Philadelphia Folk Festival: Reports from the scene

[pbutts]

Tell us more...who else was good? My college roommate grew up working the festival and we went out to volunteer a number of summers in the early '80s.

[CameronCat]

Tell us more...who else was good? My college roommate grew up working the festival and we went out to volunteer a number of summers in the early '80s.

Heh! ... how long you got to listen? Three days of music and well over a hundred performers. My notes, in no particular order:

Janis Ian still has it; she did a very good mainstage set and a couple workshops. Scot Archie Fisher brought Garnet Rogers onstage to do a couple tunes including Stan's "Witch of the Westmoreland." Tommy Emmanuel from Australia was very good, playing some very thoughtful tunes. Shemekia Copeland did a humorous and tear-your-hat-off gospel/ blues set that had the crowd dancing. The Rebirth Brass Band laid in some good New Orleans street music. Tempest tore the place down on Friday night with their high energy, dare you to sit still performance.

Saturday afternoon highlight was the "Songs of Pete Seeger" workshop with Janis Ian, Josh White Jr, John Flynn and several others. It was just what Pete would have loved, a very participatory group sing with a lot of story telling thrown in as well.

Some of the acts were a little more rock-and-rolly and not to my taste. They book 'em to attract the 'yoof' market ... (One group prompted a member of my crew to ask no one in particular, "Do they actually play music or is it all just drums and screaming?") But taken on net, this year's festival was a particularly good mix of trad and modern music.

Hope they can do the same next year.

[pbutts]

Archie Fisher brought Garnet Rogers onstage to do a couple tunes including Stan's "Witch of the Westmoreland.".

Now I'm jealous. We got to see both Archie and Garnet a couple of times out this way in the mid-80s (just after Stan's passing). Missed them at the Ark this spring, too....damn. Glad you had fun.