Days before the Jan. 23 opening of the 22nd Annual Florence Winter Music Festival, ticketed shows were close to being sold out, but that shouldn’t stop anyone from enjoying the rousing – sometimes surprising – bluegrass/folk/Americana music performed by a bunch of performers you probably never heard of.
Now in its third year, the concert opens Thursday night with a “good ol’ fashioned hootenanny,” a free three hours of music from the first dozen-and-a-half or so musicians who sign up to take the stage at the Florence Events Center.
“They agree to two songs in 10 minutes with whatever acoustic instruments they have,” said co-producer Rachel Pearson. “Everybody plays something. They can plug in, but no amplified stuff, just the mic for singing.” People perform just for the fun of it, she said. “They are just singing for the joy of it. Everybody cheers. Everybody is happy.”
In the two short years the fest has hosted the hootenanny – described by Pearson as akin to the folk/country/bluegrass/Americana/roots shindigs Johnny Cash and the Carter Family would put on — the festival has seen more than one surprising act.
“There were two young people that live in town, and they just got up on stage with their guitars and killed it. I mean, they sounded really good. They could probably make a career out of it, or at least part-time,” Pearson said. Another group, Goshen Boys, from the Lane County community of the same name, “have that high lonesome sound, like they just got off the stage with the Carter Family. I hope they come back this year.”
The festival started in about 2003 as two separate concerts, a kids’ concert and a folk concert, that in time melded as one. The folk concert was incredibly successful for a decade, Pearson said.
“It was a very traditional folk festival with The Limeliters and Tom Paxton and several other people whose names might be recognized … and then about 2015, folk wasn’t selling so much anymore. It’s not that the music was bad, it’s just that the audience kind of wasn’t there anymore.”
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Hoping to keep the festival going, organizers switched the focus to bluegrass, Pearson said. “Tickets sell like you can’t believe. Bluegrass is an ever-changing, always growing art form that brings in artists from every genre.”
This year, the festival focused on bringing in more female groups, Pearson said. “Bluegrass and that kind of Americana does tend to have a more of a male-dominated world. There are groups out there that are four guys and a woman singer. So, we have a group this year called Della Mae, which is four women, who are nationally known.”
Ticketed shows take place Friday afternoon and Friday and Saturday evenings, with the lineup including the Grammy-nominated Della Mae, Tony Furtado, Kristen Grainger & True North, the Henhouse Prowlers, and Whiskey Deaf Duet.
A free community concert Friday at Oregon Pacific Bank with multi-instrumentalist Tony Furtado will give “a sneak preview of the Saturday afternoon show,” Pearson said.
“Tony will share his banjo mastery and songwriting skills … and our venue hosts … will welcome you with coffee, cookies, and good ol’ fashioned hospitality. No tickets necessary — just arrive before 4:30 p.m. and prepare to be transported by this incredible artist in his first Florence gig.”
Jam sessions at the Florence Events Center and the Lighthouse Inn are also free and open to all ages and skill levels.
Those wanting to improve their skills can take a workshop for $10 — or free, if they have a ticket to any main stage event. Topics include bluegrass guitar, fiddle, banjo, and a songwriting class with Kristen Grainger and Dan Wetzel. “She is a nationally known roots Americana songwriter,” Pearson said. “She was our first workshop several years ago. Everybody always wants her to come back.”
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While the focus of the winter fest has changed since the beginning, the children’s concert that helped start it all has remained the same. Kids from local elementary schools fill the 400-plus auditorium at the Florence Events Center for two invitation-only concerts on Thursday that are “always participatory,” Pearson said.
“When you have 440 children in a theater singing along with somebody, there’s nothing like it. On the Oregon Coast, there are a not a lot of big venues where kids get to do stuff,” she said. “Some of the kids walk in there and it’s the biggest room they’ve ever been in, besides a gym. They look around and see lights and nice people and friendly performers on stage that are talking to them and it’s all about them.”
Almost every year, at least one youngster wants to get up and dance, but there’s also usually one who falls asleep.
“Back in the day, the first time that happened, I said something to the teacher and she said, ‘You have no idea what his home life is.’ He felt safe in this space. It’s one reason I do this. I want to give that kid this one experience in his life where they are totally free and happy. They are not on their own world anymore; they’re in a different world.”
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