Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Filed in Grassroots on July 28, 2010 with View Comments

Tara & Jeb of Donna The Buffalo.

TRUMANSBURGH, NY – Grassroots continued it’s run as one of the longest running festivals in America this past weekend. Over the past 4 days the residents of Ithaca and music lovers from across the country descend on the Trumansburgh fairgrounds to celebrate some of the best roots, folk, & world music.

Jeb Puryear on GrassRoots: “It’s just like life. There’s who you’re born as and who you grow up to be.”http://ow.ly/2gB4p[less than a minute ago](http://twitter.com/donnathebuffalo/status/19587958141 “Mon Jul 26 17:00:21 +0000 2010”) via HootSuite Donna The Buffalo
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Thursday night’s line up was the best in years with Donna The Buffalo, Merle Haggard, Kelly & The Cowboys, Kevin Kinsella, & Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad all playing to large crowds.

Kevin Kinsella was back this year with an electric lineup after doing two acoustic sets at last years event. Him and his band played songs from his extensive song collection including 10 Foot Ganja Plant’s “Pure Sugar Rhythm” one of our all time favorites.

Jim of Buffalo who has been attending the festival for 5 years said the fans for Merle Haggard & Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad was the biggest crowd he’d seen in all his years on a Thursday night.

Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad’s set was incredible with the guys from Rochester showing their growth from last years Grassroots Set with a mind blowing roots reggae dance party.

Generally these types of crowds at Grassroots are reserved for John Brown’s Body but we were delighted to see the Grassroots faithful feeling the heavy roots reggae by the Rochester natives.

By early Friday morning torrential downpours had moved into the area putting the campers rain gear to the test. The Dance Tent & Grand Stand stages were popular most of the day as revelers tried to stay dry.

Preston Frank played with his family band to a packed sweaty crowd Friday afternoon.

Preston and his son Keith Frank have been a long standing Grassroots tradition with some of the best original zydeco music in the country and is their performances are the highlight of festival each year.

By Saturday afternoon the rain had subsided and the sun broke through. The mud was still thick and people continued to don their mud suits.

Festival goers had a blast with natural “slip and slide” on the side of the dance tent running and sliding down the mud slope to the cheers of spectators.

We were impressed with the number of kids at the festival year. As the festival has has grown older so have the fans of the festival. 10 years ago people would have said Grassroots Festival is no place for families or young kids but that has changed over the past several years with an expanded kids tent and kids activities. If you have been hesitant to bring your kids you can put those worries behind you.

While we wouldn’t recommend camping inside the venue with your kids the new next door camping was described as quiet, private, and spacious.

Other highlights of the festival included Paso Fino, The Believers, The Black Seeds, Bonsoir Catin, Burning Spear, & Campbell Brothers.

By Sunday most people from out of town packed up and hit the road. Donna The Buffalo rewarded the locals on Sunday evening with a mind blowing 5 hour set featuring guest appearances by many musicians that had performed over the weekend.

If you have yet to check out this festival we highly recommend checking it out. It’s a just a short 2 and half hour drive from Buffalo and well worth it.

We’re already looking forward to and planning for next years event. Stay tuned to Bands That Jam over the next several months. We’ll be sure to let you all know when new photos & recordings start surfacing online.