Groovin' in Lanesboro: Music and miracles at the Berkshire Mountain Music
Festival
-- When the members of the acoustic, folk-pop ensemble Milagro Saints take the stage tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 -- thereby kicking off the Main Stage portion of the weekend-long Berkshire Mountain Music Festival in Lanesboro -- they will likely capture the essence of the event, as much from a musical as from a social and spiritual point of view. At least this is the feeling and hope of Andrew Stahl, the Boston-based promoter whose brainchild is the festival but whose vision goes far beyond merely booking bands. In a phone interview last week from his Boston office abuzz with last- minute festival business, Stahl spoke of building upon the foundation laid by the Sixties generation in his attempt to combine music with efforts to make the world a more livable, humane place. "The reason I started this was to try to raise consciousness about a dying planet," said Stahl, pointing out that the word "milagro" is Spanish for miracle, and that in some sense, his festival is an attempt to bring about small miracles. Stahl is somewhat sheepish and apologetic about sounding too "cheesy" or hippie-like when he talks about his ultimate goals. But he clearly is inspired by much of what almost everyone can agree was best about the Sixties: environmental awareness, social action, and music as a positive, healing force. Along these lines, Stahl is using the festival to support the Milagro Foundation. Founded by guitarist/singer Carlos Santana and his wife to provide financial assistance for educational, medical and housing needs of children around the world, the foundation -- which is not connected to the band Milagro Saints -- is rooted in Santana's belief that "life is a miracle." Stahl also points out that Santana is as much a musical influence as a political and spiritual influence on the festival, which will also support the National Arbor Day Foundation, which is involved in tree-planting efforts throughout the world. "Life is short, and I was put on this planet to do something positive," said Stahl. "My vision all along has been to meld the young with the old, to bring people together with great music." Stahl has a proven track record of doing just that. His production company, Gamelan -- in collaboration with Iron Horse Music Hall founder Jordi Herold -- has played a key role in promoting so-called groove music in New England through the successful Road Trip Series in Boston, helping to build a grassroots scene to support bands such as Medeski Martin and Wood, Strangefolk, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and moe. These bands, as well as groups in this weekend's festival like Jiggle the Handle, Charlie Hunter and Pound for Pound, the Greyboy Allstars and String Cheese Incident, share an organic quality rooted in such seminal genres as jazz, bluegrass, folk and funk. Like the Grateful Dead before them, they combine these varied influences in new and unique ways, making inter-generational music that is both improvisational yet danceable. Hence, "groove." The organic quality of the music extends to the overall scene. "All these bands put their heart and soul into what they do," said Stahl, who hopes to nurture this scene to greater public and commercial awareness. "This festival is a chance for up-and-coming acts to be showcased and highlighted next to already- established and recognized acts," said Stahl. "There's a good chance that one day soon some of these acts will be performing at major venues and have national recognition. We hope the music industry will recognize this as fertile soil for the music of the twenty-first century." While the festival's eclectic lineup -- ranging from well-established groups like Los Lobos and the Funky Meters to relative unknowns like Kilgore Trout and the Milagro Saints -- boasts something for everyone, there is a loose thread tying together virtually all the performers. "It used to be easier to describe bands that were either blues, jazz or bluegrass," said Stahl. "Now I can't do it, which is one of the things I love about these groups. People are drawing from influences from all over the world and the beginning of time. People are open-minded in the Nineties, young and old -- just when you thought that music was getting sterile." WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Gates open at noon on Friday, June 12, for the three-day Berkshire Mountain Music Festival , located at Steele's Farm on Bailey Road in Lanesboro (home of the annual Noppet Hill Bluegrass Festival, which takes place this year on July 24-26). Overnight camping is permitted and encouraged, with complete toilet and shower facilities provided. Tickets can be purchased at the gate on the day of the event for the following: single-day pass (no camping), $25 Friday, $30 Saturday or Sunday; two-day pass (Sat.-Sun), $65; full weekend pass, $75. As of earlier this week, tickets were still available. Music starts Friday at noon; Saturday and Sunday at 10 am. The festival also includes craft and food vending, a banjo workshop (Saturday, 4:30, with Gordon Stone and Tony Furtado), a children's activities tent (10am- 6pm, Sat./Sun., with a spoon workshop by Artis the Spoonman on Saturday at 1:45 and Sunday at 4), a late-night acoustic tent on Friday and Saturday beginning at 10:30, late-night movies, a "percussion playground" and more. The Berkshire Mountain Music Festival is jointly produced by Gamelan Productions of Boston and High Sierra, hosts of the annual High Sierra Music Festival in Northern California, one of the premiere camping music festivals in the nation. Representatives of High Sierra, along with co- promoter I'm the MiddleMan Presents, will be on location to lend their years of technical expertise to the festival. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (888) 381-8050, or visit www.berkfest.com on the Internet. THE BANDS Here is a closer look at some of the acts scheduled to perform in this weekend's Berkshire Mountain Music Festival. Days, times and stages (MS for Main Stage, SS for Showcase Stage, AT for late-night acoustic tent) are in parentheses at the end of each item. Mighty Purple: The Connecticut-based Mighty Purple boasts folk-rock harmonies and melodies somewhere in between '70s prog-rock and '90s alternative. Vocal and guitar duties are shared by brothers Jon and Steve Rodgers, the latter whom was born in Williamstown. (Sat., noon, SS) Fool's Progress: The forever-changing, Colorado-based Fool's Progress boasts big hooks and choruses and sincere, organic vocals by frontman Reed Foehl, and strong Berkshire roots -- they're probably best known locally by their former name, Acoustic Junction. Their last album, the eponymously-titled "Fool's Progress" (Capricorn), garnered the group well-deserved comparisons to Counting Crows, Dave Matthews Band and Hootie and the Blowfish. (Fri., 5, MS) Donna the Buffalo: The name may be new to most, but the upstate New York- based, folk-rock sextet has been around for a decade, honing its unique blend of Cajun, zydeco, folk, reggae, pop and rock. With both female and male lead vocals and instrumentation including fiddles, accordions, guitars and keyboards, Donna the Buffalo www.DonnatheBuffalo.com variously recalls 10,000 Maniacs, Los Lobos (another festival headliner) and Rusted Root. They're likely to be one of the festival's favorites -- hopefully, they'll be hawking copies of their brand-new CD, "Rockin' in the Weary Land" (Sugar Hill). (Fri, 6:45, MS) Los Lobos: Probably the festival's marquee act, the Southern California- based band Los Lobos plays a unique fusion of roots-rock peppered with jazz, swing, rockabilly and in more recent years, experimental soundscapes. They're probably still best known for their remake of Ritchie Valens' "La Bamba," but their own songbook goes much deeper than that. In their profound and abiding grip on American roots and myth, they're the Mexican-American answer to the Canadian-American rock group The Band. (Sat., 8, MS) Charlie Hunter and Pound for Pound: On the cutting-edge of so-called acid jazz, Hunter, like his cohorts Medeski Martin and Wood, is typically found performing his groovy, funky blend at the top jazz festivals around the world, including this summer's Texaco/JVC festival in New York City. A former member of the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Hunter plays an unusual, eight-string guitar, and as heard on his latest album, "Return of the Candyman" (Blue Note), his latest sound features a soft-touch blended with the vibes. (Sun., 2:20, MS) Gordon Stone Trio: As heard on his new solo album, "Even With the Odds" (Jeezum Crow), Burlington-based banjoist Gordon Stone plays a progressive, jazzy brand of acoustic music that draws on a wide palette of influences. It's that approach that undoubtedly attracted the members of Phish, who have often called upon Stone -- an ex-member of contemporary bluegrass ensemble Breakaway -- to lend his virtuosity to their recordings. Stone will lead a banjo workshop with Tony Furtado on Saturday at 4:30. (Fri, AT) Inasense: Every good jam band brings something particular to the mix, something from within that helps define its identity and set it apart. In the case of Inasense, which fits quite nicely aside Colorado groups like Fool's Progress, the special ingredient is its Middle Eastern tinge, owing to the group's origins in Israel. On its latest CD, "The Ride" (Desert Rock), for the most part the group sticks to American-style folk- rock with English lyrics, but occasionally those desert roots show through. (Sun, 4, SS) The Funky Meters: If it weren't for the Meters, you could pretty much toss out three-quarters of the bands at this weekend's festival, so seminal is the influence of this pioneering New Orleans ensemble, which took the polyrhythms of the second line and the jazz of Crescent City and combined them with '60s soul to make for the primal funk which serves as the raw material for so many of today's groove outfits. Art Neville was a founder of the group (originally called the Funky Meters, then the Meters, and now again the Funky Meters) which eventually gave birth to the Neville Brothers, and today's version still includes Neville and co- founder George Porter Jr. on bass, joined by former Neville Brothers guitarist Brian Stoltz. (Sun., 8, MS) Loudon Wainwright III: Long heralded as one of the most sophisticated of the confessional singer-songwriters -- known both for his acute self- portraits and his biting irony -- Wainwright is going on 30 years in the business. Aging and maturity have become a favorite topic in recent years, especially as his son, Rufus, gains increasing notoriety as a performer. Long ago having shed the "New Dylan" albatross first wrapped around his neck, Wainwright is now recognized for his intimate, literate character sketches and his WASP cum Woody Allen personality. (Sun., 1, MS) Jennifer Kimball: Best known as the other-half of the early-'90s folk-pop duo The Story, Kimball is set to explode on the contemporary folk-pop scene as a Lilith Fair-style singer-songwriter in her own right, once her excellent solo debut, "Veering From the Wave" (Imaginary Road/Polygram) sees the light of the day, probably in late summer. In the meantime, we will just have to make do with live appearances such as this weekend's, which are full of the wit, grace and gravity familiar to fans of The Story. (Sun., 11, SS) Artis the Spoonman: Since 1972, Artis the Spoonman's flatware percussion has taken him all over the world, from the streets and bars of Seattle and San Francisco to London, Dublin, Munich to recording sessions with Frank Zappa and Soundgarden to "Late Night with David Letterman" and Garrison Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion." Artis will be hosting spoon- playing workshops in the children's tent on Saturday at 1:45 and on Sunday at 4. (Sunday, 2, MS) Kilgore Trout: Based on its eponymous CD, this Seattle-based quintet plays a kind of punk-jazz or post-fusion, sort of the missing link between Miles and Fishbone with a bit of Sonny Sharrock thrown into the mix. Grafting a two-man horn section onto a funk-rock rhythm section and letting things fly, Kilgore Trout (www.kilgoretrout.com) is probably one of the most experimental bands in the festival lineup. (Sun, 1, SS) The Big Wu: As heard on "Tracking Buffalo Through the Bathtub" (Latch Lake), the Twin Cities-based Big Wu (www.thebigwu.com) is a typically representative exponent of latter-day, Grateful Dead-inspired groove music, with country-style harmonies wafting over Latin grooves and snake- like guitar lines poking through the mix. (Sat., 2, SS) String Cheese Incident: This Boulder-based quintet plays a self-styled, improvisational blend of mountain, calypso, bluegrass and funk. The group's latest CD, the aptly-titled "A String Cheese Incident," captures one of the group's live performances in all its bouncy, danceable glory. (Sat., 2:15, MS, also Sat., AT) The Slip: This smooth, jam-oriented trio from Providence, R.I., comes to groove from the jazz side of the equation. Guitarist Brad Barr handles the lead and melodic chores, while brother Andrew Barr lays down the heavy funk with bassist Marc Friedman. If Steely Dan had been a jam-band, it might have sounded like The Slip (www.theslip.com), which is heard to great effect on its CD, "From the Gecko" (KA). (Sun., 6, MS) Tony Furtado: A former member of Sugarbeat and Laurie Lewis and Grant Street, banjoist/slide guitarist Tony Furtado is typical of the new breed of acoustic-music players who, while grounded firmly in traditional forms like bluegrass, combine influences to create new, vital, organic forms. On Furtado's recent solo album, "Roll My Blues Away" (Rounder), blues, old-time, Celtic and bluegrass weave in and out of each other with natural ease. (Sat., 11, MS) Galactic: This keyboard-driven, horn-drenched, jazzy New Orleans-based ensemble updates the funk foundation laid down by the Meters (see the Funky Meters, also performing at this weekend's festival). They are equally at home on the groove circuit -- having performed at High Sierra and jammed with members of Phish -- and in the jazz world, where they'll be appearing in this summer's Newport Jazz Festival. Their swampy, soulful strut can be heard to great effect on last year's "Coolin' Off" (Fog City). (Fri., 8:30, MS) The Rev. Tor Band: One of a handful of Berkshire acts playing the festival, Rev. Tor is an apt choice, as the group, led by Tor Krautter, is a primary local exponent of the sort of groove-rock being showcased here. (Fri., 4, SS) THE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE For most of the weekend, there will be two stages running simultaneously, with the headliners of today on the Main Stage and the headliners of tomorrow on the Showcase Stage. After the Main Stage shuts down, entertainment will continue with special jam sessions featuring headliners in the Late Night Acoustic Night, as well as late-night movies elsewhere.
FRIDAY:
Main Stage
Late Night Acoustic Tent
SATURDAY
Main Stage
Late Night Acoustic Tent
SUNDAY Showcase Stage
Main Stage
[This article originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on June 11, 1998. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1998. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy rogovoy@berkshire.net music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., June 11, 1998)
