Back To The Source: A Simply Southern Dinner

Ben Runkle has always gone back to the source. As the Chef/Owner of Austin’s Salt & Time, he has built his career on cultivating relationships with local producers to create and serve the purest ingredients. And his recent stint aboard the first-ever Luck Showboat was no exception. Ben joined The Mountain Valley Spring Water and Luck Reunion on Nashville’s General Jackson riverboat to produce an unforgettable dinner for 50 lucky guests, all while sailing the Cumberland River.

“When I was asked to come to Nashville to prepare a meal for the Luck Showboat, I jumped at the chance,” Runkle says. “Whenever I’m putting a menu together I start with the ingredients I want to showcase. For this menu I drew inspiration from Nashville’s role as a hub of Southern cuisine, and featured some of the most unique and delicious ingredients produced in the Southern US.”

Runkle’s menu for The Mountain Valley dinner aboard the Luck Showboat fully embodied his vision, featuring pimento cheese; gulf oysters; and a meat-and-three course. Attention to detail and, most importantly, the origin of the ingredients, contributed to a multi-course meal that brought Showboat guests to the heart of the south. 

photos by Brooke Hamilton

Runkle tapped a unique variety of regional purveyors: Topping the list was an impressive two-years aged ham sourced from the famous Rice’s Country Ham located in Juliet, TN; Murder Point Oysters gave guests a taste of a  “different breed” of gulf oysters; Bourbon Barrel Foods brought their bourbon ponzu and soy sauce to the table; and Duke’s Mayonnaise was the perfect touch for Runkle’s real-deal pimento cheese. The meal culminated with a show-stopping dessert utilizing flours from Anson Mills and Steen’s Cane Syrup.

“It’s exciting and interesting to work with these artisan producers. Cooking for guests on a boat was something I found really fun,” Runkle says. “One of the inspirations, besides being in Nashville on a showboat, was partnering with The Mountain Valley: a really great example of world-class natural spring water coming out of the Ouachita Mountains. That really set the tone for the ingredients we chose for the recipes.”

“Natural American goodness means to me: Really fresh and clean flavors...doing it in a natural way. And that’s how you produce a really great product.”

Sources: Mavis Staples at Luck Reunion 2019

“What comes from the heart, reaches the heart.” - Mavis Staples

With the help of our friends and longtime sponsor, Mountain Valley Spring Water, we were able to dedicate a day’s worth of music to the legendary Mavis Staples this year at Luck Reunion. Mavis headlined our Sources Stage, closing out the night after a stacked lineup of powerhouse acts. Each artist on the Sources Stage played one of Mavis’s own solo songs or a Staples Singers classic during their own set in honor of the iconic singer’s upcoming 80th birthday. Arguably the culmination of the entire day came at the end of Mavis’s set when Courtney Marie Andrews, Yola, Mountain Man, Sunny War, Angie McMahon, Nicole Atkins, Jade Jackson, Haley Heynderickx, and Brandy Zdan joined Mavis on stage to sing “The Weight”, capping off the evening with a moment of community, admiration, and unbridled joy. Join us in discovering what some of these acts had to say about Mavis’s influence in their careers and her own advice for the next generation. Watch above for more.

Sources: Potluck 2019 Benefitting Farm Aid Hosted by the Austin Food and Wine Alliance

Our annual Potluck Dinner makes for an incredible kick-off to Luck Reunion each year with lush, locally-sourced food from Texas-based chefs and intimate performances from some of our most treasured Luck Family Artists. The Potluck Dinner Hosted by the Austin Food and Wine Alliance Benefitting Farm Aid upped the ante this year with a roster of six female chefs from the Austin and surrounding areas. Anita Jaisinghani of Pondicheri (Houston, New York), Bonnie Wright of Olamaie (Austin), Misti Norris of Petra and the Beast (Dallas), Jessica Sanders of drink.well (Austin), Kristen Kish of Arlo Grey (Austin), and Anne Ng of Bakery Lorraine (Austin, San Antonio) joined PotLuck host chef and longtime Luck collaborator Ben Runkle, of Austin's Salt and Time, to collaborate on an innovative multi-course menu. We were honored to host not only these acclaimed chefs, but also local farmers from the community like Carol Ann Sayle of Boggy Creek Farms, to an evening of food, drink, and music by Ben Dickey and the Godfather of Luck himself, Willie Nelson. Follow along as we travel back to the source with the help of our longtime sponsor Mountain Valley Water to get an inside look at this year’s Potluck Dinner. Watch above for more.

Sources: Kam Franklin & Joanna's Backyard

As a part of our Sources series with Mountain Valley Spring Water, Kam Franklin found a new source of inspiration in a solo trip and a new destination. Read Franklin’s own words on Joanna’s Backyard below.

When I worked my full time job, I spent a lot of time daydreaming about vacations. I’d sometimes go as far as filling up a shopping cart with flights, hotels, resort stays, etc. but I’d never purchase it. The timing was always off. The money was always wrong, and I would always find a million other things that “had” to be done instead of relaxing. At one point, I had somehow convinced myself that I hated relaxing. Mainly because I thought that it meant that something in my life wouldn’t get done if I took a break. Thankfully, the universe had other plans for me.

A few years ago, I had to learn how to stop living my life for other people. I am a recovering people pleaser, and the way people thought about me used to consume me. From my art to my body, I lived to cater to others. That is, until I realized how much I was draining, neglecting, and aging myself to keep that shit up.

At first, telling people no, drove them and me crazy. I hated the feeling that came with letting people down, but regaining control of my life and my time gave me the opportunity to seek out the adventures that actually mattered to me.

Around that time, I started working on a song called, “Do Whatever”, with my band, The Suffers. Here’s the first verse:

“Full on disclosure
I’m not here for exposure
I came to have a good time
So let me shine
It ain’t gotta be a weekend
To find that joy that you’re seeking
So treat yourself to something more and you’ll be fine”

This song is a reminder to live my life everyday unapologetically. While I quickly figured out how to explore this professionally, personally, I was still a wreck. After every tour, I would come home to the same empty house, drink at the same bars around my hometown of Houston, TX, and pretty much repeat this routine. I found myself getting more and more sedentary, and while my professional career was thriving, my personal life was sad.

Summer 2018 took a huge toll on me emotionally and professionally. I parted ways with my longtime management, I cut off a lot people that I felt were contributing to my sadness, and I slowly started taking the steps to seek my own personal joy. I knew that I was going to be on the road until December 30th, so I started researching places  to bring in 2019. After reading up on tons of places and flights, I decided on Barbados.

One night, I found a cheap red-eye flight that would get me there on the afternoon of December 31st. After a while, I  took a deep breath, and clicked “purchase”. Over the next few months, I would tell everyone, not to brag, but because I needed to convince myself not to back out from going. The recovering people pleaser within me knew that if I told people I was going, I would have to go. I only knew one person that lived down there, but they were going to be gone on their own holiday by the time I arrived, so I was on my own.

I knew that I wanted to immerse myself in as much of the local culture as possible, so I opted to share a home with someone on Airbnb. There was only one review for Joanna’s house (my host), and it was in French, which I don’t speak. However, the one photo that stood out to me had a clear view of the crystal clear ocean in her backyard. The price was right, and even though I couldn’t see much else in the photos, I took a chance and made a reservation to stay with her.

After a long, two month tour, opening for Thievery Corporation, the day had finally come to fly out. To say that I was nervous is an understatement. I almost missed my flight because I was late to the airport, but minus all of the delays, I finally made it. When I arrived to Joanna’s house, she met me with open arms, snacks, tea, and rum. Her energy was so warm and welcoming. After she showed me to my room, she walked me to the back patio, and there it was. In my backyard for the next 9 days, the brightest, bluest ocean water I’ve ever seen. We were in St. James, Barbados. It’s a tiny neighborhood on the island that is filled with locals, quiet beaches, and gorgeous homes. You’re right on the water, so there’s a constant breeze everywhere you go.

I swam everyday. Every single day. My phone only worked when I was on the house WiFi, but since I rarely at the house, I was able to take in everything around me without the constant distraction that is the internet. Every time I swam, I felt lighter. I walked everywhere, rode on packed buses, asked tons of people for directions, took a ride on a sunset catamaran tour, danced to soca and reggae music every night until I couldn’t feel my legs, sipped way too much rum, flirted with everyone I met, and I spent as much time in the sun as possible. What was the end result? Joy. Pure joy.

Every morning that I was greeted by the ocean in Joanna’s backyard, I thanked God for the moment. I was so grateful for the opportunity to see something so beautiful in what felt like my own private oasis.

On my final day there, I couldn’t stop crying. Not because I was sad to leave, but because I knew that Barbados had brought back to life. The ocean healed me. The locals reminded me how beautiful I am without makeup. The fresh Marlin and Roti everyday lead to me losing weight without even trying. It’s amazing what happens to your body with fast food is nowhere to be found. I don’t know if my future vacations will be as lovely as this one, but I look forward to finding new ways to to fall in love with nature, people, food, and myself.

Catch Kam on the road with her band The Suffers and watch their latest music video below:

Check out more on The Suffers, here:

Website: www.thesuffers.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thesuffers

Twitter: www.twitter.com/thesuffers

Instagram: www.instagram.com/thesuffers

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TheSuffersTX

SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/thesuffers

Sources: Caleb Caudle & Hanging Rock State Park

As a part of our Sources series with Mountain Valley Spring Water, Caleb Caudle went back to a continuous source of inspiration for his life and music in his home state of North Carolina. Read Caudle’s own words on Hanging Rock State Park below.

Caleb Caudle at Hanging Rock State Park

There are certain roads you go down throughout your life that don't change much. Maybe a stoplight is added, or a restaurant changes hands and it’s just not the same as it once was, or a gas station closes down with their sign left untouched only to remind you of how cheap things used to be.

The road I'm thinking of leads to Hanging Rock State Park in Danbury, NC. Since I was a teen, it has been a place I go to seek inspiration. I’m calmed by its endless beauty. The mountains stand proud and tall, comforting me as the rest of the world seems to go swiftly by. I feel so small amongst them. They remind me not to get caught up in myself, and to look around, to stay grateful. I go live my life, travel the world, meet new people, eat new foods, and then return home with a newfound appreciation of what once seemed like a given. The road hasn’t changed. I have.

Hanging Rock State Park means something different to me now than it did 15 years ago, and if I'm lucky, it will mean something different to me in 15 years from now. The wind blows, the water flows yet the mountains remain. The storms of life shape me, but the mountains stay true. A constant reminder of stability. - Caleb Caudle

For more from Caleb visit his website here, and check out the #LuckList he put together for us below.

Sources: Farm to Table at Luck Social

all photos by Brooke Hamilton

It is unseasonably cold for early October in Austin. Just last week the heavy warmth of a late summer still lingered, but today the air is crisp and clean as rain clouds shade the sun from our eyes. It’s still early as Chefs Ben Runkle of Salt and Time Butcher Shop & Salumeria and Todd Duplechan of the critically acclaimed Lenoir restaurant pull up to Boggy Creek Farms to ensure they have the first pick of today’s produce. As soon as you pull onto the small gravel road leading up to the farm, it feels like all of the reality of Austin melts away. Here there are no traffic lines, no flashing lights, no advertisements or billboards, just the earth and people who have devoted their lives to healing and encouraging the land.

Runkle and Duplechan are planning their menu for the first Luck Social event at Willie Nelson’s Luck, Texas ranch, an intimate dinner and concert experience for 50 lucky guests. Runkle, chosen for not only his talent but also his dedication to local farms and sustainable agriculture, has been Luck’s Culinary Director for the past several years stepping into the role of Head Chef for charity dinners the night before Luck Reunion, and curating food trucks for the Reunion alongside the Austin Food and Wine Alliance. This year, Runkle is hosting Duplechan for a collaborative, family-style meal for the Social. Though they have an idea of their main dishes, the final choices will be made based on what is fresh and available as they head back to the source to Boggy Creek and Eden East farms in East Austin.

The two chefs immediately beeline for the small produce stand tucked behind the trees and original farm house at Boggy Creek to pick sheeling beans, butternut squash, fennel, and wild greens among other freshly picked produce for the Social dinner. Boggy Creek has been a staple in locally owned organic farms for over 20 years since its inception in 1992 and a source of community and inspiration for the quickly growing urban farming movement. Led by Carol Ann Sayle and the late Larry Butler, Boggy Creek has been described as “the center of the plate, the heartbeat of the local food scene,” by former Austin Statesman food writer Kitty Crider in Butler’s obituary after his passing in July. Both Runkle and Duplechan concur, expressing their appreciation and respect for Sayle and Butler and are greeted warmly by Sayle upon arrival. Sayle knows their favorites and their investment in clean produce and proceeds to take us on a full tour of the farm. Tucked behind the farmhouse and stand are rows of carefully placed crops, from squash to carrots to greens, each row has been immaculately tended by Sayle and her team. Rows of greenhouses full of herbs and a large pen full of chickens line the other side of the walkway and Sayle’s trusty farm dog nips at our ankles if we get too close to the flock. Runkle and Duplechan chat and laugh with Sayle as they make their final selections and are ready to head to the next location.

Right down the road less than half a mile away, we arrive at our second stop of the morning, Eden East Farms (formerly Springdale farm). This area of East Austin is home to many local farms as much of the land is fed by Boggy Creek as it winds its way south to the Colorado River. Eden East now hosts a farm to table restaurant of their own offering weekly brunches and special occasion dinners. Tucked behind the outdoor restaurant seating is a small farm stand hosting not only East’s own produce from the grounds, but also offering selections from other locally grown, organic farmers as well. Tables are overflowing with veggies, local honey, microgreens, natural balms and salves made from local herbs and other goods. Here, the soil is so fertile we notice a stray squash growing right in the walking path. Runkle and Duplechan finish their shopping, gathering the last of the summer’s sweet peaches to be made into pies for the Social’s final course. We part ways as the chefs determine their final menus for the Social the next day.

Thursday arrives and the Luck, TX ranch is alive with activity as all of the finishing touches are made in preparation for the night’s event. Runkle and Duplechan arrive with their teams as the early afternoon sun gleams overhead and begin build their kitchen just off the path to Willie’s Headquarters. First over the coals is Runkle’s porchetta to be slow roasted on a spit for five hours leading up to the dinner. As the pork slowly turns, the ranch is filled with its mouthwatering scent and eventually, butternut squash from the farm is placed underneath to catch all of the drippings. Next, preparation begins for Duplechan’s grilled, stuffed fish driven up fresh from the Gulf and wrapped in hoja santa leaves - a traditional Mexican herb with notes similar to eucalyptus and Root Beer - to be accompanied by sheeling beans, smoked mushrooms, tomato jam, and green beans. The chefs and their teams remain hard at work as the sun sets behind the hills and the first guests begin to trickle in.

One long communal table is set up in the middle of the path from the chapel down to Willie’s Headquarters. Set with artisan ceramics from Keith Kreeger, hand-dyed indigo linens, fresh flowers, and candles, the Luck Social dinner is ready to begin. Our guests stroll through the little town of Luck, taking their seats and meeting their neighbors and the first course is served. As the moon rises and the stars come out, the twinkling lights of the candles illuminate plates full of delicacies as the plates make the rounds served family style (come back for seconds!). Free flowing local wine, Lagunitas beer, and Mountain Valley Water keep the guests’ thirsts quenched as relaxed laughter echoes through the ranch - a sign of a successful and satiating meal.

From farmstand to table, the chefs’ dedication to the sourcing and preparation of quality ingredients shines through in the consistently outstanding menus such as Runkle and Duplechan’s; demonstrating the importance across Texas’ culinary community of honoring the source of it all.

Sources: The Americana Narrative

The Luck Journal and the Mountain Valley Spring Water are proud to bring you “Sources”: an informative look into the origins of inspiration, performative platforms, and cultures from the perspective of creatives across the country.

Our collection of editorial content will track the routes in which American music historically traveled and transformed, and the land and unique stories that play an important role in the continuation of our country's artistic heritage. Read our first Sources article on the Americana Narrative below.

The 19th year of AmericanaFest ushered in more than 500 performances, spilling across 62 Nashville venues to showcase artists who have been at the core of the Americana movement. The weeklong event celebrates the spirited mission to lift up the authentic voices in American roots music: the back porch pickers and juke joint players seeking telling a real story through their craft. From John Prine to Jack White, artists of all walks of life have long gathered in the Americana homeland of Nashville to honor influence, inspiration and, most of all, community.

The term “Americana” has lent itself to various interpretations, sparking an ongoing conversation around genre distinction in the music world. A mixture of the soul, rock, blues sounds that have paved the way for the evolution of American roots culture; Americana has become a platform for celebrating the traditions at the heart of our country and, ultimately, a place for musicians to tell their stories without inhibition.

all photos by Brooke Hamilton

The 2018 AmericanaFest played host to Luck Reunion's “Luck Mansion” residency, a physical embodiment of the ethos at the center of the Americana movement. Throughout the week the Mansion welcomed artists to perform intimate pop-up sets and break bread together outside of the bustling festival. The dialogue was saturated with the topic of Americana with the conversation leaning heavily toward the designation of an iconic, if hard to pin down, genre.

From the perspective of Americana Music Association’s Executive Director Jed Hilly, the foundation of Americana was an answer to opening gaps in the music industry. “[Before Americana] the Steve Earles and EmmyLous (Harris)...even Dwight Yoakam...they were rejected by the country music business,” Hilly said. “The music business was defining everything with vertical lines; everything ws pigeonholed. And what i had in my mind was that [Americana] wasn’t a vertical genre, it was a horizontal genre. It was everything the music business-business wasn’t. It couldn’t be put in a box.”

Drew Holcomb

“There were so many musicians and songwriters who, before Americana existed, sort of felt homeless”, said Drew Holcomb. There is, indeed, a catch-all feel of the genre that is allowing both legendary and up-and-coming musicians an organic source of creative freedom allowing them to weave their own narrative.

Rosanne Cash

Rosanne Cash, who had delivered a groundbreaking and empowering speech the night before at the Americana Music Awards, waxed poetic on the power of the Americana platform in the lives and careers of genuine artists. As the progeny of one of the world's most beloved outliers, Johnny Cash, she has embraced the familial source of her creativity while also cherishing the world that the Americana genre opened up to her: “It's an inclusive community. In the beginning I was just glad that a community had been created,” Cash said. “I was so glad that Jed Hilly had a vision to create this place where artists who weren't in the Top 40, but were still legitimate, had a community and a place to be with other people of like minds”.

Paul Cauthen

Paul Cauthen echoed Cash’s sentiments: “I believe Americana was a good resting spots for some of us outcasts who weren't really put into a box or genre. I think we have a home now, a place where we can push our music and it’s heard. It's about the purest form of music you can listen to. It has a mystique of its own. I don't really know exactly what Americana is, but I love all the artists in it...so I guess I really dig Americana.”

The Watson Twins

Amongst the newest of AmericanaFest participants, the Watson Twins spoke poignantly to the bliss of dodging the typical genre affiliation. Having collaborated with iconic indie acts such Jenny Lewis after a Gospel-heavy upbringing, the buzzed about pair shared their own fitting definition of the Americana platform. “It really gives people the opportunity to explore and really find their sound. You don't feel trapped into having to say, 'I do country, I do folk',” they said. The duo also delved into influence and the source of their creativity: “Someone said about our new record [Hustle and Shake], that it's 'country-soul'. Sure, if that's what you feel, that's awesome. We grew up in the church singing Gospel and that really was part of our fabric. But alongside that we were listening to Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and all those people and genres helped form how we sing and write today. Is Americana a catch-all? Maybe, and that's kick-ass.”

As the platform continues to develop its mission alongside artists looking to share their own tales through art, there is a common thread that stands out: Americana is an ode to the roots of our American culture, and the continuation of the narrative of our histories...straight from the source.

Sources: Echo Park Rising - LA's Neighborhood Music and Arts Festival

photos by Vivien Best

Echo Park may seem like an unlikely place for the Luck Family to land, but even cowboys and outlaws made it in and out of Hollywood eventually. The Los Angeles neighborhood of Echo Park, just south of Silver Lake, has been home to music legends like Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, and Gram Parsons over the years. It's rumored that the "Burrito King" restaurant down the street from the park on Sunset Blvd. is the very spot that influenced the Flying Burrito Brothers' name. Zevon's song "Carmelita" (also recorded by Flaco Jimenez, Dwight Yoakam, and Linda Ronstadt) recalls his time in the neighborhood: "I hear Mariachi static on my radio/And the tubes they glow in the dark/And I'm there with her in Ensenada/And I'm here in Echo Park". In recent years, Echo Park has quickly evolved into what has been called one of the hottest areas of the city. Eight-year-old Echo Park Rising, the community’s landmark music and arts festival founded by Liz Garo (founder of the local venue, the Echo) and KamranV (Chamber of Commerce President), has become a source of inspiration and evolution within LA’s creative landscape. We attended the fest with our friends at Mountain Valley Spring Water last weekend to dig into the community and culture of Echo Park that has come to serve as a vibrant source for creativity in LA.

Liz Garo and KamranV

When asked “How do you Echo Park?”, attendees, artists, and festival founders alike focused on the tight-knit community. Founder KamranV explained, “It’s a complete neighborhood effort, and everyone’s contributing in many different ways. It is that personal care that makes it continue.” Everyone from local businesses, musicians, artists, law enforcement, members of the community, and officials pitch in and get involved to make Echo Park Rising happen. The festival is free to attend and features over 600 acts and 120 businesses from the neighborhood and surrounding communities. This year’s music roster included electronic DJs, indie rock, rap, and even country with the Grand Ole Echo showcase.

Jocelyn Romo

The Grand Ole Echo (GOE), self-described as LA's "country and not so country music showcase", bridges the gap from the seemingly separated Texas and Nashville music scenes to that of Los Angeles. GOE's Jocelyn Romo reminded us that country roots run deep in California: "This is is about as Western as you can get, literally. Its very easy to forget that there’s a great community for country music, for anything from like very traditional stuff to something a little bit more far out like Gram Parsons...that was all very much centered in California." GOE is just one of many widely varying showcases and events throughout the three day festival, including drawing workshops, free yoga and movement classes, wildlife walks around Echo Park Lake, and even a DJ workshop for kids.

As Echo Park and Echo Park Rising grow simultaneously, one constant remains in local venue the Echo. Liz Garo opened the venue in 2001, ten years before the launch of Echo Park Rising. Over the years the venue, alongside its festival extension, has grown into a staple for up and coming local acts and touring indie bands (including a few of our #LuckFamily members like Aaron Lee Tasjan and Cut Worms). Artist Theresa Wayman of Warpaint, popularly known as TT, has been living in Echo Park for over a decade and recalls the Echo as an establishment that marked the community long before it gained popularity: "...It didn’t seem like anything was going to be happening down there or up here. There weren’t that many great restaurants up here on Sunset, and things were just really different. But the Echo was there. The Echo was happening, Echoplex was happening...I think that’s a really big point of interest and also has been establishing the culture here for so long."

Theresa Wayman

Both the festival and the neighborhood are becoming permanent additions in the creative tapestry of Los Angeles. Like every creative hub, Echo Park is experiencing growing pains; but with the rising popularity of the festival and the supportive community, it continues to thrive. Fest attendee Paulina Ruiz said, “Echo Park is young and its happening and it’s changing, but that doesn’t mean that the youth is not going to survive here.” Echo Park Rising founder Liz Garo agreed and commented on the uniqueness of her community: “I think like a lot of the neighborhoods in LA it has a good mix of the old and new. There’s a lot of history here. It’s pretty diverse still but at the same time there’s new businesses coming. I think it’s a good little microcosm of what LA is, or can be, just with the different mix of people and different businesses and the independent culture.” And there’s no doubt about it, Echo Park is on the rise.

“I just spread love. I try to spread as much positivity to the world as possible. I’m just trying to give back to the world just like my father gave back to me.” - Nathan Kiseve

“I think you do Echo Park with kindness. Kindness to all types of people, all shapes and sizes...that’s how you do Echo Park.” - Holland Belle

“I do Echo Park by doing what the fuck I want and staying hydrated.” - Hoddy Base

“All day every day.” - Shelli Louise

“10pm. Little Joy. Tonight.” - Andrew Martin

”It seems really cool and urban.” - Selma Jama

“I live here and I like to walk and run around the community and eat at the local restaurants. It’s why I moved here.” - Eleanore Guthrie

“How do you do Echo Park? You just cruise.”

“I usually play music in Echo Park and love on all the people.” - Gabrielle Wortman

“Having fun.” - Kayla Lotterer

“How do I Echo Park? Drinking lots of liquids.” - Christina Benson

”I Echo Park by only going to the Holloway. Echo Park is young and and its happening and it’s changing but that doesn’t mean that the youth is not going to survive here.” -Paulina Ruiz

“Trying to stay cool in this fucking heat.” - Jason Rosen from Smoke Season

“Just by having fun, having a good time.” - Melanie Robles

Sources: Back to the Fort - The Culture of Newport Folk

On the second day of the 59th annual Newport Folk Festival the event's founder, a 92-years young George Wein, and Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo, took the event's “Fort” stage to make a special announcement: America's original music festival will continue to take place in its original location...for at least twenty-five more years. Audience members jumped up from their blankets and lawn chairs, celebrating, embracing strangers. Cheers echoed from kayaks, fishing boats, yachts, and floats dotting the venue's waterfront.

Photo by Taylor Hill/WireImage, courtesy of Getty Images, Newport 2014

The spirit of Newport patrons, or “tent dwellers”, as one artist fondly deemed them, far exceeds that of the average festival fan. The several thousand music lovers who make the pilgrimage each year have, over time, formed a true folk family that is integral to the culture of the festival.

photo by Joseph P. Durniak

Between the event grounds and Newport proper, a short boat ride away, festival-goers and seasoned townies alike swapped age old stories as if they were there to experience them themselves. There was the biker on route to the fest who was forced into the bushes by a swerving tour bus when Woody Guthrie emerged to express his apologies, and gave the man his leather vest right off of his back. And the couple who took their honeymoon at the first ever Folk Fest in 1959; traveling cross-country in their VW bus to find the last room at the Sea Whale Motel, where they now hold a standing reservation for the festival weekend. These days, they reserve the vintage automobile for this particular occasion; sourcing parts from an Ohio junk yard when needed...just to get to Newport.

The Lone Bellow, photo by Chris Pereira

Fort Adams has been the site of many historic moments: it's where Dylan went electric and the Pixies took their set acoustic for the first time.

It's not just the fans returning to relish in the time-honored tradition. With countless major festivals occurring these days, Newport maintains its standing on the bucket list of most artists – no matter the genre. And whether or not they're on the lineup, a diverse array of noteworthy creatives migrate to revisit the mecca that is Newport Folk Festival; this year’s festival hosting impromptu drop-ins from acts such as David Crosby, John Prine, Regina Spektor, and Leon Bridges. The Luck Journal, alongside Mountain Valley Spring Water, went behind the scenes of the iconic fest – taking artists and organizers back to the source to discuss their creative journeys, and what it means to be a part of the Newport family.

The Lone Bellow, photo by Chris Pereira

Newport, as it's always been, is about community. As Kanene Donehey Pipkin of The Lone Bellow - who celebrated their third festival appearance this year - shared: “I think everybody feels really honored to be here. It just feels like such a blessing...to be able to play here. The way it's set up, you're all just naturally crossing paths all day, instead of everyone sequestered in their own little VIP trailer area. Everyday we just all get to hang out...it’s pretty unusual for a festival.”

Brandi Carlile and Margo Price, photo by Cal Quinn

Conversation flows openly, both on and offstage; an especially poignant element in the current climate. There were messages of strength, of concern, of coming together: During her set, Brandi Carlile brought her daughter Evangeline on stage, speaking candidly to an emotional audience: “I’m not up here to divide or preach, I want to connect and be honest; to share my story. Gay domesticity isn’t new...but I didn’t even know who I was to Evangeline because my wife carried her. This is about how hard it was for me at first.” Earlier in the day the soulful and mind-blowing husband/wife duo, The War And Treaty, brought the rollicking Quad stage crowd to their feet, encouraging the audience to hug a stranger. “These days are all hard, but we can win. And that’s because we’re members of the greatest race: the human race,” the band’s Michael Trotter Jr. declared.

The War and Treaty, photo by Chris Pereira

Backstage, The War And Treaty expanded on their inspiration and intentions through music; elaborating on the past and how it feeds into current art. While both Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Blount Trotter grew up in the church, they had vastly different paths to music. “It quickly dawned on me that this was really something I wanted to do when I watched two of my favorite artists of all time, Ray Charles and Johnny Cash,” said Trotter Jr. “Their worlds just started opening up...and I just saw how music can really have an impact on inclusion. You see great artists back in the day always collaborating, like Ray and Willie Nelson, you know? The source, honestly, is just living, And then I met my wife...I said this out there on stage and I’ll say it again – over the course of walking in this life I've learned that love is the only key that's played out in life that is never out of tune. Blount Trotter added: “For me, I learned from my mom, an opera singer; and my brother who sang in the church – and dedicated the song [onstage at Newport] to my mom because my mother's death was actually my passageway into life, into my life. And I've had a struggle, it’s been a daily struggle: why can’t I just let her be free and let her spirit go?. And it’s because I had to look death in the face and say, 'you held your end of the bargain; you gave her peace.' And now I've got to hold my end of the bargain to her, and to myself, and live. And living is every moment that I'm in – this moment that I'm in with you all...I'm in the moment, entirely.”

Newport Executive Producer Jay Sweet, photo by Chris Pereira

The festival's sources are clear: artists and the folk family have the opportunity to come together despite differences. Jay Sweet, Newport Festivals Network executive producer, declares the festival as “the island of misfit toys”, which is fitting; as the acts curated defy genre. Sweet declared: “I mean, look, there may be an artist that has a radio hit but maybe [others] don’t....but that wasn’t really the goal or the criteria. The criteria is, like: Is it good? Does it stand the test of time? Is it something that’s going to carry over, Is it something that’s going to mean something?”.

Sweet’s description is apt: the festival breeds unique relationships between the “misfit toys” who land on the island. Just prior to cameo appearances with Jenny Lewis and Cheech & Chong, first-time Newport performer Lukas Nelson was stunned that he’d soon share the stage with two vastly different, but equally special, acts. “I don't really believe that saying...'the road to hell starts with good intentions,'” he said. “I think good intentions actually start good things. And being in this beautiful place -- a fort that never saw a battle? That’s incredible. That’s something I think that came from good intentions.”

Lukas Nelson with Cheech and Chong, photo by Brian Hager

Newport Folk Festival is steeped in American history and culture, with each element of the event echoing its mission elevate artists, traditions, and activists that are integral to the country’s roots legacy. The festival fosters important conversation and new art; without division, without pretense. It is more than fair to declare this long-standing fete as an unprecedented source for the evolution of American music.