Root Down in the Shadow

It's Folk Festival Time for everyone in the Philadelphia area.  Have you checked out the newly updated Philadelphia Folk Festival website?   The site is so easy you can personalize your own schedule for the festival.    Other fests say you can do it, but they still end up being super cumbersome. You can sort this by stage or date, or just select a bunch of favorites from any page and have them show up as highlights to the schedule with the "Show My Schedule" button. But even if you a super easy site isn't for you, here's Root Down In The Shadow 's "Five to See Live" at the 55th Philadelphia Folk Festival presented by Philadelphia Folksong Society.  Hurricane Hoss  Friday 3:30 Martin  Guitar Main Stage:   Hurricane Hoss is everything country & folk music needs. None of this bro, country-pop with bimbos in the videos. Hoss brings back swagger and sass and has the chops to back it up. The backing band this year is a veritable ...

Shakey Graves Levee Drivers and Ladybird As a first-time "fest" attendee I wasn't sure what to expect. I've been to many fests, but never before a folk fest, and never before one in such a sprawling, open, natural environment. I'd heard of the Philadelphia Folk Fest (or just fest, as everyone calls it) of course but didn't know what kind of crowd it would draw, what the general feel would be, or how I would fit in as a young(ish) photographer with more of an indie music bent. As it came to be, the answers were, in order: the nicest fest crown I've yet experienced. I had anticipated an older crowd and while they were there in droves, there were also a ton of younger adults, kids and everything in between. There was no pushing, or crowding, or obnoxious drunk bros as far as the eye could see. The crowd was refreshing, and happy. Fest had this feel of absolute love of music, and of shared appreciation for it. I don't think I've even bee...

Philadelphia Folk Festival is an enigma. It's actually far away from Philadelphia at Old Poole's Farm in remote Schwenksville, PA. Once you arrive and park, and either walk or shuttle in you pass a sea of cars and a tent city. There are stages off in the woods, there's a whole other world off in the distance in this magical tent city. What is going on? For this blogger who has experienced only about 8 or so sets total at the fest in the last few years, it is a nut that must be cracked. What exactly goes on at this fest? All the local musicians seem to be buzzing about it every summer year. It was suggested that the only way to get to understand the fest is to ask those who experience it every year. And by every year, we don't mean in the last few years since an adult moved to town. We mean, from people who in some cases, have been going ALL of their life. With the help of Philadelphia Folksong Society , Root Down In The Shadow invited some "life...

#PhillyPresents started in 2013 as a way to honor our favorite bands and allow them to continue to share other new bands with their fans and Root Down In The Shadow fans.  As a band, what could be better than an opportunity to write a little about what’s going on for you, maybe tell some stories and to share with fans about a band you love?     BAND NAME: A Fistful of Sugar Band Name: A Fistful of Sugar (That's "Fistful", not "Fist Full". And "A" because there's just one of them and it's a nonspecific fistful we're talking about. Not THE fist, just A fist.) Style: Space-age Bachelor Pad Music...no, wait, that's Esquivel . More like brassy, sassy, harmony-heavy alt-folk. We draw a lot on traditional sounds from the old-timey, bluegrass, country swing, and gypsy jazz palettes, but we try to keep it modern and fun. * Perspicacity by A Fistful of Sugar * Years on the Scene: Lisa, Mike, and Meaghan formed A Fistful of Su...