Back to the Garden
Posted at 5:55 AM on July 28, 2009
by Dale Connelly
(19 Comments)
Radio Heartland has tickets to give away for this Saturday's "Blues At The Barn" festival at Hobgoblin Music on Highway 19 near Red Wing. This is a four hour show from 2 to 6pm, presented by and featuring talent from St. Paul's Red House Records . On the program, you'll hear Dave Moore, Ray Bonneville, Pieta Brown, The Pines, and Steve Kaul of The Brass Kings. We'll take names until 1pm on Wednesday.
Enter once.
Obey the rules.
Good luck.
This event represents an attempt by Red House Records to re-launch the summer music festival idea that the label so successfully presented as "Summerfolk" years ago, and like every outdoor music event held in a field in August, it triggers fond memories of Woodstock, especially among people who were not at Woodstock.
I was too young and way too proper to want to attend such a thing, but if I had gone I'd have brought extra food and rain gear, which would have made me the geekiest 13 year old on the property, and also a potential millionaire if only I'd brought enough to share, especially the food. But I stayed home and watched the coverage on TV instead. It looked like a horrible, uncomfortable mess. I was glad I wasn't there. Plus, the girls were way too old for me.
Still, sitting outdoors for a few hours of music is a great thing to do in the summertime, but it does require some forethought and preparation. Are you the sort of person who is content with a blanket and some sunblock, or do you plan it like an invasion, drawing up menus, packing rosters, angles of attack for lawn chair placement and encampment logistics? Any useful advice is much appreciated by those planning to take advantage of what remains of the outdoor concert season.
Comments (19)
Morning Heartlanders!
Just put my name in the hat for Saturday. I love outdoor concerts - I remember some of the outdoor PHC from years ago. In fact, just enjoyed an evening of Beethoven on the Quad of Washington U last week. As the sun went down, the cicadas that live in the quad trees got louder and louder. If we'd been much farther back on the lawn, it might have been hard to hear over them!
I admit, I'm a big fan of those fold-up chairs - sitting on the ground on a blanket, while a warm and nostalgic thought, is not as much fun as when I was younger. But a good sandwich, some lemonade and maybe some cookies are all I need for food. If the dining gets too complicated, then it takes some of the fun out of it for me.
Wish me luck in the drawing, everyone. Since you all know I'm the Susan Lucci of drawings!!
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College has free outdoor concerts the month of July - on thursday nights (one left this week - Celtic music). they have free popcorn, and usually someone is selling brats and rootbeer floats. it's a pleasant evening and all we bring is lawn chairs.
and the Highway 61 Folk Festival is this weekend in Mahtowa - "the cultural hub of Carlton County" and there will be plenty of free, outdoor music.
nice, chilly morning here - Ha det!
Hi Radio Heartland, my out-standing memory of an outdoor concert is listening to Leon Russell in the rain at Parade Stadium a good many years ago! We sat on the ground on a blanket, and from the way the audience was acting I don't think they cared that it was raining, or that they knew where they were for that matter. It was an experience that has stayed with me.
The Shakespeare Festival in Winona has hosted some amazing outdoor (small) concerts that are much more "civilized" than the one that stands out in my mind....
If it's not raining I am fine sitting on a blanket with some junk food,
Always so happy to hear Radio Heartland and watch the blog!!!
The summer of Woodstock I was staying with a family on Cape Cod, we dropped the youngest daughter off at Woodstock, midst rain and too many cars...she stayed, we left.
Rain isn't good, but sitting in the sun on the ground or in a chair for any length of time is less and less appealing the older I get...and, obviously from Woodstock story, I am OLD!
Good luck, Sherrilee. Barb, see you in Mahtowa...or, you can join me on my screen porch and we'll listen from there.
Ha det and Happy Tuesday..
If possible, I like to find a place to sit under a tree for shade, but these spot are usually all taken by the time I get there.
I have been to some of the Red House summer concerts and even remember seeing Dale wandering around at one of them. I remember seeing Dean Magraw wearing a shirt with one sleave removed, Peter Ostrusko couldn't resist asking the audience what they thought of Dean's shirt
The vast majority of the outdoor concerts I have attended have been at the Lake Harriet Bandshell. There are benches and concessions right there, so you don't have to bring much (which is good since, especially when I was a kid, I arrived by bicycle).
For outdoor Shakespeare, however, I pack: folding camp chair, food for myself and at least two others, drinks, bug spray, amusements for Daughter if she comes along (she likes the plays but gets a little distracted at the 1 hr mark), possibly a blanket, jacket for when it inevitably gets cold, sometimes a little something for one of the actors...used to pack wine or beer, but the rep company I go see had to put the kibosh on that for legal reasons (pooh).
i find 4 way blotter acid and a bag of joints and a wine skin full of lambrusco is the only way to go. i think this was my formula for outdoor concerts but i can't remember for sure
i love the red wing facility. the old red house shindigs were great with greg brown. dave moore, connie evingston, john gorka, and a bunch of others on a beautiful river sight with a marvelous stage.
i see there is vip seating. does this mean there will be chairs in the front? i hope not. we are getting old but lets leave the outdoor concert premise as an uncivilized free for all as it should be.
My favorite outdoor concerts were the pre-4th of July celebrations in Bloomington when our daughters were young enough to appreciate the Teddy Bear Band in the late afternoon and then listen to (and eventually play in) the Medalist Band concert right before the fireworks.
We packed out chairs, blankets, games, picnic baskets and even fancy jello parfaits one year! Of course, one person from the group must arrive early enough to get the good spot! We've been to many outdoor concerts from Oregon to the MN State Fair to East coast venues --- but there's nothing like a concert before fireworks with young children!!
Good luck all you RHers in the contest!!
Tim - no matches or lighter? Very funny!
I vaguely remember the Woodstock coverage. I was 12 and was staying with a friend for a few days. I do remember we were out in her back yard one night, and a very cool older boy came and sat with us. He was from Boulder, CO, visiting relatives next door. He told us a lot about his city, mainly how great it was for taking trips (not the traveling kind). Then he tore off some leaves from a bush in the backyard, took them inside and baked them (I don't know where the relatives were), crushed them, rolled them up in I don't know what, and smoked them. A few seconds into it, he said, " Yea, I'm stoned." My friend and I took a few puffs, but all it did for me was give me bad breath.That was my one and only illegal drug experience and I'm pretty sure it wasn't the real stuff.
Dale, could you fit in Nick Lowe's, People Change, this morning? I didn't tune in til 7 and see you played another one by him earlier. Is it against the rules to play more than one by the same artist the same day?
Or...because of the sighting Jim mentioned having of you at the folk festival, we could also hear, The Happy Wanderer.
Hi-
Unrelated comment-- I seem to have a lot of annoying fading in and out on the HD radio yesterday and today. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Morning Show outdoor broadcasts...I attended one in Rochester in the early 90s...in July, with winter jacket to begin the day, including .a skipping stone contest, Dean Magraw, Lou and Peter Berryman, Ann Reed...very sweet.
Oh, and the indoor/outdoor broadcast in Grand Marais with Michael Monroe and some wonderfully funny women whose name I can't remember.
I missed the one at glensheen and many others...
Dale, you and Jim Ed did some great live morning shows...
My favorite outdoor concerts were listening to my mom play in the Owatonna City Band :) We would only need to bring a blanket or chairs, as there was usually a guy selling popcorn and pop there. I joined the band in 8th grade, and continued playing well into college. I had so much fun in the band, and I know my mom still continues to enjoy it.
I try and tend to be laid back and take things in stride. My wife is the staunch Germanic planner. This is no more evident than when we travel...
I generally don't get too terribly excited about concerts and only go when someone I really want to see is playing. Something about having spent 10 years of my youth as 'crowd control,' seems to have soured me a little.
Still, I did attend a couple of shows over the last couple of months. My sister got tickets to a couple of concerts at Lucious Woods in Solon Springs. A nice little outdoor venue and they get some very good regional acts. Just saw Monroe Crossing last weekend. Most folks are watching the show in lawn chairs, so if you're one of the 'blanket types,' you might want to settle up the slope from the bandshell so you can see.
Thanks for playing People Change. Stoned Soul Picnic was a treat too. I'm feeling very special hearing that I get to help make up the rules!
I am in agreement with Cynthia regarding the shows done on the road by the Morning Show. I very much enjoyed one done in St. Peter that included Claudia Schmidt.
well, good, donna, cuz after all, we ALL want to feel special ! :-)
ah, tim, bless you for being brave enough to be honest about your past concert experiences....
for wholesome outdoor concerts, i always remember the 4th of july ones at terrace park (?) in sioux falls--sousa marches and fireworks were an exciting combination.
as a teen and twenty-something, i think most of my experiences were like tim's--although it tended to be the guys who brought the various mood enhancers and the girls brought the food :-) it was as much about the partying and the girl-boy connections as it was about the music and being outdoors and feeling very free--
i remember hearing/seeing the band Boston at the Great Bear ski area one gorgeous summer afternoon, while floating pleasantly from joints and beer....ah, the old days.
Kay H - what the hell did you have for breakfast??
We were lucky enough to live in Winnipeg for 6 years, and we always went to the Winnipeg Folk Festival and would spend 2 or 3 days out there. It was very important to bring a lage tarp to sit on, as well as equpment for cold rain and/or blazing heat. Good jigging shoes were also a must (although bare feet worked pretty well for dancing, too). We also took a Radio Flyer coaster wagon to haul things. It got really complicated when we had eventually had infants in tow, but we wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Back in the mid-eighties, a group of my friends and I caravanned up to the Winnipeg Folk Festival for four or five years running. It was a great, great time. Anyone who loves Radio Heartland would feel very welcome there. We were fortunate that we never had to contend with anything but heat and a bit of rain (which was usually refreshing) for those days. Renee's tips are worth noting. The first year we camped, but the subsequent years we went for a motel, because we are major wusses and enjoy our creature comforts.
The afternoons were spent at the workshops held at smaller stages, where you could get up close to the artists and even have a chance to talk to them. In the evening, the action shifted to the main stage, where we listened to wonderful music as the prairie twilight surrounded us and myriad stars came out. Life doesn't get any better than that!
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