Woke up to another beautiful day in Shelburne Falls, which we knew was going to turn out even brutally hotter than yesterday, woo! Another leisurely breakfast of yogurt, orange juice, and iced tea in our ski lodge of an apartment, then we packed up, hobnobbed with the crew, and got ready to leave. Paul reported that Diane was doing better and would probably be released that day. Poor Diane that she had to miss the whole Festival!
The first act that day at noon was going to be one of the ones I wanted to see most, but we realized there wasn't an incredible hurry to get there so didn't get on the road until 10:30 or so. Plenty of time for a mellow drive back to Greenfield, up to the plateau the Fairgrounds are on, and a slow stroll in. The strategy was to be mellow and stay cool. Even so, we got great seats again in front of the soundboard. These were probably a little too close to the standing room zone, but we knew we wouldn't be at the seats when it got really crowded, so that was no problem at all.
Another late morning of cruising the vendors and not panicking while the temperature rose and rose, and then it was time for the first act at the GSB Stage, Brennan Leigh. Brennan's been around Nashville for a while and has written some mildly successful pop country songs, but lately has been hitting her stride, has recorded with Asleep At the Wheel, and has come out with a string of successful hits. I was psyched that the GRF had gotten her, and I thoroughly enjoyed her set.
Brennan's been touring with Asleep At the Wheel and was backed by four members of the band, who laid down some excellent country/western beats. But I was not prepared for what a great guitarist Brennan is! Her vocals were great of course, she did Obsessed With the West, Analog, Steam Threshers Reunion, etc. (no Tommy Duncan's Voice), and displayed her smoky but at the same time bright and precise voice. She got some great fiddle and dobro breaks from the guys. But she was playing the lead instrument, and she proceeded to take over each tune after they had their say.
Another great start to the day! I was melted into my chair at the main stage after being up front for most of her set and then realizing I had to sit down or fall down. The mid-day sun was beating down on us unmercifully. But I forced myself to move and got up and over to the Dean's Beans stage for another act I really wanted to see.
Dave and Sarah were over there too and we got an uncrowded spot over to the left of the stage to see Sarah Borges. Sarah's been around for a while herself and we've seen her at Johnny D's. She's a Massachusetts girl from Taunton who's played all kinds of rock and punk and rock and folk and country and rock over the years. This time she had a great band with Keith Voegele (Bottle Rockets) on loud and loping country electric bass, Eric Amble on stratocaster with a big hat, and a drummer who was determined to tear the place down, and she played a set of excellent, greasy rockabilly. She was wearing a little black dress and white cowboy boots and rocking a telecaster herself. She covered If Some Folks Would Leave Us Alone, but that was as close as she got to the mainstream, everything else was their style of rockabilly and was riveting! Loved this set.
After that I realized I hadn't eaten anything since my small breakfast, the afternoon was beginning to get on, the heat was still rising, and I'd better take care of myself. Got some more water and then wandered over to the far side of the Fairgrounds, where I knew there was a food truck selling burrito bowls. Got a chicken one and then a seat in their shaded eating area and had a nice relaxing, refreshing meal. The bad thing was that the La Veracruzana people chose that time to come over and say hi to their food truck buddies and busted me as eating somewhere else! Oh well, they smiled at me.
Where to after that? It was a slow spot in the afternoon. I'd thought about seeing the Young At Heart Chorus but was feeling kind of sleepy after a nice meal, so I headed out to the parking lot and took a short nap in the car with all the windows open and a slow breeze. Actually, I could hear the chorus through most of it, so that was a nice sonic background ... even out in the parking lot the sound from the main stage was pretty good. Several others out in the lot had the same idea about a nap/rest. But after the food, the nap, and some more iced tea from the cooler I was ready to go again.
And perfect timing to head back to the GSB Stage and see Allison Russell! We've seen Allison several times with Birds Of Chicago, Sisters Of the Strawberry Moon, and Phil Lesh (just stumbled across this duet from Allison and Emmylou). Lately she's put out a solo record and was now touring with an all-woman band. And boy were they good! The stood in a line across the stage, just close enough to link hands to show their support for each other. From left to right they were cello, acoustic guitar, Allison, electric guitarist, bass, and drums. Allison of course played some excellent banjo and her other-worldly clarinet, but even in the shadow of Allison, the acoustic player was the one who stood out. She took the lead on each song and kept things from getting too atmospheric or down-tempo with some great finger picking.
OK, we loved her set but had developed an exit plan! We'd go see the next set at the Dean's Beans Stage, then come back to catch a little of the penultimate act at the main stage and pick up our chairs, then put them back in the car and take a little break, then be all set for the act we really wanted to see ... and then leave and skip Father John Misty, who they somehow had booked as the closing act on the main stage. I mean, he's good but things have to be pretty bad if you've positioned him as the ultimate headliner at your music festival.
First up over at the Dean's Beans Stage was the Dustbowl Revival. We three walked over there together and at first figured we could be shaded some if we were at the left of the stage, but then realized that if we went over to the right side we'd be shaded even better. And they did a fine set. Z. Lupetin is still leading the band (again, we'd seen them at GRF before) but Liz Beebe has left the co-vocalist role and has been replaced by Lashon Halley, who was fantastic, though she didn't play the washboard. They were the most vocal artists at the Festival on recent political developments, though by no means the only ones. Z. and Lashon performed a song they'd just written. They warned that it was not yet complete but they wanted to sing it anyway, it was about the abortion rights rollback and was viscerally honest about politicians, uncaring people, and what this would mean to victims of our patriarchy and our unfair economic system. The audience exploded with applause, shouts, and screams when they finished, mixed with many tears. They had done it at the Green House Stage earlier, which I missed, and I'm told the reaction was similar. They followed it up with a few happy songs, and got us all singing along.
Time to execute the next step of the plan, which was to strike our camp over at the main stage, where we were entertained by a few songs from Waxahatchie. Got the stuff out to the car, texted the group with our latest plans, and hung out for a bit. This was our last calm break at the car and then our last return to the busy Fairgounds of the weekend. Things were starting to close down (frantic lines at the beer tents before last call) and everyone was packing up. But we strolled down to the Dean's Beans Stage for the set I was most looking forward to, Asleep At the Wheel with Brennan Leigh sitting in!
I'd been anticipating a mob scene for AATW, and was shocked when, not only was there not a mob, there was plenty of room for dancing even close to the stage. How could people not be crazy about this venerable band who are masters of perhaps the most distinctive style of American music (see this on the band's history)? I don't get it, but we sure had fun being up front in our shady spot (I moved close to the stage for some of the set). And it was exactly the setlist you'd expect: Miles and Miles of Texas, Cherokee Maiden, Faded Love, San Antonio Rose, Route 66, etc. Brennan sang lead and/or accompanied Ray Benson for about half of the songs. Ray stuck to a blue strat, they had a dynamite piano player, a precise player on a tiny pedal steel, a doghouse bass and a small trap set, and of course twin fiddles (the fiddlers switched to mandolin off and on). Even so I was a little disappointed that the band wasn't as huge as other times I've seen them, but they couldn't have fit some of those bands on that stage! OK, it was a mellow and pretty formulaic performance, but I love that formula.
Oh no, time to leave! Another quick bathroom break and then it was back to the car and back to the road East. We'd seen a lane drop on the stretch where 2 and 91 join, and so split through downtown Greenfield so we wouldn't be caught in that miles-long backup. That worked out fine and the traffic back home was fine too. Got back in a bit over 90 minutes and the cats were ok, we'd left them with large stashes of food and water over the weekend.
So what did I think of the 2022 GRF? The last few Festivals had struck me as having themes: great guitarists and guitars one year, saxophones another, female singers, drummers and drums, etc. But nothing like that stood out for me this year. The weather has been getting to me more and more, possibly related to age, and as with other GRFs, that will always be one of the first things I think about when I remember the weekend. But I had a great time, from the nice upgrade we got at the hotel, to a few surprises from smaller bands, and on to the performances by my headliners, which did not disappoint at all. We'll be back!
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