Music festivals are ideal places to turn strangers into friends and sunny days into adrenelinized nights. People from all walks of life come together and are united, if only for a weekend, by the love of music. It's a beautiful thing. Now I haven't been to any huge fests such as Bonaroo or Choachella, where the craziness is real, and I know that sometimes these gatherings aren't so pretty. Nonetheless, even if the particulars get messy, I think the overall concept is terrific.
The best summers, for me, are summers of music and community, with a touch of nuttiness in between.
Last weekend, my family trucked out to Roots N' Blues music festival, which is held every year in Columbia, Missouri. The weather was perfect, the artist line-up was top-notch, and my girl Ruthie was there with her family too. It was a joyous weekend.
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| Making friends by the VIP fence. |
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"We feel kinda embarrassed to be groupies..."
"Oh, believe me, it's worse when you're a 40-year-old man." |
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John Prine, now 68 years old and battling lung cancer, had a little grin on his face for the entire set. The majority of the rowdy 20-something audience didn't realize who he was (based on what people around me were saying), but by the second song, an awe-like breathlessness hung over the crowd. We were captivated.
I cried when he sang 'Hello In There'. |
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| ANTICIPATION. |
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| To see the Avett Brothers in concert is to experience an hour-and-a-half of pure celebration. It's loud. It's soft. It's swaying, now jumping, always with eyes closed and hands upraised. It's spontaneous dancing with your neighbor. It is bliss. |
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| Scott Avett. |
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| Seth Avett. |
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| Both Avetts. |
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| One man surrounded by hundreds of breathless souls, all connected by a song. |
Explore genres, sing in the shower, admire the legends, dip your feet and then dive into rock n roll. Go to a music festival. Music is one of the greatest gifts that the Lord sent down, and it calls for a hootin' & hollerin' celebration!
