As a first time Roots and Blueser, I can honestly say that I had no idea what to expect from the three-day music festival.
Despite this, I couldn’t help but feel my excitement rise as the event neared.
I watched names being added to the bill, and heard tales of past events from my colleagues.
I took note of the advice provided by Roots and Blues veterans, including to dress in layers and what bands were must-sees.
Now, I have been to a number of music festivals including a few in Nova Scotia and some in Alberta with musical selections ranging from rock, Celtic and indie to name a few.
Looking back on my last three days, however, I can now say that Roots and Blues has offered the best experience to date.
I was impressed by the selection of musicians to choose from at any given time during the day. It did not matter what your tastes were, there was always a stage offering something to please you.
I was swept back to my own Celtic roots through the upbeat and all too familiar sounds of the Beaton sisters, then mellowed out to the cool rhythms of the reggae performers.
I spent the majority of Saturday night at the Boogie Bar-N taking in the great beats provided by Delhi 2 Dublin, Kid Koala and Five Alarm Funk, and dancing to the point where I woke up the next morning without the ability to move my legs.
I was impressed by how the different bands were organized, allowing festival goers to find what they like and simply sit back and relax without too much stage hopping required.
I would check out the schedule early in the morning to see the performances I most wanted to see and make a plan of action.
I had left gaps between performances throughout the day, each day, where I had planned to run home for a quick break.
Looking back now I realize that I didn’t take any of those opportunities.
Whether it was the music that would draw me to another stage, or a another set of vendors that I had to explore, every time I headed for the front gate I was distracted by something.
Beyond the quality of the music itself, I enjoyed the set-up for the festival as a whole.
I have been to a number of music events such as this, where the sites were dirty, hot, and everyone was crammed into a tiny area making it very uncomfortable for both you and your overly smelly neighbor.
Based on these experiences I need to commend the organizers and volunteers of the Roots and Blues for keeping the site so clean.
There was never a point during the three-day period where I came across garbage over flowing in the cans, or spread across the ground. I noticed the recycling being taken directly off-site throughout the day keeping the smell and the wasps to a minimum, and the water being sprayed on the ground to keep the dust down.
The misters stationed at what seemed every corner of the grounds provided a much needed break from the blazing sun.
I also enjoyed the laid-back feel of the event.
No one ever seemed in a huge hurry and everyone seemed to get along.
It was not uncommon to see groups of people off to the side of the beer garden, taking in the music and enjoying a relaxing game of bocce ball, and you couldn’t go a day without making a handful of new friends from around the world.
As part of the media, I heavily relied on the Performers Liaisons who did a wonderful job, going out of their way to help out, and in many ways helping me keep my sanity as I tried to store up all the information in my brain.
I can honestly only come up with two complaints during the entire three day event.
The first is how difficult the organizers made it to decide which performers to see and which to miss. With so much amazing talent this choice was much harder than I expected.
The second complaint is that at some point during the event someone seemed to speed up time. While I was eager to watch the Trews take the stage (I have been a fan for some time), I suddenly found myself saddened by the realization that the event was soon over.
While I entered into the Roots and Blues craze with a somewhat skeptic state of mind, I left it already counting down until next year’s event and actively recruiting more people to follow.