One of the common threads in most of what I say about Newport Folk is along the theme of “friends” or “family”. Whenever I see someone I know on a stage, someone that started in the same pool that I did (in this case that pool being the Cambridge/Somerville/Boston music community), it makes me extremely happy and proud to see them attain success.
Last year was the year of LSD…Lake Street Dive that is. That other stuff was sometime in the late 60s. The quartet exploded into a national spotlight and were (in my opinion) pigeoned into an inaccurate hole of “an overnight success”. These 4 have been working hard at this thing for years now. Relentless touring, night after night gigging. All the success of this band is so well deserved and makes me smile from ear to ear.
Their set at Newport last year was electric. The crowd was dancing in their seats, then up out of their seats. Even Ms. Mavis Staples herself couldn’t contain herself and joined the band on stage to belt out alongside Rachel Price. A lot of emotions flood around the fort in that late July weekend time frame but the waves washing out over the audience at the Quad that day was one in particular: pure joy.
