Folk Festival Review - 2006 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Review

When considering what to say about a folk festival, there's really no good place to start. You can mention the beauty of the environment and landscape surrounding the festival. There's the incredible crowds that show up to support traditional and contemporary folk music, and the feeling of solidarity. And then there's the unprecedented breadth of music represented. The 2006 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival was no exception.

One thing about hanging out among the mountains of Colorado: it can be a little hard to breathe. This is only in part to the breathtaking scenery that surrounds you.

Lyons, Colorado, is situated rather close to Rocky Mountain National Park, and it's impossible to overlook the impressive landscape that spreads out from the Planet Bluegrass ranch in every direction.

Red cliffs, buttes, and mountains reach toward the sky from every angle, and provide a perfect climate for sitting outside all day, listening to music. Just when it gets to be too hot outside, a rain shower will sweep through; but if you can't wait for the rain to cool off, just hop into the St. Vrain river. The St. Vrain runs through Lyons, along the borders of the Meadow Park Campground, and down past the stage and field at Planet Bluegrass.

Plenty of people hang out in the river all day long, tubing down it, or just wading through, building small towers with rocks from the riverbed.

Sonya Kitchell has come a long way since she played in Seattle this spring. Her band has figured out each other's artistry, and Sonya herself has warmed up to the position of performer.

Her between-song banter was relaxed and charming, and the crowd, many of whom haven't heard her before, was pleased and vocally compliant when Sonya requested a sing-along to her tune, "Let Me Go."

Next up was acoustic soul crooner Amos Lee – a favorite of the ladies. Lee's voice is smooth like honey, and his songs drip with soul. He may still be coming to terms with his position as folk-rock heartthrob, and he looks a little uncomfortable onstage. Nonetheless, most people I asked at the end of the night named him as their favorite of the day.

Mindy Smith followed Lee, proving to be a delightful surprise. Her sweet voice at once recollects Patty Griffin and Patsy Cline, and her songs are full of honest conviction about peace and understanding.

Jeff Tweedy finished off the day with a solo set after dark.

Tweedy played for an hour and a half. Included in his performance were selections from both of the groundbreaking bands he helped to form (Uncle Tupelo and Wilco), and the crowd couldn't have been more smitten with his performance.

Few artists did a better job of rousing the crowd than Saturday night's headliner Kris Kristofferson. When he sang out, "Not in my name, not on my ground," the crowd erupted with adamant agreement through applause and hollers.

This capped off a long day of music that included mostly newcomers. Among them were singer/songwriter Zoe Lewis (originally from England), and New Englander Elvis Perkins.

It's quite a feat for a relatively unknown artist to hit the stage and get the audience singing excitedly along with you right off the bat, but Zoe Lewis did this with very little effort on her opener, "Gringo." This was followed by other such sing and shout-alongs about very English things like tea and pie.

Another outstanding newcomer was New England-based Elvis Perkins. His songs ranged from Beatlesque folk-rock numbers to the raucus romp of a New Orleans second line.

Other highlights included a stellar performance by the legendary Guy Clark, and an impressive hour with Western Australia's The Waifs.

On the last day of the festival, the sun finally shown steadily, and there were great performances from Blue Rodeo, and Andrew Bird, among others.

Andrew Bird didn't take long to impress the audience. With abandon, his head would shake, and his hand would pluck the strings of his fiddle like it were a ukulele. He'd add guitar, whistle, play the vibes, and then return to the fiddle for more melodies.

Another incredible set came from powerhouse soul-folk-rock guitarist Martin Sexton. Sexton's guitar mastery is more than impressive, and he easily moved the crowd to their feet to dance.

Fresh off the release of her latest album, Reprieve, Ani Difranco ended the festival with an unforgettable performance. She opened with a number from a decade ago, "God's Country." The rest of her set mostly included newer numbers, although she did sing older tunes like "Everest," "Studying Stones," and crowd favorite "Fuel."

By the time her set was over, it was hard to believe that a weekend of folk music revelry, river frolicking, and community building had come to a close; but there's always next year.