If the Oxford County fairgrounds are not the perfect site for a musical utopia, then I don't know what is. Oxford County Fairgrounds are essentially an outdoor natural symphony hall -- open fairgrounds surrounded by raised tree lines allowed for harmonic orchestral effects throughout the entire festival. At the end of a performance, an ending chord could be heard echoing through the grounds, so loud and clear that we would exchange looks, laugh, and consider screaming ECHO in unison to see if we could hear our counterparts whispering back from the mountains. Regardless of your location on the intimate fairgrounds, the bass drum, the saxophone, and even the 1e guitar string could bring a melody right through the thin walls of your tent. Cozy barns, with red-lit lofts for lounging, hosted live bands till the wee hours of the morning. Horse pens with ample grass, surrounded by white picket fences, were replaced by silent discos where we, being zombies, would finish the night dancing until the sun rose through the pink clouds of the morning. Fairgrounds "police" roamed around on thick, muscular, well groomed clydesdales while festival goers chowed on funnel cakes, homemade ice cream, and falafel. Not only were the grounds heart-stoppingly beautiful, but they were also well maintained-- countless water spickets supplied cold mountain spring Maine water, trash was constantly collected, and bathrooms/porta-potties were consistently emptied and cleaned. Rocking chairs with cushions, checker boards, fake fire places, and comfy plaid couches were provided in barns for those of us who needed to escape the sun and just wanted to listen to the sound. Everyone was happy, everyone was dancing, everyone had a full belly and a song they couldn't stop clapping to. There was nowhere where the beat would not seep through-- no matter your mood or musical desires, there was a tune to quench that thirst all weekend, and it left us all feeling free, festive, and refreshed for the celebration of Independence Day.
Now for some new tunes:
Ghostland Observatory:
The crowd loved this one... we heard the beat from across the fairgrounds and literally sprinted to the stage to dance.
Ghostland Observatory is an American music duo based in Austin, Texas. Their music has been described as a combination of electro, rock and funk by Allmusic, and "electro-dance soul rock" by Gothamist.
Front man Aaron Behrens provides vocals in addition to occasionally playing the guitar. Thomas Ross Turner plays the drums or synthesizer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLbDymSxWSc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZvaql37rcI
Big Gigantic:
If you like sax solos mixed with synthesizer melodies, you will love this band (consisting of only 2 people). They say they are a mixture of hip-hop and electronica, they also boast elements of jazz and jammy-ness. The ranges of sound they create are pretty incredible, especially considering there are only 2 of them
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WezQBJJv50o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZenaA0LU2o&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wEjs2JiebE&feature=related
Something else I stumbled upon while looking up Big Gigantic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWx4GmI090Y&feature=related
Toubab Krewe:
Toubab Krewe is an American instrumental band which fuses the music of Mali with American musical styles. The group's instrumentation includes kora (21-string harp-lute), kamelengoni (12-string harp-lute), soku (Malian horsehair fiddle), two electric guitars, electric bass guitar, drum set, and African percussion. The group, which is based in Asheville, North Carolina, was founded in early 2005 and has traveled to West Africa several times, working with local musicians. So damn cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddj1kWxkt1c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PaYKYA2U40&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9juXoYjbSs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOOY8JFUfK0&feature=related
