Downtown Tucsonan - May 2008 - (Page 12)

Vital Signs Tucson o A Downtown Tradition By Jim Lypson Balalaika orchestra, set this festival on its non-traditional path. the format was simple with each artist playing a 25-minute set. unfortunately, the festival’s early years were not always so blessed with great attendance and good vibes. Poor marketing, volunteer burnout, construction within the park, an inability to settle on a specific weekend and conflicts with other cultural events were all a part of the festival’s growing pains. Fortunately, those days seem long gone with attendance now running at 5-10,000 people over the course of a weekend. Many of course do come to see the headliners. Folk icons such as Ritchie Havens and odetta have graced the folk fest stage. Lesser known stars however— Laura Love, John cowan, Rory Block, aztec two-step, the austin Lounge Lizards and chris smithers (amongst many others) have also enjoyed tremendous success and crowd response. still, the essence of this festival is in the wealth of talent from folks who do not tour for a living. In the late 1990s, no longer able to accommodate all these deserving musicians on its two stages, festival organizers decided to branch out. thus began the ill-fated Library stage experiment. the initial idea for another stage to allow more acts to participate was a good one in spirit. But the crowds that supported the Plaza and courtyard stages just could not bring themselves to cross church avenue to see the bands at the Library. three years ago, this stage was mercifully put to rest. street crossings however, would pose no such problems once beer was involved, or so went the thinking when old town artisans decided it wanted to get in on the act. this stage was a hit from the get-go and in 2003 it marked a Festival significant expansion as the festival made its way north of alameda street. with more and more musicians applying to get in to the festival, tKMa organizers in cooperation with still another downtown partner, created a fourth stage. this one, within the expansive plaza at the tucson Museum of art, thus allowed the festival to annex still another piece of valuable downtown real estate. this year will mark tKMa’s third year at the Museum which also features a beer garden within its confines. sunday at the festival, will also herald the second year of the new artists stage featuring up-and-coming performers under the age of 18. throw in a songwriters competition (which draws national attention), three different kids shows, a gospel sing-along, a ballad tree, various workshops, and a pre-festival kickoff party at old town on Friday evening and it’s hard to imagine what this festival doesn’t have to offer. For more than 10 years the festival has settled into the first weekend in May. sometimes hot, sometimes windy, this is always an exciting time to be an acoustic musician or acoustic music lover. Festival headliners this year include Marley’s Ghost and Billy Jonas on saturday and Marley’s Ghost and Ruthie Foster on sunday. For more detailed information on them as well as all of this year’s performers, and a full schedule of events and all five stages, go to www. tkma.org. Based in Downtown’s El Presidio Park, this year’s 23rd annual Tucson Folk Festival will run from noon-10 pm on Saturday, May 3 and 11 am - 9 pm on Sunday, May 4. ver the past 22 years, the tucson Folk Festival has established itself as a local, regional and even national event. with over 100 acts spread over 5 stages and a full weekend of music, workshops and related activities, this free festival has established itself as one of the country’s largest and most unique events of its kind. what tends to be forgotten, however, is how this homegrown festival has become a seasonal downtown institution as well. Back in 1986, the newly minted tucson Kitchen Musicians association (tKMa) knew it wanted to sponsor a free, outdoor acoustic music festival that would feature not just one or two headliners but many acts, each one a headliner in its own right. also, no one was quite sure how downtown’s El Presidio Park would work out. Ensconced in concrete and surrounded by ominous county buildings, El Presidio is not set up like a traditional park. But utilizing the grassy courtyard outside the old Pima county courthouse at the east end of the Park to put up a second stage (with the main Plaza stage at the west end of the park by city Hall), the festival took on a multi-dimensional look and feel that would not have been possible in a more traditional setting such as Reid Park. (Reid Park in fact was used for tKMa’s second festival which was an abject disaster due to cold, rainy weather and low flying jets.) the success of that first year was unparalleled in that no one knew if and how it was all going to come together. somehow it did and approximately 50 different acts—from singer/songwriters to bluegrass bands, to folk/blues artists to the drumsong percussion ensemble and the 20 plus member 12 downtown tucsonan.may.08 http://www.tkma.org http://www.tkma.org

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Downtown Tucsonan - May 2008 Contents From the Editor Downtown Lowdown Vital Signs Downtown Live Arts Galleries Performances Vital Signs Continued Events Film Museums Billboard Classifieds

Downtown Tucsonan - May 2008

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