Lowell Folk Festival
So my plan for this weekend was to head up to Vermont, but due to my usual lack of planning when it comes to visiting people I wasn’t able to nail down any plans. It actually worked out well for me, because this weekend turns out to be the 20th annual Lowell Folk Festival. I decided I’d check out today’s acts over at the Boarding House Park stage, since it’s within easy walking distance of my apartment.
I wandered over around 1:45pm to catch Liz Carroll and John Doyle playing Irish music with a fiddle and guitar, respectively. I managed to find some shade under a tree along with several other folks (stupid hot and humid today) and listened to the music. I dig traditional Irish and Scottish tunes (could it be the Irish and Scot in me?), so this act was great for me. It’s always funny to see the little girls hop onto the sidewalk and start step dancing. It never ceases to amaze me how many kids still seem to study step dancing.
The next act was not my kind of music, but I had to listen because they were just such great musicians and performers. The Quebe Sisters Band played old-fashioned Western music, as in “crank up the Victrola, we’re listening to some music” old-fashioned. These girls could really play the fiddle and harmonize. They sounded just like old-time radio too. I kept thinking about the “O Brother Where Art Thou” soundtrack listening to this band.
After the Quebe Sisters came Hayden Thompson and the Rhythm Rockers. Hayden Thompson is a Rockabilly original from the 50’s and still put on a great show, although his stopping the act to make fun of a man getting up and walking away was a bit annoying. His backing band played great rock and roll and Thompson’s voice was solid.
The last band I watched was easily the best of the day for me. I’d never heard of them (or any of these bands, for that matter) before today, but they put on great show. Le Vent Du Nord plays traditional French and French-Canadian songs with fiddles, bass and acoustic guitars, accordions, mouth harp, and percussion. They also fit dancing into their set and, at one point, the accordion/mouth harp/percussion/step dancer bandmate got into the crowd and had the entire front section of the crowd dancing together. They really got the crowd into the act. This was a rare experience for me, but I enjoyed being part of a crowd of people and just enjoyed the show along with everyone else.
The Festival continues tomorrow and I’d like to catch Inca Son. I’d also like to pick up some CDs, but at $20 a pop, it gets prohibitively expensive. Still, the whole Festival was free to attend, so I really can’t complain (I did donate to the cause, though), especially since it was practically outside my front door.
Now if I can just find a decent Irish pub around these parts, preferably one that has regular sesiun music. Time to explore some more!
