Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival
Watching Mike Seeger effortlessly play these instruments and bring forth song after song, you get the feeling that he'll never run out of material.
The set the tone for the evening with their groove-based songs and tunes. I don't claim to know enough about the history behind his music to comment on it authoritatively, but they are unique in our area, and the players compliment each other in a way that builds a sum greater than its parts.
We're lucky to have this group. Although the Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival is often seen as presenting traditional American music, Tani and his band fit right in and were the perfect way to kick off the festival. Clearly folks were enjoying the music.
Another Madison band followed, The band had two musicians filling in for regulars but there was no drop off in the playing. Their set built up the energy of the evening, and by the time they closed with a rocking version of "Ida Red," the crowd had nearly filled the tent.
The rest of my evening was spent closing up the beer table and visiting with folks, so I didn't get involved with the old-time square dance, not that I'm much of a dancer.
The playing was top notch, and the dance floor was filled with what appeared to be mostly newbies. Although caller Dot Kent had just given a workshop on dancing, she must have felt they needed a little extra help as a good amount of time was spent between songs/dances arranging the groups for the next dance.
She handled it well and made sure to get everybody in the right spot before starting the next tune. I did note some frustration from a few audience members who would have preferred to hear more music, but this part of the show was specifically reserved as a dance, and hopefully they picked up on this.
The park cleared quickly after the dance ended, and the campers headed back to the group camp for jamming that lasted until at least 1:30 am when I had to clear out.
Saturday, Aug. 2, started clear and sunny, and it was already getting hot when The Goose Island Ramblers were the next act. Although they have played around Wisconsin for many years, decades even, I had never seen them. They perform as a duo now, and the ease at which they delivered their music is something to be seen. The accordion and fiddle work is excellent; they play together perfectly and even deliver their cornball jokes with just the right timing. I did not expect to be so blown away by their set, but they hooked me right in, and I don't think I'm overstating it when I say they are a Wisconsin treasure. I was busy for much of the afternoon, so I only caught bits of the
Unfortunately I also missed about half of Mike Seeger's set, but I did hear his excellent solo guitar version of "Cumberland Gap." He also played banjo, Jew's harp, and some type of pan flute that he probably gave an explanation of but I missed it.
Watching Mike Seeger effortlessly play these instruments and bring forth song after song, you get the feeling that he'll never run out of material. He could still be sitting out there playing different songs and it wouldn't surprise me a bit.
The "Life As A Bluegrass Boy" segment on the workshop stage was one of the events I wanted to be sure to catch. Tom Ewing, Mark Hembree and The Bluegrass Boys Reunion show was highly anticipated and delivered in every respect. The band was tight, and after a few microphone adjustments they really hit their stride. Mike Compton tore into "Bluegrass Special" and proved why he is known as the leading player of the Bill Monroe style of mandolin. Although this particular group did not play together in Monroe's band, they appeared relaxed and confident and had enough rehearsal under their belts to sound like a real band. From the opening song to the final notes of the Monroe classic instrumental "Rawhide," the crowd was digging their music. Local musicians Paul Kienitz and Seth Forrester deserve credit for stepping in with these musicians and holding their own. I can't say enough about how great this set of music was. You may get a chance to see and hear it as there was a video crew capturing the set. I don't know who they were or where they are from, but I suspect a video will appear. Deanna Varagonna's Gospel Jubilee closed out the night. They had a tough spot to fill. They were hired late after Hazel Dickens had to cancel, and their set followed what turned out to be the most popular band at the festival. The closing slot on Saturday night has always been a tough one for us. The families that brought small children are always gone, and that amounts to a large part of our crowd. The Gospel Jubilee opened with a slow number, and I saw many folks grab their chairs and head out. Too bad. The band then cranked through several rocking spiritual numbers and had the dance floor filled with a group that appeared to be made up of several sinners. While the crowd had dwindled to perhaps 100 or so people, the energy stayed high, and I felt they delivered an excellent closing set. I've always thought that one of the marks of a good festival was you end up hearing about something great that you missed because you were watching something else. That was the case this year. I heard Charlie Parr, and Adam Tanner's workshop was cool, and I really wish I had seen all of Mike Seeger's set on Saturday. So be it, you can't see it all. A few other comments: Audio For The Arts did an excellent job of making sure every band sounded good, and there were no noticeable sound problems that were not taken care of in short order. Not an easy task when you have a six-piece band setting up and no time for a sound check. We are lucky to have a group of people who put in huge amounts of time and effort into planning this festival. I don't know how many volunteers signed up this year, but without them, we wouldn't have a festival. So there you have one organizer/volunteers overview of the 5th annual Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival. I left out some fun stuff, like getting my shorts covered with lemonade while climbing into the beer cooler to change kegs, and sleeping on the ground Saturday night while the mosquitoes bit my ankles. But that's par for the course at a music festival. Note: This review was originally left as a comment on a preview of the Sugar Maple Traditional Music Festival by Tom Laskin published in the August 1, 2008 edition of Isthmus.