The View From Here on Festivals

AS the summer season approaches Labor Day and most of the outdoor Irish festivals have happened already save for some September events where usually the best weather awaits, I am looking back at some general notions about what makes some festivals tick. Spurred on by some debate out in the Midwest about the "rockification" of Irish festivals raised by the Irish American News trad music columnist Bill Margeson, it got me thinking about some trends that are out there shaping decisions made by respective committees.

You're seen this old codger complain about sound bleed from tent stage to tent stage, and maybe wondered if I should turn down the hearing aid in one ear and turn it up in the other depending of sound flow.

But we know the hard reality of the outdoor festival is that in order to draw crowds and increase the profits, it has to appeal to different generations and tastes. Yet a sense of balance seems to be missing. Margeson warns that the over-30 crowd is being chased away from the proliferating Celtic festivals run by less culturally motivated committees who focus on Celtic rock bands to draw the twenty-something demographic fans who top up the beer sales.

The resulting profit creates a very competitive cycle that may help the short-term aim of the festivals, but at the price of sacrificing the cultural transmission that gave many of the festivals their start and even driving up the cost of providing such entertainment.

I am beginning to sense that there is something amiss here beyond the predictable generational divide that separated me from my parents and the Beatles, though still allowed us to appreciate the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem together.

I don't expect those tensions or the debate to end any time soon, but it does make me appreciate some hardy perennials that reinforce my trad-world existence (some would say cocoon) that provides plenty of variety and talent that still stimulates and reflects a very high standard of cultural development in the Irish music scene.

As I get further and further away from the 2007 Catskills Irish Arts Week held in East Durham, I am able to be a little more objective about why it appeals to so many who keep the week alive in a very challenged environ.

Serving as the artistic director before, during and after is all consuming, but I try to step out of that mantra to take in the reactions of the teachers, students and fans of the music who still keep flogging to the upstate village where trad music and dance are paramount for one Brigadoon-like week each summer.

Comments about it being the best year yet are delivered with a smile and sense of enjoyment that transcends issues like modern accommodations, driving from place to place and sleep deprivation.

Much of that sleep deprivation was due to the insatiable sessions around town leading to the almost 24/7 nature of the week, enhanced this year by the Oak Hill Kitchen's decision to stay open 24 hours with their healthy food offerings in a non-alcoholic and bucolic indoor woodsy setting. And Luisa Bennion helped caffeinate folks at all hours with her outdoor upmarket cafe stall outside the equally hospitable Furlong's Pub.

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Nster.com