Richard Briggs spent a recent morning harvesting hay at his farmin Nescopeck Township.
He'll be out again and again over the next few weeks, cutting thetall grass to make way for the thousands expected for the BriggsFarm Blues Festival. Next weekend he'll start building theperformance areas and begin work on a new fence.
Little by little, the stage is being set for the two-dayfestival. Scheduled for July 8 and 9, it is in its 14th year andwill feature national blues acts, facilities for campers andvendors.
Briggs, the event organizer, expects 4,000 folks at the 350-acrefarm his family has owned since 1768. It's still a working farm;Briggs' dad grows strawberries, and his son plants corn andsoybeans.
"I think that's one of the things that makes our festival morespecial than other festivals. It's a real working farm, and ouraudience falls into that really relaxed, friendly environment,"Briggs said, noting about 30 acres of the farm will be dedicated tothe festival.
Since the festival's inception in 1998, Briggs Farm has presentedmore than 150 national, international and regional blues artists onits Main and Back Porch stages. And as a nationally recognizedvenue, attendees travel from far and near to attend.
"We have people who come from all over the country - and all overthe world," Briggs said. "Last year we had people from Iceland andIreland. Some people plan vacations around the festival."
Those who will be camping can arrive as early as 11 a.m. July 8.The concert field opens at 2:30 p.m. that day, and music goes from4:30 p.m. to midnight.
That day's headliner will be Andrew Jr. Boy Jones, who began hisprofessional career in the 1960s playing with Freddie King's backingband, "The Thunderbirds." His career spanned through the decades andin 2009, he released his fifth solo album.
On July 9, gates to the concert field open at 12:30 p.m., withmusic from 4 p.m. to midnight. The headlining act will be Eddie Shaw& The Wolf Gang. Shaw performed with blues greats Muddy Waters andHowlin' Wolf. The Wolf Gang was the original back-up band forHowlin' Wolf, and Shaw was Wolf's manager.
Other Main Stage acts scheduled to perform one or both daysinclude Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, Terry "Harmonica" Bean, ChainsawDupont, Lonnie Shields, Eli Cook, Teeny Tucker, James Armstrong andthe Alexis P. Suter Band.
The Back Porch stage offers a more personal setting and willfeature Main Stage artists doing workshops and answering questions.Positioned beneath a tent, the Back Porch stage will also featurelocal bands Brooke & Kevin, Rare Form and Vandelay Industries. Musicruns simultaneously from both stages.
"The Back Porch stage is a little bit more acoustic, and somevery great stuff goes on there, too," Briggs said.
For the first time, Briggs is hoping to stream live behind-the-scenes images to the Internet.
"We'll be in the camping areas, the green room backstage andfilming from the stage area into the audience," he said. "We will befilming everything but the show."
In addition, Briggs said food like roasted corn, pecan pie,Mississippi Delta-style barbecue pulled pork, sausage and bakedchicken wings will be available.
Vendors will sell jewelry, silk saris, antique button jewelry,cigar box guitars and more. There will be free parking and hayrides.
According to Briggs, those who decide to camp can choose thedesignated "quiet" camping area or a wooded area, which typicallyattracts those who stay up after the music ends.
Both camp areas close at 2 p.m. July 10.
Briggs said attendees have told him the festival is equivalent to"Christmas in July." They say it is the entire experience - themusic, the atmosphere and the location.
"You can basically pull up a lawn chair and just watch the cloudsgo by. I have people who have told me they love to just sit in theevenings and watch the billions of fireflies jump up over thefields," he said.
For more information, or to purchase tickets, visitwww.briggsfarm.com or call 570-379-2003. Tickets are also availableat Briggs Farm; The Amish Pantry, Nescopeck Township; Franco'sPizzeria, Nescopeck; The Perfect Blend, Berwick; Cyber CalfRestaurant, Hazleton; and all Gallery of Sound locations.
jwhalen@standardspeaker.com
No comments:
Post a Comment