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[ In July, CHIRP DJ and Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Avampato traveled to Louisville, Kentucky for the Forecastle Festival, a three day celebration of music along the banks of the Ohio River. See coverage of days one and two of the festival on the blog, and head to Flickr for a full photo gallery. For a look back at featured Forecastle artists, tune into Sarah's show on CHIRP on Friday at 8pm Central. ]
Everyone hits a wall with music festivals. I don't care how old or young you are, or how well prepared -- three days on your feet in the blistering sun will do strange things to you, and eventually you reach a point where all you want to do is go "home". I'm not ashamed to admit that Sunday was my "wall" -- oppressive heat really does you in pretty quickly. I allowed myself to have a short day at the festival, rather than getting so hangry that I cried over pizza, which is definitely not a thing that I've done at a past Forecastle, no, not at all.
I started my day out by seeing Noah Gundersen. The Seattle-born singer-songwriter may have started his career with music with a little more folk, but his sound has gotten bigger and bigger over the years, and his songs keep getting more refined. He played several songs from his upcoming album, Carry the Ghost, in addition to many older favorites. Despite having the first slot of the day at the festival, Gundersen attracted a healthy crowd, and wowed them with a moody cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". If you've ever caught my show on CHIRP, you'll know that I'm a total sucker for cover songs, and this one was no exception.
CHIRP DJ and Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Avampato was southward-bound last month to cover the annual Forecastle Festival in Louisville, KY. We round out coverage of the festival today. If you’ve missed out, days one and two are on the blog. For more photos, head over to Flickr.
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If you, like me, are out of your early 20s and value things like sleep and not having your body hate you, then the third day of a festival is usually the hardest. I had a lot of why am I doing this to myself moments, followed by a lot of oh god I am so old moments. Some real good times, as I dragged myself Luciuout of bed and got ready for the last day of the festival.
While I made it to the festival grounds late, I did manage to catch the back half of a fantastic set by Matrimony, another North Carolina based band. The band is a family affair, led by husband and wife duo Ashlee Hardee Brown and Jimmy Brown, and backed up by Ashlee’s two brothers, and that translates into a unique chemistry among the four of them. I’d never heard Matrimony before, but their set absolutely reeled me in with their heartfelt harmonies and high energy. A real great start to the day.
CHIRP DJ and Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Avampato skipped out on Pitchfork this year in order to attend the Forecastle Festival in Louisville, KY. Founded in 2002, Forecastle continues to pick up buzz as a must-see festival, and combines music with art and activism, through its Forecastle Foundation wing.
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This is my third year attending Forecastle, and while I don’t want to play the My Festival Is Better Than Your Festival game, I will say that this is the only festival that I trust enough to buy a ticket for before the lineup is released. While the music is, of course, the reason to attend any festival, there’s always plenty of other things to keep you entertained.