Yesterday I had the privilege of attending (most of) the annual Minnehaha Falls “Laughing Water” Bluegrass Festival. This is my third time at this festival, and it’s become a fun memorial day tradition. We had beautiful weather yesterday, and I enjoyed it very much. Let me give you a quick rundown of the local (Twin Cities) artists that performed, and what I thought about them.
The Platte Valley Boys were first, and I didn’t get there quite on time, but I caught the second half of their set. They weren’t bad, but they weren’t that good, either. I would classify them as nothing special. I like their matching outfits, though.
Next up was Becky Shlegel, who is a beautiful singer (visually and audibly), and probably the least bluegrass of any the bands that were there. That’s not a bad thing in her case. It just means that to me she sounds like she’d have no trouble if she wanted to classify herself as country, or even folk (except for when they did instrumentals). The program called the group “The Becky Schlegal Band”, but it was just her and Brian Fesler, who accompanied her excellently on banjo and guitar. I liked the change of pace in both the style and band size. This was by far the best vocal performance of the day, and the artist from which I’m most interested in adding tunes to my music collection.
Ivory Bridge took the stage next, and we were back to more of a traditional bluegrass band configuration. They did a nice, capable job, and I appreciated the fiddle that most of the other bands lacked. My favorite thing about Ivory Bridge was the bounce that all the songs had.
Then came the originators of the festival, The Middle Spunk Creek Boys. There was some great instrumental stuff going on with these guys, but when they started singing, I was a little disappointed. The lead vocals were all pretty weak. It sounded better when multiple people were singing together. The harmonies were good, they just didn’t have strong voices. I think this is a common problem that plagues bluegrass bands. They put so much emphasis on the instruments, that they forget that the singing is important, too. It shouldn’t be an after-thought.
Tangle Roots followed, and this was my favorite band (especially when I exclude Becky and Brian which was really a duo). They were so tight and together on everything. Good vocals. Great tune variety. I liked the way they mixed it up with traditional bluegrass tunes, and then their own treatment of covers from Buddy Holly to Bruce Hornsby. I loved it. The banjo and the mandolin were my favorites of the day as well. These are the signatures sounds of bluegrass, and Tangled Roots has some superior musicians representing what it’s all about. Excellent.
Free Range Pickin’ was the youngest group that took the stage. They did a good job, and seemed to really enjoy what they were doing. Over all, it seemed a considerable step down from Tangled Roots. Not bad, though. Probably just need some more experience. They showed some nerve for a bluegrass festival in bringing an electric guitar on stage. They were very sparing and quiet in there use of it, which probably saved any riots that might have otherwise happened. I look forward to seeing these guys again next year and seeing how they’ve improved.
My companions at the festival were ready to go, at this point, so I didn’t stay long enough to see Nuovo Buffalo, or The Buffalo Gals as I’ve known them. From years past I can tell you that they probably had the place dancing, which is their specialty.
Summary Thoughts
This is a great, free, family-fun activity to do annually on Memorial Day. I highly recommend it. They’ve scheduled some excellent weather over the last couple years, so lets hope that continues. Bring lawn chairs or blanket if you don’t plan on getting there early, but try it out. Bring your friends. Enjoy the music in a casual, fun, outdoor environment. I’ll see you there next year (I’ll be the good-looking guy chilling in a lawn chair in the shade, with a hint of a smile, and more than a little tapping of the foot.)
