The Humboldt Folklife Society’s 46th annual Humboldt Folklife Festival featured a talented mix of performances by local musicians last week (July 22-26) under the sunny, then foggy, then sunny, then foggy … and finally sunny skies on closing day in Blue Lake.
It was another successful festival, said longtime Folklife Festival volunteer and emcee Patrick Cleary, despite the late and unusual churn in the performer lineup. And yes, Cleary said, the Beatles really are folk music. This year’s festival opened with a Songwriter Showcase inside the Carlo Theater at Dell’Arte, featuring original lyrics and backstories from Anna Hamilton, Polimana, Daniel Nickerson and Tim Breed. (See highlights of the day in the slideshow below.)
The Under the Stars performance started at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23, outside on the amphitheater stage at Dell’ Arte with singer Sari Baker and guitarist Jeff Smoller, the Beatles tribute band Ticket to Ride (“It really is folk music …”), with Jeff Kelley, Justin Hoops, Tamara Hubbard, Jim Hubbard, Tim Claasen and Seabury Gould, as well as new band Hobohemia. The latter formed this past winter by Rob Diggins, Jolianne Einem, Beverly Twist, Amanda Malachesky, John Ludington and Ryan Roberts to celebrate the birthdays of Hot Club of Paris legends Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli.
Attendees bundled up for the fog and chill at Bluegrass and Beyond at 6 p.m. on Thursday night in the Dell’Arte amphitheater on July 24, and those conditions led to constant retuning of stringed instruments. The night featured A Banjo Makes 3 (Jim Hatchimonji, Kevin Ralston, Doc Woglom, Charlie Sleep and Larisa Sleep), the Compost Mountain Boys (Britt Smith, Tim Wilson, Marty Dodd and Bruce Johnson) and Cadillac Ranch (Rick Levin, Pat Comella, Ron Sharp, Ron Sharp, Liz Whitchurch and Jes Bishop, plus horn players Kaeden Williams, Josh Foster and Sarah Fine from The Roadside Attraction).
A traditional barn dance with host band Cidermill and caller Lyndsey Battle was held on Friday evening, July 25, in Blue Lake’s Prasch Hall.
The festival culminated on Saturday, July 26, with a free all-day festival at Dell’Arte in Blue Lake with the always popular Beatles Sing-A-Long and bands on two stages of music (Bigfoot introduced the band Kingfoot in closing). Attendees also filled Guitar Set-Up workshop with Michael Walker, a Bluegrass workshop with the Moonstone Ramblers, a Ukulele workshop with Ukulele Fight Club, and a West African Drumming workshop with Jesse Jonathan.
On the sidelines were food vendors, including Jersey Scoops, a Wonder Wagon for the kids and more activities. For more than 45 years, the Humboldt Folklife Society has taught, celebrated and encouraged participation in folk and traditional arts. For more information about the festival, visit humboldtfolklife.com.
This article appears in A Saturday at the Rodeo.