Festival at Sandpoint: Eclectic season unfolds under the stars
Published: June 25, 2010
The Festival at Sandpoint celebrates its 28th annual summer concert series, Aug. 5-15, with eight nights of eclectic music under the stars, on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille.
The festival welcomes back some favorite artists who have performed to sell-out crowds over the past 10 years, including Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Keb’ Mo’, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Natalie MacMaster. The star-studded alumni are complemented by new musical guests who are creating their own sensation across the nation. Brandi Carlile and Michael Franti & Spearhead are among the artists most requested by festival fans; the slate includes up-and-comers Sharon Little, Crooked Still and other talented opening acts.
The festival literally swings into action opening night, Aug. 5, with the multi-platinum-selling, neo-swing hipsters Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. The band exploded onto the forefront of the music world in 1996 when their exuberant style was immortalized in the indie film “Swingers,” with hits “You and Me and a Bottle Make Three (Tonight)” and “Go Daddy-O.”
They have played the White House, the Orange and Super Bowls and The Tonight Show and Late Show, mixing energetic originals with souped-up versions of older classics.
Their eighth studio album, How Big Can You Get? A Tribute to Cab Calloway, captures the essence of an American icon in a rowdy celebration of musicianship, mischief, genius, street smarts and fun.
The popular local band, Tennis, opens the show at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $34.95, and include a complimentary glass of champagne.
On Friday, Aug. 6, the festival welcomes rising star Brandi Carlile, a Washington-grown artist rooted in country music, layered with rock, folk and pop influences. Elton John has become one of her biggest fans, and joins her on the song “Caroline” from her latest album, Give Up The Ghost.
Carlile saw her fanbase mushroom in 2007 with her sophomore disc, The Story. She has toured with the likes of Ray LaMontagne and Sheryl Crow, who raved about Carlile’s performances: “She has the most amazing voice I may have ever heard. Soulful. Country. Perfect in every way – and propelled by taste.”
Opening the show at 7:30 p.m. is fellow Northwest artist Ian McFeron, who weaves together a variety of roots-Americana styles to create his own unique blend. All tickets are $34.95.
“Super Blues Saturday” on Aug. 7 stars sensational blues man Keb’ Mo’, making his second festival appearance. The singer-songwriter and guitarist won the coveted W.C. Handy Blues Award in 1994 with his first self-titled album.
Since then, he’s won three Grammy Awards for Contemporary Blues Album and was nominated for Country Song of the Year for “I Hope,” a song he co-wrote with the Dixie Chicks for their latest album.
He combines an earthy, acoustic-leaning blues, with a melodic pop-folk style – a distinctive vision that showcases his warm personality and graceful musicianship. Born Kevin Moore in South Los Angeles, he started playing the guitar at age 12 and became Keb’ Mo’ as a young player immersed in the music and history of the blues, inspired by the force of this essential African-American Legacy.
Jazz and blues sensation Sharon Little opens the show at 6:30 p.m.; tickets are $44.95.
The festival presents its Family Concert at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 8. featuring the Spokane Youth Orchestra and Sandpoint’s Studio One Dancers in “Peter and the Wolf,” led by Maestro Gary Sheldon and KPBX Music Director Verne Windham.
Favorite pre-concert activities include the Instrument Petting Zoo, where kids can try various instruments on for size, clowns, face painting, games galore and the popular Parents’ Corner where moms and dads can take a break for a complimentary mini-massage. Tickets are $5 and activities begin when the gates open at 4:30 p.m.
The festival resumes on Thursday, Aug. 12, with virtuoso Cape Breton fiddler Natalie Macmaster, who first wowed Sandpoint audiences at a sold-out performance at the Panida Theater, followed by a must-see appearance at the 2005 Festival at Sandpoint.
The niece of famed Cape Breton fiddler Buddy MacMaster, and now wife of fiddle phenomenon Donnell Leahy, she picked up the instrument at age nine and quickly became a major talent in her own right.
After winning numerous East Coast Music Awards for her early traditional Cape Breton recordings, she began taking Celtic music to new heights with albums like In My Hands, which featured elements of jazz and Latin music and guest vocals by Allison Krauss.
She has been honored with several Juno Awards and Canadian Country Music Awards for Fiddler of the Year. And then, there’s the dancing, which she accomplishes with amazing dexterity – all the while flawlessly playing jigs, breakdowns and reels.
MacMaster is joined by her countrymen The Turtle Duhks, a collective of three young Canadian musicians – Jordan McConnell and Leonard Podolak of The Duhks and Lydia Garrison of Turtle Island Dream – whose music is rooted firmly in the tradition of Appalachia, and is performed with the groove and drive of rock 'n roll, Celtic music, jazz and funk. The gates open at 6 p.m. with a complimentary microbrew tasting for ticket holders over the age of 21. Tickets are $29.95 and music starts at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 13, marks the much anticipated appearance of Michael Franti and Spearhead. The Bay Area-born Franti has evolved from the early influences of Bob Marley, The Clash, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, through phases of punk rock and political rap to embrace his joyful and meaningful modern soul music.
His most recent release with Spearhead, All Rebel Rockers, and its first single, “Say Hey (I Love You),” is fast becoming one of the biggest hits of Franti’s career. Yet, perhaps what’s most impressive about Franti as a recording artist and live performer is his ability to inspire. “As a musician and a man, I more than anything else want to be a unifier. We need everybody,” Franti says.
The Pimps of Joytime open the dance concert at 7:30 p.m. with their infectious blend of Afrobeat, salsa, rock ’n roll and electronica. Tickets are $44.95.
Super Country Saturday on Aug. 14 stars festival alumni (from 1999 and 2002) Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. They formed in Southern California during the spring of 1966 as a scruffy, young jug band, and 42 years later, the quartet (Jeff Hanna, Jimmie Fadden, Bob Carpenter and John McEuen) is still going strong with their special blend of country music infused with pop, rock and bluegrass.
They cemented their place in music history with their “Circle” albums, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Volumes I, II and III, which brought together the legends and budding newcomers of the country music world for unforgettable Grammy, International Bluegrass Music Association and Country Music Association Award-winning collaborations.
Crooked Still, a hot young alternative bluegrass group opens the concert at 6:30 p.m.; tickets are $39.95.
The festival culminates on Sunday, Aug. 15 with Maestro Gary Sheldon conducting the Spokane Symphony Orchestra in “Russian Masterpieces,” with special guest, pianist Archie Chen.
The all Russian program features Kabelevsky’s “Dance of the Comedians,” Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” and Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise and Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini,” featuring the charismatic, commanding Chen, a Spokane native with top national and international credentials. A fireworks finale, accompanied by Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” closes the festival.
Gates open at 4:30 p.m. for the complimentary annual “Taste of the Stars” Wine Tasting (for all concert goers over the age of 21 years) and an art auction. Tickets are $34.95 for adults and $9.95 ages 18 and under.
For tickets, call 888-265-4554 or purchase online at http://www.festivalatsandpoint.com.
