This year for the Marquette Neighborhood Association’s Waterfront Festival brought entertainment from around the globe, local fare and goods and a LOT of people for a real good gathering of spirit and sound. This year was the 20th anniversary of the event and the music was joyous and raucous and sweat-inducing danceable so many people came to bask both days in the seductive lakeshore breeze. The community celebrated in Yahara Place Park on June 13th and 14th at the confluence of the Yahara River and Lake Monona where the cottonwoods provided the ideal canopy for this rite of spring. On Saturday I saw Taj Weekes and Adowa bring the gentle conscious voice of today thru Island sounds delight the audience with vibes and grooves of a folk reggae, words to hear and rhythms to move your body to…this hours after Taj called in to do another phoner on the program where we discuss his music and his beliefs of giving back (see early post here). I always enjoy giving artist who give back time to share on the airwaves.
After the show I chilled with Taj and the band for a bit, keeping it real with hula hoops and kindness…..we watched as Rupa and the April Fishes prepared backstage before an amazing set of eminently eclectic, genre bending and body moving music from this San Francisco based group creating lively, romantic and instantaneously appealing music with influences from many areas of the globe….there is too much going on within this groups on identity to write but I do suggest you check them out.
