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By DCist Contributor Steve Kiviat
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival has a somewhat well-deserved reputation as a highly educational place to dump visiting relatives, but tourists and discerning locals alike can also have some fun at the event’s daytime performances and evening concerts and dance parties (not to mention chowing down on grub that’s better than street-corner hotdogs). This year’s 41st annual version features three themes: "Mekong River: Connecting Cultures," "Northern Ireland at the Smithsonian," and “The Roots of Virginia Culture.”
Although the Pogues will not be representing on the Irish stage, and Dengue Fever will not be bringing Cambodian pop to the Mekong River stage, the invited traditional artists should bring some joy -- performers are traveling here from their respective homelands and not from local bars and community centers. And if Irish and Mekong River sonics are not your thing, and you don't feel like checking out demonstrations of Gaelic football, Asian fish trapping, and Virginia oyster catching, remember that the Smithsonian has defined “The Roots of Virginia Culture” to include Latin salsa, brass band gospel, and a whole lot more.
There is another wild card: the annual Ralph Rinzler Memorial Concert will feature a trio of Louisiana’s finest Cajun musicians. The Festival starts today and runs through Sunday, July 1, picking up again on Wednesday, July 4 before finishing on Sunday, July 8. Festival hours are from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day, with concerts, special events and dance parties extending into most evenings. In addition, for those tired of the heat, dust, and crowds on the mall, the Kennedy Center will feature Folklife Festival performers at 6 p.m. on the Millennium Stage on many nights.
Our picks for this year’s highlights are after the jump.
Photo by Kyle Walton.
Wednesday, June 27
>> Radford, Virginia’s Scott Fore is a self-taught, flat-picking guitarist who won the 2002 National Flat-picking Championship and has a Myspace site with his Gypsy jazz band the Hillbilly Hotclub. They will be at the mall at 11 a.m. at the Mountain Laurel Stage and from 6 to 7 p.m. will be over at the Kennedy Center Millennium stage.
Thursday, June 28
>> Join the Northern Irish Dance Party from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Lagan Stage on the Mall with Cuckoo's Nest & Lucy Mulholland. Mulholland is an Ulster-Scots dance instructor and will be working with Cuckoo’s Nest, a trio led by fiddler Dominic McNabb.
>> Music from Yunnan, China will be showcased indoors from 6 to 7 p.m. tonight at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.
Friday, June 29
>> The annual Ralph Rinzler Memorial Concert will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Mountain Laurel Stage and will include veteran Louisiana Cajun musicians David and Michael Doucet from Beausoleil, and Mitchell Reed from Charivari. Also on the bill are longtime local country-blues performers John Cephas and Phil Wiggins, and Celtic duo Liz Carroll and John Doyle.
Saturday, June 30
>> Root of the Banjo from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Mountain Laurel Stage will spotlight Virginia-based international musicians Bou Counta N'Diaye Ensemble (Senegal); Cheikh Hamala Diabaté Ensemble (Mali); Rex Ellis; Brien Fain; Rhiannon Giddens; plus Mike Seeger.
>> The Low Country Boys from 6 to 7 p.m. will be at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage melding Northern Ireland's east coast traditional sounds with American gospel and bluegrass
Sunday, July 1
>> The Latino Virginia Concert from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Mountain Laurel Stage presents salsa from La Sensual; El Salvadorian stylings from Los Hermanos Lobo; and Mexican dance from Los Tecuanis.
Thursday, July 5
>> Mountain Music Concert from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Mountain Laurel Stage with Brien Fain, Ron Short, David Arthur, Wayne Henderson, Helen White, Jeff Little; Linda and David Lay with Ricky Simpkins; New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters; Kinney Rorrer and the New North Carolina Ramblers; and The Spiritual Seven.
Friday, July 6
>> African-American Sacred Music Concert from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Mountain Laurel Stage with the Madison Hummingbirds (brass band); The Paschall Brothers (a cappella); and the Virginia Church Choir.
Saturday, July 7
>> Sound of the Mekong from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Nine Dragons Stage will include Cambodian, Laotian, Vietnamese and Thai performers.
>> Last Night’s Fun from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Lagan Stage will feature a bevy of traditional Irish musicians including Craobh Rua, Cathal Sean Hayden, Lee Lawson, Gino Lupari, Michael Thomas Sands, Robert Watt, Roisin White, and Mark Wilson.
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Ireland is not on the Mall this year. Northern Ireland is, with a blend of performers from several cultural and religious communities.
Many of the SE Asian performers in the Mekong River area are from little-known cultural minorities. Personally, I am disappointed that the giant Mekong catfish (9 ft. long, 600 lbs) didn't make it to the Mall, but you can't have everything.
Be sure to hear the Paschall Brothers Gospel Quartet on the Virginia stage. It is rare to hear these vocal harmonies in the DC area without instrumental accompaniment.
Damnit. I got to move this weekend. Maybe I can get my wife to make a detour to the Mall. I would love to walk around and see some the wonderful events.