The Americana Festival

Sunday afternoon I took time out to visit The Sage, where the Americana Festival was in full swing. Lovely warm sunshine and an outdoor setting made this a very enjoyable experience. Due to time constraints I only got to see two of the bands.... but they were both brilliant. First up was Rita Hosking, supported by multi instrumentalist Sean Feder, a husband and wife duo from the US, playing Rita's songs which are mainly based on her life and upbringing amongst the lumber camps in northern California. Lovely soulful singing from Rita, with tasty licks and fills on banjo, dobro and harmony vocals from Sean, set the scene for an afternoon of great music.

Next up were The Grass Mountain Hobos from Canada (2010 ECMA Bluegrass Recording Artist of The Year). A barnstorming collective of wonderful musicians with a mixed set of traditional and home grown material, all done in an exuberant, classy and technically brilliant style. They exploded into view with the wonderful 'Red Headed Woman', with dynamic frontman Josh Ellis on guitar and vocals keeping the whole thing moving along with his banter and superb singing (brilliant yodel on 'Cowboy's Lament). Star of the lineup for me was Gordie MacKeeman on fiddle. With a style reminiscent of the late John Hartford, he whipped up a storm and delivered new licks in just about every tune, with high energy, the occasional buck dance step and an obvious relish for the music. 'Turkey in the Straw' was simply wonderful!

I attended this event last year and thought this year's was much better. Generally the line up was imho better class, so perhaps the event is gaining some momentum and popularity. The weather helped of course, and there was a great crowd who were obviously loving the music, me included!