The festival officially began Thursday morning as the long line of cars parked along Evergreen Road fired up their engines and were waved into Camp Mather. The first of several hundred vehicles in line had arrived the previous Friday, and camping out in line has become a tradition for attendees with time on their hands. Attendees spent most of Thursday claiming their favorite campsites, many of which have names and hold multiple families, and braving the weekend's most inclement weather: temperatures in the 50s, a couple of downpours, and stiff western winds which made it seem much colder. Festival regulars say these climatic perturbations are the norm, rather than an exception; previous festivals have featured hail, unremitting rain, snow, even a forest fire one year that forced evacuation of the camp.
This year's lineup featured a healthy dose of singer-songwriters and eclectic dance bands. Although bluegrass was finally dropped from the festival's title awhile back, it still includes enough banjos and mandolins to keep the hardcore bluegrassers coming back. Festival openers The Eighth Street String Band played many early festivals, including the first, before going their separate ways a decade ago. Their set of western swing, jug band music, and novelty tunes was a crowd pleaser, if more than a bit ragged. Next up were Joe Carr and Alan Munde, who incorporated their latest musical hybrid, Border Bluegrass 50s (with Carr switching to Bajo Sexto) into their regular banjo/guitar/mandolin schtick. Fred Eaglesmith, unknown to most of the crowd, performed a characteristically powerful set of his earthy originals about cars and bars, all the while berating the crowd about hunkering down in their folding chairs to avoid the cold. The evening was capped with a superb, witty performance by John Gorka, who was joined by Lucy Kaplansky and the amazing Michael Manring on electric bass for the evening. Gorka previewed much of his forthcoming album, and dipped into his back catalog for crowd pleasers like "Branching Out" and "I'm From New Jersey."
Friday morning started with the first early morning "Strawberry Stroll" in which a group of festival volunteers regulate zealous fans eager to stake out their few square meters of tarp space before heading off to shower and/or eat. The day's music began at noon with an energetic set by the all-star South and Central American ensemble Quetzacoatl, who quickly proved to be among the crowd's festival favorites. Blue Highway turned in a tight set of traditional sounding bluegrass, with particular notice going to Rob Ickes' wonderful Dobro playing. The afternoon show was capped by a meadow-rocking performance by the frenetic Rob Piazza and his Mighty Flyers, with dynamic, flashy, and surname-challenged keyboardist Honey all but stealing the show, particularly during a long, athletic piano boogie she performed with drummer Steve Medallion.
Chris Smither's energetic, warmly received set opened the evening show. Jim Campilongo and the Ten Gallon Cats, a crack Bay Area western swing instrumental quartet featuring pedal steel master Joe Goldmark, were followed by Boulder's Leftover Salmon, making their Strawberry debut, and becoming an instant hit with the dance-crazy crowd. Cooked fish synchronicity was introduced by keyboardist (and Hot Tuna member) Pete Sears, who also contributed some tasty accordion to the Salmons' distinctive blend of bluegrass, cajun, and speed metal.
After the main stage shut down, a few score of night owls wandered over to the dining hall for the first installment of Amy's Orchid Cafe, the late-night cabaret which is held two nights each festival as a benefit for the festival's wonderful in-house FM station, Hog Ranch Radio. The first night's show opened with a full set by Lucy Kaplansky, who was joined by Gorka for a few numbers including a nifty cover of Gram Parsons' "Grievous Angel." Fred Eaglesmith and band closed out the night with a near-reprise of their Thursday night mainstage set.
Saturday morning featured some great workshops, held at the cozy camp amphitheater. Percussionist/mandolinist/fiddle player Joe Craven held forth on 'recycled rhythms,' during which he extolled the audience to liberate the drummer within by utilizing the mouth, head, body, or perhaps a spare squeaking frog toy as percussion instruments. In an equally effective vocal workshop, bluegrass band Southern Rail deconstructed their intricate gospel-quartet harmonies.
The mainstage opened with an impressive solo set by Les Sampou, whose country blues fingerpicking was a nice complement to her smooth, throaty vocals. The Burns Sisters Band, featuring new guitarist Josh Pincus and guest percussionist Joe Craven, wowed the crowd with a polished set of material from their current and upcoming albums. The previously sedate crowd went crazy during a long, electrifying afternoon set by Davis, California, septet Mumbo Gumbo, whose polyrhythmic, polycultural mix of dance music had the crowd, among other things, forming a conga line that encircled the music meadow; the group has a dynamite front line in singer-songwriter-guitarists Tracy Walton and Chris Webster.
Greg Brown has become a Strawberry regular, and gave an insightful, entertaining workshop on songwriting just before delivering a warm, witty mainstage set with guitarist Nina Gerber. During the set change, Chris Webster, Nina Gerber, and Joe Craven delivered a tasty three song sampling of the material from Webster's new solo album, including a killer rendition of Clive Gregson's "It's All Just Talk." The evening's best audience response was reserved for Laura Love and her band, who rocked the meadow with their own boundary-smashing blend of high energy music. Another festival favorite, the Nashville Bluegrass Band, closed out the evening with a typically smooth and polished set.
Most of the crowd migrated over to Birch Lake on Sunday morning for the popular revival, this year featuring Laura Love, Southern Rail, Chesapeake, and The Nashville Bluegrass Band. Highlights included Love's showstopping version of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," Chesapeake's heterodox (but entirely appropriate) choice of Van Morrison's "Full Force Gale," and John Cowan's killer version of "Let's Make a Baby King" that ended the service.
Joe Craven, who had already logged hours of stage time, opened the afternoon show with his new band, Camptown, a virtuosic, mostly electric quartet that played most of Craven's similarly titled new album. Craven proved a natural front man, switching instruments with abandon and playing his deconstructed fiddle tunes with humor and taste. Craven was followed by Wild Mango, an eight-woman group that played a vibrant brand of Latin-tinged jazz and dance music. Southern Rail's mainstage set closed out the afternoon.
The reconfigured Psychograss, featuring new recruit David Grier, played a long, typically wacky late afternoon set, highlighted by their loopy cover of Jimi Hendrix' "Third Stone from the Sun." Humor aside, the group, which also features Darol Anger, Todd Phillips, Mike Marshall, and Tony Trischka, delivered some of the hottest licks and tightest ensemble playing of the festival. Chesapeake played a fine set, heavy on unrecorded material, that demonstrated that Moondi Klein has one of the most powerful voices in American acoustic music, and that slide guitarist Mike Auldridge is seemingly incapable of playing anything that is less than tasteful. The evening's headline act, The Sky Kings, were a disappointment. This supergroup is a vehicle for John Cowen, Bill Lloyd, and Rusty Young, but the slick (and potentially lucrative) brand of contemporary C&W they performed reveals minimal connection with the work of the participants' previous bands.
After 25 runnings, Strawberry has become a model of what a music festival should be. Aside from the top-flight lineup of musical talent, the gorgeous setting, and the constantly changing weather, the festival's success can be measured in the high number of smiles on the faces of audience members, staff, and musicians alike.
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