Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Folk Festival stocked with girl power

33rd annual event in Hailey features top female artists


By SABINA DANA PLASSE
Express Staff Writer

Courtesy photo Kelly Willis will headline the 33rd annual Northern Rockies Folk Festival on Saturday, Aug. 7.

As the finale of Hailey's month of art, the 33rd annual Northern Rockies Folk Festival will be a celebration of fine folk music, extraordinary musicians and family fun. The two-day festival will take place Friday, Aug. 6, from 5-10 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 7, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Hop Porter Park in central Hailey.

"This is a very female-centric lineup, which was the vision," said festival board President Pete Kramer. "We are 33 years of proven entertainment value and will not compromise the quality and talent of the music."

Bridging generations, the festival has made an effort to bring all ages of attendees to hear the music.

"It's important that a festival grows and evolves," Kramer said. "It's multigenerational in attendance and with some of the musicians who play."

The festival has evolved but organizers have managed to keep ticket prices down. Tickets for Friday cost $12, Saturday tickets cost $18, and a weekend pass costs $25.

"We keep it affordable because we don't want to stretch the limit of people's pocketbooks," Kramer said. "The folk festival only takes place once a year, where you can see all your friends and family in one place, and it brings (an economic boost) to Hailey."

The connections to the Wood River Valley run the gamut in this year's lineup, which includes Quailfish, whose members are from the Wood River Valley and Northern California. Michael White, guitar and piano player, is also the promoter of the Big Wood Folk Festival in Bellevue. Scott Fairfax and Friends are from the Wood River Valley and FourStroke Bus is a Wood River Valley band featuring the talents of Wade and Lisa Port, Ken Martin, Corey Ballantine and Chris Clark, who graduated from Wood River High School this year. Other valley musicians playing at the festival include Joe Paisley and the band No Cheap Horses.

Additional great bands playing the festival include Gypsy River Haunts and Johnnie Shoes and Joshua Tree, who will almost certainly have many mature audience members recalling the music of their parents.

Friday evening headlining act Lisa Haley and the Zydecats plan to make everyone dance. As a fourth-generation Louisiana fiddler, Haley is not only related to Bill Haley and Francis Scott Key, she has also been nominated for a Grammy Award for her authentic zydeco roots music. Haley's family music combines multi-faceted Louisiana French, Irish Celtic, blues and jazz genres.

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"It's my family music and it makes people happy to forget their troubles and get up and dance," Haley said. "We need that. As a Grammy nominee, my 140-year-old family tradition of songs is being kept alive for future generations."

Playing on Saturday evening, Leslie Stevens and the Badgers are no strangers to playing the Wood River Valley. As they grow in popularity, so do the stages they play in the valley.

"We are indie folk and definitely have a country influence in what we do," Stevens said. "Olin and the Moon are good friends and we guest harmony with them and often stay with them, too."

Stevens said being down-to-earth is important to the band, her writing and playing music. That's helped make Leslie Stevens and the Badgers a recognized name in Los Angeles, where they are based.

Bringing together musicians who are friends and colleagues is transforming the festival into a major event for musicians, including the Saturday headlining act Kelly Willis.

Willis, the mother of a 9-year-old, twins who are 7 and a 4-year-old, is considered a powerhouse. Her fourth album, "What I Deserve," was hailed by Time magazine as "the smartest, most consistently worthwhile country CD" to have been released that year. Her last album, "Translated from Love," was produced by cult rocker Chuck Prophet. The Houston Press wrote, "If Texas ever needs a First Lady of Country Music, Kelly Willis would fill the job nicely." Willis is not just country—she is a blend of country and rock.

"I try and draw upon my own personal experience," Willis said. "I have great taste with people I choose to work with."

Willis said she is always exploring and working on things, even if it's a scribble on paper here and there.

"We try and have fun," she said. "I have a great band of fabulous musicians, and we have a blast."

The festival will feature food and drink vendors for those who don't want to bring a picnic, but no dogs or bikes will be allowed in the park. The event will pay tribute to festival founder Kit Neraas and will feature several Wood River Valley musicians as "tweeners," live music in between band set-ups.

Advance tickets can be purchased at Chapter One Bookstore in Ketchum, Notes Music in Hailey and online at northernrockiesfolkfestival.com through Brown Paper Bag Tickets. All active military personnel receive free admission with identification.

Sabina Dana Plasse: splasse@mtexpress.com

Festival lineup

Hop Porter Park in Hailey

Friday, Aug. 6

( 5 p.m. Quailfish

( 5:30 p.m. Michael White

( 6-8 p.m. Olin and the Moon

( 8:30 p.m. Lisa Haley and the Zydecats

Saturday, Aug. 7

( 11 a.m. Scott Fairfax and Friends

( 1 p.m. Gypsy River Haunts

( 2 p.m. FourStroke Bus

( 3 p.m. No Cheap Horses

( 5 p.m. Johnnie Shoes and Joshua Tree

( 6:30 p.m. Leslie and the Badgers

( 8 p.m. Kelly Willis




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