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Tag: folk music

  • La Kermesse Franco-Americaine and Skowhegan Farmer’s Market in June

    "The La Kermesse float passes on Jefferson Street in Biddeford as riders wave to spectators during a parade kicking off the 36th annual La Kermesse Franco-Americaine Festival. — Staff photo by Derek Davis." This is a quotation from the Portland Press Herald website describing the original photo. The float includes many of the circular emblems for the festival, which include a green frog and the year, as well as "C'est le temps," the motto of La Kermesse.
    Photo from the Portland Press Herald: “A parade through downtown Biddeford kicks off the 36th annual La Kermesse Franco-Americaine Festival. The La Kermesse float passes on Jefferson Street as riders wave to spectators.” (Photo by Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)

    Two new performance dates in June to share, and both are in the spirit of intimacy, “plein-air,” perception, and local community. I’m especially honored to play at La Kermesse Franco-Americaine Festival this year. The festival has served to preserve French Canadian heritage in Biddeford-Saco, Maine for over 40 years. A lot of my middle school students and their families know it simply as their local fair. I’ll be playing for 90 minutes, with a mix of my own stuff and covers, perhaps some in French! I’m thinking especially of “Le temps de vivre” by Georges Moustaki—one because it’s the summer solstice; and two, because the festival’s motto is “C’est le temps.” “It’s time.“

    La Kermesse Franco-Americaine Festival is June 21, 2025 at 2:30pm. The fairgrounds are at St. Louis Field, 284 Hill Street in Biddeford, Maine.

    https://www.lakermessefestival.com/

    The second date is at the Skowhegan Farmer’s Market. There’s a friendly community of people in that area that I know through my partner’s family. This year’s organizer of the music often plays at the East Madison Grange Hall open mic when I’m there—and she’s wonderful. I played a few years ago and left with a lot of gorgeous complimentary produce.

    Skowhegan Farmer’s Market is June 28, 2025 from 10am to 1pm. The market is at 42 Court St in Skowhegan, Maine.

    https://www.skowheganfarmersmarket.com/

  • Chico States at The Apohadion Theater June 8th

    Flyer for Lily Seabird, Hemlock, The Clearwater Swimmers, and Chico States at The Apohadion Theater in Portland, Maine on June 8th at 7pm, $10 cover. Flyer features a reservoir of water reflecting clouds and a windmill in a blue western sky. The text was created on burnt paper; three matches and a few hand-drawn butterflies sit three-dimensionally upon the picture's surface.

    I’m excited to share that Chico States will be playing with a great lineup on June 8th at The Apohadion Theater in Portland. It also happens to be the birthday of our bandleader Joe Barresi. We’ve played with The Clearwater Swimmers before, at Oxbow. And we’ve also played with Lily Seabird, in a way…

    Last winter we traveled to Burlington, VT for a house show with Greg Freeman, Jes, and Vega. Little did I know that the two friends Greg asked to join him were Francie Medosch, of Florry, and Lily Seabird. Each played some of their own songs and they were so good! When Medosch played, I thought, “This person definitely has something and could do a lot if she feels like it.” I found out later from Joe that she definitely does do a lot, in this great band Florry. It was a naive way to see them all for the first time, only realizing later that they’re hustling so hard out in the world.

    My favorite thing was sitting in a big recliner with a few beers and listening to an hour of Beatles songs, perfectly played on a piano, by a group of partygoers with inordinate grace. Lily kind of ran the piano and I’ve since learned that she also does her own songs very damn well. She put on Trash Mountain on Lame-O Records in April. Joe also informed me that the house itself was called Trash Mountain, so I feel lucky to have participated. Anyway, we’re very grateful to play in this show! It’s at 7pm and the cover is $10. Would love to see you there.

  • En chantant Mama You Been On My Mind de Bob Dylan dans le froid avec guitare slide

    Peu de temps après je suis arrivé dans le Maine, j’ai crée une série s’appelle des « Karaokes », des chansons folks avec vidéo qui incluent Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Raw Honey, et moi-même. J’ai enregistré chaque chanson, assez vite, et l’écouté en train de chanter silencieusement devant mon MacBook. J’aimais bien cette forme et j’en ferais peut-être d’autres. Une des façons en commun entre les enregistrements: un sac de riz pour des percussions simples.

    English:

    Not long after I arrived in Maine, I created a series called “Karaokes,” folk songs with video that include Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Raw Honey, and myself. I recorded each song, fairly quickly, and listened to it while singing silently in front of my MacBook. I liked this form and maybe I’ll make some others. Of the aspects in common between the recordings: a bag of rice for simple percussion.

  • Singing Neil Young’s “Razor Love” in a cloistered apartment in Maine

    When I first moved to Maine, it was the tail-end of the pandemic, January 2021, and the little bedroom I made inside an otherwise disheveled apartment was a strange refuge. I only lived there 8 months, but there was a certain peace to the room and it was possible to cross a lot of mental distance in the 10×10 space. I’d go from the room to the kitchen, to the porch to the neighborhoods, and that little corridor of movement was where a lot of things started, including l-o-v-e.

    As spring neared, I was recording things very offhand, just spurts of “feeling like it,” but they were turning out well. I’d add slide guitar accompaniment, drop a bag of white rice on the table for percussion, and a day later lip-sync and record my face on the laptop. These mini-projects felt more me than previous visuals, and more expressive than I’d felt with traditional songs in quite a while. I shared them on social media, especially in anticipation of releasing Raw Honey’s Riverbed album (see “Attic Stairs.“)

    I captioned them “Saturday night karaoke” or similar, so now I’m calling it a karaoke series. Here’s another one going up on the Big Web today.