Category: Dala


Festival Coverfolk, 2010: The Aftermath
Red Molly, Berklee Bluegrass, and more changes afoot in the folkworld

July 28th, 2010 — 11:18 am





As you can see above – yes, that’s me with my hands to the sky, dancing sidestage in full-on last-day-of-the-festival mode – this year’s annual excursion into the folkfields was a grand success. So good, in fact, that I’m writing this on the porch, reluctant to come inside lest the residual joy of the previous 11 days leech off in the presence of real toilets and showers, refrigerated food, and electric lighting.

But in the end, it was also a study in contrast, with Grey Fox bigger than ever, and Falcon Ridge smaller by far. Even as Grey Fox lost a press and volunteer parking lot to camping space, one uphill look at the Dodd’s farmland and you could see the empty spaces where campers and tents had filled the land, a field once fertile gone over to bald patches. Sure, the Beatles Coversongs Workshop was as populated as ever, and the sight of a packed parking lot waiting for dry-road entry on Saturday morning after Friday’s downpour day was heartening. But vendor lines were short, and seating sparse: long before people began to leave Falcon Ridge early Sunday afternoon, it was clear that the rush would be slight this year.

It’s tempting to frame this change in balance between festivals as a reflection of the larger ebb and flow of the two genres in the public imagination. The pop-and-country radio mainstreaming of folk artists such as Josh Ritter and Lori McKenna, the increase in bluegrass and newgrass sounds coming from acts and artists previously considered indie, rock, or pop, the continued rise and spread of bluegrass acts onto the country and folk radar, and a hundred other factors, many of which we’ve discussed here before, provide ample evidence for bluegrass’ upsurgence, even as folk blurs lines and fragments, moving back towards the small-scale house concert model, its most vocal longtime followers burying themselves in infighting about the true nature of folk in a modern world as the number of “pure” folk radio stations and programs dwindle down to a handful.

Too, Grey Fox seems to have benefitted from a growing core of second generation campers who come to party, drink, and revel, and don’t seem to care much whether the music goes on as scheduled. Though I was only present for Saturday, several sets started quite late due to performer frustrations with sound, and the largely empty seats which surrounded me didn’t seem to notice or care. To be fair, Thursday and Friday’s lineups were incredible, and it’s certainly possible that my fellow festivalgoers were just plumb tuckered out by the weekend. But several new additions to Grey Fox, including the funding of a well-attended movie night for kids down in the lower camping area, point to a continued effort to expand and enrich the experience for all ages, for which the organizers should be rightfully acclaimed.

But fundamental changes in the way lineups are booked at most festivals still nominally considered “folk” are also at the core of the choices being made “out there” which influence influence. As folk-and-more festivals from Newport to Green River to Clearwater have expanded their rosters to include a much broader genre range, and enjoyed corresponding success, Falcon Ridge has chosen to hew close to its roots, sticking with fan-favorite singer-songwriters and acoustic folk acts, which may explain some of its shrinkage. And though it’s hard to be critical of the place that I truly consider home, there’s no doubt in my mind that the corresponding dip in both camping and day ticket sales will make for some difficult choices in the year ahead.

It’s also true that Falcon Ridge took a gamble this year, whittling the roster down and scaling down the hours on stagetime in a desperate attempt to stay in the black after a number of lean years. The weather, too, was iffy, with black clouds ubiquitous on the horizon, and rain and blue sky battling it out over the weekend, so volatile in their ongoing struggle that one memorable mid-afternoon set started in sun, went over to rain twice, and ended in sun again, albeit with a smaller audience. But whatever the source, whatever the reason, it’s going to be a close one, folks – so stay tuned for more Falcon Ridge updates as the year progresses.



That said: from a subjective point of view, both halves of my annual festival pilgrimage were a wonderful success. As predicted, Kathy Mattea, who we saw at last year’s Falcon Ridge Fest, was in fine voice at Grey Fox; her duet work with Tim O’Brien in workshop and mainstage sets was hilarious and tender in turns, and made a full-fledged fan out of me despite my reluctance to lean that far country. Sarah Jarosz turned in a solid mainstage set, too, with a few especially lovely softer ballads, though a tendency to push her voice too hard on the upbeat numbers speaks to her continuing education as an evolving young artist. And seeing a grinning, mellow Sam Bush cover Bob Marley up close and personal in the workshop tent – part of an explanation of his unique “chop” style – was a delight, indeed.

I was especially interested in the morning workshop with the folks from Berklee’s new American Roots Program, both as a follow-up to a similar presentation-slash-conversation at this past winter’s Joe Val Fest and because the several musicians who tend to tour with Berklee improv prof and banjoist Dave Hollender have already begun to win my heart and ears. Though making the Saturday a.m. wake-up call was clearly a challenge for the younger set involved, those who did show – mando prodigy Sierra Hull and flatpicking guitarist Courtney Hartman of the talented multi-sibling Hartman Family Band among them – put on an impressive display of talent as improvisers and instrumentalists, one which speaks highly of the “push, expose, support and nurture” approach which Berklee offers, and promises as much for their own future successes as it does for the success of the American Roots program overall.

Overall, then, Grey Fox 2010 was a fine, fine outing, despite heat and a short but violent mid-afternoon torrential downpour that drove even the hardiest of us from our seats by the end. Here’s a few bonus tracks from a quartet of the abovementioned to keep the grassy field lingering.



Meanwhile, at Falcon Ridge, the replacement of a day of mainstage music with a free day of campground informality led to much higher prominence for the unofficial “hilltop” stages, many of which I heard about secondhand from new convert and campmate Darius of Oliver di Place and Star Maker Machine, whose constant tentside updates throughout the fest helped me see the joy of the place through rejuvenated eyes.

Which is not to say that this year’s official performances were anything to sneeze at, of course. Though my work running the festival’s crew of teen volunteers kept me busy, I managed to catch a number of delightful sets, from informal to formal. Dala were amazing and sweet, as predicted, winning hearts wherever they turned up. The Brilliant Inventions were in fine form, drawing crowds and breaking hearts with their perfect acoustic pop performances, well-honed songcraft, and dreamy Everly Brothers harmonies, most especially with my new favorite original Black-Eyed Susan, which can and should be seen on YouTube here and here and is bound to be the centerpiece of their upcoming album. And fellow Showcase winner Chuck E Costa held his own nobly in a workshop set alongside Eliza Gilkyson, Jimmy LaFave, and Tracy Grammer, wowing fans and peers alike, and we’re proud to announce that the sweet-voiced singer and poignant lyricist has agreed to help inaugurate our 2010-2011 House Concert series this fall, with a date TBA.

Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams were amazing as ever this year, pulling a huge crowd for their Land of 1000 Dances set at the Dance Stage on Friday, pulling the young folks down from the hill to storm the stage by midset Saturday evening, and keeping the crowd moving at Sunday’s annual Gospel Wake-Up. And though new bluegrass quartet Chester River Runoff‘s mainstage set was cut short by the ubiquitous rain, I was lucky enough to be privy to their under-the-radar warm-up under the Site Crew tent beforehand, a sweet set of John Hartford covers, originals and tradtunes which made me a fan for life.

As in previous years, I’m proud to announce that I was able to record a number of covers at these performances, from Jimmy LaFave‘s Guthrie to Dala taking on Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now – and I snagged a few at Grey Fox, too, including the aforementioned Bob Marley cover from Sam Bush himself. The sound came out great on most of ‘em, and there was no official recording on the hill this year, so these may be the only copies of these covers in existence, making them rare indeed. I’m still hoping to unearth my camera’s connector cables to upload the Sat/Sun round of recording, but in the meantime, I’ve included the abovementioned as a single pair of teasers – with the promise of more to come as the weeks move forward.



The biggest buzz at this year’s Falcon Ridge festival, of course, was the impending change-over in the lineup for Red Molly, a folk trio that first formed in the FRFF campgrounds and rose to mainstage prominence through the Emerging Artist Showcase. As announced on their webpage a few weeks back, Carolann Solebello has decided to leave the group to focus on family and solo work, and Falcon Ridge was her last hurrah, with exquisite turns from the three ladies on every stage throughout the weekend marking a fitting farewell to a fine festival’s favorite daughter. The fall season will find Austin singer-songwriter Molly Venter joining Laurie MacAllister and Abbie Gardner to keep the glory going, and if Carolann’s last turn with the group – this season’s James, an exceptional album of familiar covers, peer tributes, and originals – is any indication, there’s high potential for all four women to remain on the radar for a good long while yet.

My personal fest highlight, in fact, was a long leisurely campsite visit with Laurie of Red Molly and the boys from The Brilliant Inventions, who I lured into our shaded den of iniquity with the promise of beer in an otherwise dry festival. To my delight, we hit it off, and as the lazy afternoon continued, what had started as casual conversation turned into a brainstorm session for potential coversongs for the coming re-incarnation of Red Molly. Out of respect for the artistic decision-making process I won’t spill the beans on the long list of possibles which resulted, but it was a coverlover’s dream to be treated as an equal in such rarified discourse, and I’m looking forward more than ever to new releases from Red Molly and TBI.

But I would note in passing that it was wonderful to find two people who appreciate Marc Cohn’s highly underrated second album as much as I do, especially the Crosby-and-Nash-backed She’s Becoming Gold. And that same pair – Eliot and Josh of The Brilliant Inventions – recommended I seek out their YouTube take on Sound of Silence, which they report as having been a rediscovery of Simon’s songwriting and arranging talents. So here it is, drowned a bit in audience noise but audibly genius nonetheless, along with another solid performance from 500 Songs For Kids, and two wonderful new covers from Red Molly’s strongest album yet, to close out today’s festival aftermath set.










Cover Lay Down posts new coverfolk sets and features twice weekly on Wednesdays and Sundays. Coming soon: a trip to California prompts a plethora of features related to the banana-shaped state. And don’t forget to stay tuned for the announcement that we’ve finished compiling this year’s bootleg festival recordings into a single zip file, to be available exclusively to those who support Cover Lay Down.

1,491 comments » | Dala, Festival Coverfolk, Jimmy LaFave, Red Molly, Sam Bush, Sierra Hull

Contest Coverfolk: WIN 2 passes to Falcon Ridge, July 23-25
featuring Dala, Jimmy LaFave, The Brilliant Inventions, and more!

June 6th, 2010 — 10:50 pm

Edit, 6/30: Congrats to Dean Marshall, this year’s randomly-selected FRFF ticket winner! Enjoy the festival, Dean – we’re looking forward to seeing you on site!




Festival season is upon us once again, and though upcoming obligations will keep me from some of my regular haunts this year, it would take an honest-to-goodness apocalypse to keep me from the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, our absolute favorite summerfest, which takes place July 23-25 in the above-pictured hills of Hillsdale, NY, just over the Massachusetts border.

And you can join us too, thanks to the good graces of long-time Festival artistic director Anne Saunders, who has provided us with a pair of all-expenses-paid camping passes to pass along to one of our lucky readers. It’s a $300 value, including three days of music, five days of camping, and contra dancing and hillside tent-shows until the wee hours…and all you have to do to WIN is to leave a comment at the bottom of this entry before the clock strikes midnight on June 20th.

As noted earlier in these virtual pages, Falcon Ridge is slimming down a tad this year, but the lineup remains strong, with a solid mix of old favorites and newcomers, including previously-featured singer-songwriters Eliza Gilkyson, John Gorka, and Red Molly, newcomers Chester River Runoff and The Andrew & Noah Band, and festival faves Cheryl Wheeler, We’re About 9, Ellis, Vance Gilbert, Gandalf Murphy, Tracey Grammer, and Nerissa & Katryna Nields. As is our practice, the following offers an introduction to a few as-yet-unfeatured artists; read on for tunes and artist featurettes, and be sure to leave your name and email address in the comments for a chance to join us in the fields come the last weekend in July.


Popfolk girl duo Dala will be making their first appearance at Falcon Ridge this year, quite likely in a headline spot Friday or Saturday night where previous years have featured Dar Williams and Ani DiFranco, and you better believe I’ll be front and center when they hit the stage. Originally scheduled for last year’s festival until a scheduling conflict caused them to cancel at the last minute, these young women, who met in their high school music class and have been best friends ever since, are the real deal: pure, exquisitely mixed alto and soprano, with a delicate hand on the guitars and a sense of poise and presence honed by eight years on the road together.

By all accounts, the Canadian duo is one of the biggest rising stars on the popfolk circuit, one that has been sweeping the major festivals this year, including a mainstage set at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest, and a gig at the WUMB Boston Music Fest just today. But I’ve been eager to see them live for a few years now, ever since I first heard the pair on 2008 Neil Young tribute Cinnamon Girl, and I’m just as eager to get my hands on their newest project, a live CD/DVD entitled Girls From The North Country, which features the songs of Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Dylan, and others, performed by Dala and equally undersung Canadian girl groups Oh Susanna and Good Lovelies. If you like soaring and sweet two-girl harmonies – and who doesn’t, really – then let this act be the tipping point that gets you on the road this summer.



I keep meaning to come back to Jimmy LaFave here on Cover Lay Down: I’ve seen the almost painfully broken-voiced Texan multiple times on the circuit, and whether he’s channeling hope or despair, his honest, soulful delivery never fails to drill deep into my psyche. The red dirt roots-rocker and soulful balladeer will be all over this year’s festival, appearing mainstage alongside Gilkyson, Gorka, and Cheryl Wheeler as part of the annual Friday Evening Song Swap, tearing up a solo set, and attending at least one workshop stage collaboration, and I couldn’t be happier: the man covers Dylan better than anyone, really, and I can think of no finer way to help you see it than to offer this mini-set, collated from his long and fruitful career.


Last, but certainly not least: Falcon Ridge is notoriously tardy about releasing their full schedule, but after 22 years, it’s a given that Friday afternoon on the ‘ridge will be given over to the Emerging Artists Showcase, where new acts compete for a chance at a mainstage gig the following year. Past winners include some incredible artists, from Meg Hutchinson to Red Molly, but last year’s fan-selected showcase winners are an unusually strong, talented, and diverse group; having been blown away by all three at this year’s preview tour, I’m proud to recommend their work to all.

Chuck E Costa‘s uplifting singer-songwriter folk is utterly gorgeous, as is his delicate voice; the below Mark Erelli cover is a solid choice for him, but truly, in person, sans production, his songs go straight to the heart. Local up-and-comers Swing Caravan deconstruct, craft and cover lighthearted, stunningly talented acoustic swingjazz, and their in-the-aisles performance at last year’s festival was one of my personal highlights. Hilarious harmonizing duo The Brilliant Inventions write bold-yet-tender indiepop songs that sound like a cross between the Weepies, Guster, Ben Folds, and Fountains of Wayne, and I’ve been absolutely blown away by their beautifully produced debut Have You Changed; the live cover below speaks well of their stage presence, but doesn’t begin to do justice to their real live sound, so I’ve broken ranks to include an original title track today. Listen, then come out and see for yourself why I’m utterly in love with this year’s showcase winners.

  • The Brilliant Inventions: Man In The Mirror (orig. Michael Jackson)



Of course, these songs and artists are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Among other artists previously on Cover Lay Down, and appearing at this year’s Falcon Ridge Folk Festival:



Like what you hear? Want in? Leave a comment below with your name and email address to enter to win a pair of full-fest camping passes for this year’s Falcon Ridge Folk Festival!

1,303 comments » | CONTESTS, Dala, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Festival Coverfolk, Jimmy LaFave

Covered in Folk: Neil Young (Of Tribute Albums and Female Indiefolk)

March 2nd, 2008 — 11:00 am


I have a love/hate relationship with Neil Young. While I’ve always loved his early work, both solo and with CSNY, as my ears and his voice age, I find it harder to listen to that infamous whine for more than a few minutes at a time. But ever since I wore a used copy of his incredible, confessional album Harvest down to the groove one mopey adolescent summer, I have had nothing but admiration for Neil Young’s ability to pen poetic yet straightforward songs which give voice to the plight of the powerless and the disaffected in modern American culture.

Young gets his share of covers, though next to Dylan, Paul Simon, and Bruce Springfield, the prolific folk-rocker’s songbook is hardly what we could call well-represented. And given his lyrical bent, it’s unsurprising to find that most of the best covers have emerged from the indie and folk worlds, where musicians and audiences generally share both Young’s socio-political dissatisfaction and his fluid fondness for making music in both acoustic and electric forms. It’s not like my life has been a series of Neil Young-related disappointments.

However, where it’s easy to find strong tribute albums of Springfield or Dylan, as albums, the few Neil Young tributes I’ve encountered have been less than memorable. Last year’s Uncut (UK) magazine freebie Like A Hurricane had some excellent folk artists on the roster, but all but three of those songs had been previously released, and back issues are hard to come by. Other, older tributes, like late eighties alt-rock release The Bridge, had a few good cuts, but with a few exceptions (Sonic Youth, The Pixies), The Bridge is generally considered a set of tepid work from some otherwise incredible artists.

Which makes Cinnamon Girl: Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity a long-overdue splash of vibrant life in an ocean of mediocrity. This new two-disc set features well-crafted Neil Young covers lovingly recorded by women who, like the previously featured Mary Lou Lord, live and play at the intersection of folk and alternative rock. The songs run the gamut from acoustic folkpop to indiefolk to electrified alternative, and unlike most multi-artist tribute albums, they fit together smoothly, making for a great and well-balanced listen from cover to cover. This is the tribute album Neil Young has deserved for most of his long and prolific career.

The proof is in the posting: I had originally planned to post this entry earlier, but the nice folks at American Laundromat let me take my pick of the collection, and I spent the first week trying to winnow down a two-CD set of great tracks to something manageable. Even after skimming off amazing songs like Luff’s great grungy Tell Me Why, Eurotrash’s alt-pop title cut, and Veruca Salt’s post-punk Burned — all of which, while amazing examples of indiegirl altrock in their own right, fall outside even a liberal interpretation of folk — I had to make some hard choices in selecting which songs to share.

You’ll have to buy the album for Lori McKenna’s countryfolk version of The Needle and the Damage Done, a dreamy rock anthem from Kristen Hirsh, a balanced, edgy cover of Heart of Gold from Tanya Donelly, the sweet indiefolk harmonies of the Watson Twins and Elk City, and more. But ultimately, I think I’ve selected a short set of streams which represent the breadth and excellence that is Cinnamon Girl.

No downloads here, folks, though I’ve dropped a few in the bonus section below. But don’t skip ahead. Press play below to hear Jill Sobule’s banjo-tinged folkrock, Kate York’s breathy alt-country jam on Comes A Time, the fragile Aimee Mann-like voice-and-piano folkpop of Amilia K Spicer, and my favorite track of many, Dala’s subtle, sultry cover of A Man Need a Maid.

Kate York, Comes A Time

Jill Sobule w/ John Doe, Down By The River

Dala, A Man Needs A Maid

Note: song has a long fade-in…

Amilia K Spicer, Only Love Can Break Your Heart

Told you so. Now head over to American Laundromat to pick up your copy of Cinnamon Girl today. All proceeds go to Casting for Recovery, which provides fly fishing retreats for breast cancer survivors.

While you’re there, take a look around. American Laundromat is an excellent label which specializes in pretty much all the things I like: tribute albums, the music and culture of the late eighties, and some of the best indie voices in the business. If nothing else, take a few minutes to listen to “American Laundromat radio”, where you can hear Lori McKenna’s cover of Peter Gabriel’s classic In Your Eyes, among other tracks from their great and growing stable of tribute albums.

Today’s bonus coversongs offer up some more Neil Young tributes from the acoustic singer-songwriter branch of the femfolk world:


Still need more Neil Young coversongs? Cover Me’s cover-by-cover reconstruction of Neil Young’s On The Beach includes some great cuts from across the musical spectrum, including Jeff Tweedy and The Be Good Tanyas. Act quick, because the links are due to go down in the next week or two.

493 comments » | Amilia K. Spicer, Carrie Rodriguez, Covered in Folk, Dala, Elizabeth Mitchell, Emily Haines, Emmylou Harris, Jill Sobule, Kate York, Marissa Nadler, Neil Young, Wailin' Jennys