#Mass moca bluegrass festival free

What was once the main stage is now the smallest stage used to showcase the Freshgrass awards finalists. The audience just kept getting sucked deeper and deeper into the musical world they created, whether it was one member being able to showcase her own voice and talents or when they were harmonizing together. It was one of the rare times when each song was even better than the one before it. Their joy and enthusiasm was contagious, and each member truly had a chance to shine all on their own. It might have been how much they truly enjoy playing together. All three of these women are accomplished solo artists, but as a trio they reached otherworldly levels. I have no idea how I can describe a folk supergroup featuring Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O’Donovan as 'surprisingly good,' but somehow I'm With Her were surprisingly good. They inspired what I assume was the first ever Freshgrass mosh pit with favorites like 'Black Friday Rule' and 'The Likes of You Again.' Friday night they played Riot Fest in Chicago, Sunday night they rejoined Dropkick Murphys to restart their co-headlining tour together, but Saturday night they played a little bluegrass festival in the northwest corner of Massachusetts. Dave King asked if they were bluegrass after a particularly vicious Dennis Casey guitar solo. They made no adjustments to their sound to try to fit into the festival like the Pixies's acoustic performance at Newport Folk in 2005. Sullivan' from 2017's Life is Good they played loudly and furiously for their set. The crowd was tense and restless as the evening wore on, but those feelings were gone as soon as their heroes took the stage. Then they had their own sound issues to work out, leading them to start over an hour late. The bluegrass Grateful Dead tribute started twenty minutes late and then proceeded to play long and twenty more minutes into Flogging Molly's set time. They did have to wait a lot longer than expected. There were a lot of fans just there for Saturday night's headliners, Flogging Molly. Do yourself a favor and make no excuses next time she's in your area.Īs the sun started setting on North Adams, the attendees' t-shirts started switching from freshly purchased Trampled By Turtles and other bluegrass/folk festivals to Dropkick Murphys and The Misfits. Absolute highlights were 'Waterboy' and 'Up Above My Head' from 2015's Tomorrow is My Turn and an amazing cover of Patsy Cline's 'She's Got You,' which she just owned. Her voice is just mesmerizing, and she had the crowd enraptured as she moved from genres (soul, bluegrass, folk, and even some hints of mainstream pop) with ease. Without having to share the spotlight with other singers/songwriters, she was able to fully showcase herself and her immense talents. Somehow I didn't expect her performance to be one of the best things I've seen in years. Having seen Caroline Chocolate Drops a few times in the past, I fully expected Rhiannon Giddens to be good, even great. I'm going to focus on my favorite aspects of Saturday and Sunday, with plenty of pleasant surprises and new discoveries.

#Mass moca bluegrass festival free

I was unable to attend Friday evening, so this will be a Trampled By Turtles free review. Now we could choose from a variety of food trucks and caterers spread through the grounds of MASS MoCA.

In 2012 we only had the museum cafeteria which quickly ran out of a lot of choices. The food choices have definitely improved, too. As far as an outdoor festival is concerned, it's still relatively small giving the entire fest an intimate feel. The courtyard where the main stage was is now the smallest stage and the main stage is now in a large field. Freshgrass definitely has changed since the last time I made it back in 2012.