Parker Harrington

Phil Lesh and The Levon Helm Band @ Midnight Ramble, June 17

Part of the joy in seeing live music is the never-ending quest to find the ideal balance of music, setting, sound and ambiance which results in the creation of life long memories. While no concert event can ever be considered “perfect”, on Friday night, June 17, Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble with Phil Lesh set a remarkably high bar and perhaps even set the parameters for concert perfection.

Tucked cozily into the Catskill Mountains in the fertile music grounds of Woodstock, NY, not even a stone’s throw from the legendary Bearsville Studios, is Levon Helm’s private residence with a barn cum recording studio. Guests navigate a long winding driveway and are warmly greeted by a staff seemingly more intent on welcoming and befriending their guests than anything else.

Driveway Driving In

Barn from the Outside

Upon entering the studio, the majestic beauty of the natural surroundings outside are almost eclipsed by the grandeur & elegance of the studio. Carved between the wood beams, exposed stone, folding chairs and benches, was an intimate stage that appeared mysteriously within reach of every one of the 300 guests in attendance. Created by laying a large Oriental rug on top of the barn-board floor and surrounded with guitar & instrument stands perched on a stone hearth in front of a large fireplace, the stage was set for another night of the “Midnight Ramble”.

READ ON for more about Friday’s special Midnight Ramble…

Life is good Festival, Blue Hills – Canton MA, September 12

Sunday, Day Two at Life is Good, brought a nice mix of great home-bred talent in Guster, the best of the New Orleans’ funk & jam scenes with Trombone Shorty and Galactic, the world-renowned international sounds of Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars and Toubab Krewe and pop superstars OK Go!, Brett Dennen, Corinne Bailey Rae and Jason Mraz.

[Life is Good founders sit down for an interview on Sunday]

Despite an early morning shower prior to any of the acts hitting the stage, and slightly cooler temperatures, it was another near perfect day in Canton, MA. Just like Saturday, the schedule of the Main Stage and the Good Vibes stage was thoughtfully planned. Bands never overlapped giving festival goers an opportunity to catch entire acts and little to zero downtime without music filling the air. The Kids Stage proved an even bigger draw on Sunday. The tent was jam packed to overflow capacity for all the bands throughout the day. The only balloons to be found in either the parking lots or the festival grounds were those of the smiling children.

Besides the same type of music, like They Might Be Giants that the Kids’ Stage hosted on Saturday, there was one major change on Sunday. Due to some flight difficulties and logistical issues, Trombone Shorty had to be re-scheduled to the Kids’ Stage. Frankly, it may have been a toss-up on what was better for them: opening the Main Stage with the early slot when people were still arriving or not even there yet, or closing out the Tent in a late afternoon slot. In one of the only hiccups in the execution for this rookie festival, the organizers did a poor job in alerting the attendees of the new time-slot and location. Despite the lack of communication, a relatively decent sized crowd made their way to the tent and saw a remarkable set of music. With the energy absolutely pulsing from the stage, it was tough not to imagine the kids that had been in the tent earlier in the day literally being blown through the big-top if they had still been inside.

• Life is good Festival: Day One

READ ON for more from Parker on Day Two of Life is good…

Nestled between the ponds, streams, and the beauty of Great Blue Hill is historic Prouse Farm in Canton, MA, located just 10 miles from Boston and the new home of the Life is Good Festival. Life is Good filled a major void for a large scale music festival in New England. Sure, Newport, RI has both the Folk and Jazz festivals & Maine held the inaugural Nateva Festival this year, but this is the first multi-day festival within the Route 128 belt.

The three stages that comprised the Life is Good Festival kicked off on Saturday for two days of feel good music on an absolutely gorgeous weekend in New England. Sunny 70 degree weather with no hint that Autumn is knocking on the door, it was the perfect weather to match the feeling that the iconic “Life is Good” brand is all about. Not only was the festival, which was the largest ever put on in the greater Boston area (estimated attendance at 20,000 people each day) supposed to put a smile on your face, it served another purpose. 100% of the proceeds of the event, over $1,000,000 will be donated towards The Life is Good Kids Foundation which helps kids overcome issues such as violence, illness and poverty.

Unlike other festivals & concert events where access to the “meet and greets”, priority seating, and other perks & amenities is accessed through exorbitant ticket fees and joining fan clubs, the Life is Good festival had another formula. Here, it was setting fund-raising goals and making donations to the very worthwhile cause of helping kids.

READ ON for more from Parker on the Life is good Festival…

What an amazing summer for Phish. Building on the momentum gained in 2009, the band came out in force for what will truly be a memorable summer for years to come. Interestingly, Leg 1 and Leg 2 were like distant cousins rather than soul brothers. They could not have been more different and we thought it would be interesting to re-survey the masses to get their opinions on the second leg, the overall tour and some other assorted questions. Over 600 responses were received. This time, though, all questions were optional, so in some cases the responses do not always add up to the total amount of survey responses. Without further ado, here are the results:

Best Venue, Leg Two

In the vote that was clearly in the bank before any responses were received, Telluride takes the cake with over 40% of the vote. The Greek and Alpine of course garnered quite a few votes as well. Perhaps the only surprising aspect of the survey was that over 40 people felt that Jones Beach was the best venue and that it was only a handful of votes away from Deer Creek.

Best Lot Scene

Telluride nearly came up with another victory in this category but fell a few votes short of Deer Creek. The other three venues were each around 10% of the vote.

READ ON for more results from our Phish Summer Tour Survey…