I was glad to learn that musicians from New Orleans would be at the Folklife Festival this year. I was excited to read that one of them would be Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, the leader of the Golden Eagles Mardi Gras Indians. I saw him at the Jazz Fest a few years ago and really liked the show. The best part of it was actually the crowd. He was on a big stage in front of a big open grassy area. The crowd set up reminded me of an army encampment. People staking out spots needed a way to let their friends know where they were, so there were dozens of tall poles with flags and pennants and symbols and colors and all that. It was quite a sight to see.
Also on display last night was a great guitar player. He was pretty incredible.
After the Chief got through with his set, we got to see the Hot 8 Brass Band. They were a lot younger than I thought they'd be. I was expecting older men in their 40s and 50s. The oldest were in their early 40s, and most were mid- or late-20s. However old they were, they were fantastic. They played 7 or 8 songs, had the crowd going, did a second line towards the end, did an encore, sweated up a storm, and were just terrific through and through. I wish they were performing again.
A couple of years ago when Scotland was at the Festival, they had Fiddler's Bid perform on more than one day (if memory serves me correctly).
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