Folked up: The 47th Annual Philadelphia Folk Fest

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Folked up: The 47th Annual Philadelphia Folk Fest

POSTED: Thursday, August 21, 2008, 4:51 PM

Filed Under: Critical Mass

A few things were different at the 47th annual Philadelphia Folk Festival. Victory Brewing Company's hill top outpost was the most noticeable addition to the food and drink section. The craft area was beefed up with even more vendors selling everything from handmade dulcimers to explosively colored tie-dyed clothing. But change went beyond what you could buy.

Stephen Kellog and the Sixers and the Ryan Montbleau Band show the new side of folk music, and a different direction for the festival. Both bands, led by young singer-songwriters, gave the audience high energy performances of folk songs with a pop twist. The Ryan Montbleau Band especially did well in this department. I really enjoyed keyboardist Jason Cohen's fluttering piano lines and fiery organ solos.

Ryan Montbleau

Photo | Ptah Gabrie

Ben Arnold sat behind a black grand piano. His unmistakable raspy vocals and bluesy pop tunes fit right in with the other afternoon performances. Arnold took up the acoustic guitar mid-set before closing out the rest on the grand. His piano playing and singing were right on, and made for a solid performance.

Ben Arnold

Photo | Ptah Gabrie

Friday night definitely belonged to ukulelemaster Jake Shimabukura. He stood alone with his ukulele on stage. And out came the most amazing playing of the festival. Shimabukura shredded through scales and arpeggios at speeds that would give Eddie Van Halen a run for his money. He closed with his signature and mind-blowing cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

Jake Shimabukura

Photo | Ptah Gabrie

English Folk legend Al Stewart (it's been over 30 years since he released his U.K. debut, Bedsitter Images) emphasizes the storytelling element in folk music. Many of his songs have a historical theme, and tell stories of European life during World War II. My favorite of Stewart's yarns described a weary Russian army beaten back by German soldiers. In between songs he chatted up the audience with stories about England and discussed American politics. I was most impressed by the fullness of his sound. Stewart engaged the audience, and teased everyone with the opening verse of The Who's "Pinball Wizard."

Al Stewart

Photo | Ptah Gabrie

I always enjoy the southern bands that play fest, and this year Miami's Lee Boys put on one hell of a performance The Lee Boys heavily feature the pedal steel guitar. It's twangy sliding sound is great for country music, but slap on some overdrive and turn the volume to 10, and it's time to rock. The band moved all over the stage, and played their hearts out. Larger than life drummer Earl Walker played so hard that I thought he was going to stand up at the end of the final number, and run right through his drum set like a mad bull.

The Lee Boys

Photo | Ptah Gabrie

Grizzled-folkie and Bubbles' N.A. sponsor Waylon on HBO's series The Wire, Steve Earle performed Saturday evening. His songs about dip spitting gun slingers and big city life, all done in his raspy Dylan-esque voice, fired everyone up. His performance was preceded by a delightful set from his lovely wife Alison Moorer who eventually joined Earle on stage for some husband and wife duets. Earle, switching between acoustic guitar, Dobro and banjo, made subtle jokes about being married for too long. His set ended with a lesson on how music can end a war, followed by his homage to urban diversity, "Living in a City of Immigrants."

Steve Earle and Alison Moorer

Photo | Ptah Gabrie

Even though this year's fest had some changes, it was just as fun as all the other Philly Folk Fests. The music was more diverse than previous years, but didn't stray away from the traditional side. Gene Shay's jokes are still on point, and the priceless video footage of fests past still made the time between performances enjoyable. It was interesting to be able to purchase beer, but the process to get my booze almost made it not worth it (I was carded, then I bought a ticket for $6 and finally I traded my ticket for a Hop Devil, which I had to drink in the "Beer Garden"). Aside from that, all the changes were for the better.

Gene Shay

Photo | Ptah Gabrie

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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