Get ready to tune your guitar and warm up your voice because the Old Songs Festival of Traditional Music and Dance is coming to town this weekend.
Now in its 27th year, the event will showcase performers of folk, Celtic and world music from as far away as Mali and as near as Saratoga Springs.
It’s not your normal festival in that it is not a one-day happening, said Andy Spence, executive director of Old Songs, Inc., the Voorheesville-based nonprofit group that organizes the event.
In addition to concerts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Altamont Fairgrounds, visitors will have a chance to participate in workshops, take classes and listen to musicians performing in smaller groups.
`We feel a lot of the magic of the festival happens when [performers] interact with each other over the weekend,` said Roger Mock, administrative assistant at Old Songs who has attended more than 20 Old Songs festivals.
In fact, it is this opportunity to sing and play with other musicians and to engage the audience that attracts many of the festival’s performers.
Peter Davis, who has played at the festival eight times, said he enjoys the `more hands-on workshops and traditional music at this festival.`
Davis, of Saratoga Springs, will go on stage with his band The Whippersnappers, playing the guitar, clarinet and piano.
`We need to preserve our traditions and celebrate them and keep them going,` he said.
Other musicians to look for include The Arrogant Worms, a musical comedy group from Canada, Mamadou Diabate, a storyteller and kora player from Mali, and the Jeremy Kittel Acoustic Trio from Michigan.
But perhaps the most anticipated act will be that of the Magnolia Sisters from Louisiana, whom Spence calls a `big deal this year.` The group will offer authentic Cajun music, a genre Spence said is hard to come by these days, especially among female performers.
The atmosphere at Old Songs resembles that of the 1960s and early 1970s folk festivals, Mock said, making it unique in an age when most festivals have become commercial and performer-oriented.
`It becomes a kind of three-day village,` Mock said. `A very friendly community is formed.`
Visitors are welcome to camp at the fairgrounds, where plenty of food and late-night dancing keep everyone entertained. Fiddle lessons, a puppet theater and other activities for children make for a family-friendly weekend.
`We have a lot of kids who’ve grown up with the festival, and they come back,` said Spence. `I think it’s just one big package with one big bow on it.`
The festival began in 1981, after Spence and her husband, Bill, had been involved with another folk festival in the area. Spence is not a musician, but she enjoys folk music and has a knack for organizing various events.
In addition to the Old Songs festival, the nonprofit serves 8,000 people a year, offering classes, concerts and other activities. Spence expects about 4,000 people this weekend, a fourth of whom will overnight at the fairgrounds. Visitors come from all over the East Coast, she said.
`This music is not commercial so we don’t get the big crowd that follows pop music or rock music,` Spence said. `A lot of people who come are people who like to learn and share music with other people.`
The Old Songs Festival will take place Friday, June 22 through Sunday, June 24 at the Altamont Fairgrounds, located on Route 146 in Altamont. Tickets are $30 for Friday night and Sunday, and $50 for Saturday (visitors who leave by 7 p.m. on Saturday will receive a $25 refund). Student tickets are $20 per day; children under 12 are free. For information, contact Old Songs at 765-2815 or visit www.oldsongs.org.“
