When the world was stopping last Spring, the Green River Festival did the right thing (as did other music venues) of postponing the Festival. This was a big disappointment, but in respect to all the other sudden changes due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was but a drop in the bucket. We opted not to ask for a refund for our tickets, in hopes of supporting the Festival and helping it last out a year off.
They did last, and announced this Spring that they would be holding the 2021 Festival, but a month later in August, and at the Franklin County Fairgrounds (on the National Register Of Historic Places!) instead of the long-term site at the Greenfield Community College. Over the last few months the pandemic has re-surged, but they opted to go ahead with the Festival. They announced that they'd be requiring masks in lines, in restrooms and porta-potties, and in crowded situations, but many people did not wear masks at all.
So we were, again, more than psyched for the concert and a return to normalcy, but a little nervous about disease transmittal with so many people. We and our GRF friends booked rooms at our customary spot, the Red Rose Motel in Shelburne Falls. We slowly got together everything we'd need for the weekend, including a small table for the bathroom. The forecast was for another day of extreme heat on Friday but then overcast and much cooler with a small possibility of showers for the rest of the weekend. Can't ask for better than that!
Dave came over Thursday night and we got on the road by a little after 9 on Friday, August 27 for a mellow drive out West. We swung by the Fairgrounds to check out where the parking and entrance line would be in case it helped us strategize. We also stopped for lunch at a nice overlook of the Deerfield River. Next was the Red Rose, and Rihanna checked us in early with commensurate merriment. We unloaded all our stuff in no time flat, I took a dip in the pool, and then we packed up for the Festival. The gates would opening at 2:00 for a 4:00 music start, an hour earlier than the traditional time.
Drove back to Greenfield, got into the parking lot behind a dozen other cars, and then got in the "Festival Faithful" line behind a couple of dozen other people. Those of us who kept our 2020 tickets were the Festival Faithful, and we were allowed in first when the gates opened and got a 20% discount on Festival gear.
Not too long a wait and we were in. Surprised to see other people in already and realized that the people camping on the grounds were of course set up already, if they were that eager. Whatever, we got more or less our preferred spot a couple of rows in front of the soundboard tent and dead center. Now it was time to wander around and kill two hours, which we did while the Fairgrounds swelled with frantic and joyous people.
All of us agreed after evaluation, that we hoped the GRF will return to Greenfield Community College next year, but we all could cite things we really liked about the Fairgrounds site. It was much more walk-able to get to the porta-potties, from one stage to the other, and out to the parking lot when we needed a break. The food vendors were more spread out so they were there when you wanted them, instead of crowding them all in together. And the other vendors were arranged in a crescent around the main stage so it was easier to browse them all while still listening to the music.
It was also charming! They have a classic grandstand on the cinder horse-racing track, an interesting circular central building, and lots of barns to hold the produce and livestock exhibits. Several were rows of stables, and some of the campers had set up in them, each having their own private cubicle! They set up the intimate, small stage in one of the barns and it was an excellent space, much more airy than the tent they set up at Greenfield CC for the small stage.
But in all we decided it did not work quite as well for the size music festival they try to hold. The sound from the main stage or the medium stage would bleed over badly to the others. In some cases it was so bad at the small stage that you couldn't hear the performers introducing the songs. And though it never seemed very crowded, it didn't have the wide-open spaces that they have at the CC. Some people tried to play frisbee or soccer but there wasn't enough room. And for the people who need shade (who doesn't from time to time?) there were many fewer options, basically the shadows cast by barns which often were far from the stages.
Anywhere, where was I? Oh yeah, in front of the main stage full of excitement, waiting for the music to start. It was goddam sunny and hot and I had slathered up with sunscreen (Dave didn't and paid the price). I asked one of the volunteers if he could arrange it to bring those clouds over there, over here so they'd block the sun. He said, "I could do that but then we'd have a thunderstorm." And he was right!
I was in the beer tent at the main stage and the clouds had gotten very close and then big raindrops started slowly spotting the dust. Then there was a thunderclap and a flash of lightning. I hustled down to our seats at the main stage and Sarah and Dave were gone as well as the stuff we wanted to keep dry. I was about to text them to ask where they were and then I realized that they'd probably texted me! And then the heavens opened. They *had* texted me and were over in the grandstand keeping dry. I hustled over there but the rain was coming down hard and I was drenched already. I had to cover my beer with a CD I'd just bought to keep it from being polluted!
We sat in the grandstand while there was a Biblical downpour for 20 minutes or so, just an incredible hard, thick rain with whipping wind, which eventually stopped as the sun came out and the clouds moved away to the East. Some people had tried to stick it out at the main stage with umbrellas, but they were eventually convinced to leave by the staff, as were all the vendors in the lightning-vulnerable tents.
The destruction was amazing. Most people were soaked and most of the poor vendors' tents had blown over, dumping all the clothes or jewelry or carvings they were trying to sell into mud puddles. Probably a few months worth of profits gone in a few minutes. The cinder track was amazingly dry, great drainage there, but there were rivers of mud on either side. The sun came out again and the Festival tried to get back to normal, but the storm slowed everything down by a half hour or so. On the main stage they actually had to squeegee the water off the stage and do sound check all over again.
Oh well, that was unexpected! Our friends P&D showed up and squeezed in, and soon the first act started. The lineup was definitely not as good as most other years we've been at the GRF, but I wasn't complaining after being shut inside for 18 months, and it was as enjoyable as ever. I made up my mind to see as many of the acts as I could, especially when it was so walk-able. Here's what I saw:
Sammy Rae & The Friends at the main stage (the Greenfield Savings Bank stage) - This was a great start! Sammy Rae is a dynamic singer and bandleader who reminded me of an R&B Brandi Carlile. She was all over the stage egging on her big band, which featured two great backup singers, two trombones, a trumpet, and a pair of saxophonists (baritone and tenor) who just made a rocking sound together.
Misty Blues at the small stage (the Artifact Cider stage) - This was next in a long weekend of musical treats. Misty Blues plays original, contemporary blues, and their singer and leader Gina Coleman has a unique voice. Her register is very low and this works great with the keys and brass-driven sound. This was the first time in the weekend that I thought, "I could sit right here and see this whole set and then go home and be satisfied."
Combo Lulo at the medium stage (the Dean's Beans stage) - These guys were fantastic! They had a great horns/woodwinds section as well (that made 5 saxes in three bands). And they bounced around between all kinds of reggae and cumbia sounds so fast you wanted to fasten your seatbelt.
Twisted Pine at the main stage - But soon back to the main stage to see the latest incarnation of Twisted Pine. I've seen this band many times and they've never had the same lineup twice, though they've always been excellent. The only holdovers from the original band are Dan Bui on excellent mandolin and Kathleen Parks on fiddle and vocals. The highlights of their set were their excellent covers of Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds, and Dead Flowers as a tribute to Charley Watts (who died a few days ago), though they don't have a drummer. They've always been so eclectic.
Soggy Po' Boys at the small stage - OMG!!! I meant to just swing by this stage for a short time, but ended up sitting down up front and enjoying the heck out of them. These guys play traditional blues but with lots of twists and turns. They would start a song and then morph into a New Orleans band with their excellent section of clarinet, trumpet, and tenor sax, and then morph into somethings else. They were led by Stu Dias on vocals and guitar, who was a force of nature. At one point after he sang the most low-down blues you've ever heard, the clarinetist leaned over and gaped at him in astonishment. Stu didn't see. They were perhaps my favorite band of the Festival but no one else among our friends caught them. They were fantastic!
The Big Takeover at the medium stage - This is another reggae/ska/pop band fronted by Jamaican NeeNee Rushie, who has quite the voice. Another band, another saxophone!
Deer Tick at the main stage - This was one of the bands I was most looking forward to. They've been around for a long time, but I'd never seen them. They've got a solid guitar/bass/keys/drums rock sound and blew up the Festival, people were raving.
Pine Leaf Boys at the small stage - Just stopped by for a few tunes from these guys, who play traditional cajun. They were drowned out by Deer Tick's finish, but managed to entertain a lot of people who loved their style. I left during a traditional waltz and couples were dancing all around the barn and the stables.
Antibalas at the medium stage - I was beginning to reach the end of my rope by this point, but Antibalas was another excellent set of musicians. They played infectious afrobeat music patterned after Fela Kuti, led by a strong singer, and of course they featured another saxophone and a brass section.
Shakey Graves at the main stage - The only reason I saw Graves was to go back to meet Sarah and Dave and leave. There are a lot of people who like his music, but I'd seen at GRF a few years ago and he just doesn't do it for me ... a solo guitarist who plays incredibly loud with lots of reverb and dark songs.
Oh well, it was time for us to take off and we were anticipating a long wait to get out of the parking lot and on the road. But this turned out not to be true at all, a quick exit and then a mellow trek through the residential neighborhood back to 2A and then to route 2 West.
Back at the Rose we settled down, washed off the sunscreen and the mud, and then grabbed a few beers and snacks and headed down to the picnic table. Our friends soon arrived and joined us, having fun and talking into the night. Tristan figured out how to turn on the lights so we could see each other. And the atmosphere was deliciously temperate and silent. A car would go by on route 2 every once in a while, but we could hear the night. A train came by on the other side of the Deerfield River and long after the locomotive had gone around the next hill we could hear the boxcars, creaking by.
At midnight or so it was time for bed and we all fell asleep quickly after a long day!
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