Going to musical festivals and sleeping in a tent was one of the rites of passage (along with the trip to California and the youth hostels) of being young in the 70's. Heeding this life requirement I went to the Philadelphia Folk Festival in the summer of 1971. Muddy from the recent rain, there were a number of great performances by Janis Ian, Doug Kershaw, and Doc Watson. Oscar Brand sang bawdy songs, and lots of other amateur and professional musicians played. The Hare Krishna people chanted and sold spiritual food. Our group made hot dogs, then used the water to make corn. What a swell weekend.
Today I went to a sneak preview of the festival/cum street fair in Philadelphia. No spiritual food but some nice tamales with corn husks and Vietnamese food, etc. was eaten by yours truly. If it wasn't so hot it would have been a fine day. The full 50th anniversary of the Philadelphia Folk Festival is coming up too. Today, unfortunately, nobody thinks they can save the world with a guitar.
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