Category: Bluegrass/Country

In its sixth year, Black Bear Americana Music Fest presented three full days of roots, contemporary and traditional folk, country, blues, bluegrass and mixed-genre solo artists and bands on its main stage, acoustic stage, gazebo stage and workshop stages to an audience that ranged from those of us who are of Woodstock era to kids chasing soap bubbles. 

Black Bear ran from Friday, October 11, through Sunday, October 13 at the Goshen Fairgrounds, Goshen, CT.

The festivals producers, Ian Campbell and Beth Murphy, did a fantastic job and managed to present a festival that brought acts from the unknown to those who needed no introduction.

Although the festival’s first “official” day was Friday, many arrived on Thursday to set up their tent or RV sites.  On Thursday night the festival opened, “unofficially”, with the Big Orange Tarp Songwriter Circle, created by Alan Rowoth decades ago in connection with other festivals, and currently presented by Rowoth and singer songwriter Andrew Dunn of CT, who performed at the festival on Sunday.  

What follows is a quick look at most of the performers at Black Bear.  The simultaneous multiplicity of performances on separate stages made full coverage impossible.

Lucas Neil of Saratoga Springs, performing his Americana and indie-folk originals, Glori Wilder of western CT’s R&B and eclectic mix, and Red Smith of Wilmington, DE  highly energized originals flavored by influences of country, folk, rock, bluegrass, and soul with vocals that turned on a dime from sweet to gravel and grit, opened the festival on the Acoustic Stage, each with a set of their original songs, in the “Songwriter Showcase”.

The Midnight Anthem, a group based in CT fronted by three cousins, opened the Main Stage for the day with a set of their country-oriented Americana songs, followed by Burlington, VT’s Tall Travis, an indie folk band with bluegrass folk/punk influences, on the Acoustic State, with one of their two performances for the weekend.

Over on the Gazebo Stage, Charlie Diamond performed a set of his pop/folk flavored Americana original story type songs with a Dylan-esque type voice that matched his songs perfectly.

Back at the Acoustic Stage, highly regarded Canadian songwriter Scott Cook and Pamela Mae, currently on tour in the US and Canada, performed a set of well-crafted songs, primarily of hope and positive messages, mostly based upon Scott’s life experiences. 

Long time folk- favorite New England singer songwriter Cheryl Wheeler, whose songs have been covered by artists as diverse and Garth Brooks and Bette Midler, took the Main Stage where she delivered some long time favorites, as well as some of her newer work. 

The Rough & Tumble, multi-instrumentalists from New Hampshire, took the Acoustic stage to perform what they describe as their “Dumpster – Folk/Triftstore – Americana” originals for an appreciative crowd.

The Currys, from Charlottesville, VA , fronted by two brothers and a cousin, played a set of their original indie-folk rock songs with tight vocal harmonies  on the Main Stage.

Meghan Cary, a Billboard Magazine’s Critic’s Choice Award Winner, performed a beautiful set of her originals from folk rock power ballads to touching songs of hope, backed up on keys by Peter Farrell.

Over on the Workshop Stage, Bryan Titus, Marc Apostolides and Shawn Taylor presented songs, stories and photos, from their collective thru-hikes and long-distance hikes on the Appalachian Trail, The Long Trail, The John Muir Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail. 

Arm Chair Boogie, a jamgrass/newgrass act from Wisconsin did an excellent performance on the Main Stage which go the crowd to its feet.

In addition to performers, there were a number of organizations at Black Bear.  “Meals for Music” was an especially compelling organization.  It is a non-profit which provides home cooked meals for musicians on the road not only to feed those low on cash, but also for making those on tour feel a bit “at home”…Currently serving the Connecticut area, they are an organization worth looking at.

The Best Times band performed a set of their original indie rock songs on the Gazebo Stage. 

Back across the fields, The Decker Bandits of Collinsville, CT filled the Acoustic Stage with a mix of bluegrass, funk rock/dance originals delivered their own energy to the crowd. 

The final act of Friday night was grammy nominated, award winning Victor Wainwright’s Victor Wainwright & The Train, whose piano, electric guitar, horns and rhythm section got the crowd up and moving with their original Americana, blues and wide ranging roots music, with sprinklings of boogie-woogie, honky-tonk, and New Orleans piano.

Jason Ingriselli & The Miles North opened up Saturday’s performances on the Main Stage showcasing Ingriselli’s powerful voice and songs which he calls New England Country Music. 

Drank The Gold, an Upstate NY based duo brought their soaring vocal harmonies fiddle, guitar/banjo Irish and American old-time and contemporary traditionalist songs to the Acoustic Stage to round out the morning.

Kerri Powers bought her original blues and soulful earthy songs on acoustic and resophonic guitars to the Main Stage to an appreciative crowd.

Massachusett’s Sean Maqwire, who has fast become one of this writer’s favorite songwriters, brought a handful of his well-crafted songs to the Acoustic Stage. 

Goodnight Moonshine, a duo, delivered their original folk songs with beautiful vocal harmonies, and an improvisational style and feel more common to jazz than typical folk music.

In addition to continuous performances each day on three separate stages, Black Bear presented thirteen different workshops over the three-day festival, including some in songwriting, music production, performance, improv and other music related subjects, all while Main, Acoustic and Gazebo Stage performances continued.  This writer took the time to venture over to the Workshop stage mid-afternoon on Saturday to catch workshops on Improv musicianship and songwriting, and then made it back to the Main and Acoustic Stage to see the rest of the performances.

The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, a Central NY based group that has been together for about twenty years, delivered their songs of fantastic stories with a high energy, crowd engaging performance, in what has been called “Woodstock-tinged psychedelia..[with] a hint of southern rock, Celtic and British folk combined with solid songwriting..” that moved the audience and brought it to its feet.

Tall Travis, an indie folk band from Burlington, VT, with its unique bluegrass folk/punk influences, filled the Acoustic stage for the second time over the weekend and lit up the stage with their own brand of musical energy. 

Saturday night’s finale was delivered by Quebec’s Le Vent du Nord who delivered songs and performances  of both traditional and original compositions, with highly rhythmic and soulful music, rooted in the Celtic diaspora, enhanced with a broad range of global influences.   And when festival producers Ian Campbell and Beth Murphy took the stage before the encore the crowd yelled for the band to be brought back again next year.

After the stages shut down for the night, those in the know headed for the songwriter circles put on by Big Orange Tarp, Pirates Camp and the Jubilee Jam Tent. 

Sunday morning started out with a Main Stage performance by folk legend Vance Gilbert who engaged the audience with a brilliant combination of original songs and banter.  Gilbert also offered an excellent performance critique for musicians at the festival at the Workshop stage in the afternoon. 

Terra Coda, a band of five percussionists, delivered their unique music to an appreciative crowd, just before the rains came.

Performers scheduled for later in the day included Ash & Eric, Josh Joplin Group, Two Crows for Comfort, Way Down Wanderers, Shanna In A Dress, Whiskey Talks and Adam Ezra Group. 

A truly special component of Black Bear are the songwriter-in-the-round events that feature both featured acts at the festival and other songwriters picked by the various event’s creators or organizers, where a small group of songwriters alternate delivering their songs, solo, for a few rounds, and then the next group comes in, repeating the rounds until the wee hours of the morning. “In the round” events were held each day and night at “The Big Orange Tarp (aka the BOT)”, “Pirate Camp”, the Jubilee Jam Tent.  For many, these songwriter circles are a significant part of what makes a festival like Black Bear such a highly respected musical event.

One of these, the “Big Orange Tarp”, or BOT as it’s known by its fans, featured solo performances in the round each night of the festival and into the wee hours of the morning by a number of those who performed at the festival, as well as by other songwriters, including this writer, all handpicked by Rowoth or Dunn.  For many, the BOT, and the other in the round songwriter circles, represent one of the most cherished events at this and many other festivals (Kerrville, Falcon Ridge, and more) and represent what many feel is the best way to hear songs, unadorned by stage sound support, performed “in the raw” by the people who wrote them. 

In addition to the fantastic and well curated music and music related workshops for musicians and music lovers, the Black Bear Americana Music Fest provided a varied array of food vendors; workshops in glass making, painting, gel plate printing, pumpkin carving and jewelry making; chili tasting and interactive cocktail making classes; and cannabis related classes from making edibles at home, to growing and harvesting; and the Festival provided AA meetings each morning.

All in all Black Bear was an excellent music festival and one which many will surely attend again next year.

Thank you Ian Campbell and Beth Murphy for a fantastic 2024 Black Bear. See you next year!