Rothbury 2009: Willie, Dylan, and The Dead

Rothbury’s lineup of classics is the best part of the festival this year. Yes, festival organizers continue to set the standard for responsible, sustainable festival events. At Bonnaroo, it was an afterthought (Bonnaroo was still awesome, btw), but at Rothbury being green just feels like part of attending the festival because it’s so easy. Sherwood Forrest was trippier and had more hammocks.

Also, this year media access was increased dramatically. We definitely received VIP treatment. Better camping, better media tent, toilet paper in the port-o-johns, free tea. We actually used tea to clean our dishes once because we ran out of water at our campsite. A promotions company was giving away free popscicles. It was all much appreciated.

For all the improvements, the highlight of the festival for me was seeing Willie Nelson, The Grateful Dead (Technically “The Dead” since Jerry’s death), and Bob Dylan all in the same weekend. They’ve been touring together, but their presence at Rothbury made the whole vibe of the festival better.

A big part of The Dead’s appeal is the crowd they draw. It’s easy for me to forget how influential classic bands have been and how much of their following remains. The Dead have been doing festivals like Rothbury for over 40 years. They helped create the atmosphere that is the prototype for the summer music festival. It’s funny to me when I think about The Greatful Dead touring every summer, all through the ’80s. Hippies from that decade amuse me.

Willie Nelson was a picture of grace. He looks old, but his voice and his guitar sounded timeless. I’m not one to gush about a performer, but Willie made everyone feel at home. His music is Americana, part of our DNA. I know I wasn’t the only one who felt patriotic listening to his songs and stories. It was the 4th of July after all.

Bob Dylan was the biggest wildcard for me. I’d heard he plays a fair ammount of new material (With which I am not familiar at all), and also likes to do dramatic re-arrangements of classic songs. I felt like school was in session. Bob Dylan is an artist, there’s no other way to say it. His new songs had an almost Modest Mouse-like edge in parts, via his Band. He was teaching how to make meaningful blues, folk, and rock music while keeping a classic style. His re-arrangements of “Like A Rolling Stone” and other classics snuck up me. I got lost in the music only to hear a very familiar refrain only sung and played in a different way, with a different style.

Rothbury 2009 will be memorable for many reasons, but it started with the music.

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