Day 3
Technically, it's already Day 5. But, lack of access and time means I'm going to be a little late updating some things.
Early Friday, I spent some more time playing with Katy of course. It seems that Katy transferred her cold to my sister-in-law. But, Katy was feeling a lot better, and being fun and funny between naps. My parents came by in the afternoon, hung out for a bit, and then we drove up to Bangor for the first day of the American Folk Festival.
Even though it's called the American Folk Festival, there is a lot more entertainment than just folk music and just American music. I think if the festival had folk music only I wouldn't be nearly as interested in it. I do like folk music, my taste in music is pretty eclectic. But, it's the variety of styles that keep me going back every year. And, I'm not sure how to really describe it. But, the folk is really more indicative of grassroots styles from many different countries and cultures. As I go through the weekend, you'll get an indication of what I'm talking about. It's also a festival where well over 100,000 people attend. The city of Bangor, where it is held, has a population of only about 40,000. There are anywhere between 4-6 stages of different bands playing at one time, so there's plenty to pick and choose from to suit nearly anyone's interest, unless the only thing you really like is Top 40 radio.
The opening band/group was Johnny Hiland, country. I know, I know...country. But, to honest, it was probably the best band I saw that night. One thing about me, as they used to say on American Bandstand, if it's got a beat and I can dance to it, I'm going to like it. And, yes, that includes country. I have a couple pictures. The first is the band, and the second is the bassist. I only have a picture of the bassist here because I thought he was hot. Johnny Hiland is originally from Maine, though he and his band are now from Nashville.
I took a whole bunch of other pictures. But, I'm an amateur at picture taking, and a lot of them didn't come out very well. So, I'm only gonna post a couple pictures from each day.
After the country band, we watched the CASYM Steel Orchestra, a Caribbean-American steel pan ensemble from Brooklyn. They were fun to watch.
Then I ate a big ass sausage.
My second favorite of the night was Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys. Being from Louisiana myself, I have fond memories of cajun and zydeco music from when I was a kid. The huge parties, crawfish boils, family gatherings and dancing. The cool thing about the Folk Festival is that every year there is always at least one to two zydeco and/or cajun dance bands in attendance. And, it rocks because the dance floor is always huge and PACKED when these bands play. It's a sense of pride and nostalgia for me. And, I defy anyone, even if you've had no experience with this type of music, to not want to get up and dance when there's a really great Cajun band playing. Jeffery Broussard hails from Opelousas, Louisiana.
The last band I took in before leaving for the night was Diunna Greenleaf and Blue Mercy, from Houston, Texas. They played Blues. For me, sometimes I like blues and sometimes I don't. It really depends on the mood I'm in. And, while I enjoyed Blue Mercy, it's probably not something I would generally pay to go see, even though it was pretty good.
But, of course, one cool thing about this festival is that it's free, though they do encourage donations.
And so ends Day 3.
Early Friday, I spent some more time playing with Katy of course. It seems that Katy transferred her cold to my sister-in-law. But, Katy was feeling a lot better, and being fun and funny between naps. My parents came by in the afternoon, hung out for a bit, and then we drove up to Bangor for the first day of the American Folk Festival.
Even though it's called the American Folk Festival, there is a lot more entertainment than just folk music and just American music. I think if the festival had folk music only I wouldn't be nearly as interested in it. I do like folk music, my taste in music is pretty eclectic. But, it's the variety of styles that keep me going back every year. And, I'm not sure how to really describe it. But, the folk is really more indicative of grassroots styles from many different countries and cultures. As I go through the weekend, you'll get an indication of what I'm talking about. It's also a festival where well over 100,000 people attend. The city of Bangor, where it is held, has a population of only about 40,000. There are anywhere between 4-6 stages of different bands playing at one time, so there's plenty to pick and choose from to suit nearly anyone's interest, unless the only thing you really like is Top 40 radio.
The opening band/group was Johnny Hiland, country. I know, I know...country. But, to honest, it was probably the best band I saw that night. One thing about me, as they used to say on American Bandstand, if it's got a beat and I can dance to it, I'm going to like it. And, yes, that includes country. I have a couple pictures. The first is the band, and the second is the bassist. I only have a picture of the bassist here because I thought he was hot. Johnny Hiland is originally from Maine, though he and his band are now from Nashville.
I took a whole bunch of other pictures. But, I'm an amateur at picture taking, and a lot of them didn't come out very well. So, I'm only gonna post a couple pictures from each day.
After the country band, we watched the CASYM Steel Orchestra, a Caribbean-American steel pan ensemble from Brooklyn. They were fun to watch.
Then I ate a big ass sausage.
My second favorite of the night was Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys. Being from Louisiana myself, I have fond memories of cajun and zydeco music from when I was a kid. The huge parties, crawfish boils, family gatherings and dancing. The cool thing about the Folk Festival is that every year there is always at least one to two zydeco and/or cajun dance bands in attendance. And, it rocks because the dance floor is always huge and PACKED when these bands play. It's a sense of pride and nostalgia for me. And, I defy anyone, even if you've had no experience with this type of music, to not want to get up and dance when there's a really great Cajun band playing. Jeffery Broussard hails from Opelousas, Louisiana.
The last band I took in before leaving for the night was Diunna Greenleaf and Blue Mercy, from Houston, Texas. They played Blues. For me, sometimes I like blues and sometimes I don't. It really depends on the mood I'm in. And, while I enjoyed Blue Mercy, it's probably not something I would generally pay to go see, even though it was pretty good.
But, of course, one cool thing about this festival is that it's free, though they do encourage donations.
And so ends Day 3.