Scottish
traditional music to the beautiful wooded setting. You may think
that’s too early for a Guinness, but it’ll be 4 pm in
Galway when they take the stage.
At high noon we’ll be treated to the winner of the Delmarva
Folk Hero contest from the night before. At 1 pm, and hosting the
Festival for the 16th time, Lonnie Field will lead Sand Creek down
some of the lesser explored roads of American folk music. Following
at 2 pm, will be the legendary Crabmeat Thompson. He’s been
all over the world and has written songs about most of that life-long
trip. The afternoon session wraps up with a set of great jazz from
vibe master Bro. Joe Baione and his trio. There’s something
about jazz in the woods in the afternoon that seems to set the stage
for the rest of the day.
At 4 pm our main stage will be dark while the scene shifts to
other places. We’ll have our own merchandise and that wonderfully
fresh Fordham beer, plus lots of food and craft vendors in the field.
During the break, Pete and Maura Kennedy will do sort of a prequel
to their featured show. This will be a very informal setting with
The Kennedys doing some of their favorite cover songs. It’s
not really Pete and Maura under the covers, but it’ll be worth
seeing anyway.
Then at 5 pm, the commotion moves back to the main stage. As dusk
begins, those Cajun rhythms and foot-stompin’ good times of
Vic Sadot and Planete Folle will welcome the coming night. Don’t
miss the dancing frogs!
Sam Shaber first played the 2005 Festival and her energetic stage
presence and well-written songs made her an instant favorite. She
played for our benefit at Cooldog in the spring and we’re
really glad to welcome her back for a 6 pm set that’s sure
to please.
At 7 pm we welcome the return of local favorites Salli Fulkerson
and Jimi Brown, but not just as Salli and Jimi. These two have added
Greg Haughey on bass and Ron Orland on drums to form The Salivators.
They’ll be playing the blues like they ought to be played,
with Salli’s gutsy, powerful voice tying it all together.
Jeff and Vida got their start in New Orleans playing Cajun-infused
bluegrass, or bluegrass-infused Cajun, whichever you prefer. They’ve
recently moved to Nashville, and fortunately are strong enough to
resist the sell-out that sometimes happens when good people hit
Music City. They’ll be on our stage for an 8 pm set fresh
from 4 weeks in Ireland, including dates at the Johnny Keenan Banjo
Festival.
The “other” Jeff in the lineup is Jeff Black. Jeff
is really moving up in the big world of singer-songwriters, getting
lots of radio play and attention from established artists. One of
those is Sam Bush, who covered one of Jeff’s songs on his
latest album, and then appears as a back-up player on Jeff’s
new CD. “Black is an artist of substance,” wrote Billboard
in a review that compared his piano ballads to Randy Newman and
his rockers to Bruce Springsteen. Jeff’s 9 pm set will let
you decide for yourself.
Then bringing the day to a close will be The Kennedys. Pete and
Maura have been playing together since a fateful meeting in 1992
when Pete was Nanci Griffith’s guitarist. They have literally
traveled the world, logging half-a-million miles along the way.
They now live in Northampton, MA and have several new CDs out, including
one called “Rhapsody in Uke”, which is probably self-explanatory.
Pete’s amazing guitar work and Maura’s soaring vocals
are what attracts people to the Kennedy’s. After a few songs,
the depth of their relationship and the breadth of their musical
experiences begin to make them seem bigger than they really are.
It should be a great ending to a great day.
You won’t find this much musical variety and this much musical
talent at any other Festival on Delmarva. Get your tickets early
for the best deal. . .everyone will pay $30 at the gate, if we have
any to sell. See any Board member, or go on line to our web site
(www.delfolk.org) for easy, secure
ordering through Pay-Pal. And one of the best things you can do
is tell a friend about the Festival–it’s what friends
do for each other.
-- John Kidd, DEFF President |
