Gamble Rogers Folk Festival

The Gamble Rogers Folk Festival happens April 30-May 2. In years past, it has been at the St. Augustine Farigrounds. This year, performances will be scattered around venues in historic Old St. Augustine.

Headliners are Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, Loudon Wainwright III, John Cowan Band, Pierce Pettis, Janis Ian, Greg Brown, Patty Larkin, Catie Curtis, Michael Johnathon, Michael Smith, Ellis Paul, Mark Erelli, Danny Schmidt, Pieta Brown, Doug & Telisha Williams, Cheryl Wheeler, The Farewell Drifters, Sam Pacetti, Antje Duvekot and David Wilcox.

The venues are all pretty nice (although some are very small) They'll have shows at the Government House, the De Mesa Yard, Mill Top Tavern, Tradewinds Tropical Lounge, the Lightner Museum Pool, and the Flagler College Auditorium. 


You'll have to camp a few miles away across the bridge at Anastasia Island, which is a gorgeous state park. They will offer a shuttle between the park and downtown. A camping spot for the weekend is $80 and will hold one RV, 2 tents, and four people. There are a few private campgrounds in the area as well.

Personally, I think a fest loses much of its mojo when you can't camp at the fest itself. But this fest hooked up with the cultural arts folks in St. Augustine, and they wanted to drive traffic to downtown businesses. Old St. Augustine is beautiful and fun in any case.

The ticket prices go for $59.50 for the weekend, and you have to choose between two Saturday night shows when you buy your ticket - Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys or Patty Larkin, Catie Curtis and Janis Ian. In other words, your weekend ticket will only get you into one of those shows - not both.

I am a  fan of Sam Pacetti, who isn't a headliner but is definitely worth seeing, especially for his fingerpicking skills (Check out the instrumenntal track 'Brian's Rapier' on his Myspace page.) Also, Pierce Pettis once lived in Tallahassee and put on many memorable shows with his profound songwriting skills and buttery voice before he hit nationally.

If you don't know the history, Gamble Rogers was a treasured singer-songwriter-storyteller who tragically drowned in 1991 while trying to rescue a drowning swimmer off Flagler Beach.The festival is in its 15th year.