5th International Bluegrass & Acoustic Music Festival, Abaliget, 3-5. Aug. 2007

5th International Bluegrass & Acoustic Music Festival
Abaliget, 3-5. august 2007.

Yes, we made it! This year for the 5th time with American and Czech guests and renewed legendary bands! We would like to thanks to every one who came either as a viewer or as a musician.

Friday

On the station of Abaliget I got an sms: "Ádám is singing for you!" Yes, I was a bit late and unfortunately I missed the first performers: the Hungarian Klarinet Ensemble and Bornemissza Ádám & son.

Soon I biked into the village where on the stage beside the lake was playing in full swing Jack Cannon. The strong singing and harmonica playing of Zoltai (Zozo) György was beautifuly supported by Ádám Bíró on guitar and Péter Gyergyádesz on double bass. Shaken together, dynamic music with adaptations of Jimy Hendrix.

Nagy Gergő & Friends executed music on high level which we came to know in the Acoustic Club in Budapest. For me it is very kind this chamber music they are playing.

Then came

Tapolczai Attila Band playing their folk-kind of music with a bit of punk nature giving drive to the evening. Their show was more gathered then in the club (although they were very good also there -- everything can be enhanced...)

I dare to risk nowadays in Hungary from a blues event can be left out... But don't run too fast, because it was Bálint Horváth debuting as a solo artist. In his short program he showed us a piece of the world of his favourit Leo Kottke and he also interpreted one of his own songs which nicely fitted to the others. Before I was talking about Tenderfoot Blues Unit. As one of the members was on holiday Zsolt Benkő was asked to play on guitar.

                Zsolt Benkő, András Kőhalmi, Dániel Megyeri , Bálint Horváth (Tenderfoot Blues Unit, 2007)

And then hell broke loose...
Well it's extreme but it was a fantastic atmosphere with Dani's introductions, András Kőhalmi's harmonica phrases and the guitar playing of Zsolt and Bálint. In the last song I was asked to the stage for Sweet Home Chicago.

After the show because of the rain (which has became the trade mark of our festival) musicians went to the covered stage or under the big tent for jamming (between them Andy Owens from the U.S. and the Lusatian Grass from the Czech Republic).

Saturday

In the morning in bright sunshine we laid on again all the equipments then at 1 p.m. started Szuterén. The band played in a little bit diffrent line-up completed with a great violin player Sarah Gancher. Their program was built mainly on her playing.

I was very happy when I discovered Péter Légrády was between the audience. Iwas introduced to his former teacher György Alexi who nowadays is playing in the band called Country-Arrabona. Their music had an old folk feeling with the unique guitar playing of László Kosztya.

The fact of revival of some non functioning bands shows the popularity of the festival. A band like that was for example Les Cups. They played their own cheery songs tickling the audience. I think these songs can't be played without laughing.

After the big cheerfulness stepped on the stage Living Love Country Band. They were singing about love and other things from higher sphere warning us there was not just careless happyness but we had to take care of each other.

Ladys and gentlemen let me present the only Internet bluegrass band in the world! H.I.B.B. -- i.e. Hungarian Internet Bluegrass Band. They excellently got the hang of bluegrass: playing music together. Things don't need to be practiced too much (as the members live far away from each other and the only connection is the Internet), let's feel good! I' d like to emphasize Tibor Jónás who was playing Blackberry Blossom on "mouth-dabada".

A long time ago there was a band in Szabadka, they were playing folk music in Hungarian. Time has passed and the children have grown up so the songs of Folton Folk were interpreted with the excellent voice of Réka Nagy completing the band.

Tamás Szőke -- I'm in trouble. Do I have to write about myself as a third person? No, I don't think so. I felt very happy and I want to thank the attention of the audience.

I think beside me it's just the Banjo Jumping Band from Baja is the only participant who played on every festival in Abaliget. The voice of Egon Molnár is always better and better and the band seems to be more and more together. The only fault was they didn't play Old Joe (wich is the number of the fiddler Ervin Bánlaki).

Iván Vitányi jr. showed us if there was an acoustic festival there was place for an instrument like the upright piano! On Saturday morning he put it on stage and he made it tuned. In his short appearance he presented us the history of boogie-woogie through the work of Fats Domino and Ray Charles (for the sake of truthfulness in sun-glasses).

                 Béla Várkonyi, Erika Juhos, Mihály Raschek , Iván Vitányi Jr. (Revival Band, 2007)

A month ago Iván gave me an old recording of a band he was playing in. I was curious if  Revival Band was as good live as on this recording. But at the sound check it was clear we would hear a miracle. Erika Juhos, Béla Várkonyi and Mihály Raschek surprised us with worked out vocals and stabil stylish backing up (with Iván Vitányi jr. on double bass). The classical playing with one micorphone was a bit strange for them but to the end they were getting used to it "irritating" the audience for applauding to an encore.

There are some people who are always playing in Abaliget but the band around them and its name are always changing. Kékfű - Kékfű Revival - Saturday Night Friends and the newest (and hopefuly the most constant) version: Bluegrass Crossing. In Hungary they are playing in a complete bluegrass line-up (Benedek Tóth - Dobro, Kálmán Jámbrik - double bass, Róbert Mayer - guitar and singer, Zsolt Palásthy - mandolin, Judit Rozsnyói - violin, György Barta - banjo). They nicely took advantage of the instruments.

One day the banjo player of Living Love Country Band István Gűth was playing on the street in Pécs when beside him stopped some american tourists... then they took their instruments and the next few hours were spending with playing together. After some months István asked them if they would like to come to Hungary to an acoustic festival to play. And the answer was yes!
This short story was interpreted by Tibor Jónás the announcer of the festival. And right after the name of the band was said, without any sound check Timbre Junction started to play. We haven't have too many original folk-country gig in Hungary (just Johnny Cash, Emmilou Harris and Bob Dylan were around here). But now we could see and hear a classical family band who had their first appearance outside of the U.S. The yodelling voice of Karen Radford and the sound of the band showed us without doubt we had a special guest this year! Mike Regouski showed us how to use a microphone on stage: he was playing about half a meter away from it when suddenly at his solo he jumped nearer to it and pourred a torrent of sounds to the audience, then he stepped back and gave solid back up to the song. Yes, at solo time you have to show what you know, you have four lines to it! For me the highlight of their gig was Callin' Baton Rouge when the voice of Kurt Teich and the fiddle playing of Dan Radford (who is uncle of Karen) came together very nicely.

                 Kurt Teich, Daniel Radford, Karen & Mike Regouski (Timbre Junction from USA, 2007)

As closing this year's festival and intensifying experiences stepped up Lusatian Grass from the Czech Republic. We weren't dissapointed at all! As we were used to it from the Czech collegues through the years it was virtuosity (it was funny when the end of the banjo solo of Václav Novák he was pushed out by the mandolin player Karolina Stránská). The highlight of their program were the "a capella" gospels.

After the righteous encore everybody came to the stage and with the leading of Andy Owens played together some songs saying good bye to the audience. Then until morning it was having fun, jamming with some Hungarian gulash, potato salad and palinka.

                 ...and the jam session: Kurt Teich, Andy Owens, Tomás Kejklíček, Tamás Szőke  (Jam, 2007)

                 (by Tamás Szőke)