EFMF 08

I've posted a bunch of photos from this year's Folk Music Festival, but as usual Blogger makes it difficult to post the pictures in a reasonable order, and I'm too lazy to screw with it, so what you see is what you get.

This year's festival was blessed with uncommonly good weather. It was even hot at times. Amazing, considering all those years that I've shivered in the rain on the hill. An EFMF wouldn't be complete without some rain however, so we did have a bit of a thunder shower on Saturday night. Here's Tom taking shelter under what used to be his shade umbrella.




As usual, there was lots of good music, and even though I hadn't heard of most of the musicians, this year's even was better than most. One of my favorite finds is Outlaw Social, a group from Victoria, BC. Pictured here is Kendall Carson the hot blonde fiddle player. I thought she looked a lot like the HBFP from the Paper Boys, a Celtic rock group that plays at The Tractor regularly. I Googled her, and sure enough, they are one and the same. The Paper Boys are OK, but I think that Outlaw Social is exceptional. I hope they make it to Seattle as often as the Paper Boys do.






This is the apparent leader of the band, Oliver Swain. He's got an amazing voice and a good stage presence.

Outlaw Social plays an interesting blend of folk and roots music, with a few jazzy licks thrown in for good measure.








Here's the view of the main stage from the hill at night.












This is Serena Ryder, a rocking energetic 24-year-old with a great voice. She can do anything from Janis Joplin to classic country. I'd never heard of her before either.










Eliza Gilkyson is a performer I've been following for years. On my Broken Ankle Tour a couple of years ago, I went to her adopted hometown of Wemberley, TX to see her perform. She's got a great voice, and she's a fabulous song writer. She's written some of the most biting anti-Bush songs I've ever heard, and yet if you don't listen to the words, you'll still love the music. I'll go to see her anytime, anyplace.







This a view of some of the crowds near the food area. They've always had a good variety of exceptional food at reasonable prices at the EFMF. You can get any kind of food, from Cajun to Korean to Ukrainian.











The Beer Gardens are always fun, and this year were an especially welcome respite from the heat. Here's a shot of some of the gang, with a special guest, the pie-plate girl. This effigy is a stand-in for the daughter of the guy on the right. She was a regular attendee of the EFMF with her dad, but this year, she's on a Rotary student exchange in Brazil. Since both Megan and Caroline are Rotary exchange alumni, they had lots of stories to tell her dad about what the "cultural" exchanges are really all about. Anyway, since she couldn't be there this year, he was going around with this stick version of her, getting photographs of "her" with musicians, and even one of her on the ground in the beer garden, surrounded by empty jugs of beer. It will all appear on some Facebook page, but I've already lost the name and address, so I'll probably never see the finished product.


Here's a shot of Marian and me under the tarp during the rainstorm. The tarp was not totally waterproof, but we didn't really get wet enough to dampen our spirits.










Edmonton's skyline, especially at night from Gallagher Park, is a sight to behold.












I took a bunch of telephoto pictures of Outlaw Social's HBFP at one of the workshops. I hope she wasn't directing this killer look at me.











I really should be running around doing last minute stuff for the Mt. Rainier climb, but I'm not sure I'm going to do it. On Saturday morning in Edmonton I woke up with an ache in my lower back. I didn't think much of it, believing it was just a matter of sleeping in an odd position. Unfortunately, it's not going away. In fact it's getting worse. I have no idea what I did to myself, but I'm sure sitting on a motorcycle for 2000 miles might have something to do with it. Right now, I have a hard time taking Farley for a walk to the PCC, let alone trying to hike up 14,410'. I've got a massage appointment for tomorrow, but I'm not optimistic.

I'll keep you posted.