We took mvyradio on the road for The Rhythm & Roots Festival 2008! We were at Ninigret Park in Charlestown, Rhode Island all weekend long over Labor Day, bringing all the excitement of this amazing event, to our listeners. Scroll down this page to check out the music, pictures and journal from this year's event
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 ocean side 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.
Barbara's Journal
Friday, August 29th 12:30 PM
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We loaded up In Newport last night so we would be ready for take off this morning. Joe and I were driving out of town as we heard Laurel launch into the 8 a.m. news on mvy. We're right on schedule! Joe Gallagher is like a train that always leaves the station on time; and he keeps on running, steady on down the track.
This is the 11th year for Rhythm & Roots. Many of the people who attend return year after for the laid back, friendly atmosphere. I just talked with founder and director Chuck Wentworth and he said that they were just about sold out for camping. That means 1500 people are rolling in to set up camp for the weekend. Chuck said that the camping is a key component of this and many similar festivals because it gives people an affordable place to stay and a scene to participate in for the whole weekend. It's key for Chuck and company because it gives them a base of attendees to build on.
Friday, August 29th 5:00 PM
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Rhythm & Rooters get in line early to get a good spot on the field. Chuck Wentworth and his business partner Mary Dowd just did the ceremonial opening of the gates in Chuck's golf cart, with a couple of grand kids in tow. The festival is officially underway! Paul Geremia is on stage now. "Somebody has to go first", he said as he got started. Paul is a local boy --he lives close by in Foster, RI and seems completely at home on stage. Natural, after forty years in the music business. He's talking about meeting Son House and Skip James, and says that he is headed down to Mississippi after his gig here.
Scythian is up next and their music is described as part Celtic, part Gypsy. Then it's Bill Kirchen & Too Much Fun. Kirchen, aka "The Titan of the Telecaster" was lead guitarist and vocalist for Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen. Rhode Island native Johnny Nicholas returns again this year to play later and Great American Taxi with Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon fame wrap the first night of Rhythm & Roots.
Friday, August 29th 9:30 PM
Well, it's only the first night, we're only a few hours in and we've experienced a festival highlight. Bill Kirchen, Commander Cody guitarist and vocalist, and Grammy nominee played a great set and saved the best for last. For his final song he pulled out a show stopper --a souped up, super duper, ultra crafty version of Charlie Ryan's "Hot Rod Lincoln" complete with a riff-roaring romp through the history of rock n' roll guitar. You gotta hear it to believe it!!! The skill and brain power that it must take to play like that is beyond belief!
Johnny Nicholas just finished a great set of Texas style blues with Roomful Of Blues' Greg Piccolo on sax. It was smooth and just right for the nighttime. Johnny is going to stick around and play with Marcia Ball tomorrow.
Friday, August 29th 11 PM
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Great American Taxi just wrapped up the night with a rousing, jammy set that had the crowd both on the field and on the dance floor moving. Great harmonies, solid playing, easy vibe. The line-up was perfect for tonight --some old school mixed in with new school --and all of the highest caliber. Complete and total thanks for superb audio from Darin of Klondike Sound! We'll be back for more tomorrow morning to get ready for a start at 12 noon. Back to back live streaming coming up!
Saturday, August 30th 1PM
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We are well stocked with what has become a popular festival item --the laminated schedules clipped onto mvyradio Blue Lobster lanyards. All you have to do is look down, flip up the card and voila, you know who's playing where and when. The shipment came in late, so Julie, Greg, Jodie, and friends of mvyradio Pete and Lady have been madly attaching schedules to lanyards. A women stopped by the mvy tent yesterday to pick one up and as she walked away she said that she was going to hang it by the showers in the campground. Good they're laminated! And what a great application!
Call time at about 9 AM; on site at 9:30. Another day inside the trailer, sending out some of the best Cajun, Zydeco, Roots and Blues music. Red Stick Ramblers are on stage now with their cool and sophisticated jazz and country swing. Their sound is at the heart of this festival --sweet and swaying. This is their fifth appearance here and they have locked in and I'm going out to catch a bit of their set.
Saturday, August 30th 9:15 PM
The rain has been falling on and off today, but it's been mostly off. Now a big fog has rolled in and created a soft layer of misty air all around. Marcia Ball and her Texas and Louisiana Revue just played for an hour and a half and the crowd absolutely loved it. She was in rare form and delivered a full on set of new and old material. "Peace, Love & Barbecue" and "Louisiana 1927" were among the highlights.
She asked, as she always does, for us to remember everyone in New Orleans. She seemed to well up a bit as she was saying this, expressing the worry that many people are feeling about the approach of Hurricane Gustav.
Sunday, August 31st 12 noon
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As I write this, the festival is getting underway with Preston Frank, Ed Poullard, Corey Ledet & Friends --a zydeco super group! Ed Mckeown is doing most of the MC work and he, too asked people to keep everyone on the Gulf Coast in their hearts, minds and prayers. The Pine Leaf Boys played yesterday and left last night to go home to Lafayette, Louisiana. They were supposed to play today, but had to get back to their families. Even though it's a beautiful day here, everyone knows that a storm is raging in the Gulf and heading to the place where much of this music comes from. Many of the musicians, festival organizers and concert goers are thinking about friends and family in Louisiana and it has become part of the story of this year's festival.
While the music is the basis of the festival, the dancing and the food are equally important. I was on the main stage last night standing by to bring Marcia Ball off the stage and make some announcements and I had a bird's eye view of Marcia and the band, the audience, both on the field and on the dance floor to the left of the stage. WOW! What a sight! Marcia, as happy as can be with her time-keeping, swinging crossed leg; the stage full of about ten players; and a sea of dancing bodies swaying to the music. The festival panorama!!
Sunday, August 31st 10PM
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The sun was warm and welcome today, shining over Ninigret Park. I got a chance to walk around and check out the vendors and the scene this afternoon. And I found my way to the food tent that sells chicken-on-a-stick, our favorite festival food, and got a couple to bring back to the trailer. Mmm mmm good!
Julianna Ricci, who does reflexology, was doing her healing work backstage for stage crew, volunteers and this dj. Great stuff! She made a lot of people happy this weekend including me.
Robert Cray is on stage, playing the final set of the night. What a sound he has --big and full. He's an artist that you have to see live to fully appreciate. It's been another great day of music and we are getting ready to pack up and roll on down the road. Big thanks to Chuck, Mary and everyone at Rhythm & Roots, Darin, Klondike, and all at Klondike Sound Company, all of the mvyradio crew for another absolutely wonderful festival experience!
Audio:
Bill Kirchen
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008 
Mixed by: Darin Pawlus
Sound by: Klondike Sound Company
Performance of 'Hot Rod Lincoln', Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Mixed by: Darin Pawlus
Sound by: Klondike Sound Company
Cajun Kids Academy
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Dan Hicks
Interview, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
David Bromberg
Interview, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Dennis Stroughmatt and l'Esprit Creole
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Donna the Buffalo
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Great American Taxi
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Mixed by: Darin Pawlus
Sound by: Klondike Sound Company
Johnny Nicholas
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Mixed by: Darin Pawlus
Sound by: Klondike Sound Company
Marcia Ball and Friends
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Paul Geremia
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Mixed by: Darin Pawlus
Sound by: Klondike Sound Company
Pine Leaf Boys
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Preston Frank, Ed Poullard, Corey Ledet
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Red Stick Ramblers
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Scythian
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Mixed by: Darin Pawlus
Sound by: Klondike Sound Company
Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys
Performance 1, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Performance 2, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
The Gourds
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
The Waybacks
Interview, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Performance, Rhythm and Roots Festival 2008
Video:
Slideshow: Friday at Rhythm and Roots