Folk Rules the Day at New Bedford Festival
Ken Abrams, GoLocalProv Music Critic
Folk Rules the Day at New Bedford Festival
See Abrams' review and photos below.
Folk Rules the Day at New Bedford Festival
New Bedford Folk Festival
The July 4th weekend saw the New Bedford Folk Festival return to the Whaling City. With Arthur’s rain long gone, the weather was perfect for the event which featured over 70 artists on seven stages. GoLocal was there and brings you just a few of the many highlights from the festival.
Workshops
The New Bedford Folk Festival is known for its workshops which bring together diverse artists around topics and themes such as “I Heard a Church Bell Softly Chime: Songs About Places,” and “Hey Jude: Songs About People.” Pictured above is Mike Laureanno, who was part of the workshop “Is That a Guitar Behind That Cactus: Country, Folk and Western.”
Poor Old Shine
Connecticut’s Poor Old Shine were a major hit at the festival. There was a lot of hootin’ and hollerin’ as the band brought their high energy roots sound and alternative collection of instruments including an old pump organ, a recycled metal drum kit, and a wood saw. They happily keep alive the tradition of “that old weird America.”
An Americana Blowout
The Zeiterion Theatre hosted “An Americana Blowout,” featuring a virtual army of folkies - three bands playing together for the first time. Pete and Maura Kennedy led Spuyten Duyvil and Poor Old Shine through a number of Americana classics including “I’ll Fly Away,” “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” and Johnny Cash’s “Big River.” The 13 piece ensemble rocked the house!
Grace and the RSO
Grace Morrison and the RSO (Really Small Orchestra) are a homegrown group, natives of New Bedford. They’ve recently seen a great deal of praise for their high-energy country-folk sound, and recently won the “Big Break” competition on WPRI TV’s “The Rhode Show.” Clearly, great things are in store for these guys!
Haley Reardon
17 year old singer songwriter Haley Reardon delighted the crowd with stories of her break into Folk music. The Boston area artist, once described as a “tempest in a teapot,” performed her original “Tornado in a Teapot.” She’s another talented young voice on the regional folk scene.
