Great Hudson River Revival, Day 1

Like too many of my posts these days, this one starts with a nightmarish traffic jam. After an uneventful and quick drive from DC to Croton-on-Hudson to attend the Great Hudson River Revival / Clearwater Festival, it took an hour and a half to exit from Rt 9A and drive into the festival grounds. No matter – I had expected some degree of backup and was mentally prepared. Eventually I made it, set up my tent and headed down to the music. Wow, what a lineup. There are seven stages at the festival and there’s always more to see than there is time to see it. Saturday I caught Janis Ian, David Bromberg, Arlo Gurthrie, Toshi Reagon and Brooklyn Qawwali Dance Party. And just like last year, in this huge sea of people I had no problem finding Sherri and Ken. By the time Arlo’s set ended I was pretty beat – too much so to hang around and see the “generations” set (parent/child combinations such as Pete and Tao Seeger …). Plus I have to admit that this idea is too mushy for me. Instead I headed for the food area for another of my favorite Clearwater activities, procurement and consumption of the falafel sandwich. Yum! Then it was up the hill to the campsite, stopping along the way to call home and watch the sun set over the Hudson River. I figured I might turn in early and indeed I lay down in my tent at about 9:30 and immediately fell asleep. Thirty minutes later, though I was up – awakened by the sound of the Saturday night campsite jam session. I had participated last year and I say with all modesty that I was the best accordionist there. I just couldn’t resist joining in again. So, out came the accordion and over to the jam I went. It was being run by the same guy as last year and in fact there were a number of other familiar faces, all of whom remembered me. After all, when you’re the best accordionist there, you tend to make an impression. And what an interesting lineup of musicians: guitars (of course), acoustic bass, a guy who played bongos, flute and tin whistle, a violinist, a violist, a French horn player, a couple of banjos, and harmonica. Well, to make a long story short I jammed until close to 1 AM, at which point  I was literally having trouble standing up any longer. This was for two reasons. First, having been awake for nearly 21 hours (save for the 30 minute nap) I was just exhausted. Second, I injured myself running last week (a shin splint, I think) and my leg was starting to give way. So, away went the accordion and I headed back to my tent (which I had trouble finding because I was so damn tired). I shut off my alarm, which I had previously set for 5 AM so I could get in some early morning kayaking, and figured I’d start Sunday “whenever”.