Loyal Folks

Shannan Oneil

Folk is a little niche of music filled with strange instruments, squeaky notes, unconventional members, non-surface lyrics, and, most of all, soul. This means one basically loves it or hates it, but it seems that Michigan State has a group of people whom found their love because on Friday, October 3 the Union Ballroom held Folk Fest featuring Chris Bathgate, Southeast Engine, and Frontier Ruckus.

Like children waiting for story time, the crowd sat chatting animatedly with their neighbors while throwing anticipating glances at the stage.  Tight pants, flannel shirts, skirts, knitted hats, plain tees, long hair, big sweatshirts, dyed hair, the crowd was a diverse group.  The diverse audience created an eclectic feel, preparing the masses for the musical equivalent of them.

First to unleash their folkways was Chris Bathgate.  His unsure presence on stage grew in confidence as he sang on.  His words seemed to gain power along with himself.  His music overtook every part of him leaving himself to stare blankly out on top of the crowd.  Music that can overtake a person isn’t just music, it shows a lifestyle and an expression of one’s self.

Being a one-man band Bathgate uses the help of technology to play.  He used an array of technologies to continue notes he sang while adding what he was singing in the present.  Using the same concept with the guitar he created a sound that could have easily been flat, dynamic.  The technology added a dimension that made his performance different than the others, a little twist for the calm folk night.

Bathgate may have gotten the crowd laughing but Southeast Engine got them listening.  Southeast Engine started out and finished with a strong performance.  Comfortable in the skin they were in Southeast Engine tapped their toes to the same heel-clicking beat.

By far Frontier Ruckus had the strongest performance of the night; they barely had to work to gain the crowds unbinding attention. Their normal five-piece band was accompanied with three outside trumpets- making planned, eloquent chaos.

Unleashing their new album “The Orion Songbook,” Frontier Ruckus performed on top of their game.  Lead singer Mathew Milia’s voice was calmed by Anna Burch’s strong but subtle harmonies.  Vocals are less than half of the package- trumpets, drums, banjo, guitar, the saw, and more make up the other seventy-five percent of their music.  It was a combination not seen in any other type of music.

Folk music doesn’t have a true definition-there are stereotypes linked with the genre, some true and some not-but the closest definition of folk is Frontier Ruckus.  It’s a chaotic mess put together so smoothly that nothing else can describe it but the people who play it.  It has an aspect that other genre’s don’t have-die hard loyal fans who can feel the soul of folk and relate completely to it.  It doesn’t matter what the fan looks like or where they came from, they can feel the music and that is all that matters.

Questions? Comments? Contact Shannan Oneil at oneilsh3@msu.edu

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