The weekend of October 9th through 11th was a big one for me.  Not only was I going to the biggest free musical event in Richmond, but I was expected to write a coherent article about it.  I knew from the start that this would be an intense weekend.  Well over 20 artists playing on 7 stages for more than 77 hours of live music.  How could one writer cover this much music, you might ask.  It is not actually possible.  But I will do my best.

After weeks of anticipation, Friday October 9th was finally here.  Fortunately for me I live in Oregon Hill, a mere 5 minute walk from Brown's Island and the Tredegar Iron Works, where the festival was being held.  I got there before any of the music had started and immediately began scoping out the area, trying to figure out how I was going to make it to see as many of the artists as humanly possible.  As I wandered around I realized that this was going to be amazing, even beyond my wildest dreams.  I had forgotten that music is not the only aspect of folk tradition.  There were stands selling all kinds of folk crafts, along with more delicious food than you could eat in a month of Sundays.  I was in love with this festival, and that was before the first band had even begun to play.

There is no way I can mention all of the bands and artists that performed at the festival, but you can find a list of most of them along with descriptions on the website, RichmondFolkFestival.org.  There are two bands that are not listed among the performers on the website, but that I would like to mention as they are local bands, and this magazine focuses on local music.

The first of these is the No BS Brass Band, a Richmond based band that truly lives up to its name.  There is nothing BS about this band.  They take the form of a New Orleans style brass band, but play their own distinctive music.  On Saturday evening a large crowd had gathered at the Dominion Stage to honor the late Gary Gerloff and Francesca Parch.  Both of whom did wonders as volunteers at the festival in previous years.  This was the starting location of a small parade led by the No BS Brass Band in honor of them.  The band marched down the hill and across the bridge to Brown's Island where they stopped and played a song to the joy of the throng of people who crowded around them.  They ended this energetic, but all too short, parade by romping back across the bridge to Tredegar Iron Works.

The other local band that played at the festival was south-side's own Richmond Indigenous Gourd Orchestra.  This groups is one of the most unique bands I have seen in some time.  They play their own original brand of music on instruments that they made themselves from gourds grown in their own backyards.  Many of the instruments are inspired by, or even taken directly from, folk traditions from around the world.  Not only is this an interesting group because of their unusual instruments, but they are enthralling performers.  Despite only playing at the out of the way Genworth Parawing, they packed the tent and had five or six rows of standing room only spilling out from the meager seating area.

The Folk Festival is most definitely a bastion of music from around the world.  Not only did they feature bands from the Virginia area and all over the United States, but there were also artists from Tuva, India, East Africa, and Puerto Rico.  This is an event that you do not want to miss in the future, so mark your calendars for the second weekend in October 2010 and I'll see ya there.

 

 

By Editing Department, Regional Editor and Author: Robin Marschak

Robin Marschak was born and raised in Richmond, but has only recently moved back after two years in California.  He loves all types of music from Jimmy Rodgers to Daft Punk to Tower of Power and all things in between.  He is currently a student at VCU and living in Oregon Hill.  Some of his favorite artists include Old Crow Medicine Show, Mark Campbell, and Steve Earl.  Other than listening to music and writing, Robin's hobbies include eating, sleeping, and an occasional guilt induced fit of exercise.  You can follow his adventures in local music on Twitter @robinmarschak, or hear some of the non-local music that he enjoys at either last.fm/user/beerdo231 or blip.fm/beerdo.

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