After an amazing experience at the Newport Folk Festival in 2016, I wasn’t sure how to finish up my 2016 summer season. As a recent appreciator of bluegrass, when I heard about New England Festy, I knew Twangville had to be there. This festival is not purely a bluegrass festival, but one that includes a genre-hopping lineup that should keep bluegrassers, singer/songwriter fans, and even open-minded roots rock fans happy. I’ll give a quick teaser for each of the groups.
Bluegrass
For the bluegrass purist, Sierra Hull is one of the current IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) mandolin player of the year nominees. Her song “Black River” and album “Weighted Mind” are also nominated for best of the year categories respectively. This is Hull’s third album and her most spare. The other records are more traditional bluegrass while the new record is spare featuring Sierra Hull’s mandolin playing and vocals. She’s certainly establishing her songwriting credentials to match her already highly respected virtuosity on the mandolin. I saw her play two years ago at the Museum of Fine Arts and loved listening to her playing. Here’s the review: http://twangville.com/20023/sierra-hull-in-the-courtyard/
The Infamous Stringdusters, while hosting the Festy, manage to keep up their cred with both bluegrass purists and others all over the map. I managed to catch their collaboration with Ryan Adams at Newport Folk Festival. The instrumental chops brought Ryan’s classic tunes back to life and I’m psyched to see them play on their own.
Singer/Songwriter
We’ve been huge fans of Session American for quite a while. They are Boston’s best kept secret in the Americana world. From a variety of songwriters, to a unique approach with singers around a table. The band’s material runs the gambit from country songwriting, bar songs, and unique instrumentation. The band has racked up several best album, best roots act, and best live act at the Boston Music Awards.
Josh Ritter is an incredibly consistent songwriter. His newest album sees him come back to a more roots rock approach. Ritter changes his sound but his songcraft is always at a high level. His albums focus on acoustic (Hello Starling), roots rock (Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter), and acoustic rock (The Animal Years). His literate approach is equal parts poetic storytelling and melodic songwriting.
Originally a fan of his father Steve, it didn’t take long before I knew that Justin Townes Earle had a style his own. From his amazing debut EP Yuma, Justin has blazed his own trail. He plays a mean flat-picked guitar and writes about fried chicken. Justin has changed styles and has a fuller band these days with a more vocal centric approach.
Roots Rock
To call David Wax Museum Roots Rock might be a bit of a stretch. David Wax and Sue Slezak have managed to find a niche with no other act quite like them. David Wax’s time in Mexico as a graduate student impacted his musical style. Wax plays a jarana (which is a Mexican instrument like a guitar). Slezak plays fiddle and the donkey jawbone. Their songs touch heavily on the relatively rare form of Mexican folk music (not heard much in the U.S.)
Other previously mentioned acts which combine other genres include Session Americana, Josh Ritter, Lau, and Fruition.
Photos by Suzanne Davis McMahon
About the author: Jeff is a teacher in the Boston area. When not buried correcting papers, Jeff can be found plucking various stringed instruments and listening to all types of americana music.