Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival

The Kate Wolf fest was much more than just the 3 Girls and Buddy show. Great acts abounded, from always reliable Richard Thompson, Dave Alvin’s kicking cast of Guilty Women, a strong gospel contingent with Mavis Staples, Ruthie Foster and the Blind Boys of Alabama, plus classic old folkie Jack Elliott, jamband Railroad Earth, and lots more.

I spent only a day and a half at the festival, so I missed a lot, but here a few of my memorable moments.

• Over on the Arlo Hagler stage, when Alvin showed up for a songswap with Ramblin’ Jack and Chris Smither with Guilty Women dobro ace Cindy Cashdollar for accompaniment, emcee Bruce Hayden introduced the group as Cindy and her 3 brothers.

The all-star quartet ensemble 3 Girls and Their Buddy has been touring all over the continent this summer, but their stop at the recent Kate Wolf festival in Northern California’s redwood country was notable in that they broke format and played four individual sets instead of a single round-robin concert.

While all of the three female singer-songwriters are formidable talents, what became clear is that the true star of the show is Buddy Miller, who was on stage for every minute of every set and whose own solo shot was a confirmation that he is a powerhouse country music entertainer.

“This is the first solo gig I have played in several years, “ he told me after the show. “Besides this tour, I’ve spent much of my time as part of the Allison Krauss-Robert Plant tour,” he said.

Photo by rebafallawake

The Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival is the only event this year where Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller—all members of the ensemble Three Girls & Their Buddy—will play individual sets at the same festival. 

Since the four artists, each musical stars in their own right, are touring widely this summer under the Three Girls banner, I had made the erroneous assumption that they would be appearing in that configuration at KateFest, which runs June 25-28 in Laytonville CA. However, festival promoter Cloud Moss of Cumulus Presents has confirmed that all four artists will have their own sets over the course of two days. 

"There will not be a Three Girls & Their Buddy set, but all of the performers will be there both days and [will] walk in and out of each others' sets as they choose to do so. It will be an offshoot of the Three Girls theme spread over four different sets with a different focus each time," Moss said.

Every year I rave about the great lineups set for the Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival, the laid-back northern California event honoring the late, great California singer-songwriter. This year is shaping up no differently after the festival's initial lineup announcement this week.

The lineup includes Three Girls and Their Buddy (Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller), Richard Thompson, Mavis Staples, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women, Railroad Earth, Riders in the Sky, Chris Smither and more. There will also be a musical tribute to festival hero Utah Phillips including the late songwriter's son Duncan Phillips and friends.

That's a strong roots lineup for most any festival, and especially impressive at a only moderately well known regional folk festival. As I have written before, if you are anywhere near to Menocino County in June, this is one festival not to miss. The 2009 festival takes place at Black Oak Ranch in Laytonville CA on June 26-28. Holiday pricing is in effect now. For more information.

One of my favorite local (for me) festivals is the Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival, held in memory of the beloved California singer-songwriter who passed away in 1986. With FP's busy 2006 season, we probably won't be covering it this year, but looking at the newly published lineup we now wish we were.

Among the scheduled performers: Steve Earle, Bruce Cockburn, Tim O'Brien, Buddy Miller, Dirk Powell, Laurie Lewis, Adrienne Young, The Kennedys, The Roches, Railroad Earth, and The Wailin' Jennys. That's in addition to festival regulars Greg Brown, Arlo Guthrie, Utah Phillips, Rosalie Sorrels, and Nina Gerber. Oh my.

This year's event, to be held June 23-25 in Laytonville, Calif., is the 11th season for this great festival.