By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
NEW SWEDEN — The sun and the sheer talent of the Arootsakoostik artists at Thomas Park in New Sweden on Aug. 7 may have been competing to see which could outshine the other, but at least the sun showed up this year.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
There was great weather and great music at the third annual Arootsakoostik music festival, held Aug. 7 at Thomas Park in New Sweden. At front left, Katie Brown, Josh Ganblin and 17-month-old Zoe, all of Corinth, converse with Stephanie Martin while listening to Martin’s fiancé and co-festival coordinator Travis Cyr, stage right, perform. Cyr, a member of the two-man band Strings of Calamity, co-coordinated the event with his band-mate Matt Beaulieu, pictured at center stage. At stage left, Rodney Deveost with [Dog]and[Pony] of Portland arranges his camera to document the musical experience.
The talent has always been present since the first Arootsakoostik Music Festival in 2007 (originally called Garden Fest) but this was the first time that Arootsakoostik concert—goers — over 500 strong — were able to shed their umbrellas, trade the galoshes for flip-flops and rain hats for sunglasses to enjoy the fullest extent of the festival atmosphere with a very Aroostook vibe.
“After three years of rain the sunshine brought out the best in everyone,” said Travis Cyr, who co-coordinated the event with fellow Strings of Calamity band member Matt Beaulieu. “There was great energy all day and everything went off without a hitch; it was the best possible scenario.”
What’s good for the fans is good for the musicians, and with the general consensus being that they all want to come back next year, it’s all good for the festival.
There were 25 acts at this year’s event and none of them were a letdown. Some folks even complained about the second stage because with simultaneous performances, it was hard for them to choose which one to watch.
Cyr heard the complaints, and while he can understand being torn between two stages, the second stage isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“We feel that part of what a festival is about is to cram in as much music as possible,” he explained, adding that the stages are close enough to each other that it’s only a short walk from one band to the next, “but cramming as much music as you can into a day is really what the festival’s about.”
“We managed to keep a good crowd at the second stage as well as good crowd at the main stage,” he added. “With a second stage, you have to worry about dividing the crowd, but it was a success in that we were able to keep a solid crowd in font of both stages all day long.”
Almost like a musical juggernaut, the festival keeps growing and expanding to the delight of both musicians and spectators.
“This was by far our best year,” Cyr said. Attendance was up by roughly 150 people from last year’s festival, and festival amenities seemed to rise for the occasion — arts and crafts vendors, apparel, food and fresh veggies, there was even a film crew up from Portland to document the event.
[Dog]and[Pony] plans on producing six episodes on their Web page (also called webisodes) highlighting six festival artists and also intends to create a documentary DVD about the festival itself; additional information regarding the release dates can be found at www.dogandponymusic.net.
Almost like a musical juggernaut, the festival keeps growing and expanding to the delight of both musicians and spectators. The impending arrival of the film crew fueled previously existing ambitions to increase aesthetic efforts around Thomas Park for the festival and many were amazed to see just what could be accomplished with a little time, effort, a creative knack and 30 feet of scaffolding.
“There was a concentrated effort on the visual aspect of the festival,” Cyr said. Even an hour before the concert, festival volunteers were piecing together the finishing touches that packed an aesthetic punch, particularly the Arootsakoostik flag.
“The flag was done by Joe Feidler from Bangor; he got the idea early that morning, ran to town for supplies and had a couple of kids help him create the flag at the last minute,” Cyr explained.
Other works of art — like the multifaceted cardboard totem suspended high above the purchasable band memorabilia and the larger than life acoustic guitar cut out in the main stage spectator seating — clearly required more than a little foresight in creating an Arootsakoostik atmosphere that still has fans talking, and word of mouth is spreading quickly about what’s being called a festival haven tucked in the Crown of Maine.
Bands wanting to play at Arootsakoostik have been seeking out Cyr and Beaulieu to send them almost auditionary audio files to see if they can make “the list;” resultantly, it’s been harder and harder for festival coordinators to decide exactly who gets to play.
“I hate to say no to anybody, but it’s become more of a challenge,” Cyr said.
“One of the things we like to do is keep a core set of bands that have been performing with us since the beginning,” he added. “They have fans and friends up here, and it’s really their only opportunity to play The County.”
Joining the loyalty-core on the set list, however, are a diverse group of extremely talented individuals. Take the band Brown Bird, for instance. They had just finished touring Europe opening for a national act and despite a 10-hour turn-around drive from Vermont to New Sweden, the band wanted in on the Arootsakoostik action.
From rockabilly to folk and bluegrass to alternative, Cyr and Beaulieu try not to have two bands sound alike. In addition to the previously mentioned crammed-with-music schedule, “a diversity of musical stylings are also what festivals are all about,” Cyr said.
Good weather, good music, good food and good company, and all of it for a good cause. On Monday morning, Cyr and Beaulieu donated $500 toward the maintenance and upkeep of Thomas Park in New Sweden, approximately $100 in monetary and non-perishable donations to the New Sweden food pantry, and they will be donating $200 to a Van Buren family to help with the medical costs incurred treating their young daughter for cancer.
Plans are already in the works for next year’s Arootsakoostik festival, which is estimated to hover right around its first-Saturday-in-August date.
