Best Folk Fest, bikes, burritos and beer

by Chris Aaland

The 18th annual Four Corners Folk Festival, staged on Reservoir Hill in Pagosa Springs this Friday through Sunday, serves up one of the last big blowouts of the summer. While the fester features the iconic singer/songwriter John Hiatt, its supporting cast ain’t too shabby. From the Cape Breton neo-Celtic energy of Natalie MacMaster to festival favorite Darrell Scott to a Who’s Who of up-and-coming acts, this year’s lineup ranks with the best in festival history.

Two generations of Okie folk are represented in the form of 2013 Grammy nominee John Fulbright and veteran Jimmy LaFave, the latter of whom has garnered critical acclaim for his work with the Woody Guthrie tribute album and subsequent tours, “Ribbon of Highway – Endless Skyway.” Alt-country rears its ugly head with New Country Rehab, a group that sprung from the same fertile Canadian soil as the Sadies. The Wood Brothers are pure Americana, with Chris Wood one of the founders of the jazz trio Medeski, Martin & Wood, and brother Oliver, a former guitarist for blues legend Tinsley Ellis. Acts with local and regional connections – Front Range honky-tonk heroes Halden Wofford & the Hi-Beams and nu hippie jamsters Elephant Revival – will also make a stand.

Get a jump on the festivities at 5 p.m. tonight (Thurs., Aug. 29) with free performances in Pagosa Springs Town Park. Wofford’s Hi-Beams play at 5 p.m., followed by New Country Rehab at 6:30. No festival ticket is needed for this one-night, two-act event. Wofford’s fourth studio album, released a few weeks ago, is in the running for my album of the year already. The title track, “Rocky Mountain Honky Tonk,” is an ode to the Centennial State’s microbreweries, although a wee bit heavy on Front Range brewers. Guess you gotta name drop suds crafted where the bulk of the peeps live if you want to sell CDs. Speaking of which, the suds you can drop in Pagosa are of the Breckenridge variety.

Slaid Cleaves plays the Pagosa Folk Fest this weekend

One artist that I’m particularly looking forward to is Slaid Cleaves. The title track to his latest album, “Still Fighting the War,” is one of the most poignant war songs of the post-Vietnam era. Cleaves told me about it and his work on LaFave’s Woody Guthrie project earlier this week.

“I’ve had quite a few (veterans) show up and express thanks and gratitude,” Cleaves said of the title track. “They’re all so gracious that I’ve told the story. They or someone in their family has suffered through some of the things I talk about in song. I know that being a folksinger, it’s my job to do that. As Woody Guthrie said, to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”

Guthrie has been a guiding force for Cleaves, who participated on LaFave’s “Ribbon of Highway” project.

“I came across Woody in a big way in college in the process of delving deeply into the music of the musical heroes of my youth like Springsteen and the Clash,” he said. “They were my big guideposts. They both mentioned Woody Guthrie, so I looked him up in the library in college.”

After initially unable to relate to Guthrie’s “Dustbowl Ballads,” Cleaves saw the light through folklorist Alan Lomax’s Library of Congress recordings of Guthrie. He found wisdom in Guthrie’s words. “Hearing the context of the songs totally made them come alive to me ... songs about everyday people going through tough times. It was adventurous. He just became a hero of mine, his persona and songs. I was just starting to play guitar on the street then. Twenty years later, here I am doing Woody Guthrie tribute with these fantastic musicians.”

Born in the nation’s capitol and raised in Maine, Cleaves was a struggling rocker who eventually embraced folk music. In 1991 he made a defining leap, moving with his wife, Kathy, across the country to Austin.

“It was very tough. I just couldn’t see the opportunity to build a career out of Portland,” he said of those early years. “Austin was just starting to get national attention as a hotbed. I’d known about Joe Ely and I grew up watching “Austin City Limits” on TV and I read about South by Southwest. I thought that would be a great place to learn my craft and watch and learn up close. It was a really good decision.”

If folksy twang ain’t your thing, there’ll be plenty of louder sounds regionally throughout the weekend as the Four Corners Motorcycle Rally brings iron horses to Ignacio. There’s fun for the whole gang with poker runs, beauty pageants, tattoo and arm wrestling contests and plenty of live music on tap. The main musical highlight is Caravanserai, a Santana tribute band from the Bay Area, which throws down at 10:30 p.m. Sunday at the Sky Ute Fairgrounds.

Beyond the traditional Bike and Classic Car Parade on Main on Sunday, preceded by the Veteran’s Benefit Burrito Breakfast, new events include the El Rancho Street Party from 5-9 p.m. (featuring live music from the Kirk James Blues Band) and the Elk’s Lodge Party from 5-9 p.m. Saturday. James and company also holds court from 6:30 - 8 p.m. Sunday in the Sky Ute Casino parking lot, while the young’ns in Psychedelic Mojo plays the rally’s central pavilion at 8:30 p.m. Friday and 5:30 p.m. Saturday. For complete information, visit www.fourcornersmotorcyclerally.com.

Stick around town and catch the rockin’ sounds of Caitlin Cannon & the Artillery on Moe’s patio Friday afternoon or the 4ever Fridays dance party with DJ Hygrade later that night.

Wanna be a DJ? The KDUR DJ application meeting will be 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in Room 125 Noble Hall on campus. Bryant Liggett says that “KDUR is cutting edge, and Sublime and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are not.” So if you’re cool enough not to spin “What I Got” and “Give It Away,” feel free to show up and apply for a show.

This week’s Top Shelf list features eight protest songs you oughtta know:

1. “Cheney’s Toy,” James McMurtry.

2. “Dress Blues,” Jason Isbell.

3. “Hiway 9,” Eliza Gilkyson.

4. “KMAG YOYO,” Hayes Carll.

5. “100 Million Little Bombs,” Buddy Miller.

6. “Rich Man’s War,” Steve Earle.

7. “Road to Peace,” Tom Waits.

8. “Still Fightin’ the War,” Slaid Cleaves.

How many heroes are scattered out in the wind? Email me at mailto: chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.