Photos by Tim Dwenger
As families we all have our traditions and, whether it’s opening presents on Christmas Eve, driving to the cabin every summer, or making pancakes on Sunday morning, these traditions are what define our lives and give us those memories that last a lifetime.
For our family, one of those traditions is our annual August pilgrimage to Lyons for the Rocky Mountain Folks Fest. It’s a tradition that my wife and I started 6 years before our daughter was born and one that has continued as she has grown from babe in arms to teetering toddler to independent five year old. Sure there have been challenges over the years, but what family tradition doesn’t have it’s moments of stress and anguish (you’ve seen the Vacation movies haven’t you?). What’s really important are the memories and this year added many more to the cauldron.
As Friday’s festivities opened, we caught up with old friends, set up our home base, and listened to the supremely talented men and women of the Songwriter Showcase as they warmed up the stage, and our ears, for a long weekend of music. While Kira Small was the winner of the annual contest and went home with a beautiful Taylor guitar, all the finalists should be proud! From there, FY5 blended Bluegrass and Folk as they serenaded us with tracks like “White Colored Pencil” from their 2018 release The Way These Things Go and “The Days Wide Open” from 2015’s Eat The Moon.
For longtime residents of the Front Range and music archivists, the mid-afternoon set from Magic Music was very special indeed. These guys had taken their shot in the 70’s but broke up before they ever released an album and the soft rocking songs about spring were exactly what the folks fest crowd needed. As they made their way through their set they joked about their time in Nederland and told of how they had played the first two Telluride Bluegrass Festivals more than 40 years ago. As the 70’s folk rock faded away, Mary Gauthier took the stage and delivered a poignant set that leaned heavily on material from her Rifles & Rosary Beads album that was written with veterans. It’s an incredible project that has yielded equally incredible results. As songs like “The War After the War” and “Bullet Holes in the Sky” floated through the ranch, I saw a few folks well up with tears. It was an emotional afternoon that paved the way for the venerable Jeff Tweedy of Wilco.
Tweedy took the stage looking a little bit disheveled, but hey he’s Jeff Tweedy and he can do whatever the hell he wants. This is the man who penned “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart,” “Passenger Side,” “I’m The Man Who Loves You” (all of which were played in his 75 minute set) among countless other gems. While he apologized profusely for bringing us down with all his sad songs, there wasn’t a soul watching who wasn’t eating up every minute of it. With Los Lobos still remaining on the bill, Tweedy even gave us a little “La Bamba” tease that, of course, was delivered with a sad inflection in a minor key. This man is a national treasure and it was great to see him back at Planet Bluegrass.
Quite frankly, after Tweedy, Los Lobos was a little bit of a let down. Sure, they are talented musicians and they kept those in the crowd who were up for a party going, but I would have loved to see Tweedy close the night out. Sure, that’s one man’s opinion, and I admit that I had a great time listening to their East LA Rock reverberate around the ranch, but in the end it came off a bit like filler at the tail end of a great day of music.
After setting up our home base on Saturday, we dodged some raindrops back at the cabin over a fierce game of Uno and then headed down to Planet Bluegrass as the clouds broke. We walked in while the French Canadian Les Poulet A Colin were playing, but my first real highlight was the incomparable Darrel Scott. It was Folks Fest that introduced me to this master of song and since I first saw him in Lyons I’ve seen him both on his own and with Robert Plant. This guy is a genius and he serenaded us with the always appropriate “Colorado,” a song he wrote for Trump’s inauguration, and, just days after Aretha Franklin’s passing, a touching rendition of “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” which the Queen of Soul performed at both Martin Luther King Jr’s and Mahalia Jackson’s funerals. Darrel Scott always delivers and Saturday afternoon was no different – a highlight of the festival for sure!
Following Darrel Scott is no easy task, but Wild Child was up for it as they dropped a set that was just enough Indie-Rock to keep things interesting while their lead singer Kelsey Wilson channel the likes of Janis Joplin on tracks like “Follow Me.” They intrigued me enough that I’ll check them out the next time they pass through Denver. Some may say that Martin Sexton is a “wild child” himself, and his trio set on Saturday reinforced his willingness to take risks and delight his audience in the process. With bassist Chris Anderson and Elephant Revival’s Charlie Rose in tow, Sexton delivered a memorable set that included favorites like “Things You Do To Me” and “Diggin’ Me” which were both received by raucous applause from the loving crowd.
Fortunately for our crew, we left shortly after Sexton left the stage to get our kids to bed and, as we were tucking them in, all hell broke loose in the valley as a massive storm rolled through. There was torrential rain, tons of lightning, and thunder that seemed to roll for minutes on end. The next morning was rife with stories from Saturday night’s storm and I think I heard that The Indigo Girls only got through six songs of their set before being forced from the stage. It’s summer in Colorado I guess, but I feel for all of you who got caught in the mayhem.
Sunday dawned fresh and beautiful and we made it to the festival in time to catch one of the highlights of the weekend, a “gospel” set from the incomparable Bonnie Paine of Elephant Revival. While I didn’t know what to expect from her set, the songstress dazzled with a performance that blended Folk and Gospel in a heartwarming way. As Paine and the Cottonwood Choir made their way through “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” and “Wade In The Water,” I think my daughter summed it up perfectly when her reply to me asking if she wanted to head back to our tarp was simply “no Daddy, I wanna stay here forever.” I’d give a lot to get my hands on a recording of this set, let’s put it at that.
The bar was set high early, but there is no doubt that the Sunday line-up was up to the task and while I’m not shy to say we were constantly edging toward the door due to our little girl starting kindergarten the next day, the Sunday line-up kept reeling us back in. Steve Poltz was riveting with his takes on “Folk Singer” and “I Want All My Friends To Be Happy” alongside some side-splitting stand-up comedy-like interludes. Following his one-man and a guitar act, River Whyless appeared on the scene with a droning bass note that woke up my senses and drew me in close to the stage for a fantastic set of bass heavy Indie-Rock that I was thrilled I didn’t miss.
As we dodged some raindrops in between trips to the river, Penny & Sparrow delighted with a set that featured a pair of phenomenal voices coupled with an unassuming stage presence. This duo even got the audience into the act as they gave each section of the crowd a part to sing as they covered Paul Simon’s “The Boxer” but it was their take on Ryan Adams; “Come Pick Me Up” that was yet another highlight of the weekend for me.
The folks at Planet Bluegrass have a reputation for putting surprising acts on the bill that delight a mostly unsuspecting crowd. Tinariwen was another one of those and their Sunday afternoon set was engaging as they introduced themselves to Lyons. I’ve been familiar with this group of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali for several years as they made an impression on some friends of mine, but this was my first exposure to their live show. All I can say is that their positive energy and presence was contagious and their set was the perfect way to end our 2018 pilgrimage to Folks Fest.
Though it’s been twelve years some thing remain the same; the beer is cold, the music is amazing, the river water cools the blood in minutes, and our daughter will always fall asleep in the car on the way home. Here’s to many more years of memories in Lyons for our family and yours.
+ There are no comments
Add yours