Country legend Merle Haggard headlines the Finger Lakes Festival of Music and Dance Thursday, joining Arrested Development and many others, as the first day of the festival gets underway. Photo provided
THE GREATEST OF THE MANY ACHIEVEMENTS of the GrassRoots Festival may be the seamless integration of the local and the global. In much the same way an extended family gathering draws distinctly different personalities together under the same roof, GrassRoots brings together disparate sounds from across the world to perform together over a four-day weekend, July 22-25, at the Trumansburg Fairgrounds.
Though the festival certainly fosters a strong localist ethic, GrassRoots’ not-so-well-kept secret is its music from across country and around the globe. This year is no different, as a few new faces join some familiar ones on the Grandstand and Infield Stages, and in the Dance Tent and Cabaret Hall.
The performers and acts contradict any speculation that GrassRoots is primarily a exclusively American “roots” music festival. Even setting aside the music of First Peoples, and that which touches upon the traditions of Zydeco, Cajun, gospel, blues and reggae, GrassRoots is an eclectic sounding experience.
With almost 80 bands on the roster this year, it can be difficult to navigate this sea of sound. GrassRoots’ Executive Director Rosa Puryear advised: “The best thing to do is print off a schedule and highlight the things you want to see. There’s just so much to see and do, you need to pace yourself, but if you mark up a schedule you’ll avoid missing a band in the blink of an eye.” Though it’s impossible to catch everything, many bands play more than once throughout the event.
Here are some of the highlights:
Big Names Return
“We decided for the 20th it would be a good celebration to invite some of the big favorites who had played before,” Puryear explained by phone. “So we got back Burning Spear, and Arrested Development, and Rusted Root.”
• Arrested Development: Along with the Digable Planets, perhaps no act embodies so-called “alternative hip hop” than the two-time Grammy Award winners Arrested Development. The group rode high in the early 90s on an uplifting message, conscious spirit and catchy choruses. As much as they were indebted to forbears Public Enemy and peers De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, Arrested Development made palatable poppy hip hop that resonated with millions. Rather than rapping about conspicuous consumption and glorifying violence, the group offered clever critiques of capitalist society, with compelling portraits of homeless and spirituality.
Their debut record “3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of…” produced three hit singles (“Mr. Wendal,” “People Everyday” and “Tennessee”) and landed Arrested Development on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine as Band of the Year in 1992.
When the group released its follow-up album “Zingalamaduni” two years later, gansta rap had pushed alternative hip hop out of the mainstream, and Arrested Development subsequently broke up. But the group reunited in 2003 and stopped by Trumansburg for a GrassRoots appearance in 2007 that had audiences celebrating like it was the early 90s. Arrested Development released a record this May called “Strong,” with a single called “The World Is Changing.” (10:30pm, Thursday, at the Infield Stage)
• Rusted Root: Of the first four years of GrassRoots, Pittsburgh-based Rusted Roots appeared three times – christening them as part of the festival family. Though they wouldn’t return until 2005, the roots and rock band has always been a favorite, and they performed most recently last year and were arguably the best received big band of the year.
Combining a bluegrass foundation with a taste for world music, the band broke through in the early 90s with “When I Woke,” featuring the alternative rock anthem “Send Me On My Way.” Though the band faded from popular attention a few years later, it has always been a hit on the festival circuit, and has performed with The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers and Dave Mattews. (9:30pm, Friday, at the Infield Stage)
• Burning Spear: The moniker of Winston Rodney, Burning Spear cut his first track in 1969 for the esteemed Studio One label. Rodney grew up in St. Ann, Jamaica, the birthplace of Bob Marley and Marcus Garvey, and for four decades he has carried the torch of roots reggae.
The name Burning Spear was adopted in honor of Jomo Kenyatta, the president of Kenya. After recording two albums at Studio One, Burning Spear joined Island records, finding critical and commercial success in England in the late 70s. Rodney is a legendary live act, and has released an album almost every two years, the most recent of which “Jah Is Real” found him teaming up with Parliament Funkadelic’s Bootsy Collins and Bernie Worrell. It has been almost 15 years since Burning Spear took a trip to Trumansburg. (9pm, Saturday, Infield Stage)
The Country Legend
Undeniably the most well-known name on the festival’s roster this year is the country legend Merle Haggard. The songwriter made famous the Bakersfield sound, a rough and craggy sonic assault. The early 60s were a time when mainstream country was dominated by the lush, smooth countrypolitan sound of Nashville, and Bakersfield country grew out of hardcore honky tonk, adding elements of Western swing. Haggard also relied on electric instruments and amplification more than other subgenres of country, giving the music hard, driving, edgy flavor.
Haggard spent his early life in and out of jail, and after modeling himself after Bob Wills, he was heavily influenced by Johnny Cash to tell his own story. “I was bull-headed about my career. I didn’t want to talk about being in prison,” Haggard writes in press materials, “but Cash said I should talk about it. That way the tabloids wouldn’t be able to. I said I didn’t want to do that and he said, ‘It’s just owning up to it.’” Cash introduced Haggard on his variety show as “a man who writes about his own life and has had a life to write about.”
Perhaps because of account of his own personal history Haggard appeals to audiences from all political spectrums. His most famous song, “Okie From Muskogee,” is a faux anthem that rebukes marijuana, love beads and the 60s in general. (8:30pm, Thursday, at the Grandstand Stage).
The Sound of Zimbabwe
Oliver Mtukudzi: “My first attempt to sing was my birth cry,” says Oliver Mtukudzi, the Zimbabwean guitarist. “Tuku” to his fans, Mtukudzi has had a career that has spanned more than twenty years and 40 original albums. Tuku was initiated into the world of professional music in 1977 when he joined the now legendary group Wagon Wheels, which also featured Thomas Mapfumo. Success came early to the Wagon Wheels, when “Dzandimomotera” went gold. Mtukudzi left that group and went on to release two albums every year, establishing himself as a producer, an arranger, a prolific songwriter and, with his famous big voice, a formidable lead singer. He speaks both Shona and Ndebele, and often writes songs in English as well. (10:30pm, Friday, at the Grandstand Stage).
Festival Regulars
Though Arrested Development, Rusted Root and Burning Spear may be the most google-friendly performers at this year’s GrassRoots, regular attendees know that many lesser-known stars shine bright in the festival’s constellation. A sampling:
Like his father Preston, Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band are the most well-known part of the extended GrassRoots family. From southwest Louisiana, the band offers contemporary Zydeco that feels as at home in the Finger Lakes as anything else (12:30am Thursday, at the Infield Stage; repeated all-night Saturday in the Dance Tent).
Kelley and The Cowboys is a retro country band from North Carolina, led by a vocalist who mixes honky tonk standards with original material that sound classic (6:15pm, Thursday, in the Dance Tent). Also from North Carolina, The Red Hots are an old time and bluegrass band that focuses on music of the ’20s and ’30s (midnight, Thursday in the Dance Tent).
South Carolina’s Flying Clouds are a gospel band that samples heavily from funk (1:00pm, Friday, in the Dance Tent). Preston Frank & his Zydeco Family Band has been instigating dance since 1977, though the musical roots of his family trace back many generations (3:00pm, Friday, in the Dance Tent).
Native folk and blues rocker Keith Secola & the Wild Band of Indians has developed a cult following for many years, and has been a favorite of GrassRoots, performing every year since 1997 (6:00pm, Friday, at the Infield Stage).
Though the fiery fiddler John Specker is from Vermont, Old Time Herald Magazine has credited him as “the father of the Ithaca Sound.” He rose to prominence in the 1970s, and is a GrassRoots mainstay; Specker currently performs with his talented daughters (11:00am, Saturday, in the Dance Tent).
The Campbell Brothers, a Sacred Steel band from Rochester, performs music steeped in religious faith, but one need only to have a passing appreciation of fine songcraft to turn the secular into the devout (7:30pm, Friday, Dance Tent; 9:00pm, Saturday, at the Grandstand Stage).
Local Favorites
Festival organizers vary the local lineup each year to reflect the area’s sonic smorgasbord. Some hometown acts are consistent favorites.
Host Donna the Buffalo, the Bubba George Stringband (which actually predates Donna), and new festival darlings Hee Haw Nightmare offer an expansive interpretation of old-time fiddle music, incorporating elements of punk, rock and roll, reggae, and international influences.
Other towers of the Tompkins County music scene include cello virtuoso Hank Roberts, who has found potent collaborators in the funky Wingnut, and Johnny Dowd, the festival’s dark horse.
Singer and songwriters are a bit underrepresented, but Mary Lorson, Jennie Lowe Stearns and Kathy Ziegler are not to be missed. Lorson currently plays with the Soubrettes, and the trio’s latest project is a tribute to the great burlesque star Eva Tanguay. Jennie is currently recording a follow-up to her haunting “Birds Fall,” and Kathy returns for her first festival since she moved to Europe two years ago.
Samite of Uganda, a political refugee who makes the Ithaca area his home is a frequent festival performer and has appeared in various capacities in Ithaca. Samite’s music, performed on traditional African instruments like the kalimba and the flute, is deeply spiritual and quietly powerful (5:00pm Saturday at the Grandstand Stage).
And some more locals:
The Gunpoets: revolutionary new-school rap (9pm, Thursday at the Infield Stage before Arrested Development).
Jimkata: synthy and sample-laden electro-rock (9pm, Thursday, in the Cabaret Hall).
New Neighbors: This quartet of Ithacan expats (mostly, one remember remains in town) offer poppy melodies with an a penchant for experimentation (4:30pm, Thursday, on the Grandstand Stage).
Ayurveda: expansive progressive rock with epic live shows (4:00pm, Friday, at the Infield Stage).
Hubcap: power pop by way of 90s lo-fi (6pm, Friday, in the Cabaret Hall; 1pm, Saturday, Grandstand).
J-san and the Anaolgue Sons: dub-rock, soul and R&B (9:30pm, Friday, Dance Tent; 3:30pm, Saturday, Infield Stage)
The Sutras: spacey symphonic pop-rocks (12:30am Saturday, at the Grandstand Stage).
The Thins: This trio offers some of the most adventurous rock in town (2:30pm, Sunday, in the Cabaret Hall).
Toivo: GrassRoots newbies, this group plays a unique mix of Tex-Mex, Finnish and traditional music from the Finger Lakes and around the globe (4:00pm, Sunday, in the Cabaret Hall).
Driftwood: last year’s band competition winner, the Binghamton-based old-time group cuts up the dance floor (6:00pm, Sunday, in the Cabaret Hall).