New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011

Subject: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 03 Apr 11 - 02:23 PM

New Bedford's Summerfest is a wonderful event. One of the highlights is the workshops where performers take turns singing songs related to a single topic. Summerfest is very reasonably priced. The concert venues are within about 4 small blocks in downtown New Bedford. Venues include the New Bedford Whaling Museum and the National Park Service building. Parking is free. Wear good walking shoes, because the streets are cobblestone.

Here's the line-up, followed by a link to Summerfest's website.

Annalivia
Benoit Bourque
Martha Burns
Antje Duvokot
Cliff Eberhardt
Mark Erelli
Beppe Gambetta
Eliza Gilkyson
John Gorka
Livio Guardi
Kim and Reggie Harris
Caroline Herring
David Jacobs-Strain
David Jones
Diana Jones
The Kennedys
Le Vent du Nord
Zoe Lewis
Liz Longely
Jez Lowe
Danielle Miraglia
NewFound Road
The Outside Track
Chris Pahud
Ellis Paul
The Pomus Brothers
QuasiModal String Band
Claudia Russell and Bruce Kaplan
Art Tebbetts
Steve Tilston
Vishten
Sloan Wainwright
Cheryl Wheeler

Here's a link to the website:

http://www.newbedfordsummerfest.com/index.html

Subject: RE: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 28 Jun 11 - 12:42 AM

Are any other Mudcatters going? It's this weekend! Some concerts are indoors, in tents, or under canopies. Good seafood and other types of food are available through vendors, and I almost always buy something from the craft vendors.

Subject: RE: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: Martha Burns
Date: 30 Jun 11 - 11:06 PM

I'll be performing there this year, and do hope to see some mudcatters. Great line-up, altogether, and the forecast promises perfect weather. Should be a memorable weekend.

Subject: RE: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 01 Jul 11 - 11:45 PM

I'll be sure to catch at least one of your performances!

Subject: RE: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: GUEST,ChanteyLass on cell
Date: 03 Jul 11 - 07:41 PM

Nice meeting and hearing you, Martha!

Subject: RE: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Jul 11 - 08:04 PM

ChanteyLass-

I'd love to hear how this Festival went, after you've had time to recover.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: bbc
Date: 04 Jul 11 - 09:13 AM

Hi, all,

This was a first for bbc & Duane D. We served as driver & navigator for Caroline Paton, Alison McMorland & Geordie McIntyre. Nice festival & fun opportunity to see folks we'd just seen the week before at Old Songs in Albany, New York! I was blown away by Livio Guardi, Benoit Bourque, & Beppe Gambetta--all new to me! Lovely to see David Jones & sing shape note with the Beans!

Barbara

Subject: RE: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: Duane D.
Date: 04 Jul 11 - 10:42 PM

Hi Folks,

I have a new set of images on my flickr gallery, currently 8 images, and growing, of Summerfest. I just started this set with images from activities on July 02. The images include local group, Pumpkin Head Ted, Martha Burns, Art Tebbetts, Steve Tilston, David Jacobs-Strain, Pete Kennedy, and Beppe Gambetta. I haven't even started adding my images from July 03. Check back often, the set will grow. The link is here.

Subject: RE: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 05 Jul 11 - 01:34 AM

bbc and Duane D., I wish I could have met you. Duane, thank you for posting the photos. I look forward to seeing more. Charley, I wrote a long post, tried to move the cursor to edit something, and must have clicked on Home (under the above post) instead. I'll try again, but not tonight. It is 1:30 AM. I am a night owl but not fully functional at this time. Tomorrow is a busy day, so it might not be until Wednesday. I can only write about this from the perspective of an audience member. When I introduced myself to Martha Saturday evening, I got the impression that performers were well-treated, but I don't know how things were for her after that. Oh, one quick thing: if you are on Facebook (and I know you are, Charley), you can friend or fan New Bedford Summerfest which will probably post their "official" photos.

Subject: RE: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Jul 11 - 07:21 AM

Excellent!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 05 Jul 11 - 10:23 PM

I enjoy Summerfest. It presents a variety of types of folk music. For me the biggest problem is deciding who to see and hear. There are solo performances and workshops (song circles), and the workshops often have interesting titles. I had seen several of this year's performers recently, so I tried to hear people I'd never heard but didn't get to hear everyone. At Summerfest, I'm on the go, moving from stage to stage, listening to a few songs from each performer and then moving on. I did stay for a few complete performances. Since I hadn't heard Martha Burns, I stayed until the end of her Saturday solo set--although i arrived a few minutes late, probably during her first song. I saw her again when I stayed through the entire Songs of the Civil War workshop, but I would have stayed for all of that even if she'd not been part of it. I also stayed for all of Chris Pahud's solo set. He has a fine bass voice. I'd like to hear him share a stage trading songs with Mystic Seaport's Don Sineti. That could be billed as The Battle of the Basses.

Summerfest has 7 stages all within a few blocks in the old downtown. Only two stages are indoors, but the others have canopies, and there are seats though often not enough. I bring my own. Fortunately these city blocks are short. It probably takes only 5 minutes to walk between the two farthest stages. Starting and ending times at the different stages are staggered, so when one performance ends you can catch another in the middle, and as you pass different stages you can hear snatches of songs. At one point I thought, "I know that voice--Diana Jones" and at another point I thought, "That has to be Antje Duvekot." If I heard a voice I didn't recognize, I stopped in my tracks to listen and find out who was performing.

For me the hardest part of Summerfest is the walking surface of cobblestone streets and sidewalks that are partly brick. It is possible to walk everywhere by sticking to some smooth rectangular surfaces on sidewalks and at intersections, but these smooth surfaces are narrow and not always right at the intersections. Also people tend to stand and chat on these surfaces, forcing pedestrians to walk on the uneven surfaces. I twisted my ankle once but didn't fall.

There are many arts and crafts vendors, and the Whaling Museum's gift store is open, too. There are porta-potties at most stages and rest rooms at the Whaling Museum and National Park Visitor's Center.

There are also food vendors in a food court at the main stage. On Saturday there was one food vendor at a smaller stage. There are some restaurants near some stages and others within a block of some stages. These restaurants are listed in the program.

For me a bonus is that one of Stone Soup's board members hosts one of the stages. I don't see her much during the summer. She does the Tuesday night folk program, Kingston Coffeehouse, on WRIU. Dogs are not allowed within the seating areas, but because she hosts she gets to bring her sweet Kerry blue terrier.

Subject: RE: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: GUEST,celtaddict (cookie crumbled?)
Date: 06 Jul 11 - 09:59 PM

I enjoyed Saturday though I did not get to see everyone I would have liked to see, onstage or around! Jez Lowe is always worth hearing. Would have loved to hear more of David Jones; Civil War was great. I had never seen John Gorka live.

Subject: RE: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 06 Jul 11 - 10:57 PM

I've seen John Gorka several times. He was at Stone Soup during the spring. I've seen Jez Lowe several times, too, and agree he is always worth hearing. He was at the Blackstone River Theatre within the last year. I would have loved to hear more of David Jones, too. Did I see you talking to him?

Subject: RE: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: bbc
Date: 10 Jul 11 - 07:41 AM

I've just posted 4 photos I took of David Jones on the Garden Stage on Saturday, July 2nd. It was a pleasure to hear him!

My flickr page

best,

Barbara

Subject: RE: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: bbc
Date: 10 Jul 11 - 07:49 AM

This thread gives direct links to each photo:

Photos of David Jones

Barbara

Subject: RE: New Bedford MA Summerfest July 2-3, 2011
From: Duane D.
Date: 11 Jul 11 - 10:01 PM

Hi folks,

I just added three more images to my Summerfest 2011 set on my flickr gallery. These images include: Diana Jones, who shared the stage with David Jones in the Keeping Up with the Joneses session in the Whaling Museum Theater on July 02 ( I don't have a decent image of David Jones to post.); local nine year-old guitar wiz, Thatcher Harrison, on the Southcoast Stage on July 03; and one more image of Beppe Gambetta, this one from his This Guitarist Really Cooks solo session at the Whaling Museum Theater on July 03. I was present on the grounds of Summerfest on July 03 only until early afternoon so I could attend an annual folk music gathering in Randolph, Massachusetts. I hope you enjoy this set of images.

Do have a great day,
Duane.