mvy - rhythmroots2006

mvyradio @ Rhythm & Roots Festival 2006

We're taking mvyradio on the road for The Rhythm & Roots Festival 2006! We'll be there at Ninigret Park in Charlestown, Rhode Island on September 1st, 2nd and 3rd, bringing all the excitement of this amazing event, to our listeners. Watch this page for more info and stay tuned to mvyradio!

To most people Labor Day weekend signals that the summer is over, but to quite a few people in New England, it means that it’s time for an annual Mardi Gras style celebration, where thousands of people from all over the United States gather in Rhode Island every year to listen to a wide spectrum of roots music, dance to a variety of rhythms, and savor gourmet food and drink in a truly festive setting with four stages of music.

Held each year at beautiful Ninigret Park in the oceanside community of Charlestown, RI, the Rhythm & Roots Festival draws approximately 10,000 people over the course of the weekend with the largest percentage of attendees coming from New England and the east coast corridor between Boston and New York, and about one third of the festival attendees from other parts of the country. An attraction for the whole family, the festival also has a state of the art playground, swimming pond and four stages which offer plenty to do for everyone.

Scheduled to appear at this year's festival are: Dr. John, Los Lobos, James Hunter, Marcia Ball, David Bromberg, Tim O'Brien and more. For a complete list of acts and performance times, please visit the Rhythm & Roots site.

Critics have been quoted as saying that, “Rhythm & Roots is an incredible experience, a perfectly organized, flawlessly run major destination event that music fans from all over the country will be drawn to...” So, if you’re looking to “let the good times roll,” the Rhythm & Roots Festival in Charlestown, RI is the place on Labor Day weekend. See you there!

Barbara's Journal

Sunday, September 3 10P

The Doctor is playing, making everyone feel a whole lot better with the great groove and groovy tunes. We were able to visit with Dr. John [website] for a few minutes backstage and he talked about his beloved New Orleans and all the things he and so many others are doing to help, and to keep the Katrina and Rita releif efforts in people's minds and hearts. Dr. John urges people to contribute to the smaller funds that he believes go to the people that really need them. Klondike, the sound engineer that has provide the extrodinary sound for this weekend's festival, has spearheaded one such effort to raise money to replace the instruments of musicians who lost them due to the hurricane. Find out more about how you can help at www.katrinapianofund.org.

Thank you first and foremost to all of the musicians that have given all of us the gift of their music all weekend. Thank you to Chuck Wentworth and Mary Doub, Rhythm & Roots Festival Producers for the gift of their incredible effort and skill in putting on one of the best festivals in the country. Thank you to a great friend of mvy- the Charlestown Ambulance and Rescue Center for providing us with our internet connection-because of you we were able to offer the music from this weekend's festival to the world.

mvy On The Road, on a mission to capture the music of our time and bring it on home to you.

Sunday, September 3 3:30P

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes!!! It seems that Rosie Ledet [website][interview] has inspired a big change in the weather. She is rocking and romping on the stage and the skies are clearing to a bright and welcome blue. Rosie is known as “The Zydeco Sweetheart” and she definitely deserves the name. She has lots of fans in the audience and they are all delighted to see her. We talked after her set and she clearly enjoys every minute of her life both onstage and off.

This sunshine is a much needed shot in the arm. It feels like a different place and hopefully the change is early enough to inspire some people to come down and enjoy the final day of this amazing festival. Come join us!

Sunday, September 3 10:30A

Los Lobos

There are moments at every festival that rise above the rest, and that's a tall order at Rhythm & Roots, but last night's Los Lobos [website] set was one of the best I have ever seen. They played The Dead's "Bertha", Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl", and The Allman's "One Way Out" along with many of their own songs, and toward the end of their performance they invited Marcia Ball and Steve Riley on stage to bring it on home. Everybody was on their feet, dancing and feeling the power of what they do. Los Lobos, which is Spanish for "the wolves", started off as a tradional Mexican band and have continuously transformed their sound over the thirty-six years that they have been together. They mix all the music that they love -traditional, rock, folk- into an irresistible and powerful piece. As Joe and I were re-living the show this morning, we were talking about what a huge role they play in preserving and the passing on the music.

We're ever hopeful every morning that the weather will co-operate and we are looking for a break in the rain today. It's unclear whether our wishes will be fulfilled, as we have a light, but steady rain falling now. The conditions yesterday were a challenge to everyone from the sound techs to the vendors to the audience. It's actually a real testament to the love of music that the day was a wonderful as it was. The wind was blowing hard, the rain was moving sideways at times but the show just kept on going, and going strong.

Saturday, September 2 5:00P

Savoy Family Band

It's amazing-we arrived early this morning and here it is 5 o'clock already. Where did the day go? I'm in my usual spot, the front seat of the Tahoe, listening to yet another great set of music. John Jorgenson Quintet [website] is playing and even from backstage, I can tell that the audience is mesmerized by this "gypsy jazz", the term John himself uses to describe his music. He's a founding member of The Desert Rose Band, the Hellecasters, and a six-year member of Elton John's band. He just talked about one of his inspirations, the great guitarist Django Reinhardt, who was born in Belgium and grew up in Paris. He's the man who is considered the father of this style of music and the band has just launched into one of his songs.

There's a lot going on at other tents on the festival grounds. We were able to catch a bit of a set in the Rounder Records tent, featuring Marcia Ball [website][performance], Judy Hyman of the Horseflies, and Ann Savoy of the Savoy Family Band [website][performance]. It was a great stripped down song circle, with each of the artists taking the lead on each song. All three had stories to tell and shared a lot of laughs. Marcia Ball will appear on the mainstage in a couple of hours.

Saturday, September 2 9:30A

It's always a transition on Labor Day Weekend. There's a feeling of the summer slipping away and the fall slowly approaching. It's a bittersweet middle ground that people all over the country are living in right now, and all of us at Rhythm & Roots are in the same space. We're on site, in our "studio" backstage listening to Bach chamber music by The Boston Duo, getting set for day 2. The music is exquisite and just right for a windy, cloudy morning. The stage crew could do without the wind, however, but they're securing the stage tents and setting the equipment for the music that will start at noon.

Festivals like this go on all over the world, week after week, year after year, and there is something so impressive about how it all comes together, no matter what the weather or other circumstances. All of the festivals that we have been to have a slightly different feel, but the element of "build it and they will come" is always there and the exchange that takes place between the organizers and the concert goers is quite a wonderful thing to watch and be part of. This early morning, before anybody gets here is my favorite time because you get to see the day start from "nothing" to full swing and everything in between.

Friday, September 1 9:45P

David Bromberg

I'm sitting in the passenger seat of the Tahoe, a cool breeze floating in through the window, which is open to the back of the stage where David Bromberg is holding court. WOW! This is good stuff. He has always been equally comfortable playing blues, folk, and bluegrass, and tonight that ease and expertise is intact and rolling out over the audience at Ninigret Park. The Horseflies [website] [performance] played earlier and what an amazing band they are. I talked with Judy Hyman, the violin player in the band, after the set and she told me about the many years the band has played together, the ups and downs, the electric and the acoustic, and here they are doing what they love and sounding so great.

Friday, September 1 5:30P

Girl Howdy

Girl Howdy [website][performance] is on stage and they sound fantastic! They're mostly based in New England and play sweet and lovely honky tonk music. A little Hank Williams, a little Kitty Wells, and A little Stanley Brothers, all played with energy and finesse. They were a great choice to begin the festival because of their friendly, welcoming way. They have a new record and we have to get a hold of it! You'll here their set here soon. How about those outfits!

There are a lot of folks that come here to camp-that's pretty much the best way to settle in for the whole weekend and become a part of the little village that's been created here for the past nine years. It's a very family-friendly event with dance workshops, storytellers, mask and instrument making workshops. We've seen so many people backstage-volunteers, musicians- all greeting each other like family.

Friday, September 1 2PM

Lobster Mobile

After years of hearing about the Rhythm & Roots Festival, we are finally getting to see what all the buzz is about!! We have arrived for 3 days of live music and dance at Ninigret Park in Charlestown, RI, and just like all the vendors, sound techs, organizers and campers, we’re getting set for the music that will start at 5PM. Luckily we have these cool laminated schedules on mvyradio lanyards (if you come, you’ll get one, too!) and I keep checking it to remind myself of who is playing when. Girl Howdy kicks the festival off this evening and David Bromberg [website] is the headliner.

Every one of our On The Road adventures is different, and this time our base of operations is in the Lobstermobile. Man, we are glad that there is so much room in here!! We have set up in tents, hotel rooms, clubs, convention halls-we don’t care as long as we have our stereo feed. Joe has Studio 1-our mixer and laptop, ready to record and we just checked the sound from the main stage. We’re good to go! I’m sitting with one of the other laptops in my lap and starting this journal, and we invite you to check in here this weekend as we bring the festival to you in music, words, and pictures.

Audio:
Attention Mac users! The "Flip4Mac" player streams these on-demand files. More help is here.

Anne Savoy
- Interview, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006

Curley Taylor
- Performance, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006

Girl Howdy
- Performance, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006

The Horseflies
- Performance 1, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006
- Performance 2, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006

James Hand
- Performance, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006

James Hunter
- Performance, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006

John Jorgenson
- Interview, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006

Marcia Ball
- Performance, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006
- Interview, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006

Red Stick Ramblers
- Performance, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006

Rosie Ledet
- Performance, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006
- Interview, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006

Savoy Family
- Performance 1, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006
- Performance 2, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006

Spanish Harlem Orchestra
- Performance, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006

Steve Riley
- Performance, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006
- Performance, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006

Tim O'Brien
- Performance, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006

Zydeco Cha Chas
- Performance, Rhythm & Roots Festival, 2006