The American Folk Festival returns to the Bangor Waterfront this weekend, celebrating music and dance from around the world. For at least two performers, the music is about traditions within their family and the place they call home.
Wylie Gustafson, the namesake of Wylie & the Wild West — who last appeared in Bangor in 2003, when the Queen City was hosting the National Folk Festival — said music is in his blood. For the fourth-generation rancher from Montana, who is best known for his yodel, which you may recognize from the Yahoo! jingle, it connects him with his family.
“Dad was a cowboy folk singer. He loved to do old cowboy folks songs when we were growing up. He would always grab his guitar and sing to us in the living room,” Gustafson said.
His father, who died recently, was one of Gustafson’s major influences. Many of his memories of singing revolve around his father.
“He would always yodel when he was happy,” Gustafson said fondly, remembering his father riding on horseback and belting out tunes. “He would come up to sing with me on the stage. That’s the highlight of my career — playing with my family and doing what we used to do in the living room.”
Gustafson isn’t the only performer who comes from a family of singers. Music also runs in Tom Power’s family. Power of The Dardanelles said that as a child he was always trying to emulate his brother and father — both of whom were talented musicians.
Power fell in love with music first on a trip to Ireland. But after returning home, he was exposed to a form of expression unique to his province of Newfoundland, Canada.
“The music that we play is the music of the people that settled the province,” Power said. “There’s a lot of elements of Irish, some English and some French.”
The American Folk Festival has been a Bangor tradition for 14 years, though it initially started as the National Folk Festival. After three successful years hosting the NFF in 2002, ’03 and ’04, the Bangor community came together to create the American Folk Festival at the Bangor Waterfront in 2005, a unique undertaking that carries on traditions of the NFF.
“Part of the vision was the idea that it would be good to create a summertime event that served the community and also drew tourists,” Heather McCarthy, executive director for the American Folk Festival, said.
This year’s festival will feature 16 performing groups, including Wylie & the Wild West, The Dardanelles and many others. Other performances will include a Bachata vocalist sharing a genre from Latin American traditions; a popular live act from Niger, Africa, incorporating a variety of musical elements; and even a performer of the classical Indian dance form of Bharata Natyam.
“I hope folks who come to this year’s festival discover something. It may be a new artist in a genre they love, or it may be something totally different,” McCarthy said.
Different is what Wylie & the Wild West does best. Together with Gustafson, the band comprises Rick Bryceson on drums and vocals, Shane Queener on bass, Sam Platts on guitar and Erik Fingers Ray on guitar. Yodeling is one of many things the group performs.
“I consider it a vocal art form that needs to be kept alive. There’s a novelty to yodeling, but there’s a serious side to it for me,” Gustafson said.
The style of high-plains yodel, which Gustafson sometimes performs, is slow, ethereal and evocative, contrasting starkly with the energetic high falsetto and low chest notes most are familiar with.
“Our biggest goal is that people enjoy themselves, and we keep them smiling and their toes tapping. It’s a pretty simple formula. We don’t want to be boring,” he said.
The music he and his group perform is inspired by the western cowboy lifestyle.
“We’ve been doing this for almost 30 years now,” he said. “People seem to appreciate what we do. I try to keep it coming from a real place.”
The Dardanelles comprise Rich Klass on bodhran and percussion, Matthew Byrne on vocals, bouzouki and guitar, Aaron Collis on button accordion, Emilia Bartellas on fiddle and, of course, Power. Their traditional music, with strong narrative threads and links to western Europe, consist of a combination of Irish, English and French musical traditions. But the mix is a unique and important part of Newfoundland itself.
“When I realized my home province had it’s own culture, that meant a lot to me,” Power said. “We add to the history of our music.”
The music they play typically is instrumental but also includes some lyrical pieces. As for the traditional style, Power hopes audience members appreciate where it comes from but also get up and dance when the moment arises.
“There was a time when traditional music was something you thought you had to sit down and listen to and consider,” Power said. “This music is just music. It’s traditional music and we’re proud of it, but it’s still music. We want you to forget about how you should be listening to it and get up and dance if you want to dance.”
Unlike Gustafson, this will be Power’s first time in Maine. The two groups will offer variety to a number of performances.
The AFF is a nonprofit that relies on a network of more than 500 volunteers, committee members, directors and staff for their success each year. The festival is funded through donations from corporations, gifts from individuals, government sources, grants and foundations and earned income from things that include booth fees and T-shirt sales.
In addition to the performing acts, the Maine Folklife Area will feature student performances. Exhibits and displays from the Hudson Museum and the Page Farm and Home Museum, among others also will be available for viewing off Front Street.
Craft demonstrations, dozens of food vendors, a marketplace offering handcrafted items and, of course, the four stages of music and dance offer a variety of entertainment for audiences.
The Children’s Village will offer games and The Red Trouser Show, which performs circus arts, will perform at the village at 2:15 p.m. Saturday and at noon Sunday.
The festival begins 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, with the annual parade, which will start at Sea Dog Brewing Company and end at the Bangor Daily News Railroad Stage. The three-day run will end Sunday, Aug. 30.
Admission is free, but the AFF suggests a $10 donation per day, per person or $20 donation per day, per family to cover the nearly $1 million that goes into making the AFF a success.
For a full schedule of events, visit americanfolkfestival.com/schedule.
