| Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival 2009 |
 |
 |
 |
|
For more Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival photos, click here.
On a whim and at the last possible minute, I decided to attend this year’s Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival. Precisely because the decision was made so spontaneously and without provocation, I knew the decision was a good one. When I mentioned it to my girlfriend, who is also my photographer, she agreed but suggested we stop talking about it and get on with the story. Without further ado…  The 4th Annual Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival was billed as a “rootsicana newgrassy folkadelic experience” and this writer couldn’t think of a more precise way of describing it (nor would he dare try). If I had to try, I would say that the festival is more like a celebration of the freeform expression of mind, body, and spirit that is facilitated through the language of music. The venue itself consists of some four acres complete with campground, a pond, four stages, and over thirty vendors (Hooray for Sierra Nevada Brew!). Situated around the pond was the Sun Ray God-Us Temple designed to raise consciousness by amplifying the light spirals in our spine (it worked!). Another featured art installation was a the thirty foot tall Water Woman who symbolized permaculture and sustainable art in accordance with nature. If it sounds trippy, it is only because it was (as you can see their hippy-jargon has seemed to rub off on me). But this is a family-friendly event. The kids were walking around in tutus and cowboy boots, and most have hair about the same length to their shoulders. Many painted their faces and rode around the lake on the rainbow-colorful kiddy train made out of “recycled” oil drums.  It is in the nature of the Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival (JTRMF) that the role between artist and audience is blurred and we all become participants in something much larger and more spiritual than our individual selves. Just look out over the campgrounds and see how resourceful the campers are, using “foundstuffs” like scrap wood, rims and other materials to spruce up and decorate their campsites. One can clearly see how the promoters of the event used recyclable materials and scraps to construct the stages, booths, and scaffolding amongst other installments (the entire bar in the beer garden is constructed out of a mud/hay mixture and recycled glass bottles, absolutely beautiful).  But now on to the tunes. Upon arrival, after a welcome reception fit for a visiting dignitary, I caught the band with name recognition coming from RollingStone and Spin Magazines. The Rhode Island-based Deer Tick plays “super sweet grunge and blues influenced twangadelica.” For this writer, the great musicianship was met in equal proportion to great songcraft and they were one of the most talented, interesting bands of the weekend. Later, I was able to catch the trio from east Texas, Porterdavis, who’s sound reminded me of Mississippi Delta Blues facing a hard, high desert drought, in fact, they even played an amazing version of a Muddy Waters tune. After an amazing slice of artisan pizza from the Pie For The People vendors just as the sun was setting, the band O’Death prepared to take the stage. All the way from Brooklyn, O’Death generated a steady hum of anticipation from the crowd before they even went on. Taking a progressive tone with folk music like their other Brooklyn counterparts, TV on the Radio, O’Death set a frenetic dance-tone with diverse, well-timed changes of tempo that still somehow managed to have folk influences strung throughout all the songs. As the night wore on and a peaceful haze hung over the crowd, the music continued to grow funkier. Toubab Krewe brought a Malian-American, “dirty south” fusion of tribal beats and brilliant, dance-infectious grooves. A host of other great groups also played and wowed the audience they included Greensky Bluegrass, Blue Rodeo, the Sadies, Frontier Ruckus, Abalone Dots, Marianne Dissard, Alela Diane, Kelly Joe Phelps, Captain Soularcat, Alice Di Micele, Blue Mountain and of course, Rose's Pawn Shop. The party continued throughout the night both at the Hospitality Stage where Eric Madden,Wally Ingram & Friends held an all out, all-start jam session and at the VIP tent, where everyone was a VIP, enjoying free libations and congregating with the artists and organizers that colored the festival. I was struck by the communal quality of everyone involved and the general good nature of all the people from all walks of life, from Brooklyn, New York to Eugene, Oregon and all the way down to the Joshua Tree natives who made us all feel welcome. Among all those who I am truly indebted to for the great experience, I must thank Travis Klein for his exceptional organization year after year. Travis is largely responsible for the rapid, almost exponential, growth of the festival and he tells me it is only getting larger. Thanks also to all the other volunteers this year who made this event happen, and of course, thank you Mr. Barnett English for being the mastermind behind the whole thing. I personally encourage everyone to attend the next festival in May, and for a more enriching and rewarding experience, offer to volunteer and become a living, breathing part of the Joshua Tree Music Festival family. Thank you and see you next year!  Thank you Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival we had a great time. To check out the official web site for the 4th Annual Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival, click here. For more Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival photos by Stephen Torres, click here. |
Return to The Roots: A Guide to a High Desert Music Festival
