2023 Richmond Folk Festival Re-cap

The Richmond Folk Festivals was this past weekend. Last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I didn't go down to the festival on Friday. I regret that a little bit, but I certainly made up for it on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday started off rainy and cloudy, but that didn't bother me one bit because I dressed for the weather and I also know that rain means less of a crowd. It wasn't crowded at all during the time I was there on Saturday.

On Saturday we started off at the Center for Cultural Vibrancy Virginia Folklife Stage to see Virginia Meets the Virgin Islands. This talk/demo paired the St. Croix band Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights with the female Virginia gospel quartet The Legendary Ingramettes. This was a wonderful way to start things off. 

After getting some food and checking out a few minutes of the Hindustani violinist Kala Ramnath, we headed back over to the Virginia Folklife Stage for the Piedmont blues guitarist Gail Caesar. Gail was kind of shy and subdued on stage but her talent was apparent. 

Then it was over to the Altria Stage for a full performance by Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights. The Altria Stage is the main stage with the biggest capacity, but it's also uncovered open-air so I think people were choosing other stages over this one during the part of day where it was raining. We got right up front for what felt like a rare opportunity to see a quelbe or scratch band from the U.S. Virgin Islands. This is a type of music that I have a particular interest in. It was excellent and we stayed for the whole set.

Once that was done, we went back once again to the Virginia Folklife stage for a performance that ended up being incredibly good. It was billed as "Danny Knicely and Chao Tian - Appalachian traditions with Chinese dulcimer". What I didn't realize was that there would also be a tabla player plus a guitarist and bassist. Chao Tian was featured on an extended solo improvisation that was mesmerizing.  The Chinese dulcimer sounded great on fiddle tunes, but they did some full band Chinese tunes as well. Danny closed the set with a John McGlaughlin piece which was a showcase for the tabla. I was blown away.

It was getting to be 4pm now so we went back over to the Altria Stage for local Richmond salsa band Bio Ritmo's Folk Fest debut. Bio Ritmo has been around for 30 years so finally performing at the Richmond Folk Festival seemed like a big deal for them. It took a while to get the ten piece band set up but they started hot and never let up. The rain had stopped and I actually saw blue sky for a moment during Bio Ritmo's set. Unfortunately we called it quits for the day after this. I would have loved to have stayed longer but we needed to get home to our dogs and I wasn't sure if I was going to have a parking ticket. I didn't, thankfully.

Sunday was chilly and windy but no rain. I expected it to be packed on Sunday but it wasn't too bad. It seems like they've made improvements on logistics and getting around from stage to stage. This was the day for seeing groups we hadn't seen the day before, so I had a fairly precise itinerary planned out and still some decisions to be made. We started Sunday with State of the Ozarks String Band on the CoStar Group Stage over on Brown's Island. It's been a while since I've heard old-time fiddling, so I enjoyed this set a lot. I particularly liked the guitar and 3-finger banjo accompaniment.

After that we went over to the Altria Stage for Grupo Mono Blanco, a band from Veracruz which is a Mexican state along the Gulf of Mexico. That might explain why it had a little islandy sound to it. We had to cut that set a little short to go back to Brown's Island to catch the Native American Smoke Dancers (Haudenosaunee social dance). They had three little ones dancing with them. It felt very special.

At 2pm we had a dilemma because Baba Commandant and the Mandingo Band were on one stage, while Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper were going to be on another. We started with Baba Commandant but only stayed for a couple songs because there would be another opportunity to see them later in the day, but this was the last chance to see Michael Cleveland. It was a quick walk over to the Altria Stage to catch the last half of Michael Cleveland's set and boy did he and his band not disappoint. That was some top notch bluegrass!

Lutchinha, performing on the Altria Stage

It was hard to decide what to see next, but we stayed at the Altria Stage for the 3pm performance by Lutchinha, a band that plays Cabo Verdean music. Cabo Verde is an African island in the Atlantic ocean where they speak Portuguese, and the music is a perfect blend of those cultures. I had not researched this band and wasn't sure what to expect. I couldn't really put a finger on it but I loved every minute. We had back up plans in place but ended up staying for the entire set and actually missed some other 3:00pm/3:30pm things that I maybe wanted to see. It was worth it though.

When that was done we went to the Folklife stage for the first and only time that day and saw Rodney Stith play his classic soul music. He had a superb band with him, both singers and instrumentalists. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this set.

Now it was getting to be 5pm, when each stage has its last performance of the festival. It was time to choose and we went with Baba Commandant and the Mandingo Band over Cyril Neville. This was a tough call, but having gotten a taste of Baba Commandant earlier in the day I knew that I wanted to see their full set and this time it was going to be in the Dominion Energy Dance Pavilion. Even better! Usually I go to the Dominion Energy Dance Pavilion a lot, but this was the only time all weekend that we saw a set there. 

Baba Commandant and the Mandingo Band
Dominion Energy Dance Pavilion
with a guest sitting in on trumpet

Baba Commandant was a great way to finish off a great weekend of music. Their guitarist is awesome. I love that African style of guitar. The bassist kicked total butt. The drummer was bad ass, and Baba Commandant himself seemed to be channeling some kind of inner spirit. We ended up right at the front of the stage and the energy was intense. Baba Commandant and the Mandingo Band is like a band you'd go see in a night club on tour. 

I'm writing this the next morning, feeling a little bit funky from all the over consumption of food and drink over the weekend. It's always bittersweet when the Folk Festival is over. It almost brings a tear to my eye. Over and done with in what felt like a blink. Every single band and musician we saw was good this year. No duds whatsoever. I wish there was another day but it's time to move on and get on with the week.

The Richmond Folk Festival is a Different Kind of Music Festival

If folk music is the classic Greenwich Village image of a guy like Bob Dylan or a gal like Joan Baez singing and strumming an acoustic guitar, then I can’t really think of many Richmond Folk Festival performers over the festival’s 11 year history that meet this description.  Peter Rowan maybe.  No, when this festival says "folk" they mean something more like indigenous traditional world music.  It could be multi-generational bluegrass musicians from up in the mountains or music of the Middle East or Eastern Europe.  The kind of stuff a songcatching ethnomusicologist might bring back as field recordings after journeying to far off regions. 

So many festivals are about headliners and featuring hot new acts.  The Richmond Folk Festival is not another Lockn’ or Bonnaroo or even a Newport.  You won’t find Phil Lesh, My Morning Jacket, Dawes, Grace Potter or Dr. Dog on the bill.  Not yet anyway.  There's always hope!  The biggest name or mainstream performer that the Richmond Folk Festival has ever had, best as I can remember, might be Rosanne Cash, and yet the festival regularly draws between 150,000 to 200,000 curious people over its 3 days.

So why do so many people come to a downtown festival featuring a bunch of obscure artists playing weird traditional music that most of us have never even heard or heard of?  Because that’s a very Richmond thing to do, it turns out. Eleven years ago when the festival started, Richmond was just on the cusp of embracing the arts, food and other things enlightened, but a sense of ennui and procrastination still lingered.  It was a complete surprise that so many people showed up and embraced this event from the very first year and it has stayed that way ever since, although it is no longer a surprise.  It's an annual ritual now.  Yay Richmond!

Myself, like a lot of others it seems, have learned to treat the Richmond Folk Festival with a great deal of respect and gratitude; a mature approach that tries to put the music first, and maybe partying second.  Where else can you stumble upon a tent where thousands of people are silently watching an Indian tabla player with rapt attention?  Or have your choice between seeing Native American Smoke Dancers or DJ Grandmaster Flash?  The cool thing is you can find yourself in any of these situations with a cup of craft beer because it is sold throughout the fest and you can take it to any stage and all over the grounds. That helps.

It's not so easy to pigeon-hole the Richmond Folk Festival crowd.  It's not just progressive white folks.  The festival also attracts many African-Americans as well as people from all sorts of different backgrounds and ethnicities, as it should.  If you want diversity – gender, age, race, families, culture – The Richmond Folk Festival brings it. Being walking distance from the thriving campus of VCU, the festival also pulls in a strong college contingent.  

Yep, I’m pretty psyched that we continue to have this festival and that all kinds of people go and support it.  Where would I like to see it evolve?  If possible, I'd love to see it continue to expand the definition of folk music by featuring more artists on the cutting edge or fringes of "traditions" and/or people who are pushing things farther instead of just those who represent retrogrades.  For example, how come they never got Ornette Coleman before he passed away, or Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin, or the Sahara Desert rock band Tinariwen, or Bela Fleck, or Kind Sunny Ade, or modern acts with folk roots like The Decemberists or Gillian Welch?  In other words, there is room for both Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis, but more Miles please.  We shall see.

The 2015 Richmond Folk Festival Saturday Schedule

In previous years I’ve often gone to all 3 days of the Richmond Folk Festival – Friday, Saturday and Sunday. However, due to the way the 2015 lineup comes together, attendance could be condensed into one day this time around. The five bands I’m most interested in seeing all perform at non-overlapping times on Saturday, October 10.

First off, there’s Grupo Rebolú (1:15-2:00 Dominion Dance Pavilion) from New York who play Afro-Colombian music. Their highly danceable rhythms are rooted in the music of Colombia’s Caribbean coast. After their set, there's the “Masters of Rhythm” workshop also on Brown's Island (2:30-3:30 WestRock Foundation Stage), featuring members of many of the different world music groups performing at this year’s festival. I love these types of workshops where they talk to musicians from different regions and traditions and have them provide examples of their respective styles and then jam together.

Grupo Rebolú

I might cut out of this rhythm meetup a little early to walk just north of Brown’s Island for The Alt’s set (3:30-4:15 VCU Health Stage). The Alt is more artistically appealing than most Irish bands at this level.  They rely on songcraft more than showmanship, offering obscure, sometime eery ballads that will stick with you long after the playing is done.  Eamon O’Leary is one of my all around favorite musicians in any style, John Doyle is a living legend and stringed instrument master, and the lovely Nuala Kennedy is both charming and impressive on flute and vocals.

The Alt

After The Alt it’ll be time to head back over to Brown’s Island for more Latin/Caribbean music, this time presented by the New York based Amargue Bachata Quintet with Andre Veloz (4:30-5:15 Dominion Dance Pavilion). Bachata is a Latino music from the Dominican Republic. Andre Veloz is the band’s frontwoman, and from what I understand it is rare for there to be a female bachata singer. The bachata music ends by 5:15 which should leave ample time to get a good spot for The Alt’s 2nd set of the day (5:45-6:30 Westrock Foundation Stage). This stage, which is under a tent and seated, will be a good place to watch The Alt work their magic.

Andre Veloz

This day’s itinerary closes with two jazz ensembles: the Feedel Band (7:00-8:00 Dominion Dance Pavilion) and the Sun Ra Arkestra (8:30-9:30 Community Foundation Stage). Feedel Band plays Ethiopian Jazz out of Washington DC. I'm not sure what this will be but I'm eager to find out.  The Sun Ra Arkestra dates back to the 1950’s and is on the short-list of the most important jazz collectives of all time. Mr. Sun Ra himself returned to Saturn in 1993, but the Arkestra continues to explore the outer realms under the direction of alto-saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Marshall Allen.

Feedel Band

Sun Ra Arkestra

Another cool thing about this plan is that it is logistically easy to pull off. It doesn’t involve as much walking through the crowds as usual because of the multiple back-to-back performances all taking place on Brown’s Island on either the Dominion Dance Pavilion or the WestRock Foundation Stage. There are plenty of food and beer vendors in that vicinity. The only time it leaves the island is for The Alt on the nearby VCU Health Stage at 3:30 and then for Sun Ra Arkestra all the way over at Community Foundation Stage for the final set of the day. That too makes sense logistically.

2015 Richmond Folk Festival map showing the sets mentioned above

I will probably wake up on Sunday morning with the notion to head back down to the festival. Sunday's highlights include DJ Grandmaster Flash, a “Global Voices” workshop and Deacon John’s Jump Blues, along with bonus sets by some of the performers I will have seen on Saturday.  But, even without Friday or Sunday, Saturday is a strong enough day to be a stand alone.

Richmond Folk Festival Saturday Re-Cap

Skies were overcast, the weather was a bit chilly, but the music was superb at the Richmond Folk Festival yesterday!  In fact the music was about as good as I ever remember it being, but I probably say that every year.  I also really liked the new stage layout - it felt more condensed and easy to navigate - with the stages on more equal footing.  I never really liked the old Altria stage (main stage)  anyway, as performances there always felt a little stale compared to some of the other stages.

Just about every act I saw was a highlight.  I began the day with steel guitarist Kayton Roberts and his country music friends on the Community Foundation Stage, who put on a good show of traditional country.  The only downside of that set being the constant needing to applaud every solo taken by his guitarist and 85 year old fiddler, but that's part of that style, I suppose.

The Hot Seats Short Band (missing Ben Belcher) put on a good, very oldtime oriented, set at the children's stage.  I only wish they could get to play on one of the less out of the way stages.  Imagine what they could do on, say, the Dance Pavilion stage, with Benny boy in tow.

As we left The Hot Seats a surprisingly good band was playing on the Community Foundation Stage:  The West African Highlife Band.  I love those West African rhythms and melodies, and these guys really jammed it out.  I'm looking forward to checking out one of their sets again today!

We saw a little bit of Furnace Mountain Band - who can really mesmerize and delight an audience - but chose to leave their set early to catch a little bit of the French-Canadian band Le Vent du Nord.  I'm glad we did.  Le Vent du Nord tore it up!  Tres bien!

The mighty James River - as seen from the side of the Dominion Dance Pavilion

Then we hoofed it on over to Brown's Island to catch a few minutes of William Bell's soul / rhythm and blues.  I definitely wanted to see some of this kind of music this weekend and although this stage was packed we made it up toward the front.  Unfortunately, his set was the same time as the mariachi band (Mariachi los Camperos de Nati Cano)  so we meandered back over to where we had just seen Le Vent du Nord to give that a shot.

With so much going on at one time - all the time - it's hard to stay at one stage for long.  After getting a taste of the Mariachi band we took a few minutes to watch the Balkan brass band (Boban and Marko Markovic Orkestar).  For some reason, this Balkan music didn't really grab me; probably because I was anxious to head back over to Brown's Island to the MWV stage for the Global Rhythms workshop.

I love and hate the workshops at the Richmond Folk Festival.  I'm there to see the musicians from different styles and cultures jam together, but usually the moderator takes so long talking to each individual musician that very little music gets played and the jamming is saved for an awkward moment at the end.  Not so for this drumming meetup, because the drummers - representing India, West Africa, the Dominican Republic, Egypt and more - collectively took it upon themselves to get multiple drum jams going, resulting in a standing ovation from the audience.  The beatboxer Shodekeh held his own with these guys.  This was probably the highlight of the day for me.

When we left the drum workshop Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers were still playing in the Dance Pavilion so we got to see a good bit of their set and they were killing it!  We made it to the front of the stage just as Dwayne Bopsie and his rub-board player jumped down into the crowd to play in the midst of the people tightly packed in up front.  This was awesome, but might have been lost on those toward the back of this crowded stage.  This zydeco band was almost more like a jamband in flavor and feel - they really kept the energy going.

The Holmes Brothers were playing when we walked by Community Foundation Stage, so we got to check out their old school gospel and rhythm and blues music for a few minutes.  They played the best version of Amazing Grace I have ever heard.  As the Holmes Brothers were playing, I looked behind me to see that the Mayan Sundance ritual had already commenced.  Four (?) guys in Tezcatlipoca Voladores had just started to make their descent by swinging around the 80 foot pole, while one guy sat on top. Watching this as the Holmes Brothers played was a surreal experience.

Jazz pianist Lafayette Gilcrhist and beatboxer Shodekeh getting funky!

The stage they now call the Altria stage is a great stage with a natural amphitheater.  We were ready and waiting when Lafayette Gilchrist and the New Volcanoes - featuring Shodekeh - took to the stage to debut his new go-go suite for the first time in public.  The first two movements were one long 30 minute jam that had me thinking of both P-Funk and King Sunny Ade.  He briefly paused to introduce the band, before playing the 3rd part of this new piece of music, which was equally as enticing as the first two parts.  So much good music in one day!

We had plans to stay for Le Vent du Nord on the Altria Stage, but were too wiped out and overly stimulated from the constant exposure to awesome music, non-stop for 7 straight hours, so we left after Lafayette Gilchrist, knowing that we could listen to Le Vent du Nord on 88.9 WCVE on the ride home.  Unfortunately, that set wasn't being broadcast.  I wonder why?  Oh well, Ian Stewart's World Music Show wasn't a bad alternative.

Looking at today's Richmond Folk Festival schedule, I am equally excited to head down there soon for another great day of music.  They pack it all in between noon and 6pm today, then it's gone for another year, so get it while you can!

Richmond Folk Festival Weekend Itinerary

The Richmond Folk Festival is October 10-12, 2014.

The Richmond Folk Festival is a three day event, but here's a potential Saturday/Sunday itinerary that takes in many of the performers.

Kayton Roberts

You could start Saturday with Kayton Roberts and Friends (country and western) at noon on the Community Foundation Stage. Kayton is heralded as a master of the classic steel guitar and was a member of Hank Snow’s Rainbow Ranch Boys. From there head over to the Dominion Dance Pavilion for the “Throwdown on Brown” breakdance competition at 1:15 pm. Sure to be a crowd favorite.

You won’t want to stay at the breakdancing competition for too long though, because The Hot Seats take to the Genworth Financial Family Stage at 1:30 pm. Trek on over to The Hot Seats, kids, and do some breakdancing of your own to their particular brand of old-timey music! Shortly after The Hot Seats finish you can keep the Appalachian vibe rolling with Furnace Mountain Band at 2:45 on the Union/UR Virginia Folklife Stage. But, in between The Hot Seats and Furnace Mountain you’d be well advised to sneak back on over to the Community Foundation Stage to catch a little bit of the West African Highlife Band, who play from 2:00-2:45.

Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati

Either way, you definitely will want to return to the Community Foundation Stage at 4pm for Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati. Yes, this is Mexican mariachi music and it looks like it’ll be good! After the mariachi band is done try and squeeze in the Global Rhythms workshop from 5-6 pm at the MWV Stage.  Beware though, from 5:30-6:15 pm The Bailey Hummingbirds – a shout band – play on the Union/UR Virginia Folklife Stage. Shout Bands are all-brass, gospel-based groups from House of Prayer churches. The 20+ member Bailey Hummingbirds are based in Porsmouth, VA and feature trombones, a baritone horn, a sousaphone and percussion.

From this point on close out Saturday evening at the Altria Stage. Make sure you are there by 6:15pm to witness the Mayan Sundance – a five person acrobatic “dance” on an eighty foot pole with an ancient history and deep religious significance. Then, at 6:45 pm Lafayette Gilchrist and the New Volcanoes, featuring beatboxer Shodekeh, will perform funky go-go/jazz straight outta Baltimore. They will be immediately followed on the Altria stage by Quebecois group Le Vent du Nord at 7:30 pm, who play high-spirted French-Canadian music. That’s your Saturday.

Le Vent du Nord

Why not begin Sunday with some gospel music from Maggie Ingram and the Ingranettes at noon on the Community Foundation Stage? At 1pm the traditional country group Wild Ponies will be getting their honky-tonk on at the Union/UR Virginia Folklife Stage. At 2pm Pontic Greek musicians Kostas Fetfatsidis and Evan Karapanagiotides perform on the Richmond Times Dispatch/Richmond.com stage. Pontic Greek music is supposed to have a haunting and mysterious Near Eastern feel.

A must-see is the 3pm “From Africa to Appalachia” set at the Union/UR Virginia Folklife Stage featuring Danny Knicely, Sammy Shelor and Cheick Hamala Diabate. Any time these guys get together magic happens. Another good thing about seeing the Africa to Appalachia set is you’ll be well positioned to witness the winners of the breakdance competition, giving a special performance at that same Folklife stage starting at 4pm.

Joaquin Diaz

Then, if you like, head to the Altria stage to close out another day with Le Vent du Nord, who play from 5:00-5:45pm. Or, better yet, find some time to check out accordion master Joaquin Diaz and his meringue music - the vibrant dance music of the Dominican Republic. Joaquin plays 5-6pm at the Dominion Dance Pavilion. That’s it folks!