Aren’t weekends supposed to be relaxing affairs filled with badminton, shuffleboard and other lawn sports? Well, that was my understanding based on years of watching far too much BBC programming.
But if that’s true, then why am I sitting at my desk enjoying the last vestiges of a bender-induced headache and the dull throb of a partially blackened eye? Well, apparently, that’s the price to pay when you’re hanging out with Irish musicians.
You see this weekend was my chance to cash in a threeday ticket to paradise for the opening weekend of Dollywood’s Festival of Nations as a guest performer with the Knoxville-based Irish band Four Leaf Peat.
Even though the theme for this year’s festival is “World of Dance,” many of the groups from the 2007 Festival of Nations (themed around celebrating all things Irish) returned for another round.
The whole affair was like one big family reunion with much backslapping among groups like U.S.-based Glen Road and the musicians of the National Dance Company of Ireland’s dance troupe Rhythm of the Dance. Many of the vendors also put up shop for a second time.
Opportunities to not only play music but make a steady paycheck off it are pretty few and far between — especially for traditional Irish performers — so the joy was pretty thick in the air.
From Friday night on, there were often moments when someone would get a faraway look in his eye, turn to someone else and grin like the village idiot, as if to say, “I can’t believe this is really happening.”
So during the coming weeks until the festival ends, Dollywood will try to tempt me to abandon my beloved Scenic City scene and return to Eden. Don’t worry, though, I’ll find a way to split the difference.
By the way, if you’re wondering about the black eye, I didn’t pick a fight with the lederhosen-clad members of the Chiemgau Schuhplattler Bavarian dancers.
No, the assailant who so basely gifted me with said black eye was in fact myself. My weapon of choice for this self-battery? My tenor banjo. Without going into too much detail, I’ll just describe that evening as the “night of the crazies” and have done with it.
Tonight, you can get a local taste of the British Isles when the Celtic duo Jamie Laval and Ashley Broder play their elegant Celtic-inspired arrangements at Barking Legs Theater. The show starts at 8 p.m. Cover is $12 at the door.
Tonight is also the fourth Friday in March. That means it’s the third annual Mustache Friday, the male answer to the Ladies Nights of the world. Drink specials for facial-hair fanatics will be available at a number of pubs, including The Local, JJ’s Bohemia, Parkway Billiards and Midtown. Bearded ladies will receive free guffaws from everyone.
If you can’t get enough of Nirvana (or tribute music, in general), Midtown has your fix. Tonight, Nevermind, a tribute to Nirvana, will fill its hall with cover grunge, an awesome new genre I just made up. Cover is $7.
Casey Phillips has worked as a features reporter in the Life department for three years. He writes about entertainment, young adults, animals and people of interest. Casey hails from Knoxville and earned a bachelor of science degree in journalism and a bachelor of arts in German. He previously worked as the features editor for Sidelines at Middle Tennessee State University. Casey received the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists Award of Excellence for Reviewing/Criticism in ...
