Sunday 6/27/10 (3:30 p.m.) Today I promised myself that I would go to a workshop in every time slot possible. It was almost a success, however, I missed the first time slot from 9- 10:30 because we were still eating breakfast at the tent.

- At 10:45 a.m. we went to see the Mime and Juggling stylings of Roger the Jester. We have been going to see Roger since we were little kids and even now that we are older he is still able to make us laugh and put a smile on our face. The children were a bit unruly and they kept telling him to throw things out the window. It came to the point that he just started actually throwing things. It was pretty amusing even from the perspective of a young adult. The thing that really touched me about his performance this year, however, was that at the end of the show he made a speech about the importance of laughter and he got tears in his eyes. We made a point to speak to him after the show and he told us that he was thinking about when he travelled to Haiti. He was able to help these children and adults who had seen such hard times by making them smile or laugh. it must have been an amazing experience for him, and I can see why he would be so affected by it, even now.

- At 12:00 my little sister and I went to visit Buffalo's own Babik again. They were putting on a family show. It turned out to be a little less family oriented than I had expected. There was a bit of audience participation toward the beginning of the performance. The band members asked us to join hand in a circle (a bit difficult being that we were underneath a rectangular tent) and as the music played we danced and rotated the circle. It was less organized than it could've been, but it was fun all the same. The real, however, began when slightly inappropriate things began occurring. It started out innocent enough with the Shaving Cream song. This song is a narrative that alway ends with a SH before the chorus, giving the illusion that the lyrics would include the word SHit. Later on in the workshop, however, Stewart Fuchs made a joke that seemed less than family oriented. His microphone would not stay up so without hesitation he simply stated "This microphone stand need viagra or something." He followed it up by explaining that this is a family show and thats how some family's are made." I couldn't help but laugh at the irony. All in all, a very nice workshop, and it was wonderful to get to see Babik perform one last time.

-At 1:15 we attended a Celtic Soiree in which Matt and Shannon Heaton collaborated with Paul McKenna Band. It was a wonderful combination of Irish and Scottish folk performances. The groups played both separately and in combination with one another. Personally, I really enjoyed the sound of both groups playing together. I was also very impressed by it because it seemed as if it hadn't been rehearsed. If that were the case, with little to no preparation, they had managed to pull off a wonderful performance.

-The last workshop I attended was entitled "The Last Great Contra Dance of the 2010 Festival." I had wanted to dance the entire festival and this would be my last chance. I took turns dancing with my mother and sister and, for whatever reason, I was the man. It turned out great though. I really enjoy dancing, even if it is not my strongest form of artistic expression. Each dance was explained to us and we went through the motions slowly. Then, as we got used to it, the band began to play and we would begin to go faster. After a while I was glad that I had chosen to be the man because that meant that I could lead and go at my own pace. All in all, I don't think that I made too big of a fool of myself. I also really enjoyed getting to know all of the people that were dancing with. Many of them, I was happy to find, were sometimes as oblivious to what what we were doing as I was. At one point during the workshop it began to downpour and everyone clapped and cheered (at this point we were all hot a sweaty). I left feeling hot and sore, but also somehow accomplished.

-After the last dance I returned to the tent to pack it up before going to the concert at 3:45.

Saturday 6/26/10 (12 a.m.) Out of all of the evening performances that I experienced during the trip this Saturday night performance was by far my favorite. The M.C. was John Roberts- a wildly amusing English Folk singer and one hell of an entertainer. In between numbers he sang some hilarious, and often only mildly offensive folk songs. My personal favorite among these songs was a silly piece involving the narrator's rear end. This evening's concert consisted of performances by Tim Eriksen, Moscow Nights, Debra Cowin, Babik, Gadelle, Brian Peters, Matt and Shannon Heaton, and Kim and Reggie Harris.

- Tim Eriksen had a singing style much like that of Elizabeth LaPrelle and, likewise, he specialized in performing traditional ballads. He was a very talent musician- playing the guitar, fiddle, and banjo. I was intrigued to learn that he had a history as both an ethnomusicologist and a teacher. Throughout the festival he lead a number of shape note workshops.

- Moscow Nights proved to be an extremely interesting group of musicians. Originating in Russia, this group performed mostly Russian folk music. They performed most of their songs accompanied by an accordion and both a soprano and bass balalaika. The balalaikas were pretty amazing instruments and the performance was filled with beautiful pieces of Russian culture.

- Debra Cowan's performance was a very nice interpretation of traditional folk tunes. She had a very clear voice and was not afraid to perform pieced a cappella. She also sometimes played guitar as she sang.

- This was the third time I had seen Babik perform and it certainly would not be my last. During my second semester at Buffalo State Babik had put on a performance in collaboration with the Buffalo Philharmonic. It was absolutely amazing, so of course, I had pretty high standards for them going into tho this. Luckily, they did not disappoint. The performance was fun and energetic. Besides being brilliant gypsy jazz style musicians, the group is also comprised to two very talented singers. Two of the songs stood out as particularly humorous and fun. The first was a number in which the band members tried to portray a war-like setting by combining a few well-known songs together in fun and interesting ways. The second was a song entitled the Sheik of Araby during which Stewart Fuchs played a funny sounding instrument which resembled a small section of piping. It was not at all surprising that this group turned out to be the highlight of the evening for me.

- Gadelle was a wonderful group comprised of four women. They were a traditional French-Acadian group made up of extremely talented instrumentalists. More impressive, however, was the fact that they were also all very talented dancers. Throughout the entire performance fiddle/harmonica player Louise Arsenault kept he feet tapping in order provide a wonderful percussive accompaniment. Then, to top it all off, toward the end of the performance the women stood up with their instruments and began to step dance, all the while continuing to play. I was extremely impressed, if not slightly jealous. I am a failure when it comes to multi-tasking and this group went above an beyond simply multi-tasking. Gadelle's performance was wonderfully entertaining in more than one artistic field.

- Brian Peters was an traditional English Folk performer. His interesting english-accented voice gave him a unique musical sound. He also had an interesting personality when relating to the audience, the kind that makes you stop for a second and think- "Did he really just say that?" Many of the songs that he performed were very repetitive, but we like that here at folk fest. It allowed for a lot of audience participation which is always a plus (especially when everyone can sing well and keep a beat :-D).

- Matt and Shannon Heaton put on a beautiful performance of traditional Irish music. Shannon played beautifully on both the flute and whistle. Meanwhile, Matt often played guitar and they both did their share of singing. I enjoyed the pieces that they performed and, much like Paul McKenna Band, I was arrested by the beautiful sounds of the flute and whistle.

- Out of sheer exhaustion my camping cronies and I retired to the tent during the final act- Kim and Reggie Harris. What I was able to hear of their performance, however, was very interesting. It was a folky kind of a gospel/jazz blend.

- It has been a wonderful night of performances and we're all excited to see what tomorrow will have in store.

Saturday 6/26/10 (4:30 p.m.) Today was a pretty long day for me considering that I usually don't wake up until well after 10 during the summer. We woke up nice and early this morning to ensure that we would be able to attend workshops starting at 10.- At 10 a.m. I attended a Gypsy Jazz Guitar workshop lead by Stewart Fuchs and Joshua Assad of Babik. I hadn't brought a guitar along but I enjoyed the workshop all the same. Joshua and Stewart showed a large group of guitar players the correct way to strum a guitar within the gypsy jazz style of playing. This style is kind of a reverse of the way that guitar players usually play. They explained that the 2nd and 4th beats must be accented, however, the length of the notes should not be compromised during the process.

- At 11:15 a.m. we travelled over to the main stage where we were able to catch another performance by Paul McKenna group, whom we had seen the previous night. Seeing as they only have one album out at the moment, they had to repeat a few tunes. This turned out to be not quite so bad, however, because many of the audience members were able to sing along.

- At 3 p.m. we returned to the main stage to watch a kind of pre-concert performance by Babik. At this point it had been raining for a while and many of the audience members were either wet or sporting brightly colored umbrellas. It was difficult to truly enjoy the performance because of the crummy weather in combination with the fact that the sound systems are not used to their full potential during the day. Luckily, we would be able to see them perform again tonight on the main stage with the full effect of the sound systems.

Friday 6/25/10 (5 p.m.) We arrived at the Old Songs Festival at a little before 9 a.m. this morning and set up camp. We are all exhausted, considering that we left at around 4:30 this morning. Besides workshops, the first concert begins tonight at 7. I am looking forward to attending.

Friday 6/25/10 (12 a.m.) This first performance has proven to be extremely interesting. The M.C. was George Ward- a performer/composer of traditional folk songs. The evening consisted of performances by Billy Jonas, Sally Rogers and Howie Bursen, the James Keelaghan Trio, the Tennessee Mafia Jug Band, the Paul McKenna Band, Joe and Jesse Bruchac, Madcat and Kane, and Elizabeth LaPrelle and the Fruit Dodgers.

- The first performance that we were able to see was that of Sally Rogers and Howie Bursen. They have been married for 28 years and they come together to create a very nice traditional folk sound. Sally Rogers sang and played guitar, banjo, and mountain dulcimer. Howie also sang and played both the banjo and the guitar. In the past, I have seen Sally Rogers perform solo. After hearing her perform with Howie, however, I found that the combination of their two voices and musical talents has proven even more auditorily pleasing.

- The next performer- James Keelaghan, shares a connection with me personally because he has had a successful career as a music journalist. He and his Trio proved to be remarkable storytellers through the folk music medium.

- The Tennessee Mafia Jug Band was a unique group of performers at the festival this year. There was a very strong country feel to their music. The songs they played reminded me a great deal of the cowboy tunes that I learned about this past semester in my History of Popular Music class. I do not claim to be the biggest fan of Country music, however, I can't help but appreciate a group of musicians who perform using jugs and washboards as instruments.

Personally, I got a kick out of the fact that every time little Lester Armistead reached a high harmony when he sang he would come up on his tip toes.

- Joe and Jesse Brochac put on a very interesting performance. Both are of Native American decent and together they performed songs from the Native American culture. Jesse Brochac played a wind instrument with a very natural sound in order to display the Native American connection to natural elements such as wind. Through music they also explained aspects of the Native American culture such as marriage rituals.

- The highlight of the performance by Madcat and Kane was certainly Madcat and his amazing harmonica playing. Madcat and Kane combined to create a very blues oriented type of a sound. Both sang and Kane played blues guitar. They were very impressive as instrumentalists but I felt that their vocals left something to be desired. Perhaps it is simply the nature of the genre but I kind of felt that Kane in particular did not explore a very large vocal range and it gave her vocals more of a percussive feel than a harmonic one.

- Elizabeth LaPrelle and the Fruit Dodgers performed old-time tunes and Appalachian ballads. Elizabeth had a very unique sounding voice that made it sound almost as if she were half yodeling when she sang. I enjoyed the tunes but had a little trouble getting used to the unusual sound of her voice. In addition to singing, Elizabeth also played the fiddle. The group was mostly comprised of members of her family.

* For me, the Paul McKenna Band performance was the biggest highlight of the evening. This group travelled from Scotland and is currently touring in the United States. I enjoyed the sound of the flute and penny whistle, played by Sean Gray, in combination with the uplifting sounds of the fiddle, played by Rhairidh MacMillan. In addition, there is something sweet about vocals with a Scottish accent mixed in (Paul McKenna). All of the band members worked together to create a sweet Scottish sound that resembled a fresh new approach to a traditional style of music.

I'm heading up to Altamont for the Old Songs festival tomorrow. I won't have internet for the weekend so I'll have to go old fashion. I'll make my next post when i can after I return home.

As of right now it seems that my first concert opportunity won't be until June 25th- June 27th at which point I will be attending the Old Songs Music Festival in Altamont, New York (visit http://www.oldsongs.org/festival/index.html for more info). I'm not sure what my situation is going to be concerning internet considering that I will probably be tent camping. Either way I'll be sure to take lots of notes :-). I look forward to having at chance to really begin writing.

Introduction:

As a college student pursuing a future in journalism it is hard for me to imagine where I will end up in the next few years. It is my dream to become a music journalist for some magazine or print newspaper. This dream will be quite challenging to reach considering the current status of the print news industry. Although my future is unclear, one thing that I understand is the present. I am creating this blog in the hope that I can make a difference with my writing in the here and now. I will strive to bring the beauty of music into a literary form. One thing I love about music is the fact that writing about it will always be a challenge. This is because I will never be able to fully describe the beauty of music in words. The English language, as wonderful as it is, is far too limited. It is my job to try and find the combination of words that best describes my personal aesthetic interpretation of musical performances. I will eagerly take on this challenge and enjoy every minute of it. I hope that you enjoy joining me on my journey as I explore the beauty of the musical world in combination with the beauty of the English language. :-) Enjoy.