I’m posting this late Friday night, not too long after being joyfully thrashed and soaked for five hours on a South Fork American River rafting excursion with American Whitewater Expeditions. In the aftermath tonight I’m experiencing a deeply contented buzz that comes from happy physical exhaustion, a grateful and full belly, good music, and connecting with old and new friends. I’m here at the American River Music Festival and I’m anticipating the great performances of the next two days, and all the good and groovy stuff that comes with a full festivation experience.
In their tenth year, the ARMF is an event with a focus on songwriters and the stories they have to tell, and there’s a deep vein of Bluegrass and Americana in the jamming and the main stage acts that provokes a serious pull on my heartstrings. Some blues and reggae and klezmer-hipster music are on the schedule, too. Everyone is here for the music and I’m feeling completely at home. There’s a comfortable and playful vibe, and a mystical rightness about it all, what with the full moon and a partial eclipse happening elsewhere, and the happy campers spread about in abandon.
I pitched my tent at the American River Resort in Coloma, the one time home of the famous River Tunes Music Camp (they’ve relocated to Camp Sylvester in Pinecrest). Next trip I’ll check out nearby Camp Lotus and the Coloma Resort, both part of the mighty triad of campgrounds here. During the festival, each of the campgrounds host events like wine tastings, music showcases, barbecues, mini concerts with the main stage acts, and a popular river walk with Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum. At the jam scene you’ll find a sprinkling of ukuleles, drums, and an accordion or two alongside the predominant presence of bluegrass instruments. As I stroll the campground, my unconscious radar picks out the bluegrass and old country jams from the rest. I got pulled in to a raucous rendition of Midnight Flyer and I never knew my voice could go so high (but it just might be the smooth Irish whiskey doing the singing).
After the river trip there was lip smackin’ barbecue and beer at the campground, with the ever-present jovial hubbub and jamming and regular outbursts of laughter in the background. The harvest moon cast enough light for the few kids fishing at the stocked pond (bass! trout!) and for a horseshoe/beer pong game being waged in the field area up by the RV parking.
A first-time couple from the bay area informed me that they rented a package here that includes tents, chairs, cots, sleeping bags, pads, bbq – the works. Which is a good thing because their car is a Mini Cooper and they can barely fit an extra six pack in there – but at least they have their priorities straight with the beer. They are fully agog with all the music happening here in the campground, and lament that they could never be “good enough” to play an instrument like the people here. Like me. I tell them to come to a CBA Music Camp and/or River Tunes Music Camp and soon enough they will be “good enough.”
The rafting trip was an easy add on to the American River Music Festival pass. This intimate festival runs four days with performances at the festival grounds on Saturday and Sunday. There is a constant shuttle service between the campgrounds and the venue, which also runs between each campground after the festival proper.
A new friend here suggests I come back soon for an quick tubing expedition. Simply launch from Troublemaker Rapid at American River Resort and enjoy an hour or so float down to Henningsen-Lotus Park (aka the festival site which transforms into a regular park during ordinary mortal hours). A float just long enough to finish a few beers, he says. I might do that pretty soon before the fall temperatures come, and waaaay after my muscles recover from all the paddling and flinging endless buckets of water at everyone.
This is surely a heaven on earth moment. Nothing could be sweeter than being here and relaxing in the embrace of the Sierra Nevada foothills. Surrounded by music and like-minded festivators, we’re far enough from civilization to be in awe of the stars, and free enough to dance all night with the harvest moon.
