Where else but the annual Northwest Folklife Festival can you see over a thousand performances representing 100 countries on simultaneous stages? You can round out your day at the Seattle Center event with arts and crafts, handmade instruments, cuisine, street performers, dance, educational programs, the instrument auction and more! To find out all the NW Folklife Fesival offers go to www.nwfolklife.org/
The Northwest Folklife Festival is still FREE after all these years. You'll see volunteers selling NW Folklife buttons, we encourage you to buy one if you can. Believe it or not, the sale of these buttons is a major reason the event still has no door charge. All shows (except those held in the EMP Liquid Lounge) are all-ages, some have a separate beer garden near the stage.
You can find out the full scoop on everything about NW Folklife including their complete schedule at www.nwfolklife.org .
FRIDAY, MAY 27
Friday has many worthwhile musical offerings, but the early portion of the day is lacking blues. The Mural Amphitheatre has back to back Jazz Bands from various schools from noon to 5pm, notably Whatcom County's Mount Baker Middle School Jazz from 12:50-1:30pm. It's not blues, but those school stage bands incubate some fine players that'll be out on the scene in just a few years.
In the evening you've got a number of options. Anne Weiss plays her Funky Blues and Folk at the EMP Liquid Lounge at 7pm. The Solo Blues stage at Henry Weinhard's NW Court Stage has Brian Butler at 7pm, Rick Ross at 7:45pm, PK Dwyer at 8:30pm and Walker T Ryan at 9:15pm. You Big Band Swing Dance fans should gravitate to the Big Bamboo Dance Hall from 7-11pm to hear a variety of live swing dance bands.
SATURDAY MAY 28
Now that's more like it, Saturday blues at Folklife abound! Start your day with Eric Madis on the Back Porch Stage at 11:40am. Dave Mullany performs his slide guitar on that same stage at 1pm. Also at 1pm is the Third Place Books Narrative Stage's program from Marc and Ann Savoy titled "What IS Cajun Culture?" Jack Cook and the Phantoms of Soul bring their downhome obscurities to the Fisher Green Stage at 1:40pm. Got a pepper in yer shoe? Check out Cayene performing Cajun music at 5pm on the Bagley Lawn Stage.
Saturday is also West to East Swing Dance Day at the Big Bamboo Dance Hall from noon to 11pm. You can catch some great bands including Becki Sue and Her Big Rockin' Daddies at 12:30pm, The Roy Kay Trio at 1:30pm, Cash for Junkers at 2:30pm, Paul Anastasio's Western Swing Bash at 3:30pm, The Johnny Gimble Band at 4:30pm, 1920's music from Al's Novelty Syncopaters at 7pm, Portage Bay Big Band at 8pm, Zazou at 9pm and Tim Casey and the Bluescats end the day's hot line-up with their 10:15pm show. It should be noted that dance lessons and demo's are offered between band performances, so you can learn to swing dance for free right in the Big Bamboo.
You can help support the Northwest Folklife Festival in a meaningful way (and hear some great music too!) by attending the Saturday Northwest Folklife Benefit Concert from 8-10pm at McCaw Hall. This fundraising event does have a cost, $15 at the festival or $12 if you get your tickets in advance. The Savoy Family Cajun Band will serve up their cookin' cajun music, family style!
SUNDAY MAY 29
Workshops: Attend Guitar Workshops Galore, all day at the Experience Music project (EMP) Learning Lab. Some specifics include the 11am Guitar and Harmonica at the same time with Mark Iler, Intro to Country Blues with Walker T. Ryan at 5pm and Slide Guitar in the key of E with Nick Vigarino at 6pm. Other workshops of interest in other Folklife locations include Bottleneck guitar with Stanislove at 2pm in the Seattle Children's Theatre Workshop Room 1, Women in Blues Panel in Seattle Children's Theatre workshop Room 3 at 1pm with Marlee Walker, Laurette Langille, Mary Flower and the Red Hot Blues Sisters and a Cajun Accordian Workshop held in the same space at 2:30pm by the Savoy Family Band.
The Louisiana Dance Party takes over the Big Bamboo Dance Hall on Sun., May 29th for the NW Folklife Festival from noon-6pm. The days line-up includes Cajun twin fiddle dance music from Capuchon at 12:30pm, Les Femmes D'Enfer at 1:30pm, File' Gumbo at 2:30pm, Zydeco Locals at 3:45pm and the Savoy Family Band at 4:45pm.
Seattle Women's Magazine and KSER sponsor the Women in Blues or Red Hot Blues Women Concert (it's showing up with both titles in various promo we've seen her at the Blueslamp) from 7-10 on the Henry Weinhard NW Court Stage. The event includes lap slide player Mary Flower at 7pm, Bellingham's blueslady Laurette Langille at 7:40pm, Alice Stuart at 8:20pm and the Red Hot Blues Sisters band at 9:10pm.
Lightnin' slide, delta funk from wild bluesman Nick Vigarino happens in the Snoqualmie Room at 7:55pm.
Passin It On: Generations at Folklife from 7-10pm in McCaw Hall will include opening act Ben & Von Walden, father and 13 year old blues prodigy son from Moscow, Idaho. The Johnny Gimble Band with three generations of Texas Swing appears at 9pm as part of this program also.
Reverand Chumleigh's Outdoor Cinema happens at 9pm on the Fisher Green Stage with his 20's and 30's music soundies and rare cartoons.
MONDAY MAY 30
Workshops: Eric Madis leads a Flatpicking the Blues as a Solo Artist class at noon in the Learning Lab at EMP. and Steve Lalor leads an Open Tunings class also at EMP at 4pm. Alan Roberts leads a Southern Gospel Singing Workshop at 2pm in the Intiman Courtyard and Pat Wright and the Total Experience Gospel Choir lead an African American Gospel Music Workshop in that same location at 6pm.
Moday morning at 11am has Garrett & Benoit performing their eclectic folk and blues on the Rainier Room stage, broadcast live on KBCS radio in case you're still to sleepy to make it to the Seattle Center site of the NW Folklife Festival in person!
Derek and Friends play 'progressive Jesus blues and folk' on the Back Porch Stage at 12:20pm, and Andrews & Lawrence bring their old time gospel music review to that same stage at 1:40pm. Speaking of gospel, the Mural Amphitheatre has gospel music and dance from 1-5ish pm, the line-up includes the Total Experience Gospel Choir at 4:50pm.
There'll be traditional Cajun and Creole music at the Fisher Green stage Monday from 8:20-9pm with Jamais trop tard.
Keep your eyes and ears open all weekend at the Northwest Folklife Festival, all the cool music isn't happening on stage. Tip the street musicians and drink in the atmosphere, Seattle Center is never quite as fun as it is on Memorial weekend, rain or shine!
at the Northwest Folklife Festival has moved to http://www.blueslamp.com/feature/folklifeblues2004.html