Last night I played the Las Vegas Folk Punk Fest. A bunch of local bands from the Vegas acoustic music scene played, as well as a couple of touring acts. A highlight for me was finally getting to play a show with one of my favorite bands here in town, The All-Togethers.
I went into this not knowing much about the folk-punk scene. I didn't even know there was a folk-punk scene. But I was really impressed by some of the things I saw.
The organizer, Dylan Faircloth, really believes in this music. He put on a festival as a house show. Trust me, that requires some serious dedication. And he brought in a pretty substantial crowd.
One of the other artists on the bill, Logan Greene Electric, was taking a really hard core DIY approach to his latest CD. As we waited to go on, he was burning CDs, which his tour mate had stenciled the artwork on. The material had all been recorded just a few weeks before. It was a really ingenious approach, and definitely gave me some ideas for future projects.
The best thing about the show, for me, was just getting up with my guitar, and people gathering around close to hear me play and sing. Only a couple had ever heard me before, but they were all right in my face as I shared my music with them. A great night overall.