I soaked in as much Richmond Folk Festival as I could this weekend in the perfect weather. I love the setting of the festival on the banks of the James River – Brown’s Island, Tredegar Iron Works, NewMarket Corporation’s front yard. This is the time of year when my interest in music is reborn, I connect with old friends and reaffirm my love of our city.
Festival director Lisa Sims said Sunday that an estimated 200,000 people attended this year's event, surpassing last year's record of 190,000, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
I used to be a huge music fan before I got married and had kids and more disposable income. I went to concerts all the time, Plan 9 every week, playing new music on my radio show on WDCE, even after I graduated college. Plus, the music industry became fragmented and corporate with an emphasis on hit singles, style and exposure.
The Richmond Folk Festival does not bring in artists like that. It gets hard-working artists and real musicians. Substance. Talent. Musicians hoping to reach new audiences.
Kicking things off Friday night, The Mighty Diamonds reggae band were fantastic. The crowd listening to them was exactly why I love the festival. All ethnic groups, age groups, income levels and music interests gathered in the same space -- smiling, dancing and having a great and well-behaved time.
Original P, Chatham County Line, Pedrito Martinez Group, Redd Volkaert Band with Cindy Cashdollar -- I saw many bands this weekend, and the diversity in the crowds and the joy they seem to be experiencing is one of my main reasons for attending the festival.
It is people-watching at its best. To glean from their happiness and refuel my civic pride in Richmond.
The city has so many great festivals and this one is the best. Richmond does not mess up with the Folk Festival. The army of volunteers that Venture Richmond coordinates and the many corporate sponsors deserve praise.
Some of those corporate sponsors have gone so far as to help Richmond try to make permanent changes to the grounds of the Folk Festival to ensure the city is able to best accommodate future events. There are proposals for an amphitheater on the grounds of NewMarket Corp. in the area near the Altria stage from this weekend. A road that would provide a connection between Tredegar and Second streets just east of the Robert E. Lee Bridge has been approved. A pedestrian bridge compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act that would connect to Brown’s Island should be later this fall.
These moves could help ensure that the best party going in Richmond doesn’t stop. In the meantime, I’ll be calling more old friends to keep in touch over backyard cookouts, digging up old CDs to educate my kids on real music and checking local concert schedules for our next big dance party.
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