Events Feedback
New This WeekAround TownMusicFilmArtTheaterNews & FeaturesFood & DrinkAstrology
  HOME
NEW THIS WEEK
EDITORS' PICKS
LISTINGS
NEWS & FEATURES
MUSIC
FILM
ART
BOOKS
THEATER
DANCE
TELEVISION
FOOD & DRINK
ARCHIVES
LETTERS
PERSONALS
CLASSIFIEDS
ADULT
ASTROLOGY
PHOENIX FORUM DOWNLOAD MP3s



SOUND AND VISION: Despite all the technological advances that have taken place since the legendary light shows of the 1960s, visual accompaniment that enhances instead of detracting from the concert experience is a rare occurrence. On Galactic’s "Sight of Sound" tour, which is slated to visit the Roxy on November 17, the New Orleans funk fusion group will perform new compositions from their upcoming album while artists SKW and Doze create a mural from scratch. The North Mississippi All Stars will open the show. Tickets are $20; call (617) 931-2000.

RETURN OF A FOLK HERO: Whereas former husband Richard Thompson will be in town September 22 to headline the Boston Folk Festival at UMass-Boston (617-287-6911; see "Next Weekend," below), Linda Thompson will wait till October 25 to appear at the Somerville Theatre. Linda and Richard were the anchors of the British folk-rock movement; their marriage and her performing career ended in 1985. Recently, with help from son Teddy Thompson, she released her first solo album, Fashionably Late (Rounder), and now she’s making the rounds again. The Somerville is at 55 Davis Square, and tickets are $29.50; call (617) 931-2000.

NEXT WEEKEND:

Boston Folk Festival

Folk music has become largely synonymous with the sound of acoustic-guitar-playing singer-songwriters, but the Boston Folk Festival, which marks its fifth year on the UMass-Boston campus next Saturday and Sunday, is a vivid reminder of the actual breadth of what makes up folk. The genre’s umbrella is wide enough to cover the electric-guitar virtuosity of Richard Thompson and the Celtic-Texas romanticism of Nanci Griffith; these two will headline on Sunday. Saturday the bill will be topped by Iris DeMent, who tugs the heartstrings of the mountain-music tradition, and Cambridge’s own Patty Larkin. The first day will also bring the Piedmont blues of Cephas & Wiggins, zydeco from C.J. Chenier, bluegrass from Southern Rail, and Aussie new-folk sensations the Waifs. On Sunday, country-folk-pop songsmith Cheryl Wheeler, hard-line old-time folksinger Utah Phillips, and critically heralded modernist Mark Erelli will join in. Twenty other performers round out the festival, which is expected to draw about 7000 listeners. Not bad for an event that was born from fears that the folk audience — and consequently the wellspring of support that these artists and their contemporaries draw on — might be slipping away.

"The festival started close to seven years ago, when it looked like the folk community in New England was on the downslide again," explains Pat Monteith, executive director of the fest and general manager of WUMB, the UMass-based folk radio station heard hereabouts at 91.9 FM. "WUMB decided to pull together people in the greater Boston area involved in folk music — artists, coffeehouse managers, store owners — to see what we could do to keep folk music alive into the 21st century."

The roomful of attendees divided into seven groups, each with a different focus, such as fundraising and reaching a new generation of fans. As Monteith recalls, "Six of the seven came up with the idea of putting together a folk festival in Boston."

Armed with a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the festival began as a free event staged on Newbury Street, at the Boston Public Library, and in other downtown locations. Since then, despite the dry-up of funds from the MCC and no significant response to an appeal for corporate sponsors, it has continued and thrived. As it grew and an array of vendors was added, the organizers were obliged to move it to the UMass campus, and to sell tickets. The only roadblock came last year, when it was almost cancelled in the wake of September 11 and US Attorney General John Ashcroft’s naming Boston as a possible terrorist target on festival weekend. "Last year, if we had 3000 attendees, that was a generous figure," Monteith admits, "and 50 percent of the people who bought tickets didn’t even bother to pick them up." Nearly 4000 advance tickets have already been sold for this year’s event.

The waterfront UMass campus location also has its appeal, with free parking (until the lots and garage are full) and plenty of room for the five stages and 40 vendors. In addition to the 14 food vendors, the UMass cafeteria will be open, and coolers will be allowed inside the gates.

The Boston Folk Festival takes place next Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22, on the UMass-Boston campus. For information and tickets, go to www.bostonfolkfestival.org on line, call (617) 287-6911, or stop in at the WUMB offices. Tickets are also available at all Strawberries stores.

BY TED DROZDOWSKI

Issue Date: September 12 - 19, 2002
Back to the Editors' Picks table of contents.