Falcon Ridge Folk Festival - 2014 Emergeing Artists

The 2014 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artists have been announced. ime for me to get to work - digging up websites, pulling out merch lists and contact information, cleaning up the 2013 master merchandise spreadsheet and starting to populate it with 2014 content.

In roughly alphabetic order: 

1 - Allie Farris - Nashville TN - eMusic
2 - Ashley Sofia - Ticonderoga NY
3 - Avi Wisnia - Philadelphia PA - eMusic
4 - Brianne Chasanoff - New Fairfield CT - eMusic
5 - Caitlin Canty - NYC - eMusic
6 - Chris LaVancher - N Reading MA - eMusic
7 - Hayley Reardon - Marblehead MA - eMusic
8 - Jean Rohe - Brooklyn NY
9 - Jesse Terry - Stonington CT - eMusic
10 - Laney Jones & the Lively Spirits - Boston MA - eMusic
11 - Laura Zucker - San Francisco - eMusic
12 - Libby Koch - Houston TX - eMusic
13 - Liz Frame and the Kickers - Newburyport MA - eMusic
14 - Matt Nakoa - Brooklyn NY
15 - Melanie Dewey - Manlius NY
16 - Roy Schneider - Fort Myers FL - eMusic
17 - Russell Kaback - Greenfield MA - eMusic
18 - Suzie Brown - Nashville TN - eMusic
19 - The Levins - Congers NY - eMusic
20 - The Lords of Liechtenstein - NYC - eMusic
21- Tumbling Bones - Portland ME - eMusic
22 - Wendy Cahill - Bethel CT - eMusic
23 - Zak Smith - Montclair NJ - eMusic
24 - Zameer - Hollywood CA - eMusic

Some quick observations:

• I have seen / heard NONE of the emerging artists. Not surprising (I do not get out as much as I'd like) 
• Three locals - Brianne Chasanoff, Jesse Terry, and Wendy Cahill - although Russell Kaback gets half credit as a Western MA denizen
• 22 of the 24 artists have professional websites, easily found. The others I liked to Reverbnation pages. 

It has been my recent habit to buy a bunch of emusic credits, and download the most recent album from each of these pre-fest. It's nice to be able to connect with their music before meeting them at the fest, and I put the emerging artists on shuffle in the merch trailer - it occasionally leads to the delightful serendipity of an artist checking in merch and having their music come out of the trailer. 

The Boxcar Lilies at Chestnut Tree Concerts

Traveled over to Oxford, CT last evening for a house concert with The Boxcar Lilies.

I've seen "the Lilies" before, as emerging artists at last year's Falcon Ridge Folk Festival; they will return to main stage next year as part of the Most Wanted Song Swap. A well deserved election, in my opinion; their newest CD Sugar Shack was one of my emerging artist purchases (I usually pick up 3-4 of the emerging artists recordings each year) and has been a welcome addition to my music rotation.

But it's always a treat to see a full set by an emerging artist, even more so in a smaller or intimate space, and Chestnut Tree Concerts, a house concert series, is as intimate as it gets!

The Lilies each have a unique, and distinctive personality and energy. Dark haired Katie Clarke seems cut from traditional "singer songwriter" cloth; writing personal songs and singing / playing with confidence - though when she picked up the banjo her urban affect fell away a little. Fair haired Stephanie Marshall, the groups described "Rock Lily" traded off on guitar, shaker, and washboard, and seemed the most eager to jump in and harmonize. And in the middle (in terms of both hair color and stage plot), Jenny Goodspeed, provided wonderful instrumental diversity (guitar, bass, uke).

The Lilies are perhaps best know for vocal harmonies, and they had that in spades last evening. Although they played acoustically (except for the bass) they filled the space with sound and mixed themselves perfectly. In this era of effects pedals, vocal reverb and compression, and using amplification to reach out and grab the audience, an acoustic trio who can rock a room without a PA system is such a treat.

With a healthy mix of originals and covers, there was a lot to like - Katie and Jenny split most of the writing duties, with covers by Neil Young, Dave Carter, Townes Van Zandt, Stephanie Marshall / Dave Weber. The songs range from up tempo, bluegrass inspired harmony showcases, and more personal tunes with harmonies mixed in judiciously.

The Boxcar Lilies: Katie Clarke, Jenny Goodspeed, and Stephanie Marshall
House Concert means up close and personal, no sound system, and difficult lighting. But what a great show!

So, yeah, I'm a fan. Looking forward to hearing more from The Boxcar Lilies from the main stage at this year's Falcon Ridge, as well as mixing in at the workshop stage. And looking forward to seeing what unexpected delights the Emerging Artist showcase will uncover this year!