Folkin’ Around in Schwenksville, with Jon Detweiler

Folkin’ Around in Schwenksville

Ken’s guest is Jon Detweiler, second in command at the nation’s longest running outdoor music event, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, why it still draws thousands for the fifty-eighth consecutive year, and why it’s so much better than Woodstock. And rather than listener-submitted questions, Ken sets up shop in the middle of the Fest campground to interview a steady parade of random Festers.

What “sticks in Ken’s craw” this week? Why aren’t you here camping at Fest??

Found in this episode:

*What’s the buzz on the campground paths? *xx:xx:xx-xx:xx:xx

• The constant refrain: Welcome home!
• Playing roadie to a hundred acts
• By the time we got to Woodstock, the Fest was already 8 years old!
• Three generations of Festers here, there, and everywhere

A Conversation with Jon Detweiler xx:xx

• The volunteer-run Philadelphia Folk Festival in it’s 58th year
• Tens of thousands spread out over the hillside at Godshall’s farm in Schwenksville
• Music acts great and small, from folk to Celtic rock to blues to the unclassifiable
• The Fest: The crown jewel of the Philadelphia Folksong Society

What Sticks in Ken’s Craw? Why aren’t you camping at Fest??

• Where else do people actually smile at each other?
• Where else are performers camped alongside you?
• Where else can your kids stay out until 3 AM?
• Where else are you a part of an extended family of thousands?
• Where else can you party until dawn and the cops don’t come?
• Where else is the world actually the way you’d like it to be?