Falcon Ridge Folk Festival - 2018 Most Wanted Winners

 Per usual, this is dribbling out via third parties (h/t John Platt of WFUV for sharing) and not via any official Falcon Ridge channels (website, social media, etc.).

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Anne Saunders has announced the winners of Falcon Ridge's Emerging Artists showcase. Congrats to the pride of L.I. , Quarter Horse, and my good pal Carolann Solebello, plus honorable mention for Katherine Rondeau. Katherine will be performing next Tuesday at Rockwood Music Hall for ON YOUR RADAR, and Quarter Horse will be doing OYR in February.

1 - QUARTER HORSE in FIRST place with 38% of the voters rooting for them.
Merch Queen Notes: Quarter Horse was the third highest grossing emerging artist in terms of CD sales. Sales were probably lower does to them selling merch last year (Lounge Stage) and having a "pay your own price" policy without super great signage which we think resulted in under-reporting.
 2 - OLIVER THE CROW came in SECOND place garnering 28% of the voters.
Merch Queen Notes: Oliver the Crow was the highest grossing emerging artist in terms of CD sales 
3 - CAROLANN SOLEBELLO came in THIRD with 22% .

Merch Queen Notes: Carolann was the 6th highest grossing emerging artist in terms of CD sales; but she's been a mainstay at Falcon Ridge for many years (solo and as a founding member of Red Molly) so not quite so much buzz for her CD.
Congratulations! All THREE will be invited to FR 2019.

Several HONORABLE MENTIONS too! Justin Farren (7th highest CD sales) in a very close 4th place with just under 21% of the voting audience, followed by 5J Barrow (12th highest CD sales) with 20% and Katherine Rondeau (4th highest CD sales) with 18%. Over 15% of the voters is honorable indeed. If any of the top 3 are unable to accept our invitation, Justin will certainly be invited.

We also had a number of OVER 10% ers this year: Amy Kucharik, Andrew Delaney (2nd highest CD sales), Ian Flanigan & Nicolas Emden were all named by over 10% of the voting audience.

The Levins at Milford Arts Council / Performance Coffeehouse

I headed out of town (or at least, a little further afield than normal) for a performance by The Levins, at Milford Arts Council's Performance Coffeehouse.

I first encountered Ira and Julia (The Levins) at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival last summer; they were one of the Emerging Artists. As has been my habit, I picked up the latest album (in digital format) for as many of the Emerging Artists as I could, pre-fest, and their My Friend Hafiz album (based on the poetry of the 14th century Persian mystic) really resonated. I subsequently contributed to their crowd-sourced new album, Trust, and have been patiently waiting for them to come to town.

Their music, as recorded and compiled, hit me right in the nexus of yoga teacher, enlightenment intensive attendee, spiritual seeker: positive, thoughtful, searching, expansive. Both My Friend Hafiz and Trust show up regularly in my "pre-class, set the mood" music rotation for yoga classes. 

So I was pretty much ready to enjoy the show, expecting a few hours of gentle, spiritual music with wonderful harmonies.

But oh, so surprising, these Levins. There was romance; unlike many musical couples, the affection, nay, love these two carry for each other is palpable and transmitted through their songs and performance, with very sweet love songs. There was humor - a rollicking ode to Charles Dickens; a nod to ethnic folk (More Yiddish!), there were beloved kids songs I have not heard in years, there were some standards. Ira in particular, seems like he might take a crack at just about any topic as a song-writer and any song as a performer, and they individually and collectively have the chops to pull it off.

They are, quite simply, a delightful addition to my folk music family, and I'm a professed fan (and possibly stalker, depending on how many shows I catch them at in the coming months)

They're playing the upcoming Hartfolk Festival on May 30 (alas, I shall be at yoga teacher training all weekend, sad because pretty much everyone on the bill are artists I have seen and love), but also Kripalu on May 2 and a house concert on  May 22. And (can we actually be thinking this far ahead?) opening for Brother Sun at the Sounding Board on Sept 26 (making that a "can't miss" night). Visit their website for their touring dates - they work a lot!

The Milford Art's Council's Performance Coffeehouse is also a little gem. Not that well attended (most of the house seemed to be regulars) and with a roster for 2014-2015 that is pretty much unknown to me. The space is an old Metro-North station, with a very high ceiling and formal stage - suited for small plays, cabaret, etc. The sound was very good (I believe The Levins brought their own) and the lighting was two cuts above the typical folk show.

The Nields: Wasn't That a Time

I've been a fan of The Nields (in various configurations and levels of amplification) for most of their 23 years - first seeing them in a funky little bar in Bristol, CT called The Common Ground. I was told to get my tissues out when I watched this, and being all jaded and cynical, I ignored this advice, to my own peril. For folks who have been along for most of the ride, it's a tear-jerker of a valentine.
I've supported their crowd-funding project for the next CD, titled "XVII" - and if you are a fan, you might want to also - http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/thenields

"Did you used to dance and bounce and sing with us?" - Guilty, on all counts, usually on a hillside in Hillsdale, NY. 

Mouths of Babes at Chestnut Tree Concerts

An unexpected treat last evening, trekking out to Oxford, CT for a house concert featuring Mouths of Babes. 

I say "unexpected" because I really did not know what to expect from Ty Greenstein (Girlyman) and Ingrid Elizabeth (Coyote Grace). I'm a Girlyman fan from way back, although to be honest I kind of embraced and enjoyed them as a group, and did not really parse their music individually.

Coyote Grace played the Falcon Ridge emerging artist showcase in 2009 (the micro-burst year) so for whatever reason (possibly collective PTSD, sorting out the merch trailer mess that year was kind of traumatic), they did not really catch my eye.

Seeing them was a real treat. Things I loved:

• Great harmonies
• Really fresh songs (Ty has been part of the Real Women / Real Songs project along with many of my faves, which has generated a few songs playes last evening
• Diverse sound and instrumentation. Ty on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, and foot percussion, Ingrid on ukulele, U-Bass (she usually plays a stand-up bass), cajon, and harmonica. They even did a patty-cake number. No opportunity to get bored.
• Ty and Ingrid - wonderful individuals and wonderful performers.

A little different from other Chestnut Tree Concerts in that they brought a small sound system and mic'd / plugged in. I can see the need (U-bass, foot percussion, electric guitar). Normally, I like to see what a group can do sans electronics (i.e. - Boxcar Lilies in April) - but the effects and amplification were judiciously applied; the sound was never problematic or intrusive. On a few numbers (a haunting electric guitar / echo, for instance) the electronics made the song work. 

Bottom Line: A wonderful evening and an opportunity to get to know a couple of artists I have perhaps let slip through the cracks, in terms of my musical attention. I picked up their new EP, Faith & Fumes, as well as the Coyote Grace disk Now Take Flight, an overdue bit of appreciative largesse from FRFF 2009.

Too Busy to Blog - 2014 Edition

I seem to have this problem every year around this time. The weather gets hot, life gets busy, and I fail to blog. At least I got one more post in this July than I did last year.

Why so busy? Teacher Training at West Hartford Yoga ran through June 22 - the last weekend was really draining and there was a bit of catching my breath after that. Not that I got much time to relax; the 2014 teacher trainees jumped right into assisting; I've had 1-2 of them in most of my classes since the end of training - which keeps me on my toes and takes a bit of pre-class and post-class time to process.

Meanwhile, my web and social media clients over at Essex Steam Train launched a new website in mid-June; I'm no longer doing the tech for the site but still manage a lot of the content, so there was a lot going on there. They also started their daily operation (June 21), started planning for their summer circus train, and a bunch of summer events and features that have kept me hopping.

Finally, my band The Guinea Pigs has gotten busy - with fun gigs at MCC on Main (June 14), Blue Back Square (July 13), and the Manchester Bandshell (July 18) under our belts, and Buillings Forge Farmers Market tomorrow (July 24).

That's all the regular stuff. Summertime also brings some special events. West Hartford Yoga is doing their 4th Annual Om Street: Yoga on LaSalle event. Just another yoga class, except that I've been the audio engineer since year #1, when I rightly realized that event founder Lululemon had no idea what they were getting into, sound wise, and I volunteered the studio sound system (and my muscles and brain to make it work). This year, we're adding remote speakers; I've been busy at work drawing up plans and coordinating equipment - this year's acquisitions include 200' of XLR cable and a digital delay unit to sync up the remote system.
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Right after Om Street, I leave for Falcon Ridge Folk Fest - my 22nd year as a volunteer (since 1992, with one year missed for a business trip to Malaysia). Like Om Street, it's not all fun and games; I've been in charge of performer merchandise since 2007 which involves spreadsheets, several supply runs to Staples, a small level of organizational OCD, and an equal measure of codependent over-functioning. I'm taking the year off from teaching yoga (I've been leading a 7:30 am practice in the dance tent since 2008) so hopefully will have a little bit of down time this year. Looking forward to nearly a week of camping, relaxing, hanging with my festival family, and more good music than I am able to absorb.

So - my busy life. I'll try to blog more often....

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! 

Burning Bridget Cleary at First Friday

I trekked down to New Haven last night to see the group Burning Bridget Cleary at CT Folk's First Friday concert, continuing my side project of seeing Falcon Ridge Folk Fest Emerging Artists in featured concerts.

I loved the short set the group played at Falcon Ridge, from what I heard from the merch trailer, sufficiently to buy their two CDs for myself and for Zippy, my folk-fest dog-sitter who is a big fan of celtic music (via WWUH's Celtic Airs and associated concerts). When I saw they were coming to town, I scooped up three tickets, for me, Zippy, and our friend Pat, an Irish emigre who resides in a convalescent home, and for whom a concert trip is a real treat.

And what a treat, for all of us. Burning Bridget Cleary is a foursome consisting of two fiddle / vocalists (Rose Baldino and Deirde Lockman), a guitarist (Lou Baldino, Rose's father) and a percussionist (Peter Trezzi). It's really the Rose and Dierdre show - and I'll get to them - but a first shout out to the men who provide such a solid frame for the vocals and fiddles. Peter coaxed many different sounds from his djembe, using finger, palms, knuckles, and brushes - abetted by a floor tambourine and a few small cymbals. Lou's guitar playing is deceptively simple and clean - and a very judicious effects pedal set-up (never intrusive) let him play a bit of bottom string bass that at times sounded like a bodhran. At no time did the men step on the delicate flowers of fiddle and vocals, and at no time did they fail to provide just the right level of backing that often seemed to come from more than two musicians.


And now to the women. Rose seems the leader, and her auburn pixie cut, bright eyes, and big smile make her the perfect front for a celtic group. She played up the allure, at one point asking for the names of  "three men who want to marry me" to include in a song. Charming and delightful. Dierdre is a great match - they are an amazing tag team in terms of vocal harmonies, amd fiddling lines that intertwine and balance. Each of them took a turn at center stage with solo fiddle pieces. I'm not enough of a fiddle aficionado to know what roles each plays in the music, but they seemed to trade riffs and parts easily and seamlessly throughout. At the finale, both women moved through the audience (freed by wireless fiddle pick-ups) and ended up standing on chairs and trading riffs over our heads.

The group plays more traditional reels, jogs, airs than I expected, along with a good balance of vocal pieces (some traditional, some modern). A delightful surprise was Richard Shindell's "On a Sea of Fleur de Lis" which they played a bit more uptempo - I prefer Shindell's somewhat more wistful and soft version, but it was great to hear another take on it. Rose noted that "Richard is playing nearby this evening (at the Kate)....but thanks for coming to see us". And when they started Jay Unger's Ashoken Farewll, a tune that's been ingrained through multiple viewings of Ken Burns' Civil War, well, it was awesome. Rose and her dad started, both playing so simply and cleanly that the audience was perforce brought to rapt attention, and Dierdre picking up a counter line mid-way through the tune. I do not think I've ever heard that song played so beautifully. Both Fleur de Lis and Ashoken are on their "newish" CD Pressed for Time which for some reason I had not picked up for myself at Falcon Ridge. That's been rectified.

CT Folk once more shone (shined? excelled?) with a successful First Friday concert - the large audience forced them to "take the tables out" (I was a little disappointed, I do like the coffeehouse / cabaret feel of the space with tables, but success has its price!). It was CT Folk Executive Director Alice-Anne Harwood's last official concert, and we can only hope the board finds someone to fill her shoes in this active and exciting folk music organization.

A bit of a haul for me - my driving circuit from New Britain - Hartford - Windsor- New Haven - Windsor - Hartford - New Britain to fetch Zippy and Pat made for a long evening. But with such delightful music in the center of all that driving, it was worthwhile!

Tracy Grammer and Jim Henry in Southbury

I took a few hours out of my Sunday afternoon to trek down to the VFW Hall in Southbury for a concert by Tracy Grammer and Jim Henry. They played at the inaugural Blues Cafe, founded by George Martin.

Although she was not at Falcon Ridge last year, I've seen Tracy fairly recently (CT Folk, First Friday) but she was solo then. Adding Jim Henry, who fits so well musically with Tracy, was like seeing a completely different show. Not better, per se, but a little looser, with a more rockin' and bluesy selection of songs.

Tracy did a lot of Dave Carter's "greatest hits" (as usual) which were lovely and welcome, and accentuated with Jim's bluesy leads and harmonies. Jim played "Vincent White Lightning" (on Tracy's borrowed guitar and with a strap way too high, and he was awesome, with Tracy doing a great job on rhythm and harmonies) as well as an original dedicated to his daughter Ruby. They closed with the "eco-gospel anthem" Gentle Arms of Eden and played a single encore "Pancho and Lefty" before Tracy skedaddled to beat the snowstorm back to her home in PA.

But the best part of the afternoon, in my opinion, was a trio of songs that Tracy has written as part of Cary Cooper's (love her, just saying)  Real Women, Real Songs project. A collection of women artists are challenged to write a song a week, based on a prompt, throughout 2014. Tracy's been active in the group and played three songs - the Week 1 prompt (vulnerable), Week 5 prompt (satisfied) and the Week 6 prompt (puzzled). I really enjoyed the songs live (adding Jim just made them growl) but was surprised to see how well done they are on Youtube. Here's the Week 1 song.

Tracy has been tending Dave Carter's legacy for a decade now, and it's such a delight to see her pushing herself musically. I almost felt as loving and protective of her as I did of the young Dar Williams, schlepping around new England with a pre-Honesty Room box of cassettes. Although Tracy really needs no such coddling - she's such a professional musician and has been working with amazing songs for many years - so I'm sure amzing songwriting is deep in her bones at this point.

She entered the project with some hesitancy (a song a week, seriously? that's a lot!) but from what I have seen of Cary Cooper (in the Falcon Ridge merch trailer and out in the world) she's a force of nature, not to be denied. So let's give Cary an "assist" for these lovely songs!

Wish I could say I loved the venue - I did not. It was kind of a "house concert grown large" - most of the audience sat at tables arranged schoolroom style (so they were quite distant from the band, and sometimes seemed more into their pasta). That did leave the front two rows of regular seating free for late-comers like me (I was front row center). However, I struggled to stay present with the music due to other guests. The two women to my left (Tracy groupies, based on their tee shirts) took a lot of photos - one with an iPad (which requires one to hold it 2 feet in front of you to see the image) and the other with a large smart-phone with flash. Let's just ban flash photos and iPads used as cameras from here on in, OK?

In addition, the distaff half of a couple across the aisle, (who played the open mike, and not particularly noteworthy) talked throughout the set. Sorry honey, your talent is not 1% of that needed to excuse talking through Tracy's set. Also, your guitar (with butterfly motif) is cheesy.  I'm generally pretty charitable towards Open Mic participants, but come on, just because you are the star of your small town folk community does not mean you can talk through the headliner, and especially not seated in the front row.

Finally, the sound system, while technically adequate, did not sound as it it had been set up. It was positioned behind the performers (no attempt to have someone run it) and not tweaked or adjusted at all (judging by the visibly flat EQ sliders). Tracy's vocal reverb was a little much to start - not sure if they tweaked it down or I got used to it. Tracy and Jim swap out instruments a bit (Tracy had two guitars and her violin, Jim played electric, mandolin, and and Tracy's guitar) - I'd have felt a little better had the mixing console been off to the side and somebody had stepped up to it once in a while to adjust something for each song.

Catie Curtis and Tall Heights at The Iron Horse

Catie Curtis, with Liz Barnez

April 17, 1993. That's the first time I saw and heard Catie Curtis, playing the beloved bookstore / cafe Reader's Feast, on Farmington Avenue in West Hartford. No, I do not possess a photographic memory*; I just know how to dig through the internets to find stuff, and some old folk music listserv postings contained the date. I picked up her CD From Years to Hours (1991) that night. In the ensuing years, I've added Truth from Lies (1995) and My Shirt Looks Good on You (2001) to my CD rack, and my iTunes collection includes Long Night Moon (2006), Sweet Life (2008), Hello, Stranger (2009), and A Catie Curtis Christmas (2012).

I'm somewhat surprised at how much of her music I've bought over the years; she's an artist who sneaks up on you as her music wraps itself around your head and your heart. It's hard to queue one of her albums up without encountering a "so familiar that you forget where you heard it" song.

The point is, Catie has been on my radar a long time. And while I am sure I've seen her at Falcon Ridge over the years and perhaps at other fests and venues, it's been a long, long time since I got a real concert in a small space, and it was delightful. Mad props to Amy Putnam (photographer, stained glass artist, and blogger over at Freelance Folkie) for coordinating a get-together of camp friends.

First off, to paraphrase Dar Williams, Catie is aging well. She remains youthful and vibrant; she could be resting on her laurels, playing a greatest-hits kind of show to an aging but appreciative crowd. But instead she brought forth a lot of songs from her new album, Flying Dream, most co-written with Kristen Hall which were delightful. Check Amy's Freelance Folkie blog for a set-list; I happen to know Amy fastidiously records set-lists from all of the many folk shows she attends.  Picked up a physical copy last night, and listening as I write, and it's as much a treat in the studio version as it was live.

Along for the ride last night was Liz Barnez, a singer songwriter with New Orleans roots. Liz was a great sidekick / foil for Catie, contributing wonderful harmonies, cajon percussion, and stepping up to play one of her own songs, If I Had a Gun, a thematic mash-up of the Dixie Chick's Goodbye Earl and Fred Eaglesmith's Time to Get a Gun which was a direct and dark line in the sand regarding domestic violence.  She's got a great voice and great stage presence. Hope she gets to open up for Catie now and then on tour; would have loved to have heard more from her.  Catie was loose and funny throughout the set, improvising various sing-along and whistle-along parts, and Liz kept right up with her, sometimes egging Catie on. 

Tall Heights - Paul Wright and Tim Harrington

Opening up for Catie was the duo Tall Heights, who played this past year's Falcon Ridge emerging artist showcase. I've been a bit obsessed with getting to see Falcon Ridge showcase artists in smaller venues (the fest is just a taste, and I'm mostly getting to listen from the doorway of the merch trailer) and so I was thrilled to see that they were opening up for Catie. They did not disappoint, beautiful songs, great harmonies, and that lovely cello that was bowed conventionally as well as played like a bass.

There are a lot of women doing group harmonies out there in the folk world, but the men are a little less common, and these two really shine in that department. Was thinking of youthful Simon & Garfunkle a little as they played, as well as to Dar William's first album, with the haunting cello playing by Gideon Freudmann.

Some years, I pick up as many of the Emerging Artist's most recent works pre-fest, and listen in the month before the fest - but did not get that done this past year. there were some pretty awesome groups in the showcase last year, so Tall Heights kind of slipped under the radar. Remedied that last night, picking up their entire catalog (special live show price of $20) and getting a good earful this morning. It's lovely, sweet, and warm.

I know I'm referencing Dar three times in this piece, but "...February was so long, that it lasted in to March..." is a pretty apt description of this cold and snowy winter - so an evening in the warmth of good music, good friends, and good food and drink was welcomed. Could not have asked for better!

* However, if you do wish to poke around the Reader's Feast ephemera and archives, they have found their way to the CCSU GLBTQ collections.

Falcon Ridge Merch Trailer Awards

We came up with these categories last year, (mostly) tongue in cheek. File this under "we laugh because otherwise we'd be pulling our hair out" as we spend our vacation time toiling away in the service of folk music.

Most Organized: Some artist just have the merch thing down - packed well, nice display, tee shirts rolled up and sorted by size and type. Even if there's a lot of merch, it's not hard to count in and count out. Tracy Grammer wins this award, most years - she's a pro! The Grand Slambovians (with merch person extraordinaire Cindy) are also in the running.

Optimist Award (Emerging Artist): Every year somebody brings a full case (300+) or CDs when we suggest perhaps 50-100 max. It's not really a fair award (sometimes artists finish up a CD specifically with the fest in mind and have it drop shipped) but it just seems so hopeful. Although every year, some emerging artist brings 10-20 pieces, sells those out in a flash, and could have sold much more.

B.O.T. (Bin o' Tees) Award: Every year, somebody shows up with 5 or 6 plastic tubs filled with tee shirts: unfolded, uncounted, unsorted, random. We end up counting in (by hand) 200-300 shirts, and counting them out after the fest - a huge commitment of time and energy for a small crew. We are (of course) filled with resentment. Last year, if I recall correctly, I spent an afternoon mid-fest rolling and rubber-banding one artist's tees as a form of festival Metta (loving kindness) because I realized I was sending out all sorts of crappy vibes to this particular artist solely on the basis of their merch, and wanted to even out my karma.

Artists we love figure out a way to control tee-shirts. We've seen them rolled and banded with rubber bands or hair ties. We've seen them folded and placed in zip-lock bags. Just something so that we can count them quickly and accurately, and aren't stuck straightening up the mess from your last gig.

Dan Navarro Suitcase Award: We love Dan to pieces, but one year he showed up with a huge soft sided suitcase filled with CDs. It looked as if someone had opened the suitcase at the end of the merch table at his last gig, just swept all the CDs into the suitcase, and closed it up. Everything mixed and  jumbled, he was amused and bemused by it as we were. We tease Dan about it when he brings his smiling face back to merch land (and for the record, it only happened once). Every year somebody shows up with a merch collection that looks like it got packed from across the room with a slingshot, and we flash back to that moment we opened Dan's suitcase and thought "What the what?"

Creative (non-musical) Merch Award: Folks put a logo on just about anything, and we like to recognize that. Spuyten Duyvil is pretty good with this (can cozies, flasks, bottle openers, etc.) - but we've had also had water misters, lighters, frisbees, matches, coasters, you name it.

I'm Special Award: Most often it's someone not appearing or performing at the fest who wheedles their way into the merch tent (I'm pretty watchful, but stuff gets past me, or people go over my head). No, you do not get to sell your CDs in the tent just because you were an emerging artist in 2003 or have been a volunteer since 1995. We have to track, count, carry back and forth to the trailers, and assume liability for stolen merch, and we're only going to do that for performers actually playing the fest. And if you do sneak or wheedle your way into the tent, know that checking you out having sold nothing during the fest kind of makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Karma, bitch!

Dregs Award: Sometimes artists show up with a merch selection that looks like they cleaned out their trunk - one of this, two of that, a handful of another. Kind of get the feeling that bringing merch to sell was kind of an after-thought. And often we're telling people "sorry, that's all she brought to sell" throughout the weekend. You are missing sales!

Display Over-Achiever Award: Some artists really put a lot of thought and effort into their merch displays, with lights, suitcases, racks, posters, etc. Every year we are duly impressed, and note other artists looking on with envy and perhaps planning their own future merchandising.   

Granola Award: Eco friendly packaging or merch. It will be a long time before someone beats Poor Old Shine with their CD cases made from recycled / reused cereal boxes, gleaned from the U-Conn cafeteria. Folks were frantically pawing through the stack of CDs to find a cereal box (inside) that they liked.

Late Arrival Award: Invariably, someone shows up five minutes before their set, throws the merch at us, and runs to the stage. Often patrons have been asking for their stuff all weekend. After their set, the artists run back to the merch tent, intent in checking-out (having sold almost nothing, because their fans were all listening to them play). Artists - we're more than happy to have you ship stuff ahead of time so it's out and available for sale from the festival start, and if you leave early, we're happy to keep a small pile of your stuff all weekend and ship it back after. No need to lose sales....


Merch? What Merch? Award: It's hard to believe but some artists show up without merch. Sometimes it's a national act who just can't be bothered. Sometimes people just forget or do not realize that there are 1000's of music fans here with vacation money waiting to be spent. Their spot in the merch tent (carefully laid out pre-fest) is sadly empty all weekend.

Down to Earth Award: You might be a major celebrity or minor musical god(dess) but you treat the folks in the cheap seats well. Amazing how accessible, real, and human most of the folk performers are, but some really do stand out.There are a couple of well known, national audience folkies who never fail to greet me and give me a hug when I see them at other fests or gigs, that's very sweet.

My People Handle That Award: Conversely, there are some artists / performers you will never see in or near the merch area.  It's just off their radar, they have managers or merch coordinators to do that.

Festival Virgin Award: Every year somebody (emerging artists, but sometimes mains stage or dance stage acts) show up with a wide-eyed "we're not in Kansas, anymore" look at the size and scope of our little fest. We try to make them feel at home and help them find their way around. 

Tootsie Roll Enthusiast Award: Merch trailer all-around good guy Lance brings a big jar of Tootsie Rolls every year (which we try hard to keep the ants out of) and invariably some performer makes a stop in every few hours for a fix. It's quite charming. 

We're in the Band Award: We're generally happy to put out merch for side musicians, solo efforts, but some groups end up with 15-20 titles for side musicians, compilations, side projects, etc. You could stock a small music store....

P.I.T.A. Award: We don't really like giving this one out (and often it's bestowed affectionately). But if an artist returns to the merch area 4-5 times to add or remove merch, changes the prices 3 times, set's up convoluted sales special (buy two CDs and get a tee-shirt free) takes stuff out of the tent without telling anyone, grabs merch to give away while signing, moves their stuff to a better location (we put things out alphabetically), etc. they are in the running.

Putting in Time Award: We once watched an artist (OK, it was Susan Werner) spend 2.5 hours in the signing area, taking time to talk to every fan, putting folks on the guest list for upcoming concerts, handing out free CDs, and not leaving until everybody got seen. Kind of unbelievable and inspiring to watch.  

Falcon Ridge - Most Wanted Artists 2014

Falcon Ridge recently announced the winners of the 2013 Emerging Artist Showcase "Most Wanted" (based on audience survey and appeal), to be featured in the 2014 festival. 

1 - THE BOXCAR LILIES and DARLINGSIDE tied for FIRST place, with over 28% of the votes cast.

2 - ROOSEVELT DIME - garnering exactly 24% of the votes

3 - CONNOR GARVEY - with over 23% and nearly a tie for second place

A tie is less than 1/2 of one percent apart, or 1-3 votes out of several hundred. This year nearly 2000 audience members filled out surveys, 905 of them voted in the showcase portion.

Three of the selected Most Wanted artists are "groups", just one is a solo artist. The festival chooses three Most Wanted artists, but more often than not of late (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013) goes with four if things are close. Can't say I argue much with the choices - although I rarely vote in the audience poll, I voted with my debit card last summer and picked up CDs from Boxcar Lilies, Roosevelt Dime, and Darlingside.

This caused me to ponder whether "groups" (duos, trios, etc.) might have a bit of an advantage in the audience survey (my guess was that they do). And since I am the mistress of the festival merchandise (which gives me no special knowledge or pull, but it does mean I have complete records going back a few years), I decided to do a little audit. Please note that my evaluation of an artist as a solo as compared to a group are based on artist name and memory; some of the "solo artists" may have appeared on stage with side musicians giving them more of a group feel but if they are billed as an individual, that's how they went. 

Here's the record for the past few years:

2007 Most Wanted: Anthony da Costa, Joe Crookston, Lindsay Mac, and Randall Williams
0 of 5 groups made it into the most wanted, 4 of 19 solo artists

2008 Most Wanted: Abi Tapia, Amy Speace, Blue Moose and the Unbuttoned Zippers, Lucy Wainwright Roche
1 of 3 groups made it into the most wanted, 3 of 21 solo artists

2009 Most Wanted: chuck e costa, Swing Caravan, The Brilliant Invention
2 of 8 groups made it into the most wanted, 1 of 16 solo artists

2010 Most Wanted: Barnaby Bright, Chris O'Brien, Folkadelics, Spuyten Duyvil
3 of 6 groups made it into the most wanted, 1 of 18 solo artists

2011 Most Wanted: Blair Bodine, ilyAIMY, Louise Mosrie, Pesky J Nixon
2 of 8 groups made it into the most wanted, 2 of 16 solo artists

2012 Most Wanted: Gathering Time, Poor Old Shine, The Yayas
3 of 8 groups made it into the most wanted, 0 of 16 solo artists

2013 Most Wanted: The Boxcar Lilies, Darlingside, Roosevelt Dime, Conor Garvey
3 of 11 groups made it into the most wanted, 1 of 13 solo artists

I think I got everyone, if I missed any "four most wanted" years, let me know. (Thanks, Ellen, I did miss Louise Mosrie in 2011, and thanks Jake, for reminding me about The Folkadelics in 2010)  Now, how does that look graphically? At the risk of being called the Nate Silver of folk festivals....

24 Emerging Artists per year, with a trend towards a higher percentage of "groups" as compared to the traditional singer-songwriter / solo artist. A low of 3 groups (2008) and a high of 11 groups (2013)

The Most Wanted Artists show a clear trend towards groups, with 2007 being the last year with no groups, averaging one solo artist since 2009. (two in 2011, none in 2012). Also of interest, 5 of the past 7 years there have been 4 "Most Wanted" artists, rather than the 3 expected. 

So you want to be a Most Wanted returning artist? Get yourself a band, because since 2009, the odds of coming back as a solo artist have been mostly under 10%, while the odds of returning as part of a group are 25% or higher.

I'm not trying to stir things up (well, maybe a little) - just trying to point out that the "most wanted" survey mechanism (audience surveys) tends to favor the louder, brighter groups, with harmonies, multi-instrumentals, etc. that might lead to a higher appeal from the hillside, as compared to the solo performer. I personally consider it an "apples and oranges" kind of thing, there's a different audience, level of appeal, etc. And yes, I've a little skin in the game - the "Most Wanted" stage slots I've really enjoyed over the years consisted of 3-4 solo performers swapping tunes (and perhaps working together instrumentally and through harmony) - they often tour together pre-fest and kind of grow together a bit. Groups tend to be a little more self-contained as a unit (vocally, instrumentally) and as great as it is to see them play the main stage, I'd rather they did a solo set rather than a song swap format.

I (personally, and I wield no particular power here other than the power to count 100s of tee shirts tossed into bins) think it would be a good thing to split the competition into group and solo categories, and perhaps choose two from each. Because looking over the past many years, I see a ton of really good singer-songwriters who did not make the "audience cut" and perhaps should get some recognition.

Although, as has been pointed out on Facebook, a lot of the "solo artists" do bring along side musicians so the line between group and solo artist gets pretty blurry. Perhaps if you bring your own side musicians, you might need to compete in the group category. Not a great deal, IMHO, since an ensemble that has been playing and singing together for a while can be pretty tough to top.

As with anything, your opinion, and mileage, may vary....

New Year / New Music

Well, not THAT new, really.

I braved the cold and slippery roads to make my way to New Haven last evening for the CT Folk / First Friday concert featuring No Fuss and Feathers Roadshow.



Who? - you might wonder.  Well, they are Karyn Oliver, Carolann Solebello, and The YaYas, familiar to this blogger from their visits to the Falcon Ridge Folk Fest. Karyn Oliver was an emerging artist performer in 2011,the Yayas were in the emerging artist showcase in 2012 and returned as "Most Wanted" artists in 2013. And Carolann Solebello is a repeat offender as a founding member of Red Molly, a group she stepped back from in 2010. Has it really been that long? The years they do pile up.... And although I generally get to know Falcon Ridg artists a bit through my work in the merch trailer, I rarely spend much time sitting in front of a stage at the fest, so catching up with Falcon Ridge performers in smaller venues is a nice side project.

Was a good sized crowd, surprising given the weather (bitter cold and the tail end of a pretty nasty storm that left the roads still somewhat snow covered and slippery) and the date (the first Friday after the new year), and a testament to both the loyal First Friday fan base and the quality and reach of these musicians.

This grouping (it's hard to call them a trio in the Cry Cry Cry / Red Horse / Red Molly / Brother Sun mold, since the Yayas brought a husband-wife duo to the ensemble) came together for the Joni Mitchell tribute album Blue (which I picked up last night), which in turn evolved from a women's folk collective called Chicks with Dip. Many of the musicians involved liked playing together so much that smaller sub-groups formed, including this one.

It was a wonderful musical evening. Not sure any one of the artists alone would have dragged me out, but the three in combination created a gravitational field plenty strong to pull me southward. Traditional guitars were supplemented with a bass (both Karyn and Carolann picked up what appeared to be a short scale bass, neither was funkmaster flash, although Carolann came close at one point, but both did fine). Jay from the Yayas brought a pea green Danelectro guitar at times which provided some tasty leads. Jay mostly played a Cajon beat-box, and Catherine played occasional shakers and miscellaneous percussion (and foisted same upon her bandmates unexpectedly). Mostly, each artist's solo efforts benefited through the increased heft of some backing instrumentation and wonderful harmonies - the three women's voices blended wonderfully, and the group was judicious in their use of instruments (sometimes these sorts of singer-songwriter cooperative efforts get a little "guitar army / 70s catholic folk mass" when everyone tried to play all the time) - but not the case here - they were well rehearsed and practiced as any full time band.

They played round-robin (somewhat like the Most Wanted or Friday Night song swaps at Falcon Ridge) which worked well, and augmented their originals with a mini-set from the Blue tribute as well as some interesting covers. I picked up Karyn's newest CD Magdalene, which includes a cover of one-hit-wonder Player's Baby Come Back which I sadly owned in my mis-spent youth (by dint of a K-Tel compilation album, no doubt) although I could not dredge the artist name out of my memory banks at Karyn's challenge to do so after she played it.

For a few years there I made it a habit to purchase the most recent Emerging Artist albums from eMusic (I'm a subscriber, and yeah, I know it's not the most artist-friendly way to purchase music, but I figure I get points for actually buying 16-20 albums from relatively unknowns each year). So I have Oliver's Red Dress and The Yaya's Everything albums - need to pick up their newest Paper Boats (was not sure if I owned it electronically, so did not buy it last night)  

So, great start to 2014, musically. See this trio quartet ensemble if you can!

Big Music Week

By whatever vagaries of calendars and scheduling, this is turning out to be a big music week for me.

Sunday, my Guinea Pigs played at Hartford Hodge Podge. Always a fun gig, and we got a sunny and warm day (last year it was COLD)

Tuesday, a local friend from the yoga / spiritual communities organized a house concert (that moved to the HartBeat Ensemble's new carriage house theater) with Danny Schmidt and Carrie Elkin, two Falcon Ridge Folk Festival showcase alums (circa 2008) - was a lovely, intimate experience. I bought Danny's album "Little Grey Sheep" back in 2008, and added "Man of Many Moons" this week. It was really a "Danny" gig (Carrie is his fiancee and was in town for something else, so she backed him up and played a few of her own) but I'd love to see Carrie in a featured performance someday.

Bonus, one of my regular yoga students is the Co-Artistic Director & Education Coordinator at HartBeat. I need to keep that organization in my cultural sights going forward!

Friday, CT Folk is featuring the Boxcar Lillies - 2013 FRFF Showcasers (and good enough to earn the coveted "Jude buys your CD" prize) - a trio of women along the lines of Red Molly. Yes, please!

And Saturday, heading out to Southbury for the FRFF Crew Chief meeting and a follow-up concert with Wooden Nickel.

More music, more music!

Young, Folk, and Talented

Spent most of the day, yesterday at The 2013 CT Folk Festival down at Edgerton Park in New Haven.

Amongst the singer-songwriters and the bluegrass (not my fave, but whatever) were two young bands that truly impressed.

I've seen Poor Old Shine a bit - at Falcon Ridge mostly - so it was delightful to find myself seated and attentive through a full set. One can not help but be infected by their spirit of fun. The three main players gather around a central mic and just howl harmonies at each other in a way that is intimate and casual - you see women do that sort of thing (thinking Red Molly or Boxcar Lilies) but the Poor Old Shine dudes are totally comfortable sharing personal space. One of our party called it a bit of a "bromance" as the guys are having so much fun together and with the music, and are not afraid of being vulnerable and supportive. Love them!

Poor Old Shine gets bonus points for  dragging up the most eclectic pile of instruments onto a local stage ever. The basic line-up - drums, stand-up bass, guitar, mandolin, and banjo - is supplemented by an accordian, a pump organ (!), a glockenspiel (!!), and a singing saw (!!!). I suspect if somebody tossed a cat up on stage they'd figure out a way to get music out of it. Oh wait, already been done.

Kaia from Little Ugly (another local band that fits in with the title of this post) highly recommended opening act Goodnight Blue Moon as "up and coming, the next big thing" and so I found myself a seat right at 11 am for their set, and was not disappointed. I really enjoyed their music both live and bought their CD.

It's so much fun watching these "young 'uns" playing in the folk / americana / indie genre with so much talent, so little pretense.

CT Folk Fest - Sept 7, 2013

After spending nearly a week on a hillside in NY immersed in folk music, one would think that the last thing I'd want is more of the same. Yet I am drawn to the CT Folk Festival this year, to be held Sept 7, 2013 at Edgerton PArk in New Haven.

Mostly, I walk away from Falcon Ridge with a bit of "listener" envy - I've worked my way up to a crew chief role that precludes a lot of time sitting and watching / listening. I'm within earshot of main stage through most of the weekend; I hear a lot of music and meet most of the artists, but it's not the same. So happy to go be one of the little people.

I'm also intrigued by the CT Folk Fests economic model (which appears to be mostly grant based), enabling them to provide a free concert. So intrigued in fact that I donated $50, mostly to make sure I'd go :)

And the artists look great this year. Recent Falcon Ridge artists The Stray Birds and Poor Old Shine  will be there, as well FRFF alumni Honor Finnegan and Brother Sun. And a whole lot more.

So, if the weather is good, I'll plop my derriere down in Edgerton Park in a few weeks and just LISTEN and WATCH!

Folk Fest vs. Camp

As I unpack from Falcon Ridge and start to prep for a week at camp, it's interesting to note the differences in terms of what I need for each. Mostly, I take a lot more to Falcon Ridge; the car will be much less crammed for Camp.

Things I'm not Bringing to Camp that I took to Falcon Ridge

1) Tent
2) Dining Fly / Tarp (with poles, stakes, tie downs, etc.)
3) Plastic tubs (2) for yoga supplies
4) Cooler
5) Merch trailer bin with printer, paper, ink, etc.
6) Laptop
7) 3 of 4 folding chairs (I'll bring one along)
8) Air mattress, pump (they have mattresses and bunks)
9) Cintronella bucket candles
10) Big Pile o' tarps
11) Folding Table

12) Tool bag
13) Inflatable Orca (aka Fudgie)
14) Alcohol, Cranberry Juice, Seltzer / Tonic Water, and Limes
15) A wash basin

Things I Bring to Both Folk Fest and Camp

1) Sleeping bag
2) Sheets and pillow
3) Towels
3) Musical instrument(s)
4) Yoga mats and props
5) Folding wagon
 6) Food (we have a little lawn party at Sappho beach, but probably less food than I brought to Falcon Ridge)

Even with some extra clothing (Camp has a barn dance, disco dance, and a tea dance, all of which require some sort of fashion statement) I ought to have plenty of room in the car up to Maine. 

Falcon Ridge 2013 - Part I

Back from the hills of Falcon Ridge. Before I sum up my week in folk heaven, let's let the Grand Slambovians and photographer Neale Eckstein put it all in perspective. This song, and video, totally gets it, and made me cry watching it.

 
So first off, my experience of Falcon Ridge is highly atypical. As a crew chief for the performer merchandise crew, I spend most of the festival in a trailer behind the Festival Merchandise tent, working. My days are long. I lead a yoga practice each morning (7:30 - 8:30 am), stop by the volunteer kitchen for some breakfast, and then head over to the merch trailer for 9:00 am opening. We check-in CDs, move everything from the trailers to the tent until 11 am when the tent opens for business. And then we hang out, keeping an eye on the stock in the tent, checking performers in and out throughout the day, coordinating artist signings, etc. Just before 11 pm, we pack up all the merch in boxes and ake it out to the trailers for safe keeping overnight.

Now, it's not all work. Our trailer is within earshot of main stage so I hear a lot of music; I step away from time to time to cruise the midway, grab a shower, head back to the campsite for a few.  And I get to interact with nearly all of the performers at some point, which is lovely. When amazing folks like Dan Navarro, Vance Gilbert and Eliza Gilkyson great you fondly with a hug and remember you from previous years, it's a nice treat.

But yeah, in terms of dancing, sitting in front of a stage, wandering the festival grounds at night looking for a song circle - not so much. Just too busy and my downtime over the weekend is a precious opportunity to restore and recharge.  Nevertheless, I always have some magic moments at the fest, and this year was no exception.

This was a good Nields year for me. At one point, Nerissa's young daughter was busking with her violin in the midway, and the image of this young girl working through a practiced tune (with all the fits and starts and missed notes of an earnest beginner) while mom sat back and proudly listened just filled me with joy. It was very sweet. Similarly, the pre-teen supergroup Belle Amie (consisting of Amelia Nields Chalfant, Isabella Deherdt, and Alouette Battea) was wonderful to watch all weekend - a short set after the Emerging Artist showcase, signing CDs in the merch tent, several back-up opportunities, and Amelia joining her mom and aunt on stage) was adorable and heart-warming. One of the few times I stood in front of  Main Stage was for the Nields (that was me dancing with my rainbow umbrella), and I caught a bit of  their family stage set which made me feel like a happy 6 year old. So yeah - the Nields. I caught them at the start of their career (in the 66 Hoxie Street days) and have been a fan ever since. So lovely to see them still vibrant and nurturing the next generation.

Susan Werner was also a highlight this year. I'll confess, I have never really "gotten" Susan; friends swear by her and I've listened, but it's never clicked. This year, listening to her (abetted by Red Molly) singing "May I Suggest" broke my heart wide open. I definitely need to give her another listen, especially her new CD Hayseed, and her newish live CD. Here's a short clip.

Susan ended up signing and meeting her fans for 2.5 hours on Saturday - an amazing sight. Everyone got a hug and some personal attention, she knew names of kids and life circumstances, she must have handed out close to a dozen CDs (which we furiously attempted to keep track of) and she promised to put at least that many folks on the guest list of her next show in their town. So if I've fallen in love with Susan Werner this weekend, you know why.

I taught yoga again this year. In a lot of ways, I owe my career as a yoga teacher to Falcon Ridge, must have been 2006 and 2007 when I first found myself inadvertently leading a practice (I was doing my personal practice and several folks were kind of following along) which planted the teacher training seed in my mind. So keeping morning yoga at Falcon Ridge is very important to me. I failed to put up a sign this year (just got too busy) but my 2012 sign magically appeared on the info board, and I ended up with 10-12 students each morning. Was quite lovely. And the new big tough plastic bins I purchased to stash my mats and props in worked perfectly - keeping things dry through multiple showers and the nightly dew.

Falcon Ridge Folk Festival - 2013 Emerging Artists

The official list has been released, in alphabetical order: 

Amanda Pearcy - Austin TX
Amy Black - Somerville MA
Annalivia - Boston MA
Bethel Steele - Boston MA
Bobtown - NYC
Brad Yoder Duo - Pittsburgh PA
Carrie Ferguson - Northampton MA
Connor Garvey - Portland ME
Cricket Tell the Weather - Brooklyn NY
Darlingside - Boston MA
Doug Allen - Stamford CT
Doug Kwartler - Boston MA
Jacob Latham - Bloomington IN
Jonah Tolchin - Princeton NJ 
Martin Swinger - Augusta ME
Michael Braunfeld - Philadelphia PA
Noble Hunter - Brooklyn NY
Phil Henry Acoustic Trio - Rutland VT
Rachael Sage - NYC
Reverend TJ McGlinchey - Philadelphia PA
Roosevelt Dime - Brooklyn NY
Tall Heights - Boston MA
The Bones of J.R. Jones - Manilus NY
The Boxcar Lilies - Greenfield MA

Looks like a pretty eclectic group. The usual New England / Northeast slant is seasoned with artists from Austin, Pittsburgh, Bloomington, and Philadelphia. A quick review of the websites (to grab these links) shows a good mix of solo artists and groups. 

I only recognize a few names. Rachael Sage was a Showcase Artist back in 2010; I also saw her at the New Haven Folk Fest (and picked up a CD back then). Boxcar Lilies I've heard somewhere (Prairie Home Companion? Local folk shows?). I've actually PLAYED with Brad Yoder (at the Falcon Ridge volunteer open mic, where we accompany Ben Atherton-Zeman during his annual FRFF inspired song parody). Phil Henry has been touring with Tracy Grammar on and off over the years. And Amy Black and Bethel Steele are both familiar names out of Boston.

Brooklyn / NYC get's the "precious name" award, with three artists (Bobtown / Cricket Tell the Weather / Roosevelt Time) having creative / eclectic / curious names.

Falcon Ridge Folk Festival - Merch Tent Preview

I've dragged out Excel and am cleaning up the master spreadsheet I use to track merchandise for the folk fest. I developed this puppy back in  2007 (my first year as merch co-crew chief) and it has proven to be pretty well designed, going all these years without requiring too much modification. I set up an individual spreadsheet for each artist / performer (some require multiple sheets) and we track the units brought to fest, added or removed during fest, and checked out after. With unit pricing, it calculates the total sales, subtracts the fest commission, and tallies the artist's total sales. Pretty basic, but still much work with 50-60 artists at a typical fest weekend.

Some artists (especially the 24 "Emerging Showcase Artists") are pretty simple, with a handful of CDs (we ask them to leave the swag home, as emerging artists, just not a lot of potential for sales). Others can be quite a handful - Gandalf Murphy / Grand Slambovians (for instance) bring multiple CDs, DVDs, packaged sets, shirts, hats, coffee(!), etc. Others (such as The Kennedy's) have multiple musical personae (in their case, they've been part of The Stranglings, The Stringbusters) or have solo works for individual members of the group. So it's quite a juggling act to keep it all sorted out.

This year, I took the time to list and document all the macros; I use macros for the spreadsheet automation as well as for little maintenance task (clearing sheets, repopulating header / footer fields for the current year, etc.) - found quite a bit of redundancy which I am slowly pruning. Might as well start fresh!

This is the 25th Anniversary of the Folk Fest - started in 1988 and missing 1991. I've been volunteering since 1992, with one missed year (was in SE Asia for work) so I think this is my 21st year. I started out with the parking crew, and the year I missed was a good opportunity to switch over to the festival tee-shirt (merch) crew. In 2007, Tee-Shirts and Performer Merch merged and I was a signing bonus (i.e. - crew chief Ellen acceded to the merger if I got a co-crew chief position with the responsibility of tracking performer merchandise).

In the ensuing years, I've seen a lot less music from in front of the stage (holing up in the merch trailer for much of the fest, which admittedly is line of site from main stage) but I've also gotten to meet and know a lot of the performers. It's a decent trade, IMHO. As the saying goes, I have "risen to the level of my incompetence" and here I shall stay.

Looking at the festival artists (the Emerging Artists have not yet been announced) it looks like a pretty decent fest. We're missing that big headliner (someone like Richard Thompson, Shawn Colvin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Arlo Guthrie, etc.) but Dar Williams is back for the first time in many years and she's pretty much a headliner these days. And although a lot of old friend are absent (of the Patty Larkin, John Gorka, Richard Shindell, Greg Brown, Cheryl Wheeler generation), there are plenty of really great musicians.

Back for 2013, Falcon Ridge mainstays The Kennedys (I've missed ya, although maybe less so the mayhem of your merchandise), the Nields, Red Molly, the Grand Slambovians. Venerable faves such as Vance Gilbert, Susan Werner, Eliza Gilkyson, Mary Gauthier, Dan Navarro and Ellis Paul all add punch to the center of the line-up. And some newer faves - Spuyten Duvil, Jason Spooner Band, Andrew & Noah Band fill out the lineup.  Not ignoring the dance tent bands, plenty of punch there as well.

So...here it comes again. A week later this year (and hopefully pushing us into a little bit of sunny and dry weather in August).