Skyrocketing oil costs may have the country in a virtual stranglehold. But according to Ed DuFresne, an organizer of the annual Northeast Kingdom (NEK) Music Festival, the prohibitive cost of today's petroleum may have yielded an unexpected economic benefit for Valley bands—an uptick in employment this weekend.
"Like most such festivals, we always strive to include a diverse set of up-and-coming bands from near and far," DuFresne says of the NEK Fest, occurring Friday and Saturday, Aug. 1 and 2, at The Chilly Ranch in East Albany, Vt. "With gas prices driving up the costs of acts from farther afield, we really started to key on nearby areas like the Valley& and discovered there is no shortage of bands with potentially bright futures there!"
Among the Bay Staters holding court at the 2008 Northeast Kingdom Fest are Amity Front, Primate Fiasco, Rusty Belle and Pariah Beat—many of whom, DuFresne adds, he handpicked after watching them perform at the Langdon Street Caf? in Montpelier, which he books.
The club is an "excellent incubator" for such off-site occasions, he says. And while he is certainly looking for acts with all of the attributes any of his fellow festival bookers would seek—dynamic stage presence, instant likeability, professionalism and musicianship—DuFresne is also quick to note that the last thing he wants his NEK fest to become is anything like those presented by his fellow festival organizers of late.
"When ours was created in 2003, other large, annual Vermont festivals like Reggae Fest and Bread & Puppet's Weekend Circus were discontinued, generally due to too many people being more interested in an open party than the show," he explains. "Not to mention the commercialism… We wanted to create something that presented a contemporary variety of music that's conscious, family-friendly, and still a great party& and I think we've done that."
Despite boasting nearly two dozen bands, a poetry slam and an admission that includes parking, overnight camping and water, DuFresne's weekend in the Green Mountain State is surprisingly easy on the greenbacks, too, at just $65 at the gate with children under 12 free. For more info, kindly point your browser to nekmf.com.
In other family-friendly news, local singer/percussionist Jim Walsh says he can vividly remember having "wild excursions all over the country, checking out music and raising hell" with his brother-in-law, Bob Peterson, in years past.
Last fall, however, a devastating stroke rendered Walsh's longtime partner in audio-induced adventures speechless and unable to work. And after nearly a year of watching Peterson's medical bills pile up, Walsh says he finally realized what he could do about Bob and his situation.
"The guy's a huge music lover," he says, "so we're doing a big benefit which every band I'm involved with [Catfish Jam, Blueshead, The Four Horsemen and Bishop's Trio, the last of which features Walsh with Bruce Mandaro of The Knot and Mary Helly] will play, plus Grievous Angels, a special band we're putting together just for the evening to play the songs Bob loves."
The Concert For Bob will occur this Saturday, Aug. 2 at Strathmore Park in Russell from 2 p.m. till midnight. Tickets—which include admission and food—are $20 and available at Pepperberry's in Westfield or by calling (413) 562-1964.
Last up, one half of the impetus for an ongoing multimedia exhibit at the Quadrangle—legendary bluesman Taj Mahal—will perform a one-night only outdoor concert at the museum this Friday, Aug. 1 beginning at 7 p.m.
The Taj Mahal Trio concert comes in conjunction with Blues In Our Blood: The Artistic Evolution of Taj Mahal and Carole Fredericks—an exhibition honoring the Springfield natives that is on view at the Quadrangle's Connecticut Valley Historical Museum through Nov. 9. Tickets for the concert are $35 for reserved seating, $25 for lawn seats. They're available at iheg.com.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email Garycarra@aol.com.
