Father Folk is a date on my summer calendar that I always look forward to. It’s an annual gathering of musical friends on an undisclosed site south of Reading in a shaded grove, down a dirt road, in the middle of PA. This was its 25th iteration and I believe I’ve been to over 15 of them. It’s strictly word of mouth, with no mention on social media (thus the FF) in the lead above. It’s held on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday with a full sound system, a few food amenities, camping, jamming, etc. Friends put together 30 minutes sets, and some folks like me fly in to do a guest set. It has a great audience.
I signed up for a 5 pm Saturday set and got there around 3:30 to catch a nice trio of loose acquaintances do a fine set of folk, a short set from a young girl named Autumn on flute, and then it was my turn. I did my latest “festival” set with Don’t Call Me Early, July, Nadine, Giants, Giant and Lessons From Pete, a good mix of tunes and chat. Folks sang along on the appropriate tunes and I played well.
I ran into some my pickin’ friends, and an old band mate Bob Flower (Graveyard Skiffle Band) and we recalled that Bob was the one who turned me on to this gathering in the first place. I sold a few CDs, gave away a bunch to the kids in the crowd and hung out for a short bit before heading home. Invariably, I drive back to Bethlehem in a state of satisfaction and peace.
Oh, yeah. There’s no pay for this one, but worth the time and effort. Good for the soul.