For anyone that’s read my work on this site over the years, it’s probably no surprise to see this piece. This was my 16th Folks Fest and it still holds every bit of the magic of that first one all those years ago, and probably more. My wife and I started going to this glorious August event shortly after we started dating. We’ve since married and had a daughter who has been to every Folks Fest that has taken place during her lifetime. She’s grown up at Planet Bluegrass and now, at nine years old, we don’t hesitate to let her have the run of the Festival grounds over the course of the weekend. She knows this place like the back of her hand. She shows new friend the ropes of tubing the river, knows the secret swimming holes and the right times to get Sister’s Dumplings without a line, can navigate the backstage area and dance zone, and she’s even training for the tarp run. It’s been so much fun enjoying this festival with her for the last 10 years.
Why did I kick this review off talking about my family? Well, because this festival is about family. Not only is it incredibly family friendly, but everyone comes together with their extended “Folks Fest Family” at the festival each year (two of my college friends, who have each been to the festival multiple times over the years, made the trip out from the East Coast this year to join us), and the “folks” you meet on the grounds are like family. Everyone treats each other with respect, we share tarp space and shade, and pitch-in when someone needs help. It’s a little slice of something special and we could all serve ourselves well to take a little bit (or a lot) of Folks Fest back into our daily lives when we leave The Planet each August.
All that said, it’s also about music – lots of it – and this year’s line-up was nothing short of stacked. We had people like Robert Earl Keen and Ani DiFranco, who could have headlined the event, showing up a little lower on the bill this year because of how top heavy the line-up was.
As usual, the Songwriter Showcase kicked things off and, as we all got settled in for three days of bliss, we got to hear some great songs that were new to many of us in the crowd. In the end it was Shanna in a Dress who took home the top honors and will be honored with a main stage set at next summer’s event. Congrats Shanna, you made me laugh and cry in the span of two songs. You deserved this win!
As we strolled about the grounds over the course of the afternoon, dipping our feet in the river and grabbing some food from the always stellar array of vendors, we were treated to music from Rachel Baiman, Mick Flannery, and Courtney Hartman before the legendary Rodney Crowell took the stage and proceeded to put on Country Folk masterclass that proved he has spent his 72 years perfecting his craft. From “Open Season on My Heart” to “Ashes By Now,” Crowell showcased material from throughout his long career. There were straight up Folk ballads alongside ripping Country barn burners with barrel-house piano. He even performed a song he wrote for his longtime friend (and master songwriter himself) Guy Clark – “It Ain’t Over Yet” – before he delivered a great performance of his signature tune “Leaving Louisiana In Broad Daylight.” I was a little bit disappointed he didn’t play “Stars on the Water” but I left with a smile on my face just the same.
Sarah Jarosz had the unenviable slot of playing after Crowell, and before British Soul diva Yola, and she proved she was up to the task as she performed a stirring set of brilliantly written songs including a portion of a piece she composed after being the recipient of the FreshGrass Composition Commission called “Blue Heron Suite.” I had seen Jarosz a week earlier in Jacksonville Oregon when she played with Watchhouse and The Punch Brothers as a solo act and was impressed, but her full band show is something entirely different and she emphasized that point when she and her band played an awesome version of James McMurty’s “Childish Things” (Listen Here!) as one of the closing songs of their set. This woman has range!
The highlight of Friday for me was, without any doubt, Yola. The first time I played her 2019 album Walk Through Fire, I was struck by the timeless nature of these songs. At first I was sure that this was an album of covers of hidden 70’s gems, but I quickly discovered that she had written every song on the record. From the moment she started her set, she was bringing something different and welcome to Planet Bluegrass. There was a soulful, disco-vibe hanging in the air and, as her voice soared, she proved that it’s not “studio magic” that makes her sound so good on record. “Faraway Look” (Listen Here!) is one of my favorite songs of hers and it was every bit as good live as I was hoping it would be (and I had some pretty high hopes). She treated the crowd to “Whatever You Want” from her more recent Stand For Myself and “Shady Grove” (not the tradgrass classic) before dropping her version of Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” This was a set that will long be remembered by the Folks Fest Family.
Saturday dawned early – as it usually does after the late night shenanigans that surround the traditional midnight handing out of tarp dash numbers – and we secured space for our shade structure and relaxed a bit as we waited for Megan Burtt to come serenade us. Megan is always a welcome presence at Folks Fest and this year was no different. Her set included some fantastic songs including “Find Something to Hold On To,” “Hollow Home,” and “Drugstore Brand” which professed the importance of being “special” as opposed to just “normal.” But it was “Worry” that really blew me away with it’s sultry, smoky Jazz vibe.
The beautiful afternoon lured the masses to bask in the cool river as the laughter of children mixed perfectly with the music coming from the stage. Cedric Burnside took the stage solo with an acoustic guitar and gave the festival a healthy dose of the Blues before Carsie Blanton used her ferocious attitude (and a John Prine cover) to set the crowd up for the Texas legend who is Robert Earl Keen.
Though Keen wasn’t looking his best as he sat for the show and wore an eye patch over his right eye, he delivered a solid set that touched on many of best loved tunes. Early in the set the faithful sang along to “Feeling Good Again” and “Gringo Honeymoon” before Keen paid tribute to the great Levon Helm and brought us a sardonic taste of Christmas in August with “Merry Christmas From the Family.” Keen’s writing and imagery are an inspiration and I was thrilled to hear “The Road Goes On Forever (and The Party Never Ends)” one final time as the songwriter prepares to hang it up for good on September 4th. Fittingly, he closed his set with “I’m Coming Home” and received a standing ovation as he waved goodbye.
The afternoon gave way to early evening and with it came a light but steady rain that didn’t do much to deter the rabid fans of Ani DiFranco who defied the festivals usual “stay seated in the audience” rule and crowded up against the fence as the powerfully percussive guitarist opened her set with “Still My Heart” and “Do or Die.” Ani is always a pleasure have at Folks Fest and midway through her set the heavens treated us to a huge rainbow that had the songwriter gushing from the stage as the crowd turned around to take it all in. After a pair of solo tunes, DiFranco invited the beautiful and talented Bonnie Paine to the stage to share her talents on the washboard and musical saw. As always, Paine’s contributions were magical and after vanishing into the wings as the band played “Simultaneously,” she reappeared for “Revolutionary Love” as the set wound down. Ani and her band finished out with “Shameless” before returning for a pretty rare two song encore that consisted of “Both Hands” and “Gravel,” the first of which dates all the way back to 1990 and shows the staying power of this amazing woman.
As the rain came and went, Bruce Hornsby took the stage to close out the evening (and make-up for having to cancel his appearance at last year’s event). He and The Noisemakers got things off to a great start with “Little Sadie” blending seamlessly into a fantastic take on “White Wheeled Limousine” that featured a tease of “Long Black Veil.” It was clear from that get-go that though this may be a “Folk” festival, Hornsby and his band were going to jam a bit – something I have absolutely no problem with. As we dodged raindrops, Bruce introduced “Cast-Off” as a song he wrote with Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) for his 2019 album Absolute Zero and then served up “The Blinding Light of Dreams” from the same record before diving back into the catalog for the crowd pleasing “The Way It Is.” Then it was time for the stripped down portion of the evening as the piano and keyboard genius picked up a more traditional Folk instrument and led a subset of the band through several tunes on the Dulcimer. Curfew was approaching but there was still time for a little “Mandolin Rain” to appease the casual fans as they packed up dripping wet tarps before the band jammed their way out on “Country Doctor” and “White Noise.” The day came to a blistering end with the whole band raving things up a bit with another favorite of mine, “Rainbow’s Cadillac” in the encore slot.
Sunday was one of those days at Folks Fest when I went in with relatively low expectations for most of the acts early in the day because I really just didn’t know them. I’ve got faith in the crew that books this festival and I knew there would be some surprises, but I just didn’t know the surprises would be coming all day long.
The first came at noon when Tall Tall Trees took the stage as a single bearded man (Mike Savino) with a banjo and proceeded to whip the dancers into a frenzy as he plucked, strummed, and drummed the instrument in a way I hadn’t seen before. Building multi-layered loops with an array of pedals, Savino seemed to conjure up a big band on originals like “How Did It Get Dark So Fast” (Listen Here!) and “Expectations.” With a unique sound that owes as much to Bluegrass, Rock, and “Indie” music as it does Folk, Tall Tall Trees deftly blends genres and even had me wondering if he was going to break into a Paul Simon cover at one point. What a treat!
The second surprise hit when TK & The Holy Know-Nothings stormed the stage in the heat of the afternoon. Fronted by Taylor Kingman (T.K.) who is backed by a raucous band including Fruition’s Jay Cobb Anderson on guitar, these guys laid it all out on stage as they brought a whiskey soaked bar band vibe to the usually peaceful festival – and it was awesome. Kingman’s ragged voice rings crisp as he delivers vivid stories about the realities of a hard-lived life over the beautiful din of pounding drums, crunchy guitars and a perfectly plunked piano. Their bio mentions that they have self-dubbed their music “psychedelic doom boogie” and I couldn’t agree more.
The final real surprise of the day came when The Wailin’ Jennys graced us with their beautiful presence. Over the course of their 75 minute set, this Canadian group dazzled with stunning harmonies and masterful playing as they served up a mix of originals and covers including “Loves Me Like A Rock,” Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers,” and “Old Man.” More than once they stopped me in my tracks as I was forced to direct all my attention at the stage. This was a wonderful way to usher in the golden hour and one of the performers I was most excited to see, John Craigie.
For those uninitiated, John Craigie is one part comedian, one part Folk Singer, and one part bad-ass storyteller. Together these three parts join to become larger than the whole as he captivates audiences with songs like the groovy “Part Wolf” (Listen Here!) from his stellar 2020 release Asterisk the Universe, and the hilarious “Woodstock Baby” that shows up on one of his live albums; Capricorn in Retrograde. He had me in stitches more than once during his set and it was awesome to look back over the crowd and see so many smiling faces as Craigie commanded the capacity crowd with just his voice, wit, and an acoustic guitar. Midway through the set the entertainer was joined by TK and the Holy Know-Nothings and they revealed that they had just recorded an album together (insert dramatic gasp here) before dropping “Laurie Rolled Me a J” as a raucous, folky bar band and “I Am California” with Megan Burtt on background vocals. Late in the set Craigie tied it all up in a bow as he serenaded us all with a song about an encounter with a character in New Orleans; “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Suffice it to say, I was a happy man as I soaked up John Craigie’s debut on the main stage of Folks Fest.
As the evening wound down I remembered being in a record store in my hometown in the early 90’s when an older guy (probably younger than I am now) walked in and asked an employee strolling the aisles what album he should buy. It was a very open ended question and the clerk gave him a few scattered recommendations. When he was done, I turned around and said “Indigo Girls, Rites of Passage. Every song is great, it’s one of my go-to albums right now.” I was probably 16 or 17, and clearly thought a lot of my opinion (not much has changed), but I know it was true at that time. I loved that album. Songs like “Galileo,” “Three Hits,” “Ghost,” “Jonas & Ezekial” were the soundtrack to my senior year in high school. Damn those women killed it with that record! Unfortunately a lot of time has passed since that record came out and The Indigo Girls aren’t what they used to be. Sure, it’s great for nostalgia’s sake, but on a Sunday night after three full days of music, it wasn’t what I was looking for and we rolled up the tarp, packed up the wagon and headed out with amazing memories of another incredible weekend at Planet Bluegrass.
Make no mistake, this is a one-of-a-kind event that you have to experience if any of this piece rings true to you. There is amazing music, great food, an incredible family-like community in a very family friendly setting, and natural beauty – really, what more could you ask for.
I’ll be back.
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