Philly Folk Fest big reveal: The Decemberists

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Philly Folk Fest big reveal: The Decemberists

POSTED: Monday, June 8, 2009, 3:04 PM

Filed Under: Music

From the department of "Well, We Were Half Right Anyway," Point Entertainment main man Jesse Lundy announced yesterday that the theatrical celtic-maritime story songs of Colin Meloy and The Decemberists will round out this year's Philadelphia Folk Fest lineup, as I predicted two months ago. They will close the festival's Saturday ~~night~~ afternoon concert.

Excellent choosing, I must say. It gives this lineup the punch that was absent before; it stays within the broader interpretation of the whole "folk" idiom (listen to The Tain if you doubt this); ruffles the feathers of the stodgy, stubborn contingent of the crowd who doesn't care to venture beyond circuit mainstays; opens the festival up to the broader audience that it needs to cultivate in order to survive; and if nothing else, it guarantees a super well-attended Saturday ~~night~~ afternoon concert.

Still, it's not quite as mind-blowing as hearing that Espers was playing last year's festival. But it's triumph all the same.

Other late additions include Derek Trucks Band (meh), Heartless Bastards (a not-unexciting buzz band from blogoland), and a pairing of local acts that mirror the fest's zenly balance of tradition and growth: the lively celtic string band trio Burning Bridget Cleary and the very cool anarchic klezmer of West Philadelphia Orchestra. Well played indeed.

jesselun

Posted 2009-06-08 17:31:51

Nice hit, John. Many thanks. Actually Decemberists will be the Saturday AFTERNOON concert, but hey. Appreciated PS, Derek Trucks Band rules...

john vettese

Posted 2009-06-08 18:43:36

Duly noted and amended. Thanks for correcting my hasty / erroneous reportage, man. Far as Derek Trucks, I've not been impressed one way or the other with what I've heard. But maybe I actually need to *see* him / them perform. Which I will in August! Let's revisit then.

Jim McSherry

Posted 2009-07-05 13:12:57

So glad that you could predict in advance the appearance of an indie-rock band at the Philadelphia FOLK Festival. And Derek Trucks may or may not be your cup of tea, but I can't see how they would fit as "folk" performers. For myself, I expect a folk festival to feature acoustic performers who sing songs with melodies that I might learn. I can't sing along with Miles Davis; that's why he's jazz, not folk or rock. Decemberists do fine rock, and for an act to see at the Tower, they are great. But don't tell me that the Folk Festival needs a rock band to fulfill their destiny.

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