As the summer of 2007 winds down, a spate of music festivals across the U.S. are planned over Labor Day Weekend and the ensuing two weekends. Information on more than three dozen of them follows.
32nd National Old Time Country & Bluegrass Music Festival
August 27-September 2, 2007
Now in its 32nd year, this week-long festival, held in conjunction with an agricultural exposition, features old-time and traditional acoustic music performed on 10 stages. This year’s ‘special guest’ artists include Bobby Atkins of the Country Gentlemen, Johnny Bellar, Jim Ed Brown ,Stonewall Jackson, Rio Grande Valley singer Red Johnson, harmonica player Charlie McCoy, Mel McDaniels (whose baby wears blue jeans), Georgia’s Morris Brothers, Jim Murphy, Jim Owen, Jimmy Payne, Shawn Pittman (Moe Bandy’s fiddler), Bobby G. Rice, Terry Smith and Red Steagall, one of America’s favorite living cowboys.
August 30-September 2, 2007
207-725-6009 or 877-TPB-4321
Like the Blistered Fingers Family Bluegrass Festival in
August 31-September 2, 2007
www.brandywinefriends.org/dvbgf/
Now in its 36th year, this festival is presented by The Brandywine Friends of Old Time Music. This year’s impressive lineup includes Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, The Grascals, Cherryholmes, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Nashville Bluegrass Band, Dan Paisley & The Southern Grass, Seneca Rocks,
August 31-September 2, 2007
Although not strictly a bluegrass festival, this Labor Day Weekend event, now in its 12th year, will feature performances by the Jerry Douglas Band, The Infamous Stringdusters, Nickel Creek, Sweet Sunny South and The Wilders, as well as an array of instrumental workshops. Advance ticket prices range from $30 for Friday only to $100 for a three-day pass with on-site camping. Ticket prices are $5-$10 more at the gate.
August 31-September 2, 2007
Featured performers at this free festival include A.J. Croce, Bill Kirchen, Eric Lindell Band, Scott Miller & the Commonwealth, Slavic Soul Party, The Tossers, Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers, and more than a dozen other artists.
August 31-September 2, 2007
Billed as “A Celebration of Celtic pride in Cowtown,” this festival, just south of downtown, features some two-dozen traditional music and Celtic rock acts on five stages, Irish dance competitions, stand-up comedy, heritage displays and workshops. Notable performers include
16th Annual
August 31-September 2, 2007
Quiet Valley Ranch, nine miles south of
Although not as well-known as — and smaller in scale than — the annual Kerrville Folk Festival, this three-day festival in the Texas Hill Country features some fine music. Among the more than two dozen songwriters performing this year are Caren Armstrong, Jay Boy Adams, Sally Barris, The Belleville Outfit, SONiA & Disappear Fear, Tret Fure, David Jacobs-Strain, Zoe Lewis, Los Texmaniacs, Kate McDonnell, David Olney, Ellis Paul and Jack Williams. While three six-hour evening concerts and two two-hour afternoon concerts anchor the festival, other musical offerings include Ballad tree song-sharing, after-hours song circles and jam sessions in the campground, and, new this year, a one and one-half day songwriters’ guitar workshop with instruction by Jack Williams, Tom Prasada Rao and Tena Moyer (for an extra fee). In addition, one dozen
MooGrass Bluegrass/Acoustic Festival
August 31-September 2, 2007
Tillamook, on the
Rhythm & Roots Festival
August 31-September 2, 2007
Some 10,000 people are drawn to this oceanfront community each Labor Day weekend to listen and/or dance to an array of roots music on four stages during this festive Mardi Gras-style celebration. The sounds of zydeco, Cajun,
Strawberry Fall Music Festival
August 31-September 2, 2007
All adult tickets are sold out for this festival that features such acts as Dr. John, Dry Branch Fire Squad, Jimmy LaFave, Harry Manx, Mark O’Connor, Saw Doctors, Son Volt, The Wailin’ Jennys and Lucinda Williams.
Cutting Edge of the Campfire Festival
August 31-September 3, 2007
Passim Folk Music & Cultural Center in
Dozens of performers will take the stage at
Earl Park Fall Festival
August 31-September 3, 2007
Although Earl Park is a small town with some 700 residents, more than 40,000 attend this free festival each year to enjoy bluegrass and old-time country music performances, as well as pickin’ at the campsites. Featured artists this year include 1000 Pounds of Bluegrass Band, Chicago Bluegrass Band, Cornfields & Crossroads, Mike Jones & Young at Heart, No Tools Loaned, and Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike.
Thumbfest
Saturday, September 1, 2007
This annual traditional music festival on the shores of
Metamora Old Time Music Festival
September 1-2, 2007
This two-day celebration of traditional music, held in a town midway between Indianapolis and Cincinnati, features free workshops and performances organized by a group of volunteers and sponsored by Historic Metamora Inc.
15th Annual
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Vermont’s Celtic and French-Canadian roots are celebrated at this one-day, noon-midnight, festival whose featured artists include Atlantic Crossing, Cantrip, Paddy Keenan, La Voiee d’Castors, Reveillons! and the Nicholas Williams Ensemble, among others. Tickets are $30 for adults; $10 for those ages 13-18, and $5 for children ages12 and under.
September 2-3, 2007
http://members.aol.com/fvfolk/
Held on a 13-acre island in the Fox River, located 40 miles west of the
And also coming up in September…
Michael Hearne’s 5th Annual Big Barn Dance Weekend
September 6-8, 2007
The Old Blinking Light & Casa de Caballos Barn in
What started out as a barn dance has expanded into a weekend-long festival. While there’ll be plenty of two-steppin’ going on at the barn, some fine music also is in store with artists including Ronny Cox with Jack Williams, Susan Gibson, Chuck Pyle, Shake Russell Band, The Sisters Morales, Keith Sykes, Druha Trava, Mentor Williams, and, of course, Michael Hearne & South by Southwest. Tickets range from $25 – $90 (the latter covering all three days & the barn dance). Preceding the festival will be a songwriters’ workshop, September 5-6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Instructors include Buzz Cason, Chuck Pyle, Don Richmond and Mentor Williams.
2007
September 6-9, 2007
Various Venues in
Formerly known as the New Haven Folk Festival and presented solely by New Haven Folk, this event has assumed a new name, a new co-presenter in Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), and has a more expansive lineup thanks to new festival director Barbara Manners (who also lines up the impressive CHIRP series of free concerts each summer in Ridgefield’s Ballard Park).
SCSU plays host to Saturday evening’s concert headlined by Judy Collins and featuring jam band Railroad Earth, Jonah Smith, and up-and-coming singer-songwriter Amy Speace and her crack band, the Tearjerks, in its Lyman Auditorium. Earlier that day, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the SCSU campus will be the site of a free Green Expo featuring environmental exhibits and demonstrations, as well as family-oriented music, workshops, and activities for all ages. Blues guitarist Scott Ainslie, “industrial repercussionist” Billy Jonas (who creates and plays music on instruments made from recycled industrial materials), and the Guy Mendilow Band, winners of
Horseshoe
September 7-8, 2007
On the banks of the James River in
www.horseshoebendbluegrass.com
WFLO’s Henry Fulcher emcees this festival in the small town of
September 7-9, 2007
Riverplex at
Now in its 17th year, this annual festival is being held at a new location. The late great singer-songwriter Tommy Makem was to have been a featured artist, and the festival will pay tribute to him. Among the featured artists are his sons in The Makem & Spain Brothers, Ceann, The Celtic Tenors, Cahal Dunne, Gaelic Storm (the steerage band in the film “Titanic”), Ontario’s talented Glengarry Bhoys, Homeland, the David Munnelly Band and Screaming Orphans (four harmonic sisters originally from Galway, whose music is a lively mix of folk-rock and pop). For ticket information, call (4212) 232-1537.
The 13th Annual
September 7-9, 2007
www.rochesteririshfestival.org
A family-oriented cultural celebration with family-friendly prices ($8 daily in advance, $10 at the gate & $20 for a weekend pass; children under 8 admitted free), this festival will feature such artists as Ceoltoiri Eireann, The Celtic Music Society, Comhaltus, The Dady Brothers, Everheart, Greenwich Meantime, Dave North Trio, Rathkeltair, The Town Pants, The Tullamore Celtic Band, and The Wild Geese.
September 7-8, 2007
Now in its eighth year, this festival features lectures, workshops, exhibits and step dancers in addition to an array of music. Performing artist include The Causeway Giants, Joe Davoli, The Fenians, Flyin Column, Greenwich Meantime, Hadrian’s Wall, Irish Choraleers, Pat Kane, The Makem & Spain Brothers, Cassidy McCale, Merry Mischief, Rathkeltair, Searson, The Tipp Hill Gaels and The Town Pants.
Swallow Hill Folk Festival
September 7-9, 2007
Swallow Hill Building in Denver, Colorado
www.swallowhill.com/festivals/folkfest/2007
Presented by the Swallow Hill Music Association, which bills itself as Denver’s home for folk, roots and acoustic music, this festival is now in its 16th year. Ruthie Foster, a Texas-based singer-songwriter, whose music is a blend of blues, gospel, country and folk, kicks things off on Friday night. Other artists on the festival’s three stages during the weekend include emerging young Canadian roots duo Twilight Motel, rootsy California-based Americana singer-songwriter Corinne West & the Posse, acoustic Americana trio Dakota Blonde, and more than 150 artists from the Rockies. Tickets are $15 each day; $12 for members.
The 2007 Turtle Hill Folk Festival
September 7-9, 2007
www.goldenlink.org/html/fest.html
Presented by the Golden Link Folk Singing Society, this family-oriented festival near
Midnight Special Folk Festival
September 9, 2007
www.midnightspecial.org/msfolkfestival.html
Singer-songwriter Greg Greenway is the special guest emcee for this second annual festival and benefit concert for The Midnight Special radio program hosted by Rich Warren on
76th
September 12-16, 2007
There’s likely something for acoustic music lovers and players of all kinds at this festival, which features an array of folk, country and bluegrass artists on four stages, in addition to eight instrumental contests, a competitive songwriter showcase, campground contests, and event a contest among arts & crafts exhibitors. This year’s lineup includes such artists as Italian guitar virtuoso Beppe Gambetta, Bill Barwick, Cadillac Sky, The Greencards, Marley’s Ghost, John McCutcheon Button accordionist David Munnelly and his band, rising bluegrass talent Alecia Nugent, The Kenny & Amanda Smith Band, The Wilders, The Wiyos, Wood’s Tea Co., and more. Five-day, full-festival tickets are $90 ($80 if ordered by mail by August 24). Daily and two-day tickets also are available. Children ages 6-11 will be admitted for $5 at the gate, while youngsters under 6 will be admitted free.
September 13-15, 2007
Kodak,
www.dumplinvalleybluegrass.com
There’ll be plenty of pickin’ in the Smokies over the weekend as bands like The Grascals, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, The Bluegrass Brothers, Cherryholmes, David Davis & The Warrior River Boys, Grasstowne, Greenbriar, The James King Band, Dan Paisley & The Southern Grass, Don Rigsby & Midnight Call, and The Stringdusters take the stage.
Starvy Creek
September 13-15, 2007
Starvy Creek RV Park in
J.D. Crowe & The New South, Tim Graves & Cherokee,
September 13-16, 2007
www.strawberrypark.net/folk_music.htm
The owners of this private campground in southeastern
Irish 2000 Music & Arts Festival
September 14-15, 2007
Altamont Fairgrounds in
More than 20,000 Celtic music fans from
10th
September 14-15, 2007
Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, Park
Featuring a day and a half of old-time bluegrass concerts, jamming and workshops, the jamboree takes place both inside a century-old Ethical Culture meeting house that is home to the Good Coffeehouse Music Parlor concert series, as well as outside on its park-like grounds. “We try to keep things on a small scale,” says popular local bluegrass band leader James Reams, who hosts the annual event. “We want people to feel at home and have a good time. The only thing big is the big time we hope everyone has.”
8th
September 12-15, 2007
www.arbucklemtbluegrasspark.homestead.com/festival.html
Bluegrass bands from
MassBluegrass Jamboree
September 14-16, 2007
Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park on Cape Cod is the site of this outdoor bluegrass festival featuring music by Back Eddy Bluegrass Band, Crabgrass, David Davis & Warrior River Boys, The Harvest Band, Dan Helman & Marking Time, Hunger Mountain Boys, Jaded Mandolin, Mahogany Ridge, Buddy Merriam & Back Roads, No Spare Parts, Old Time Bluegrass Singers, Pine Hill Ramblers, Southern Rail and Three Tall Pines. Early-bird weekend tickets, including camping, are $77 and rise to $102 after August 28. Children under 12 admitted free, while those under 16 are $25. Tickets prices for the second adult at the campsite are sharply reduced. Festival tickets without camping and single-day tickets also are available.
Millpond Music Festival
September 14-16, 2007
The picturesque
Pickin’ In The Pines
September 14-16, 2007
Presented by the Flagstaff Friends of Traditional Music, this bluegrass and acoustic music festival, now in its sophomore year, will feature artists performing traditional bluegrass, old timey and more progressive fare, along with a Saturday morning band contest, a Saturday night contra dance with music by Sweet Sunny South, and a number of workshops. That Dawggone talented mandolinist/composer David Grisman & the Bluegrass Experience and the Kruger Brothers headline , while some new, up-and-coming bands and local Arizona talent also will be showcased. Three-day weekend passes are $60 in advance and $70 at the gate. Daily tickets also are available. Camping is an additional $5/person. Free admission and camping for children ages 16 and under.
Fordham Fest
September 15, 2007
Fordham Brewing Company in Dover, Delaware
The brewing company hosts a benefit event for Delaware Friends of Folk, featuring food, beer, brewery tours and plenty of live music from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is $20. The Delaware Friends of Folk stages coffeehouses, concerts and monthly pick-ins where people gather to play music together, as well as the annual Delmarva Folk Festival that is set for October 5-6 at Field’s Farm in Hartly, Delaware.
Boston Folk Festival
September 15-16, 2007
UMass Boston
An impressive and diverse array of artists, most with Massachusetts ties — including singer-songwriters, blues and bluegrass musiucians, and more — will be featured on three stages during this 10th annual festival. They include Jake Armerding, Geoff Bartley, Cindy Beullens, Dave Crossland, Catie Curtis, Antje Duvekot, Mark Erelli, Vance Gilbert, Jess Klein, Patti Larkin, Lori McKenna, Erin McKeown, Bill Morrissey, Ellis Paul, Pine Hill Ramblers, Red Molly, Chris Smither and Bill Staines, among others. Adult tickets are $25-$30, while those for children, ages 6-14, are $5-$10.
September 15-16, 2007
Yeatman’s Cove Serpentine Wall on
www.cincinnaticelticfestival.com
Bodega, Liz Carroll & John Doyle, Lunasa, The Prodigals and Tommy Sands are among the featured artists at this festival that also will include a number of local and regional performers, a Saturday night ceili, more than 50 vendors, and an array of children’s activities and programs. Daily admission is $8 for adults, $5 for students, seniors (65+) and active military, and free for children ages 12 and under.
Julian Bluegrass Festival
September 15-16, 2007
Frank Lane Park in
www.julianbluegrassfestival.com
Now in its 37th year, this is the oldest bluegrass festival in
30th
September 16, 2007
This long-running, free festival in a suburb of
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