Backwoods Accordion Festival

[Siegmund]

Small-town accordion playing is not dead! This is happening next week just up the road from me:



Last year's theme was "Squeeze the Day!", this year's is "Hail Squeezer", and you can buy t-shifts, coffee mugs, etc, emblazoned with same.

Kozmopolis is a band from Washington state that was invited last year but got covid and couldn't come. The other acts are local musicians, including two who play C-system CBA. I had no idea I had CBA-playing neighbors until I went to last year's iteration of the festival.

You'll notice I did not have a half-hour or hour's worth of music prepared this spring, so I didn't ask for a spot on the program. Maybe next time...

 

[EMan]

Gotta hand it to the producers of this festival for their creativeness ! Wish there were more festivals like this !

 

[Tom]

Gotta hand it to the producers of this festival for their creativeness ! Wish there were more festivals like this !

I agree! I guess these days we'd almost have to organize it ourselves.

 

[Siegmund]

I agree! I guess these days we'd almost have to organize it ourselves.

That's more or less what happened here. One of the local musicians who occasionally plays a set at the pub and the pub owner decided to invite their friends and make a day of it.

 

[Siegmund]

I had a very pleasant day in Trego today, despite the fact that it was 95F, tied with yesterday for our hottest day of the summer. It helped that there was a stiff breeze blowing most of the day, as well as shade to sit in (and lots and lots of iced tea that I brought with me.) Here is some scenery for you all:

The view from, and of, the stage --- couldn't ask for a better location:





In addition to the canopies for the audience to sit under, most of the local vendors who appear at Farmer's Markets and other community events set up their arts and crafts displays.
In particular, notice "St. Rita's Traveling Bookstore and Apothecary," a very well-stocked portable library. The inside of the van is lined with bookshelves, and the swing-out door gives her shelter to sit under and a place to put out another table of books.
And do you remember that black and blue dress (no, it was NOT gold and white) that 'broke the internet' a few years ago? You can buy it here... crocheted!





A new amenity this year, beloved by adults and children alike, was "Mr. Mister," a garden sprayer pointed at the sky in a place where anyone who wanted to could walk through it, and the breeze carried the mist into the closest tents occasionally.



Continued below.

 

[Siegmund]

The actual music featured 5 groups. Three from the immediate area, one from Bigfork (outside Kalispell, MT, about 75 miles away), and one from Washington state.

Here is 'Euphonium Spaceship', featuring their namesake instrument. This year they sang a bunch of songs with clever new words. This picture was taken during a rendition of the Too Fat Polka, reworded to "I don't want it, you can have it, it's too hot for me", rather than "she's too fat for me," in honor of the weather today.



Several people danced, some on the wooden stage near the pub door next to the musicians, some on the grass. Some shod, some barefoot. This young lady had amazing stamina and danced nearly nonstop for 4 hours, wearing out two different partners and still wanting more:



They had a sign up asking people where they were from. Most but not all of the out-of-towners were here visiting family or friends, but a handful came just for the music. I was shocked to see 4 countries outside North America represented! (Yes, people from all over come to see Glacier Park every summer... but I live 5 miles up the road and didn't hear about this festival the first year it happened.)



Kozmopolis, the band from Port Townsend, mostly played fiddle, accordion, and sousaphone. But the fiddler swapped onto banjo, and onto this curious horn-violin hybrid, which he described as a device from the wax-cylinder area to amplify strings enough to record them mechanically, before electric microphones.



And yes, I bought the T-shirt and will happily wear it to other music festivals to help advertise this one!

 

[Tom]

Wow, seems like a great time! Thanks for the review and pictures Siegmund!

 

[Mike t.]

Small-town accordion playing is not dead! This is happening next week just up the road from me:



Last year's theme was "Squeeze the Day!", this year's is "Hail Squeezer", and you can buy t-shifts, coffee mugs, etc, emblazoned with same.

Kozmopolis is a band from Washington state that was invited last year but got covid and couldn't come. The other acts are local musicians, including two who play C-system CBA. I had no idea I had CBA-playing neighbors until I went to last year's iteration of the festival.

You'll notice I did not have a half-hour or hour's worth of music prepared this spring, so I didn't ask for a spot on the program. Maybe next time...

I have a Daughter and grandkids in Missoula, this sounds like a road trip next year! Any dates/times for next year please let me know! Thanks, Mike t.

 

[Siegmund]

I haven't seen a date for next year's yet. But it's been on the 3rd Saturday in July 3 times and the 4th Saturday once (last year on the 22nd) - so I would give better than even money for July 20th.

 

[boxplayer4000]

What a fantastic venue.