Banjos and Fiddles, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

Yes, that is correct, fiddles and banjos.  This free event is now in its 32nd year and held annually in Boardinghouse Park in Lowell, Massachusetts.  Today's audience had hundreds of folks sitting pleasantly outdoors in the waning days of summer, listening, chatting, cheering, knitting, eating, whatever - just hanging out.  It was not too hot, not too cold, not  too humid, not too dry - it was just picture perfect weather for outside entertainment.

Note the see-through stage at left - and no backdrop. More on that later.....

There were about 80 contestants for this year's event.

The view from the audience's perspective.

The view from a performer's perspective.

A full stage view from a performer's perspective. 

What connection does a trolley have to fiddles and banjos?  Well, the tracks run closely behind the stage.  The back of the stage is behind the ivy shown above at left.  Must be a little disconcerting to the musicians to have a trolley go clanging by behind them .....

...like this!

Meanwhile back in the audience, this child, rendered incognito by my edit, was not able to open this cooler. He immediately whined to his grandpa for help.  It didn't take rocket science to open the cooler.  What happened to that inquisitive, perserverant, challenge-seeking, problem-solving mind he was born with?  Why didn't he sit and puzzle with it a while before asking an adult, and why did the adult do it for him when asked?  I'll hold my tongue instead of  making some snarky gene pool comment.....

All was not lost however, another child was enthralled listening to the live music from the best seat in the house - on top of his daddy's shoulders.

And below are two small samples of what made him smile........

Lowell Summer Music Series, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

To some folks, Lowell is a hardscrabble New England former mill town.  It may be that but, for me it's been the site every summer of great outdoor live music.  Whether you bring your own chair or sprawl on a  blanket on the grass - you can enjoy live outdoor music at the Annual Folk Festival or through the weekly Friday/Saturday night Summer Music Series concerts.  Staged at Boardinghouse Park, the sponsors are the National Park Service in partnership with local businesses. Here's their link: Lowell Summer Music Series.  Season passes or individual tickets are available to attend the weekly shows (the Folk Festival is free). 

The stage is set, the sound check is done, the lights are on, and the crowd filters in for another PERFECT New England summer night for music under the stars. To sit outside with temperatures in the mid-70'sF and listen to live music is a treat of which I never get tired.

Tonight's performer was Eileen Ivers and her band Immigrant Soul. A phenomenal fiddler, she blends traditional Irish music with hints of folk, bluegrass, Caribbean, soul, and classical styles and delights crowds everywhere. 

Following are two brief samples:

Toad the Wet Sprocket, Lowell Summer Music Series, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

Toad the Wet Sprocket - it seems unlikely that anyone would ever string those nonsensical words together but, in the mid-1980's, the British comedy troupe, Monty Python, the masters of nonsense, did so in a skit about a fictitious band.  Even more oddly, some aspiring musicians in Santa Barbara, California adopted it as their band's name.  The group is back together and touring again and appeared at the Lowell Summer Music Series.  Below is a short video clip from a song you might remember from the early 1990's  that boosted their fame back in those "good old days"........

Lowell Folk Festival, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

The 25th Annual Lowell Folk Festival was held this weekend. It is the largest (or maybe 2nd largest) free folk festival in the nation attended by hundreds of thousands.  This year featured continuous music on six outdoor stages. Performers represented folk, bluegrass, gospel, world music and dance. It is a family friendly event with an international array of folk music, ethnic foods, craftspeople and artisans, as well as kid’s activities.

This year's weather was beyond extraordinary - mid 80's with low humidity and a good breeze blowing.  Past year's have often been hot, humid, no wind, and too many people too close together.  It was a glorious summer day in New England.

A western swing and Texas fiddling band at one of the six performance stages.  Notice all the hats in the audience, more on hat/ no-hat later.......

The crowd at the Boardinghouse Park stage awaiting the start of an Irish band........

A popular group from Rajasthan in northwestern India.

Here's the hat/ no-hat debate in living color - I think the hat wins.

I have been to a number of festivals in my life but seeing a Burmese food booth is a first.

Thai food is always a popular option.

Another unusual booth.

When one considers the range of wonderful tastes represented from around the world, it is interesting to note our North American contribution is Fried Dough - even the British have more exciting cuisine.

This was the largest dog seen at the event and he was quite the hit.

You won't believe how many times the mother of this child shrieked at him to get out of the fountain - he was not persuaded and she could not physically reach him so she shouted many empty threats to the great entertainment of the other bemused adults watching (including me).  Whatever consequences he may have faced later did not outweigh his fun at the moment - ahhh, to be a kid and live in the moment.......... 

And last but not least, I must note the obvious violation of the expected human male dress code:  black knee socks with velcro-closure black shoes on spindly white legs are not authorized when wearing shorts -EVER!! - regardless of how old you are (except at Halloween parties).

The Fab Faux, Lowell Summer Music Festival, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

Now in its 22nd year, the Lowell Summer Music Festival in Lowell, Massachusetts, offers outdoor concerts throughout the Summer on most weekends.  First come, first served folks mark their turf up front near the stage with blankets and/or low beach chairs earlier in the day for that up-close and personal viewpoint.  Tonight's performers were the Fab Faux, a group of five professional musicians reknowned for their painstaking accuracy in recreating the exact music of the Beatles. 

How did our generation go from the idealism and rebellion of the 60's to needing to perfectly line up folding chairs with cup holders, and in order of color?

As curtain time approaches, the venue fills with parents, grandparents, and some reluctant and not-so-reluctant kids in tow.

A few of the long hairs of the Beatle generation were out tonight but most folks looked like Moms and Pops in Anytown, USA.  They were way more comfortable in cushy chairs than in a rain soaked field sitting in the mud - ahh, youth, where have you gone?

I am certainly no fashion plate myself, and at the risk of sounding way too snarky, these two Beatlemaniacs have clearly exceeded the boundaries of appropriate attire.  I'll bet as rebellious youth they had long hippie hair, smoked dope, and wore bell-bottom jeans.  Be that as it may, however, it wasn't okay back then and, it is still not now - EVER appropriate in public to wear your black dress shoes and black dress socks with white spindly legs protruding out of your shorts - and shorts that end 12 or more inches above your knobby knees are also outside the limits of propriety for gentlemen in their 60 or 70's. (I'll let the loud nylon Hawaiian shirt pass without comment).

But snarky aside.........at long last, under a warm, clear, moonlit, New England Summer night, we were able to sit back and listen, and close our eyes and remember the simple days of our youth - and again hear the music that has served as the backbone of this generation. And it was performed tonight nearly perfectly by these fine musicians, the Fab Faux. 

Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

Boardinghouse Park is the scene of a Summer Music Series. Summer of 2010 featured such greats as Taj Mahal Trio, Jimmy Cliff, Joan Armatrading, Indigo Girls, Herbie Hancock, Jonathan Edwards, B-52's, and many others. Notice the many graying heads of the audience. Just like mine.

Behind the stage is the still standing brick structure of the Boott Mills from the great textile era of the 19th and early 20th century industrial Massachusetts. The mill is reborn today as lofts/condos and apartments on the Merrimack River.

Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

Lowell, Massachusetts on the Merrimack River was "the" American industrial powerhouse during the 19th century. Today, it annually hosts the largest free Folk Festival in the United States each July. Otherwise throughout the Summer months, weekly concerts are held outdoors where folks bring there own chairs and enjoy music under the stars.