Choose your size music festivals

 

                The horn section was starting to groove as we set up our chairs in the festival tent early one morning “Yes!  Funk music! My favorite way to start the day,” I told my husband.  If music feeds your soul as it does mine, book a festival get-away.  You’ll return with legs tired from dancing and a playlist of new favorites.

The Blind Willie McTell Festival in Thomson, Georgia  

This small (only 2,000 attendees) 1 ½ -day celebration of roots music and blues near Augusta, Georgia is a gem.   Namesake William Samuel McTell was born here in 1901.  He lost his sight in early childhood but learned to read and write music in Braille and composed some of Blue music’s most recorded songs including Statesboro Blues.  Since 1992, locals of this quaint town have produced this “love fest” featuring Grammy and American Music award winners.  The friendly crowd punctuated their applause with shouts of “Mighty fine!” and “Amen!” Jerron Blind Boy Paxton added some folksy humor: “Do you know the difference between a fiddle and a violin?” “You can’t spill beer on a violin.” It’s a real bargain at just $40-50 a ticket which includes the Kick Off Party on Sept. 23, 2022 and all day on Sept. 24.  You can stay nearby in hotels and buy food on site.   https://www.blindwillie.com/

 

LEAF Festival

Taking our children to the LEAF Festival throughout their childhoods was one of our best parenting decisions.  As adults, we all still go. These October and May weekends filled with world music, dancing, slam poetry, crafts and healing arts in the beautiful setting near Black Mountain, N.C. are a balm for the soul.  This October 20-23, 2022 the festival will celebrate its Golden Anniversary with a “Best-of” line-up from the previous 50 festivals including Anjelique Kidjo, Rising Appalachia and Donna the Buffalo. The Rwanda Jr. Troupe of drummers will come to represent one of the many culture keeper programs that LEAF supports throughout the world. Fire dancers, jugglers, puppeteers, and an electrifying drum circle on the mountaintop add to the family-friendly atmosphere.  Held on the site of a boy’s summer camp, the festival offers tent sites and bunk-house accommodations.  Tickets are capped at 6,000 so there’s room to roam among the several stages in the lakeside setting of the Blue Ridge.  Sure to sell out:  https://theleaf.org/

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival presented by Shell  

photo by Joshua Brasted

I recently watched the documentary JAZZ FEST: A NEW ORLEANS STORY which celebrates the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival’s 50th anniversary. It reminded me of the exultation of being there: like falling into a musical gumbo. When jazz impresario George Wein began the festival in 1970, there were more performers on stage than in the crowd. Not anymore. Over 475,000 people attended over ten days last year. It was belly-to-back crowded at the main stage each of the years we attended. But there are 12 stages of jazz, gospel, Cajun, zydeco, blues, R&B, rock, funk, African, Latin, Caribbean and folk music where you can enjoy smaller crowds and excellent performances. And where else can you get festival food like alligator pie, crawfish sacks, cochon de lait po-boys and muffuletta? The foundation that produces the festival ensures that New Orleans’ culture lives on through its educational and charitable work and it was a pivotal force in the city’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Although it’s not until April 28 to May 7, 2023, advanced planning is required since hotels, especially those near shuttle sites, fill early. https://www.jazzandheritage.org/



I recently learned a new work: tripophobia, the fear of not having any trips booked. Don’t suffer. Plan ahead. You’ll get the best accommodations, early ticket pricing and the added joy of anticipation.

photo by Joshua Brasted