29th Sioux River Folk Festival:

29^th Sioux River Folk Festival:

Celebrating the Musical Heritage of America

Newton Hills State Park, Canton, SD – Folk music is flourishing in South Dakota thanks in part to a group called Friends of Traditional Music, which sponsors the Sioux River FF and other local and statewide events that keep the music alive and evolving.

Heavenly can best describe the early evening opening show climate in these woods. Hundreds of campers from afar and locals settled in on the grass in front of the ample, sturdy-built wooden stage that still contains pieces of the original Chataqua festival stage. There was no need for insect control or personal fans. Further to the west on the grounds is the smaller ‘stage’ called the Interpretive Shelter, where the workshops are held. A large plywood dance platform was available to stage left for the heartier revelers. Sound system has for many years been provided and run by Dale Tabbert’s Absolute Productions of Lennox, SD. Talent was lined up by festival co-founder and local folk DJ Gaynor Johnson.

The festival’s centerpiece was the coming together of several different inter/national acts into one performing group billed as ‘Southern Routes,’ including members of the Dirk Powell Band, Balfa Toujours (both returning performers), Foghorn Stringband and Riley Baugus. Left to right: Caleb Klauder of Foghorn, mandolin, drums, triangle; Riley Baugus, banjo and guitar (read my interview with Riley under Musician Interviews); Sammy Limb of Foghorn, fiddle and upright bass; Dirk Powell, fiddle, accordion, guitar; Christine Balfa, guitar; and Joel Savoy, upright bass, fiddle and guitar.

The front end of the set was devoted to Old-Time, with Dirk and Sammy playing fiddle duet. Riley on banjo started the music singing a robust John Henry. Then Dirk sang a Sally Ann that ended in a Sally Gooden, followed by Jack of Diamonds with Riley on backup vocals. All cleared the stage and Riley performed an a cappella solo, in an old-time idiom, of a church song he heard his Granny sing when he was a boy, The Day Is Past & Gone, with many spoken reminiscences of those times in her home in Sparta, NC.

When the full group came back onstage, some changed instruments for the Cajun portion of the act. Dirk went to accordion, Caleb to drums, Sammy to bass, and Joel took up the fiddle, with lead vocals trading back and forth between spouses Christine and Dirk. They performed several Cajun Two-Steps, including L’ans Aux Paille, Madeline, Les Flammes d’en enfer (The Flames of Hell) and Creole Man. The One-Step Blues de Tac-Tac (Popcorn Blues) and the Cajun Waltz J’ai Fait Mon Idee (I Made Up My Mind) were the rhythm changers. This initial performance by the combined group had such depth of musical ability and cultural experience, that all in attendance knew the weekend would be a rich, traditional, purely American experience.

The evening’s program had been opened by an old group with a new name, Central Standard Time. Formerly known as the Teels, the core of the group is still the Rev. Clyde Teel on guitar and lead and harmony vocals; his wife Becky on acoustic bass; and their two daughters, Abby on guitar and lead vocals and Liz on guitar and harmonies. Fleshing out the Traditional Bluegrass sound in the new group is Rick Stoops on fiddle and Dalton Coffey on dobro. Long a regional favorite, this group’s new identity will likely put them in the national spotlight. Abby’s vocals are the best to be heard in the genre, the three-part harmonies with father and daughters are gentle and unassuming, and the instrumental solos are razor fine.

Singer songwriter Mat d. of Sioux City, Iowa took the stage next, performing songs from his new CD Merciful 66, which was released that evening. Usually solo acoustic for this crowd, he was backed this evening with rhythm guitar, bass and drums; but he also performed part of his set solo acoustic. Mat refers to his music as Hard Luck Americana, but his lyrics and melodies are interesting and tight and will probably bring him good luck. Mat was the winner of the 2007 SRFF Campground Contest.

But the group that brought the audience to its feet was very well known to them. The revered trio is known as The Shamrockers, with special guest Kenny Putnam, two-time SD fiddle champion, also appearing. All three sing lead or harmony, but guitarist Mike Connor uses his baritone voice to an extraordinary level, reaching deep into the notes for multiple resonances. The beautiful mezzo soprano voice of Doreen Pospisil touches all who hear it, and she uses her great talent to interpret both traditional and contemporary, sometimes humorous pieces such as the wonderfully funny Benny’s From Heaven. Doreen came to the festival straight from her second prolonged session of chemotherapy, having been recently diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. She put out a CD entitled Fighting The Big ‘C’ and otherwise keeps a fantastic attitude. She did, however, privately express the fear that her mezzo soprano would lower to contralto from the chemo, whereupon I assured her that this vocal position has its rewards too. Terry Pospisil, husband of Doreen, is one of the finest bass players anywhere, a top notch musician who also plays upright in classical settings. Kenny’s accomplished musicality propels this trio and he both harmonized and took fine vocal leads. This year will mark the 19^th and final year for the group’s statewide tour, A South Dakota Christmas. Traditionals, old standards, a little bit of jazz and a little bit of Texas Swing make up this group’s repertoire, and they appeal to anyone who hears them. Good luck Doreen. Well wishers can log on to CaringBridge.org, type Doreen into the search, and hit Enter.

Saturday morning yoga was at 9:00, followed by Fiddle Workshop. Sammy Limb, Tom Schaefer, Bill Peterson, Dirk Powell and Riley Baugus sat and played fiddle in a circle, with the participants in a circle around them, learning to play the songs the fiddlers were playing. After Fiddle Workshop the children had a Silly Song workshop conducted by the Plain Label String Band from Lincoln, NE. Again, the climate was perfect.

The afternoon and evening saw repeat performances of Central Standard Time, Mat d. and The Shamrockers. Harmonica player Walt Peterson added his talent to Mat’s performance. The Shamrockers fell into their namesake groove and played Danny Boy, with both Doreen and Mike taking verses; Terry sang a glorious Over the Rainbow, scat singing a final verse; and they brought back an old favorite, Beyond the Shore.

New to the stage this day and eve was the West Coast group known as The Stairwell Sisters. They played a cadre of waltzes, breakdowns, traditionals, buckdances and ballads, including ‘up-tempo country girl songs with positive endings.’ Truly, they are 21^st century traditional.

The California group members are, left to right, Lisa Berman (dobro, slide, banjo, guitar), Evie Ladin (banjo, clogging), Martha Hawthorne (bass, guitar), Sue Sandlin (guitar, tiple, mouth harp), and Stephanie Prausnitz (fiddle, cello).

Balfa Toujours closed out the afternoon show with Cajun music to dance for. The band configurement was the same as the previous evening except Riley was on rhythm guitar. Dirk and Christine traded vocal leads throughout the set. They began with a Two-Step, Jeunes Filles (Young Girls: Don’t Get Married); then played a Creole Waltz, Dimanche Apres Midi (Sunday Afternoon); then Jongle A Moi (Think of Me Once Again); and finally, a Cajun Blues song, Blues de Bosco.

At this point the group reconfigured to reflect “old school Cajun music,” leaving only Dirk and Joel in a fiddle duet and Christine on triangle. Joel played a medley of reels, including Coquin and Reel de Deshotel.

Then Christine gave her triangle to Caleb and took up her guitar, and the four played a Two-Step composed by her uncle Will, who had been the eldest of the Balfa siblings, and the love song was called Vieux Wagon (The View from the Wagon), followed by another Uncle Will song, Valse A Balfa (The Balfa Waltz). They finished up the set by going back to the original band configuration and playing Ten A Eu from their recent Live From Whiskey River CD and a Breakdown entitled Church Point.

It was late afternoon when the Campground Talent Contest was held. Winners included:

1^st Place: Northern Sky, with Laura Brokus & Kristin Matuska, Sioux Falls

2^nd Place: Jami Lynn & The Aquila Band, Sioux Falls

3^rd Place: The River Town String Band

Northern Sky won a cash prize and played a three-song set to open for Dirk Powell Band in the evening. The girls have been singing together for six months and feature a vocal blend that is many times in unison and sometimes in harmony, but always they sound like sisters.

In the evening, the Dirk Powell Band was configured much as the previous Balfa Toujours group had been. They began with the Breakdown Oh Me, Oh My; then Riley sang Pretty Polly. With Caleb on lead vocal and Sammy harmony, the core Foghorn fellows put out Be Kind To A Man When He’s Down. All but Dirk left the stage, and he talked about the youth of today being cut off from a true culture, about going to visit his grandfather when a boy. His granddad was a banjo player, and he played this song and would say, “People used to think that was beautiful.” Dirk wondered, what happened to the beauty? Isn’t it timeless? The song, played in the frailing style, was Ruben. Caleb returned to guitar and Sammy to fiddle and the three played My Horses Ain’t Hungry. Riley came back and took up the banjo with Dirk going back to fiddle; and he spoke about experiences while working on music for the movie Cold Mountain in Nashville; how Dirk had called him and said they needed banjos and ballad singers; and stories about the director who has now passed away. They swung into a song recorded for the movie, Cuckoo Bird, with Riley on the lead. Then all hands returned to the stage for a Breakdown that featured Caleb on mandolin; and then they launched Greenback Dollar. The regular set ended with a medley of Civil War songs, including Zallie’s Retreat with everyone singing, and Rally & Spencer, with Dirk first playing a long fiddle solo in an old-time tuning and then trading the singing lead with Riley as the rest of the group played.

The Stairwell Sisters joined the onstage group and all swung into Old Joe Clark with Riley on lead vocal. The original Dirk Powell group was called back for an encore and mustered Train on the Island.

Sunday morning, after a pancake breakfast put on by the local VFW from their concession, Mat d. gave a workshop on songwriting and the Stairwell Sisters gave lessons in clogging. At noon, the short, final program closed out the festival with a gospel theme, and the show was dedicated to Doreen Pospisil. To add to the traditional sound theme, one single microphone was set up on the stage for all to gather around and sing into. Mat d. performed a rockin’ gospel set, and the final hymn for his set was delivered a cappella by newcomer Rebecca Berg. The Stairwell Sisters gathered in a semi-circle around the mic and sang old traditionals for their part.

The day was warming up to hot and steamy August when the Southern Routes group took the stage in the Balfa Toujours configuration and performed an appropo Les Flammes d’en enfer (The Flames of Hell). Christine talked about life in Mamou, Louisiana, where she and the famous Balfa Cajuns are from, and then swung into Old Mamou. The Cajun portion was finished out with two waltzes and talk about being proud of the heritage.

The group then returned to the Appalachian sound, and Riley took the lead. He discussed with the people the a cappella singing tradition, God and religion, his parents and grandparents. The traditional he then sings, I'm A Long Time Traveling Here Below, he explains in depth as a man who came to the end of his life and wanted to move on peacefully, so he tells his story in the song. The gospel song The Rainbow Sun perked up the pace after that, followed by two Carter Family songs, Gospel Ship and Saw It On The Mountain, with Caleb singing the lead on both. Riley then sang the lead on an old fiddle tune Dirk played called June Apple. To close out their program and the weekend, the group chose a Jean Ritchie song, Now is The Cool of the Day, with Riley on lead and all singing on the chorus, totally a cappella. The entire set was very moving and inspirational, and it was the wrapping of the gift that was this festival: gentle lessons of family, home, tradition and musical heritage.

Reinforcing that point, the Stairwell Sisters joined Southern Routes onstage, and all of the band members’ children also joined them, for their final You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone.

This was one of the finest festivals I have ever been to. It was well run, well thought out as to musical talent and message, and everyone was so kind and helpful. Folks were polite about their smoking and other habits, and there was plenty of opportunity to be involved with the program. There are a limited number of camping spaces available at the park, but I found a fine camping spot at the Union Grove State Park a little further south and made the drive and it didn’t detract from my experience. I’d like to thank all of the members of FOTM for allowing me to cover their wonderful festival and for being just plain sweet, especially Gary Kappenman and Gaynor Johnson; and all of the musicians, who were so helpful to my coverage, and who greatly enriched my life experience. My very best to all of you.

Joy H. Hance