Rootchie Tootchie & the Ragtime Shepard Kings at Oldtone – photo © Tara Linhardt
The Oldtone Roots Music Festival has once again dazzled its audience with great music and fun activities for an entire weekend. The festival is located on the absolutely beautiful Cool Whisper Farm in the hills of New York, with its highland cattle lounging about in the fields surrounding the festival grounds.
Thursday, September 7 through Sunday the 10th were filled with multiple stages offering a wide variety of old style musics like bluegrass, old time, string band, Cajun, traditional jazz and what-have you. There were individual pickin’ contests in the categories of mandolin, guitar, fiddle, dobro, and banjo as well as a band contest. Loads of workshops for folks of all ages and a wide array of interests were interspersed throughout each day. The Main Stage and Dance Tents were, of course, a main focus for many and the dance tent was packed many times throughout the weekend as folks danced to a variety of callers, or two-stepped, or just boogied down.
I heard so many people complimenting how the organizers had a great variety of musical styles, but all within the context of true roots-style music, as well as the really laid back and family friendly atmosphere of the festival. There was a rumor also that the folks who organize the Oldtone festival might add a new festival possibly sometime in June, which may be more of a Fiddler’s Convention type thing. If folks are interested in keeping up on upcoming festivals put on by these folks, I recommend going to their website and joining their email list, so you don’t miss out.
Here is a little taste of the fun with the highly entertaining band, Rootchie Tootchie & the Ragtime Shepard Kings.
