Root Down in the Shadow

Next Saturday night, at the Newport Folk Festival, after Pokey Lafarge & the South City Three wrap up @ 4:15, there are three outstanding choices for the next to last slot of the night. The question of who to see is the toughest of the whole festival. I have some other decisions to make before next weekend, but I think this solitary decision may take until we arrive at Fort Adams State Park. Feel free to comment, but here's my list of contributing factors for each act: Gillian Welch: + Gillian is on the Main Stage.. no need to move before the Decemberists + 4:45 start gives 30 minutes to find a spot after Pokey Lafarge + Gillian Welch: Newport Folk Festival 2009 + The Fresh Air Interview: Gillian Welch & David Rawlings + Oh Brother Where Art Thou  fame!!! + Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings do awesome covers, such as 'Black Star' + I don't have much of her  material, but it's so easy to like +Clear veteran = better/experienced live show +

As always Newport Folk Festival has been a constant on the summer music scene since 1959!  As 19 years my senior, I've always been aware of it, but never knew of it.  When I was much younger, I had a vision of rich folk in fancy hats and dresses, and something to do with cigarettes.  As I got older, I really forgot about the festival entirely, as my music tastes were mainly in alternative, but more in a Lollapalooza or even an Ozzfest vein.  However, it came back into focus for me two years ago within one of my favorite podcasts: NPR: Live Concerts from All Songs Considered Podcast .    From the 2009 version, there were available podcasts of full concerts for Iron & Wine , Neko Case & the Low Anthem . Whether looking for quieter music to listen to without disturbing my young child, or just looking for more quality in my music, I had fallen deep for the Folk Festival sound.  It's not that Folk hasn't been cool as "it" was when Newport was younger,

*** Part of an ongoing series of TOOLS TO ENJOY MORE MUSIC ***** I will attempt to profile great avenues of finding, listening to, and downloading new music, to help you , the music fan, get more out of your listening experience. The interface  was probably my first podcast.   Back in 2006 I spent many weekends working in my new house, and I needed some new music to get into while I was demolishing, rebuilding and painting.   I think I had been looking up bands for the upcoming Virgin Festival in Baltimore, MD ., but somehow I had stumbled onto four awesome new bands.   Pigeon John, the Raconteurs, KT Tunstall, and Lady Sovereign . During these early podcasts, the podcast was referred to as AOL Interface @ Spinner.com .  It was also mainly an interview with some performance added at the beinning or end.  Somehow they embedded chapters into the podcasts, so you could skip through and listen to the songs.  That was nice as, after the 10th time or so of listening to the interviews y