Dearest Partner keenly missed the Philadelphia Folk Festival in Schwenksville last weekend. It's a highlight of his summer. He has developed a whole ritual for packing his gear and he knows just when he needs to arrive to snag his preferred spot in the campground. He loves seeing his "Fest friends," and all year round, he becomes endearingly sentimental talking about the feeling of "coming home" he gets upon entering the Old Poole Farm.
But with a live show impossible this year, the Philadelphia Folksong Society went digital, airing recorded performances by the musicians who were supposed to appear. We logged in and watched quite a bit over the weekend. The one singer I was especially looking forward to seeing was Billy Bragg, who I've enjoyed since his "She's Got a New Spell" days. He was supposed to perform on Sunday afternoon, but instead they aired a tribute to the late John Prine. But that's the nature of live music, and they did warn us that the schedule was "subject to change without notice."
During a break in the music, Society Executive Director Justin Nordell went down on one knee and proposed to his boyfriend, Dr. David Koren, on camera (he said yes!).
The Society also made available footage from prior Fests dating back to the 1980s (the 2020 show was the 59th annual Fest). We had fun watching David Myles, Tommy Emmanuel and Tom Rush, and D.P. got nostalgic rewatching shows he had seen live. It's amazing how the quality of video production has improved in the past few decades.
D.P. made some noises about pitching his tent in the backyard and sleeping outside, but somehow that never happened. The heavy rainstorms and muddy aftermath would've almost completed the full Fest experience.
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