More than 30 musical groups will add their own sounds to the seventh annual Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival this weekend at Ramblewood Resort, 2564 Silver Road in Darlington, Md.
The three-day festival and its numerous educational workshops seek to showcase contemporary and traditional folk music and draw in new artists and audiences each year; between 800-1,000 music lovers are expected to attend.
Although SMAF is not geared specifically toward an LGBT audience, there are many openly LGBT musicians participating. Out singer/songwriter SONiA and her band, disappear fear, have performed in the festival every year since its inception. SONiA noted that the event draws a crowd that is open and accepting of the LGBT community.
What really grooves Susquehanna is that it is about expression, she said. LGBT talent and LGBT audience members love it because it does not care; [you can] just be you, out and proud.
The festival provides the audience a rustic setting, perfect for camping and building late-night fires. Cabins with showers will be available for those hygienically conscious folks. SONiA said the location of the festival offers a peaceful environment where people of all ages can relax to the music.
It is really laid back, with lots of green, open fields; no crime; clean, fresh air; children running around happy; parents happy, no pit bulls to worry about; and nothing to make you feel bad except for some good blues, SONiA said.
Performances will be spread throughout four outdoor stages; in the event of rain, the concert will continue at an indoor stage. Performers range from solo artists to groups, all of whom offer their own style and sound.
SONiA's current CD, “Tango” combines musical influences from around the world, including Latin, Middle-Eastern and African, with vocals in Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic and English. SONiA, who is from the Baltimore area, said the environment of the festival is something she was always looking for when she was beginning her musical career.
I love the idea and reality of this festival. I do a lot of festivals around the world and there is nothing like it, she said. When I was a young musician teenager, everybody was into metal and screechy macho-guitar masturbation. Of course, my musical tastes include some of that stuff now, but back then, I wanted a laidback place to play guitar or enter a song contest. I wanted to meet folks who were professional musicians who were decidedly not mainstream. I wanted to hang with creative types, real writers and not ego hair heads. Susquehanna Festival is all of that and more.
The festival allows the musicians to not only share their talents through their performances but also through workshops that let the audience interact directly with the performers, picking up tips and advice on the music industry. Performers will also lead programs for kids on a separate children¹s stage.
SMAF put out a call for songwriting submissions earlier this year, and the eight contest finalists will perform during the festival. A panel of judges will select one winner who will perform on the main stage May 10.
Tickets vary in price depending on camping and cabin accommodations, but single-day admission is $20 Friday and Sunday and $30 on Saturday; student tickets are $10 a day, and children under 10 can get in for free.
SONiA noted that audience members will certainly get their money’s worth at SMAF.
Deni Bonet, who normally tours with Cyndi Lauper on violin, and Tom Kimmel, who has songs that you've heard in some of the best movies, will be performing, as well as Dan Warner from Melbourne, Australia and many others who you would normally have to travel thousands of miles to see or shell out a lot more cash for, she said. It¹s all right there on four stages in one weekend. It has been a really good secret.
For more information, visit www.susquehannamusicandartsfestival.com. Jen Colletta can be reached at jen@epgn.com.