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Eaglewood: Songs from the woods
Set on the grounds of a summer camp, Eaglewood Folk Festival celebrates the singer songwriter. The workshop areas
are wooded and shady, and form their own natural enclave. The workshop stages were about as interactive as it gets,
and the songs many and varied. The site itself was open and sunny, the main stage, a deck off the farmhouse. We
got to sit on the lawn and listen to some exceptional musicians, as the sun set and the stars came out.
Lights over the pond at Eaglewood
I had a good start to this festival before I made it out of the parking lot. There on the main stage was my friend,
Don Bray, and the sound was carried out to us. (unfortunately Don was off the stage by the time Beth got out her
camera) Terry Tufts closed the evening with stellar guitar playing and powerful singing. In between were Ron Nigrini,
Keith Glass and Magoo. All great! Not a bad welcome.
Magoo...... and Valdy
The workshops we had were made for singing or playing along and people did. Over the weekend Dave and I performed
with Rob Lamothe, Lisa Winn, David Bradstreet, Paul Langille and Katherine Wheatley. I enjoyed hearing everyone,
all the various styles brought to the table. We played twice at the Darrel Murphy Acoustic Stage, sans mics of
course - very enjoyable.
Darrel Murphy Acoustic Stage
Catching Lynn Miles, backed by Keith Glass, was an Eaglewood musical highlight, with Lynn doing material from her
splendid CD "Unraveled". That album is never out of the CD player in our van, and is the one I go back
to consistently. "Unraveled" is an exceptional recording in every way. Follow that with Tom Wilson and
then Valdy and the evening was complete.
Keith Glass and Lynn Miles
We played Sunday night main stage, to pitch darkness past the stage lights. The voices singing seemed to come out
of nowhere and sounded beautiful. Then came a special performance by Michael Lewis, a man with many, many friends
and a huge heart.
David and Dave, main stage
Betty and the Bobs came, played and conquered with a high spirited and tight set. Great players and singers all.
They switched instruments and leads with impunity, building the set the entire time. Suzie Vinick's voice was something
else.
Earlier in the afternoon there had been a guitar workshop, entitled Acoustic Guitar Summit #2. This featured David
Essig, Paul Langille, Dave Clarke, Jason Fowler and Jamie Oakes. Wendell Fergusson was lying on the grass just
listening if you can believe that? The playing was astonishing, whether individually or in a group, and the varying
styles were once again apparent.
David Essig hosted that stage, and closed the festival with a riveting performance. It seemed appropriate to end
with a singer songwriter, in keeping with the feel of the festival. I was playing David's CD as we left the site
that night, the guitar and lonely voice forming a perfect background to the figures tearing the staging down for
another year. Many thanks to Doug McArthur for putting together such an accessible festival, a good place to listen
and talk to the players, and for us to meet the voices on the other side of the lights.
Until the next letter,
All the best from the Townships,
David
parachute over the Darrel Murphy Stage
back home
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photos by Beth
Terry Tufts
Ron Nigrini
Paul Langile, David, Dave, Ron and Katherine
Wheatly
David, Dave, Rob Lamonthe and David Bradstreet
David, Dave, Paul and Lisa Winn
Tom Wilson and Suzie Vinick
Wendell Ferusson
Wendell, Suzie, Bill Brennan, Suzie Schlanger,
Kathrine Wheatly and Dave Mathison, Betty and the Bobs
David Essig closes
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