cactus blossoms at mercury lounge

the cactus blossoms keep mercury lounge cool on a hot night

hsb 16

it's been almost a decade since i've attended hardly strictly bluegrass. ester and I went when there were only three stages. the crowds were so small that we could be up front for gillian welch. now the festival has ballooned to 7 stages, but remained entirely free. thanks warren hellman! virginia was with me for day one as well and her first time at the festival brought revelations i hadn't noticed before. there are no sponsorship signs. everyone is just laid back. i think the 9 years in ny have drained a lot of that from me. it's good to be reminded of my roots. i really missed drinking in the park without having to look over my shoulder for a cop. no one is crazy drunk or belligerent. everyone is just happy and enjoying great weather (no fog this year) and music.

philly discovery - hop along

 fell in love with the cactus blossoms

as always no HSB is complete without a little gillian and dave rawlings, who covered ryan adams and ended with a cover of the band's "the weight."