Nashua Folk Festival - Review

Posted on September 14, 2007
Filed Under: NH News, Reviews, Events

Well, it’s official. The Nashua Folk Festival was a successful event. The weather, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired. The turnout for this first annual event was actually very good and although the crowd looked smaller because of the size of the grass area in front of the stage their participation was great. It was a true family event with everything from babies in diapers to old ladies knitting under a tree and everything in between.

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The weather for the first half of the day was perfect. Beautiful and sunny, it was an ideal day to sit on the grass and listen to some great music. The sound was great thanks to Dave Schoffield running the board and things finally kicked off with Ben Dwyer as the opening artist.

Dwyer, a solo guitarist, awed the early fans with beautiful melodies using loop effects and echoes, and then building on these with beautiful sound experimentation. The apex of Ben Dwyer’s set was his instrumental version of the classic, “Somewhere over the Rainbow”. For those who missed Dwyer, be sure to check him out in the future. Following Dwyer was Susan Murotake. Performing solo with a piano at times and a guitar others, Murotake brought a seriousness of lyric in the vein of Tori Amos to the stage. Her sweet, breathy voice pierced to the heart of her songs, singing of love lost, bitterness, and ultimately forgiveness.

By the time noon rolled around the temperature was climbing and most of the crowd had migrated to the shade of the trees. At this point vocalist/guitarist Joe Carson took the stage and played a great set. Carson is a veteran performer from Boston and although he may tell you otherwise his set was rock-solid from beginning to end. The next act up was Ryan Schmidt who showed that there are still some great young songwriters out there. His songs were both personal and accessible allowing the audience a view into his world while maintaining a low key vibe.

By mid-afternoon the crowd was treated to Chris Michaud and Glomers Alike. Their set alternated between their full complement of musicians and Chris singing solo (as well as every combination in between). Their cover of David Gray’s Babylon was a highlight and crowd favorite. The next set belonged to Building James who brought their signature upbeat indie pop sound to the stage. With a mixture of covers and original tunes, Building James rocked the crowd. As has become standard at Building James shows, guitarist Dan B. threw his G-string into the audience. The children were horrified.

At this point, the sun was still shining but the wind had picked up. Dave Coffin was next up and played a great set. Coffin, vocalist and guitarist, kept the folk vibe going even while the clouds finally moved in and the rain started coming down. We initially held out hope that the show would be able to continue but the storm only got worse. The start of the lightning finally marked the end of the shortened event. Overall it was a good day and the plans for next year’s event are already in the works. Stay tuned as more details emerge throughout the year.

Find more pictures of the event on this page. We’ll be adding more pictures as we get them.