The good people at NW Folklife Festival have finally drawn back the curtain on their 2011 Festival lineup, and as I expected it would be, it’s a doozy. Here are the artists I know and am psyched about (not counting me and the bands I play in):
Friday:
Jeremy Burk, James Apollo, Led to Sea, Corespondents, Ravenna Woods
Saturday:
Satellite By Night, Norman Baker and the Backroads, Brad Dunn, Seattle Kokon Taiko, Karl Blau, Diminished Men, Bandomonium, Baby Gramps (I have never seen him play, and I call myself a Seattleite?), Crow Quill Night Owls, Cahalen Morrison & Eli West, Sam Watts/Ghosts I’ve Met, Angelo Spencer et les Hauts Sommets, Urtaa Gantulga/Mongolian Horsehead Fiddle Ensemble, LAKE, Water Tower Bucket Boys
Sunday:
Amateur Radio Operator, Joy Mills, Joshua Morrison, Sunday Evening Whiskey Club, Shenandoah Davis, Pickwick, June Madrona, Orkestar RTW, Fox and the Law, Weinland
Monday:
Wu Ziying, Orkestar Zirkonium . . . and, wow, OK, there aren’t a lot of artists I’m familiar with playing on Monday. But there are plenty I’ve heard of and am looking forward to becoming acquainted with, and plenty more that I’ve never heard of that I’m sure are excellent.
And that’s really the beauty of the Festival, anyway. It’s not about the bands that you know you love and already want to see (though of course those are great), it’s about the music you’d never heard of, that just blows you away and sticks with you forever. A few years ago, feeling overtoasted by the sun, I wandered into a nice cool, dark theater and found myself listening to a showcase of Okinawan music. And I discovered that I freaking love Okinawan music. The drones, the melodies, the way the voices and the instruments weave into each other . . . it’s just gorgeous. And I’m sure there’s something comparable for you at this year’s Festival. So go for the bands you love (or the bands I recommended), but wander around and leave yourself open to hearing something new (or very, very, old but new to you) and wonderful.
Thanks to the tireless Folklife gang for curating yet another fantastic Festival.