CalderaFest 2016- Pagan Music Festival: Recap
From May 27, 2016 through May 30, 2016 in Lafayette, Georgia I was fortunate enough to have been one of 29 bands that performed at this first Pagan Music Festival called CalderaFest. There were over 60 vendors, many of who were incredible artisans and everything was run so professionally. The stage and sound crew made everyone sound great, and David Banach, who was the visionary behind this event, planned and executed it all with with the help of many volunteers, who were also committed to making it a success.
My performance was on Friday, at 2:00 pm. It was the first heat wave of the season and boy was it hot. Holy Cow! Yet it didn't really matter, for there was such magic in the air, and I was feeling euphoric just being there sharing my music for all those who would listen. I had the pleasure of having Danny Mullikin from Tuatha Dea join me on stage for the last song. Danny is a fantastic percussionist and had a very large part to play in the festival as well, promoting the release of the "Green Album", which featured many of the performers who were at the festival.
Throughout the entire festival, I had the opportunity to collaborate both on and off the stage with so many talented artists. On Sunday I was asked to join an amazing guitarist, Brian Henke, on stage while partaking in some lush vocal harmonies with S.J. Tucker. There were many other collaborations throughout the entire festival where I and many of the musicians were all joining each other on stage and the sense of community was something really genuine and fulfilling.
In addition, I gave a workshop on Sunday at 1:00 pm called "The Art of Community Singing." which was very special indeed. The workshop focused on learning to find our true voice and allowing that to come through in our chants and songs. What a great group, and I really enjoyed offering that workshop.
I could go on and on about all the wonderful experiences and fantastic people that I met there, but for now I'll just leave it at that. If you are not familiar with "pagan music," it is really the best kept secret in terms of the talent that resides in what seems to be an emerging underground "scene." If you would like to get more acquainted with some of the musical artists click here for a list of performers that were part of the 2016 line-up. You are sure to discover some new and interesting talent.
