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One of the individuals who helped Bob Beers organize Fox Hollow was Andy Spence. Andy and her husband Bill Spence (one of the founders of the legendary Fennig’s All-Star String Band) have lived in the Albany, NY area since the mid-1960s. Andy, who established and ran Andy’s Front Hall Records, was chosen by Bob to supervise some of the events at Fox Hollow and she eventually took over the operation. Andy and Bill are also founding members of the Pick’n and Sing’n Gather’n, a group of friends in the Albany area who get together to hold sing-arounds and also put on an informal festival called GottaGetGon. In 1976 they presented a concert with the Bothy Band in Guilderland, NY which led her to establish Old Songs as a folk society that would present concerts and other functions in the area. When the Beers family decided to end the annual Fox Hollow fest, Andy wanted to keep the spirit alive. She brought the idea of having a festival to her friends at Old Songs and in 1981, the first Old Songs Festival was held. Since then, Andy Spence and her volunteers have not only kept the spirit of Fox Hollow alive, but they also created their own traditions and have nurtured new generations into the joys of folk music and dance.

While I did not avail myself of the opportunity to attend Fox Hollow or the early editions of Old Songs, I began attending Old Songs in the late 90s and have not missed a year since. I run out of superlatives to describe the charm of Old Songs. The music, the setting and most importantly – the people, make this an event I cannot miss.

On the last Friday of June, I once again made my annual excursion to Old Songs. As I steered my car in the direction of Altamont, I was greeted by weather reports for sunny skies and warm weather. Now, some of you might think that it truly isn’t a folk festival unless there is a good downpour, but at my age I can live without that nonsense. I also freely admit that I am not a camper – unless I see an ice machine in a hallway and find tiny soap in the bathroom, I will not get a good night’s sleep after the music stops.

After checking in at the hotel on Friday afternoon, I headed over to the Altamont Fairgrounds to catch the tail end of the opening workshops. The workshops are a great way to kick off the fest, early arrivals can take part in a variety of classes and sessions. This year’s opening workshops included lessons in basic fingerpicking from Andy Cohen, clawhammer banjo technique from the duo Moonshine Holler, a glimpse into the culture of the Isle of Mann with the band Barrule, advice on writing songs and performing for kids with Jay Mankita, and much more.

Friday evening’s main stage concert began promptly at 6:30pm (Speaking of timing, in a Facebook posting following the event, Andy Cohen remarked that “This festival doesn’t just run like a Swiss watch. It runs like the chronometer that finally discovered longitude.”) The opening concert once again saw John Roberts serving as emcee, and I would make the trip just to see him each year. Old Songs chooses emcees that do much more than simply introduce performers. Each emcee is also a performer and become an integral part of the evening’s festivities, singing songs that keep the audience engaged while the stage and sound crew setup for the next performer. John, a national treasure with an amazing array of songs at his disposal, offered some real gems this year including a “space” sea chanty – a parody of the chantey “John Kanaka” that told the story of Star Wars.

The Friday night lineup was led off by Moonshine Holler, the husband and wife duo of Paula Bradley and Bill Dillof from Lee, Massachusetts. Their set of tunes featured Carter Family classics and other American roots tunes. Their expertly performed and suitably low-key old-time set was a perfect start for the fest.

One of the other hallmarks of Old Songs is the opportunity to see folk performers from other countries. Old Songs puts together a diverse gathering of artists from different parts of the globe. Due to the close proximity to Canada, our neighbors are well represented and a Quebecois jam session was held after the Saturday night concert.

On Friday evening, the main stage was honored by artists from Newfoundland, Novia Scotia, the Netherlands and India. Nanne & Ankie shared songs in their native Dutch as well as other traditional and newly written songs, many with a nautical theme. Ustad Shafaat Kahn enthralled the audio with a mesmerizing multi-cultural set performed on the sitar and other classical Indian instruments.
Old Songs also gave me a chance to finally watch a performer whose music I have been playing on my radio show, Matthew Byrne. Matthew hails from a family of music makers in his native Newfoundland, singing traditional songs from both sides of the Atlantic. Matthew offers heartfelt interpretations of traditional songs, often breathing new life and exposing the honesty in each song.

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