eddie from ohio journal August 7, 2004

What should have been a seven hour drive to our sixth appearance at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival turned into a ten hour schlep thanks to torrential rain, suspect road maintenance (do y'all ever pay taxes up there?), and general lethargy on the part of your Favorite Fearless Folk Foursome. By the time we got to the festival grounds the rain had passed and the entire place had been turned into a mudslide of epic proportions. We checked in, had a beer, and drove to our dry comfy hotel. Don't let the beat up RV and acoustic instruments fool you, folks--we're prima donnas.

The next morning we woke up refreshed after a good nights sleep and breakfast at a local diner. Went to the festival where the sun was shining again and a fun day of music and friends awaited us. One of the things we love most about Falcon Ridge is it is often our only chance all year long to catch up with many of our artist friends. And catch up we did. Lucy Kaplansky was there with her baby daughter, Molly. Ellis Paul was there looking happy and tired, having left his wife and two-week old daughter at home. And probably our dearest friends in the business, Eric Lowen and Dan Navarro, were there playing FRFF for the very first time. We played our mainstage set at 8:30 Saturday night and it was truly one of the most memorable we've had there. Some nights, the show just clicks and it's more like riding a wave than anything else. You just have to hop on and enjoy the ride.
Well, this was one of those nights. Fun and effortless. We played well, the connection with the crowd was strong. Only wish it could have gone on much much longer. We did get to return to the stage an hour or so later to join Lowen and Navarro on two of their songs, "Just to See You" , and "We Belong". Magical stuff.

After the show we visited the Pirates Patch, aka, Camp Ed-Head (you see, almost all the fesivarians camp at Falcon Ridge, and many artists have fans that form these large camps, or compounds named after the artist. Yep, we're huge.) Free booze and spinach dip. Can't beat it with a stick. Thanks guys--you're the best camp this side of Camp Ellis (they had Vienna Sausages and Red Bull. It's good to have goals.).

On Sunday we played the Gospel Workshop at 11am. Always a highlight of our year, we were joined by Vance Gilbert, Girlyman, Mark Erelli, and the Kennedys. We sang, cheered, and praised our chosen deity or non-deity. I once again came within a nanosecond of converting until I realized that life would be meaningless without matzoh ball soup.

All in all, another great year at Falcon Ridge. Can't wait for number seven!

Love and Kisses (only $1.50!!),
Robbie