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This year the Old Town School’s Folk & Roots Festival, which happens Saturday and Sunday in Welles Park, lost its primary sponsor, LaSalle Bank–and the effect on the lineup is crystal clear. On Sunday night the main-stage headliner is New York’s Karsh Kale, a prominent talent in the Asian Underground scene who unfortunately makes terribly boring music. On Saturday night it’s Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears (pictured) from Austin, Texas, who aren’t even as well-known as Kale.
Plus the festival almost always offers an especially laid-back vibe, with very few of the drunk assholes who sully most Chicago street fairs–you know, the guys who carry around their growing stacks of empty beer cups as if they were something to be proud of. I’m certain that the lack of star power won’t keep the Old Town faithful at home, but I sure hope a sponsor signs on next year and returns the music bookings to their former glory.
