National Folk Festival-Streaming Live Labor Day Weekend

Dunno why so many repeats each day, but gives more chances to check in and out, pretty good variety too.

The National Folk Festival (NFF) is the oldest and longest-running celebration of traditional arts in the nation. Created by the National Council for the Traditional Arts in 1934, the traveling event keeps the roots of American culture alive with vibrant traditional music, dance, craft, storytelling and food. Every three years, the NFF pulls up stakes and takes its mainstage to a different region of the country. In partership with Nashville Public Radio and Folk Alley,The event calls Nashville home through 2013.

The live stream will be available at http://www.Folkalley.com

Capitol Hill Stage Schedule:
Friday, September 2
6:40 - 7:00 p.m. Festival Kickoff
7:00 - 7:45 p.m. The Green Fields of America (Irish)
8:00 - 8:45 p.m. Dale Ann Bradley (bluegrass)
9:00 - 10:00 p.m. La Excelencia (salsa dura)

Saturday, September 3
12:00 - 12:45 p.m. Oyama & Nitta (Tsugaru shamisen)
1:00 - 1:45 p.m. BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet (Cajun)
2:00 - 2:45 p.m. Genticorum (Québécois)
3:00 - 3:45 p.m. Aubrey Ghent (sacred steel)
4:00 - 4:45 p.m. The Green Fields of America (Irish)
5:00 - 6:00 p.m. Samba Mapangala & Orchestra Virunga (East African rumba & soukous)
7:45 - 8:30 p.m. The Holmes Brothers (blues, gospel, R&B)
8:45 - 9:30 p.m. Don Vappie & The Creole Serenaders (New Orleans jazz)
9:45 - 10:30 p.m. Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano (mariachi)

Sunday, September 4th
12:00 - 12:45 p.m. Eddie Pennington & Ben Hall ("Travis-style" thumb picked guitar)
1:00 - 1:45 p.m. Paul Dahlin & Äkta Spelmän (Swedish)
2:00 - 2:45 p.m. Aubrey Ghent (sacred steel)
3:00 - 3:45 p.m. Dale Ann Bradley (bluegrass)
4:00 - 4:45 p.m. Marshall Ford Swing Band (western swing)
5:00 - 5:45 p.m. Genticorum (Québécois)
6:00 - 6:45 p.m. Don Vappie & The Creole Jazz Serenaders (New Orleans jazz)

Oops, Folk Alley just issued a correction: times listed are Central, not Eastern. Also, Nashville Public Radio adds:
This stream is live and unedited. You will hear the sound crew setting up between performances. You'll hear exactly what's happening, as it happens!

Including F-bombs and strolling dealers! If any appear.

Dale Ann Bradley reminds me of how often I prefer female singers of bluegrass (and rock, for that matter). But she's a little too nice, not quite cloying but something--prob like her better as a co-writer, she mentions working with Pam Tillis, which can't be too bad. Perfect contrast: instead of stage crew musique concrete, we get som pink champagne rent party boogie, like Hound Dog Taylor and the House Rockers, or Lil Ed & the Blues Imperials. Here we go with La Excelencia's salsa dura, polyrithmo social conscious party.

cut (?) to a very sustaiiiined guitar note and what sounds like regular salsa behind it--oh well, Marley's social commentary wasn't really anti-pop either---gotta draw in the masses to teach 'em, and I for one am willing.

(If the radio co-hosts are playing records again, they're choosing well.)

No it's the band, mostly. "When the power went out, we took the congas down to the ground, and you guys were into it." One celebrating Selena, I think jaunty on el camino anyway--"felice", "amor", "calor", other good words flying by.

"Give it up for the horns": true. One of the trumpets sounds like a kazoo and a trumpet too, just spot-on.

(rhythm guitar, pizzicato, no piano, thank you Lord.)

"Thank you. Julien Jimenez, from Santiago, Cuba, on the tres."

okay, they do have a piano, with pedals, but only for this penultimate turn.

Tromtromtrombone conga, trumpet high note ignites, audience: "o-tra, o-tra." Band leader: Otra manana, 5:30 and 9 p.m." They ripple away, "Oye La rumba" y todo.

Came back to somebody in progress: Samba Mapangala, according to the schedule, but they're billed as playing East African rumba and soukous, this sounds more like cajun accordion, if with wonderful twists and turns, plus electric rhythm guitar picking, rolling and precise, instead of fiddle. Started out in reggae, now--hell, cajun rumba, why not (and why not from East Africa)

Okay whoever it is just named a couple of musicians, American and Brazilian; now they're playing something "from the Northeast of Brazil", and I'm guessing this is all some form(s) of forro, which would go with the "cajun" association to some extent, sort of freeform rhythm guitar here, twirling in and out of rock-ish inflections and--cutting to something else "while the band is setting up"? Oh yeah, real time man. Now we do get Samba Mapangala and Orchestra Virumba (might be the same fluid rhythm guitarist, with high-stepping electric bass and horns way back there, but effectively so). Some Kenyan bembe in there too.

Orchestra *Virunga*, that is. I get the rumba bit from this fast ballad starting now (good vocal)

H'mmm, S.M. related soukous to disco, could hear it after he said it. Which came first? Between the acts, more records of juicy, spidery electric blues. next up: the Holmes Brothers, blues in the older Southern audience's more inclusive use of the term.

Don Vappie and The Creole Serenaders bring out the connections of New Orleans jazz and Carribbean pop--one from Martinique reminds me of Calypso Rose's "Wah She Go Do", covered by Bonnie Raitt on one of her best albums, Takin' My Time. Now they're doing something kinda in there between prime Bing Crosby and Fats Domino (closer to the latter, and easing through the door).

Banjo back in there---like pop country (with horns, yep) from Asheville, before Nashville.

Don Vappie and the Creole Jazz Serenaders, that's the full name. Check 'em out online.

Sunday: trenchant Travis-picking (thumb alternates bass notes, with syncopated fingers) from Eddie Pennington and Ben Hall, then Lee brings rain, which is maybe why scheduled Swedish music is delayed or washed away, but a Chinese group now, with guitar, hammered dulcimer, bamboo flute, harp, and horsehead fiddle (from Outer Mongolia) now in the lead, kind of a blues, wheeling around, camera seeking a certain girl.

The Swedes cut in. Very sweety, sing-song-y.

National Heritage Award, eh. From the Cheney Administration, probably. But now, the Aubrey Ghent Band, sacred steel, they call it. Same tradition of steel guitar as Robert Randolph and the Campbell Brothers, largely unknown outside of Florida 'til about 20 years ago. In this case, from the Key and Jewel Dominion of the Church of God, with steel, piano, electric bass, drum kit, tambourine. Nothing Randolph-speedy yet, and the second, "Lay My Burdens Down" is subtle, but overall I wonder if Duane Allman ever heard anything from this tradition, when he was still in Florida (Randolph def credits Allman, although as part of his own post-Florida listening). Now to starry-bluesy electric piano, string synthesizer, bass, as steel's spare,incisive, hovering but never hesitant blues notes accrue ("While I'm on this mysterious journey/Come on and walk with me.")

Uptempo, thought it was "I've Gotta Brain", but it's "I've Gotta Praise", works either way. Title refrain (followed "That I gotta get it out") seems like might be the origin of "Na, na na na naah" section in "Land of 1000 Dances", or vice versa. Now they've worked in "Dance To The Music"--why not, while waiting for Sly's Return (Jesus will beat him to it).

Awright, twentysomethings doing vitamins and Granpa's Western swing proud--Marshall Ford Swing Band is fronted by Johnny Gimble's granddaughter, Emily Ann. "Lulu's Back In Town", "My Window Faces The South", "A Shanty in Old Shanty Town" (where"The writing on the wall wouldn't mean a thing"). "We got it from the Slim and Slam version", as well they might; Bob Wills is sailing by a on a falsetto breeze too. "When you see the rosin fly/Sit up straight, don't bat an eye." That's called "Draggin' the Bow"--no drag son, perkier than ever. "Pluck my hearstrings with delight/Away we'll go/That's called draggin' the bow." Down for the ol' man/ ol' lady blues: "When will you ever leave me?"

oops, more rain. Not to say, judging by this set, the Marshall Ford Wing Band necessarily have the older Hot Club of Cowtown's instrumental chops, but they've got the spirit (and the voices). Book one band if you can't get t'other.

wish I had heard some of the Friday and Saturday acts