A Falcon Ridge Virgin Report
 by Kathy S-B  ·  14 September 2006

It’s taken me all these many years to make the trek to Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. This well-respected fest occurs every July on a large plot of land in the tri-state area where Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York meet. A totally idyllic piece of land, I might add.

Falcon Ridge took place at a brand new location this year. From what I understand, it was set up exactly like the old location so all the experienced Ridgers were able to navigate their way from stage to stage and campsite to campsite. The Dodds family allowed thousands of folk fans to live on their land and listen to some of the best contemporary acoustic music known to humanity. Well, that’s my humble opinion and your mileage will, no doubt, vary.

I was able to attend FRFF this year due to the generosity of my dear friends, Deb and Charlie, who invited me along to stay in their camper with them. Not being a camping kind of gal, I much appreciated the luxury of a camper especially during some of the miserable weather that we experienced that week. Friends of mine from NYC got pretty soggy in their tent and I got to live in the veritable lap of luxury in a camper that had a shower! Way to go!

In case you aren’t up to speed with all things “folk,” let me tell you a little bit about Falcon Ridge. It’s been happening since about 1988 according to the website. It started out as a two-day festival that didn’t have enough room to allow campers to a four-day fest with hundreds of volunteers and thousands of audience members who camp all over the grounds. The performers that first year were: Holly Near, Odetta, Tom Paxton, Buffy St. Marie, Taj Mahal, Bill Morrissey, Manus & Lunny, The Bobs, Greg Brown, and those very new kids on the block, Shawn Colvin and John Gorka. Interestingly enough, both new kids played the fest this year. Shawn and John delighted everyone with many new tunes.

I have to admit that my virgin Falcon Ridge adventure was a dream-like excursion from the moment we left the North Shore. I popped in Bruce Springsteen’s “Seeger Sessions” CD and we cruised right on through the Berkshires singing along to Pete’s timeless tunes. We arrived at the fest and sought out a good campsite. We didn’t have many interesting options since it’s not easy to squeeze a big camper into any ole parking spot so Charlie found a spot at the far end of a lot that was fairly close to the entrance. We were debating whether the spot was big enough for us and a man who was camping in a small tent next to it beckoned us in and helped us situate the camper in just the right spot. Turns out that this fellow, Dick and his daughter, and his sister-in-law were avid music fans and had been going to Falcon Ridge for several years. Yes sirrreeee, Dick was such an avid music fan that he was one of the early risers who got up at the crack of dawn each day and waited until they opened up the gates and he would race in with his big blue tarp and mark his seating location for that day. Being a nice folk fan and a most excellent human being, he offered to let us sit on his tarp throughout the festival. Needless to say, I was not one of the Early Risers Club. Coming to find out, I also didn’t have enough stamina to be one of the Roam Around the Campgrounds All Night Long to Listen to Music kind of folks either. I swear that some people don’t sleep the entire four days or they simply grab a few hours between sunrise and the start of the concerts at 10:00 or 11:00 a.m. each day.

It’s been said that Falcon Ridge is a “state of mind.” Check out singer-songwriter Liz Carlisle’s Harvard dissertation on the festival [in pdf format].

It’s an interesting and worthwhile read and shows you how dedicated and passionate folk music fans and performers are. If you don’t feel like reading, just watch the video on the same page that features a photo collage of the fest with Liz singing her gorgeous song “Feels Like Home” Liz made her me&thee debut along with Scott Alarik last season and will be playing along with Catie Curtis later this year. Check her out.

There are so many highlights of the four days so I’ll just list a few—
They call it Sunday Morning Wake-Up. They could just as well call it Sunday Morning Service. Hallelujah! Eddie from Ohio run the show and help lift everyone’s spirit as caffeine kicks in and the sun shines down on a brand new day.

Eliza Gilkyson always gives a stunning performance. She just keeps on getting better and better and better. What a voice. What lyrics. What soul! If you’ve never seen her, make your way to the me&thee this coming April. It’s a show that we’ve been looking forward to since before it was even booked!

Lowen and Navarro. Might not be the biggest names on the bill, but always inspirational. These guys have been on my radar screen for some time now but I’ve never managed to see them before. A friend who volunteers at the Freight and Salvage coffeehouse in Berkeley has been raving about them and sent me a recording of one of their shows from that venue. Am I ever glad that I was able to see them since this will probably be their last Falcon Ridge. In case you aren’t aware, Eric Lowen, is suffering from ALS and is in a wheelchair and needs a great deal of assistance getting around. It was a stirring sight to see so many folk fest volunteers maneuvering Eric all around the place. Not an easy task to get a wheelchair up on a high stage! Check out their 20 years of music.

Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams are always a treat. How do you describe this band? A little bit of this and a little bit of that. Whoever it was that coined the phrase of “Hillbilly Pink Floyd” to describe them is right on target. I think you could probably throw in a little vaudeville and R&B to boot though. Their spring show at the me & thee was one of the highlights of the season for sure.

Got to see Taxi Chain on a couple of occasions during the fest. Heard about these guys from Toronto? Imagine, if you will…. folk rock with bagpipes! Sound too bizarre to be true? Think again….and guess what? It WORKS! Grier Coppins, who is the driving force and the bagpiper of the band, entered the Falcon Ridge stage playing his pipes as he walked through the crowd. Other band mates walked and played their instruments along with him. It made heads turn and ears listen. After a rousing main stage set, the band left the stage the same way. A very effective and moving performance.

The Winterpills were another band that I was looking forward to hearing since I’d been hearing about them for the past year or so. I had heard talk of their great arrangements and harmony driven melodies. Someone described their music as ‘transcendent’—I’m not sure that I’d use that word just yet but I’m sure going to go to see them at a smaller, more intimate venue when I have the chance.

Another highlight for me was breaking away from the hour-to-hour agenda of running from stage to stage and rambling up the hillside to meet the famous Alan Rowoth who presides over the Big Orange Tarp (BOT). He opens its doors (if it had doors) to musicians and fans alike who choose to congregate underneath, next to, in front of, or behind it. From what I hear, this is the premier music campsite. An impromptu meeting of folk venue presenters such as myself were invited to hang out at B.O.T. for a while … Magically enough, this occurred during one of the biggest deluges that transpired over the four days. The skies opened and down came the rain. Those of us who were there stayed quite dry underneath the sacred tarp and chatted about … what else… folk music! I’ll never forget the visual image of Bernice Lewis’ little daughter frolicking in the rain with her dad while Bernice and I were yakking. By the way….if you haven’t heard Bernice’s new CD “She Undoes,” you must. It’s first rate….and available at www.bernicelewis.com

As you can see, brevity is not my strong suit. I could probably go on for several more paragraphs or pages but I’ll spare you. If you were at Falcon Ridge this past summer, please feel free to share your thoughts and special experiences as well.

In folk we trust,
Kathy S-B

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