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Summerfolk Anecdotes & Insider Reports!

August 21, 2007

As always Summerfolk was busy with incredible experiences, some more prone to self-censorship than others. I am totally unwilling, for instance, to tell our readers just how many empty beer bottles we had left at our site after the weekend. On the other hand, I’d be more than happy to discuss the amazing quality of jamming that went down in the campground across the Eddie Sargent! Here are some of my personal Summerfolk highlights!

  • The Camouflaged Camper

    • Dave Solomon & the Camo TrailerWe arranged to have a camper on our site for the weekend. It came complete with a stereo, a fridge, an arrow stuck in it’s stern, and a skull & crossbones flag! We tried to make it the landmark for our campground, but true to it’s camouflaged nature it kept disappearing from sight! Thanks to Travis for lending it to us for the weekend!

  • Dave Solomon & the Campfire Jams

    • I arranged it so that most of Owen Sound’s best young musicians were staying at my campsite. Our roster included Pete Devlin, Dave Solomon, Andrew Carr, Joel Morelli, Tyler Wagler and myself. The results were incendiary as our campfire.

    Dave Solomon

    Of particular note was Dave Solomon, who’s powerhouse voice could be heard from everywhere in the tent village. At several moments on Saturday night I was sitting around my peaceful campfire when I heard Dave’s voice lift over the grounds like a fiery bird. His infectious soulful voice would catch up the campground, and on several occasions the whole place from the north end to the south was cheering him on. Ryan later said he could hear Dave singing from his home five blocks away!

  • Dave & Andrew Carr Working the Family Connection

    • One of my many best friends from the area is a man named Andrew Carr. His father is a famous voice in Owen Sound. In fact, it might be fair to call Dave Carr THE voice of Owen Sound. Anyways, as the official MC of Summerfolk, Dave gets a free pass to the festival and he gets passes for his family. It had been several years since Andrew’s last Summerfolk, so this summer Dave called him up and demanded that he come from Toronto and a busy musical career to help add a family element to their festivities. This meant that every night after the beer tent shut down and we all went home to our site, we’d be tickled to see Dave Carr drive up the Eddie Sargent Parkway with his windows down, yelling “Goodnight Andrew!!”, and Andrew yelling over his shoulder without even looking, “Goodnight Dad!” Our whole campsite would laugh and laugh, and then the ritual would be repeated at ten the next day as Dave drove up the Parkway yelling, “Good morning Andrew!”. Good ol’ Summerfolk!!

  • Jamming Sunday Night at the Motel

    • On Sunday evening after the amazing Jim Cuddy Band show and all the end of Summerfolk traditions, our campsite was visited by Shaman Ayerhart who won a spot playing Summerfolk by dazzling the open stage Homemade Jam tent last summer. Shaman invited our campsite up to the motel where the musicians live for the weekend. Traditionally there is a Sunday night jam up there that defies description. I will have to make an attempt. While up there I got to jam with Shaman, Mike Agranoff, Rod Ramsey, The Farewell Drifters, Michael Den Tandt and many others. The scene was fantastic! The beer was cheap, the vibe celebratory. While we were up there Pete Devlin and Dave Solomon found out that they were to be given gigs at next year’s Summerfolk! I would possibly have been a little jealous but then I got to meet the festival’s artistic director, Richard Knechtel. He assured me he had heard my songs and hopes to get me a Summerfolk gig soon. I was truly ecstatic to hear those words!! I was also really excited to jam with Rod Ramsey who is a local legend on the harmonica, and I was stoked to find out that Michael Den Tandt, the Sun Times Editor-in-Chief, is an amazing guitarist with a really really nice voice! I love that there are so many talented local musicians to jam with around here!

    Well, those are my favorite anecdotes from Summerfolk 2007. We would like to extend the opportunity to share your favorite moments from this or any other Summerfolk with us and your community. Please write up your favorite Summerfolk experiences and send them along! Also, we are building a Summerfolk community photo album and would welcome any digital photography you would be willing to share. If you have any photos you would like to share with our readers, please send them to photos@theowen.com
    To view the gallery thus far click here! Thanks to everyone who made this year’s Summerfolk the best ever (yet again)!!!

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    Written by adam · Filed Under Summerfolk, The Arts, Concerts, theOwen 

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