Narrows Festival line up annouced

The 10th Annual Narrows Festival of the Arts will be held on Sunday September 11 from 11-7. The Annual Arts Fest is a celebration and showcase for what we do all year long at the Narrows. The event features fine art, music and food. We have a great children's area that is run by the Fall River Children's Museum. It's all free. The only reason it is free is because of our fine sponsors.  Our lead sponsor for the past two years has been Mechanics Cooperative Bank. Other sponsors include: the Fall River Cultural Council, Dominion Power, Citizens Union Savings Bank, Borden and Remington Corp.,Whaling City Sound, Colonial Wholesale Beverage and our good friends at WMVY radio. I always say vote with your feet, meaning that if you like what someone is supporting, support them back. It's the only way it works.

Drum roll please

This year's musical lineup maybe our finest yet. We have two co-headliners on our outside stage, Roomful of Blues and New Riders of the Purple Sage. Both acts have played to sold out shows at the Narrows. Roomful has seen sort of a rebirth lately with their hot new album "Hook, Line and Sinker". They blew the roof off the Narrows in May and we expect more of the same on Sept 11. New Riders have played many great shows at the Narrows since they reformed in 2006. Here's a  old clip with Jerry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SynF5nOqudk. Here's a new clip with the new line-up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqzli5CqdFY . They are still going strong and waving the Freak Flag high. God bless em for keeping the music alive and well. Also on the main stage is Bill Kirchen and Too Much Fun. Bill cut his teeth with Commander Cody's Lost Planet Airmen. His signature tune is Hot Rod Lincoln. Here's a clip where he rips through just about every rock and roll lick on the planet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKXCLCZBYrg&feature=related Opening on the main stage is a new group we have hosted a few times Girls, Guns, and Glory. You can check them out at www.girlsgunsandglory.com. They are a fun band that will really get the party started.

Playing on the Narrows stage inside is a new discovery of ours Amy Black. Amy just opened the Joe Ely show and impressed all in attendance. It's got a little twang to it but in the end it's a real soulful and believable. She has agreat new record out "One/Time" produced by my good friend Lorne Entress who has produced records by Lori McKenna and others. He is also the drummer for Ronnie Earl who plays the Narrows on August 12. There is a great video on her website www.amyblack.com of her recent appearance at Club Passim. For jazz lovers we have Dino Govoni and his Organ trio. Dino has played our festival a few times. He is from the Whaling City Sound  www.whalingcitysounds.com roster whose owner Neal Weiss is the godfather of Jazz in southern New England. Neil has put out well over 75 releases of some of the finest regional and national jazz acts. He is also one of the finest people I know. Also playing inside is folk chantuese Liz Longley.Liz is a fabulous new talent who recently opened for Joan Osborne.  Liz received first prize in the BMI John Lennon Scholarship competition, grand prize in the International Acoustic Music Award contest (among 9,000 entries). Here's a great clip of her doing Moondance/Summertime http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCGPpmlAZiM. Opening the days festivities is Rocky Roberts and Friends. Rocky is from Western Mass, he has been Neil Young's guitar tech for over 30 years. We met while he was working for David Lindley. He gave me a copy of his record which was great. He will be bringing some of Western Mass's finest Americana players with him

Here's the full schedule:

2011 Narrows Festival Schedule

Main Stage

12:00-1:00 Girls Guns and Glory

1:30-2:45 Bill Kirchen

3:15-4:45 New Riders of the Purple Sage

5:15-7:00 Roomful of Blues

Narrows Stage

11:30-12:15 Rocky Roberts and Friends

1:15-2:00 Liz Longley

3:00-4:00 Dino Govoni Organ Trio plus One

5:00-5:45 Amy Black

Ian McLagan: Rock and Roll Royalty

The name McLagan doesn't have the star power of  a Jagger, Lennon, Townsend etc but Mr. McLagan has been at the forefront of the British rock scene since 1965. Ian will be making a  rare local appearance at the Narrows on Wednesday June 15. He has toured or recorded with the likes of:The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, Taj Mahal, John Hiatt, David Lindley, Paul Westerberg, Billy Bragg and Patty Griffin.

It all started in 1966, when he joined a scruffy group from East London called The Small Faces. The Small Faces consisted of Steve Marriot on Guitar and Vocals, Kenny Jones(Keith Moon's replacement in The Who) on Drums, Ronnie Lane on Bass and  Vocals and Ian McLagan Keyboards and Vocals. The group was heavily influenced by American R&B but fused psychedelia into the mix creating their own unique sound. They hit it big in "67" with "Itchycoo Park". Here's a classic clip of that tune http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJzcF0v1eOE The real tour de force for the group was the concept album Ogden's Nut Gone Flake. It was distinctively packaged in a round tin mimicking a brand of tobacco sold in Liverpool. With a heavy psychedelic element, I am sure the group was suggesting more than tobacco be housed in the tin. Here's a clip from a French TV show Surprise Partie circa 1969.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkyhuuxJ6ss&feature=related. It's great to see how in in just 2 years, the group transformed into this really heavy band. If you don't own this record, go out and get it. It is a must for any serious fan of rock and roll.

The group's leader Steve Marriot quit on New Year's Eve 69 after a gig. The remaining members then joined forces with former Jeff Beck group members Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood. They became The Faces and were one of the all time great British Rock bands. Ian was a co-writer on such classics as Cindy Incidentally, You're So Rude and Three Button Hand Me Down. Here's a great clip form the Dutch Television Pop Gala 73 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3P_re8R3Y8.

The group disbanded in 1975 and McLagan went on to played on a slew of great records. His trademark B-3 playing can be heard on Rod Stewart's Maggie May. He played keys on the Stones classic Miss You as well as touring with the band. He toured with Dylan and played on our old friend Tom Russell's Borderland. In 1994, he moved to Austin and formed The Bump Band.  In December of 2007, McLagan and Glyn Johns, his old pal from Small Faces and Faces days, met at Sphere Studios in London to mix and master Ian McLagan's beautiful and emotionally raw CD, Never Say Never. Here's a clip from the David Letterman show with Patti Griffin on Backing vocals http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKhjOPlpuGo. This clip shows that Ian is still on top of  his game.

So while Ian McLagan might not be a household name,  he is true rock and roll royalty. At his upcoming show at the Narrows on June 15 expect a healty dose of Small Faces, Faces, solo stuff and a few surprises