PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL REGULAR AND HIS DEFINITIVE DELTA BLUES PERFORMANCE

https://youtu.be/nG0Vf4k0dow?si=CMMdu4tz5iNxA2dU

Most years for many years now, my parents have gone to the Port Fairy Folk Festival in Victoria, which is staged over a three and
a half day period sometime in March. 

Most folk music is not my cup of tea, when I say that, I mean the real fair dinkum folk, not country folk, not country and not acoustic pick style of blues. 

To me, most genuine folk music is just too indirect, too incongruous, you are wondering what the artist is singing more than half the time. 

There are exceptions to the rule though, I admire a lot of Dylan`s old lyrical exposes before he went electric all those years ago, and if I am going to be honest, there is probably heaps of good folk music out there if you count all of it which never makes it onto a record. 

Port Fairy caters for many folk artists from right across the world, three days of intense live performances in marque tents which turns a sleepy little seaside port on the Victorian coast into a world music hotpot each year. 

Every folk fan needs to go to Port Fairy at least once. No artist is permitted to perform at Port Fairy every year, not even the more well known ones, that is just a stipulation which the organisers have made since it began in the 70`s, but somebody who has performed at the Port Fairy Folk festival on numerous occasions is American delta blues picker Chris Smither, a white man with the true Robert Johnson touch. 

Not that this form of the blues has ever been my favourite, Robert Johnson`s ancient 20th century blues to me has been overrated from day one.

Chris Smither is obviously very heavily influenced by Johnson, Dylan as well as guys like Blind Willie McTell, a Delta bluesman of years long gone by who I have always placed well ahead of Robert Johnson in the skill department.

My mum and dad saw Chris Smither perform live at Port Fairy probably about 8 or 9 years ago, knowing what a blues fan I was they thought I would be rapped with Chris Smither`s style of blues.

Truth is I have always been impressed with the album of Smither`s which my mum bought for me on impulse, it`s called ANOTHER WAY TO FIND YOU, a warm and extremely personal collection of songs which were recorded in the studio live way back in December, 1989, in Boston. 

Seeing my mum got the album for.me in the early 2000`s it would indicate that Smither obviously still viewed the album as one of his most definitive releases well over a decade from when it was first released.

Really not bad at all for someone regarded as a second generation Robert Johnson wannabe.

It`s just him and his acoustic guitar basic-
ally, McTell`s STATESBORO BLUES as well
as Randy Newman`s HAVE YOU SEEN MY
BABY are two covers which contrast with
his very convincing standards. 

FRIEND OF THE DEVIL, co-written by 60`s rock pioneer Jerry Garcia gets the Smither treatment as well. 

The heartwarming EVERY MOTHER`S
SON, LOVE YOU LIKE A MAN and I FEEL THE
SAME are three of my favourite originals,
and how could I ever forget Smither`s ode to the king of electric folk with DOWN IN THE FLOOD, Dylan-ish indeed. 

A great collection of folkish acoustic blues which gets the tick of approval from someone who has always been extremely fussy when it comes to liking Delta blues.