This past August was my 21st consecutive year at Philly.
I've seen many great performers there over the years & I've seen quite a few changes in the festival,some good,some not so good ,but maybe some necessary.
This was the first year of the brand new permanent stage,& although it was adorned with Martin Guitar logos that's still better than looking at advertising by some giant McCorporation.
The chairs in reserved seating were packed way too close,but that only seemed to be the case on Sunday night.

Yes,Judy was a bit "Glitzy" but nothing compared to the last time she was there. I don't remember what year it was,but it was raining buckets & she performed her whole set standing next to a grand piano wearing an evening gown.(Her,not the piano)
In any case,it was nice to see her there,along with Ritchie Havens,Tom Rush,David Bromberg,Arlo,Jay Unger & Molly Mason,And one of my alltime favorites Bruce Utah Phillips.
Dave VanRonk was sceduled to be there but because of health problems had to cancel. I did however get the chance to see him perform one last time in October. Dave graced the PFF stages many times over the years.I will forever have this image of him sitting up there doing "Candy Man".He truly was an inspiration to many guitar players.

Aside from the music onstage,one of the major attractions to the PFF is the music played in the campground. And I am not referring to that GD racket on those GD boomboxes! I too ,would love to see them outlawed in the camping area.But that's another battle we'll probably never win.

I've made quite a few good friends in the campground at PFF over the past 21 years. Although the campfires are no longer allowed,the atmosphere & comraderie still seem to endure.
I brought my kids there with me when they were about 7 or 8 years old. My daughter is now 23 and has only missed 1 or 2 festivals.
Although she & some of her friends have branched out and started their own "Compound",she still joins us at the "DHARMACAMP" every night with her guitar & pennywhistles. In a couple more years I plan on bringing my grand children to the PFF.
Gotta git 'em wilst they're young'uns ya know!.

It's true that in some ways Philly has grown too big for it's own good.The days of the intimate little folk fest are long gone. We now have uniformed personel checking coolers at the gates. There are some "undesirables" that get into camp just to party or to steal whatever they can from an unattended camp.
But,as always,we keep an eye on our neighbors camp & they do the same for us,& so far the only thing the "foragers" have made off with is a pound of bacon & a bottle of Jack Daniels.

I do a number of other festivals every year(I'll be at Merlefest the end of April)and I doubt I would go through this much work & hassle for any other festival,but there's something about "Philly" that draws me back every year.

To any Catters that make it to Philly,You've got an open invatation to drop by the "DHARMABUMS" camp.

DB.