Saturday is always my favorite day of the GrassRoots Festival. This year, for various reasons, I won't be able to attend on Sunday, the last day, so I decided to go all-in for Saturday this year.
I got to the fairgrounds at around noon, and set up my blanket, cooler, and chair on the Infield again. The crowd by the stage was very thin, and it looked like the previous performer had just left, so I wandered the fairgrounds a bit. I caught one number by the
Dead Sea Squirrels in the Dance Tent, and enjoyed their traditional American folk. The fairgoers dancing to their set were doing contra dancing, so I just watched for a few minutes, and then moved on.
Returning to the Infield Stage, I got there just as
The Believers took the stage. Singer-electric guitarist Craig Aspen and chanteuse/acoustic guitarist Cyd Fazzari hail from New Orleans (via Seattle), and have consistently been one of my GrassRoots favorites. This year was no exception. Aspen said on stage, "We love country music but grew up listening to punk rock and heavy metal." On their website, they describe themselves as "a rock band with a country problem." I stayed for their full set. While I was hoping they'd play a cover of "Helter Skelter," which was their final encore last year, they closed with their eponymous signature song, which I also really like.
After their set was over, I went over to Cabaret Hall to catch the local traditional Celtic fiddlers
The Grady Girls. They are always a lot of fun, but they were having some trouble with their amps and it was very hard to hear them.
After a bite of lunch, I went to the Grandstand to hear
The Horse Flies, one of the most popular and longest-lived local bands. I know fiddler Judy Hyman and bassist Jay Olsa personally, so it's always fun for me to see them on stage. They were also having some sound trouble, but their extended sound check was pretty much a improvised song, and was very danceable. Once the engineers got the mix straightened out, they put on a great show. The highlight was "Roadkill," which Ritchie Stearns introduced as "our tribute to the local food movement." Despite the heat, I ended up dancing very hard in front of the stage. After about 40 minutes, I was getting a bit light-headed from dancing in the heat, so I left the performance to buy a lemonade and find some shade.
I returned to the Infield Stage about an hour later to catch
Blackfire, the Navajo punk band. I've seen this trio of siblings (brothers Klee and Clayson Benally and sister Jeneda) at every other GrassRoots I've been at, and always find them to be a highlight. I'd missed their first few numbers, and was surprised to see them performing as a duo-- their guitarist/lead vocalist Klee Benally wasn't on stage, and I wasn't sure why. Unfortunately, when a punk band is missing its guitarist, it really takes a toll on the sound, and their performance was very much off this year. I stayed for two numbers, then decided to go see someone else.
That someone else was our local African musical legend
Samite. With his stunning looped vocals and kalimba, I find his music to be soulful, joyous, and wonderful. I was sorry that I only managed to catch two numbers before he left the stage.
I went back to the Infield Stage to hear the local prog-rock band
Ayuvrveda. I'd heard of them, but hadn't seen or heard them before, and they were a real treat. I was a little too tired to dance, but I thoroughly enjoyed their full set. The sun was just starting to set when they left the stage, and I took a brief nap to gather energy for the rest of the night.
Next up at the Infield Stage was the high-energy Afrobeat band from Nigeria,
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80. Wow. They were amazing. Another band I hadn't encountered before, they brought the house down. I haven't danced so hard since... well, since that afternoon at the Horse Flies show, but I digress. I will most definitely be buying their album sometime soon.
After they left the stage, I rested for a bit, then sat for a short performance by Americana legend
John Specker. I've seen John Specker play at every GrassRoots Festival I've attended, and he is always a real treat to see.
Specker left the stage a little after midnight, and about half an hour later
Donna the Buffalo took the stage to raucous applause. The host band and founding member of the GrassRoots festival, Donna attracted a huge crowd-- the biggest I'd seen at this year's festival. I got into the thick of it in front of the stage and danced the night away to one of the best performances by Donna that I can remember. At one point, Tara Nevins dedicated a song "to water," and half-way through the song, it finally started to rain. The rain was welcome, as it was still above 80 degrees well after midnight.
They left the stage at about 2:00 AM, and I gathered up my stuff. The line for the shuttle bus to the off-site parking lot seemed immensely long, so I wandered back to the Dance Tent to hear some of
Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band. Keith Frank is another long-time GrassRoots favorite, and while I was too tired to dance, I listened for about half an hour until the line for the bus got short enough.
As I borded the bus back to the parking lot, I bid GrassRoots a farewell for the year. Despite the heat and my abbreviated attendance, it was a great fest this year.
