Festival for the Eno

This year I decided I would head out to the Festival for the Eno for the full three days as a last blast of Durhamness before I embraced fully the need to pack. And I was not disappointed! There were lots of great acts this year, and some favorites of mine.

First, though, I feel I owe a plug for Ellis. Her music and lyrics paint pictures of the kind of soul that I want to be, and that is a wonderful thing. If that were all, she would be one of my favorite performers--but she also manages to deftly weave funny poignant stories in between her songs. It wasn't until Saturday that I realized that many of them were made up right on the spot.

And that brings me to why I owe Ellis a plug.

On Friday I had gone to her concert and bought her new DVD set. While wandering the craft booths looking for a present for someone, I realized the perfect gift would be an Ellis CD. Besides, she's always friendly to chat with and signs her CD's, so that would be perfect. So I went back and bought another CD. Which is probably why she recognized me the next day.

On Saturday I went to her show at the Meadow stage at the Eno, which is notable for having a large area in front of the stage that is in the sun. On a day like Saturday with 91 plus weather, no one sits in the sun unless they have to.

So in order to get a picture, you have to get pretty darn close to the stage, and you will be the only one standing in the sun in full view. Okay, so I accept that, and I know that the performers all see you.

But I didn't think I'd be distracting, until I saw through the viewfinder that Ellis had taken a step back from the mike and turned to look at me. She smiled, so I didn't think anything of it, until she finished the song and started chatting with the audience again.

"I'm sorry I forgot the lyrics there for a moment. You see, the gentleman taking pictures down there was here the day before and we had a sweet interaction. And so when I saw him, suddenly all I could think of was...yesterday."

Everyone laughed, and it was the perfect segue into her next song, a lighthearted number about forgetting where her car was parked. The point is, obviously she couldn't have prepared the thought she had, she just used what happened naturally to make a joke and make a great show even better. It's a skill I'm constantly trying to perfect while giving lectures, and it is always great to watch a master at work. Thanks, Ellis!


Fiddlefoxx is now a trio, and remains a unique sound combining (unsurprisingly) the fiddle and Steve Foxx's beatbox skills. The Midtown Dickens throw everything they have at all their songs, and often are holding an instrument in each hand and running around to get more during their sets.

Finally, the big draw of the show this year was Albanach, a Scottish drum and pipes band in the US for the Highland Games in Linville next week. They are very high energy, and since so many in North Carolina are of Scottish descent, was a fan favorite. They did four sets, and all were very highly attended.