As I stepped out of the car into
the hot, muggy end-of-June air, I was able to hear the sound of a bass guitar
playing in the distance. As my dad, stepmom and I walked along the streets of
downtown New Martinsville to make our way toward the main stage, we were
greeted by vendor after vendor of people selling various tie-dyed clothing,
jewelry, and other hand-made crafts. This is a very lax and easygoing festival,
where everyone is here to leave their worries behind for the weekend and have a
good time. The Backhome festival has had
a special place in my heart since my first time attending last year. Nothing is
better than sitting in the soft grass on a blanket basking in the sun, snow
cone in my hand and hearing live music.
This festival differs from the
others that I have attended in that, rather than specifically focusing on West
Virginia culture, it welcomes artists from all over the country to perform and
share their music with locals. While the Grafton Monster Festival focused
specifically on the West Virginia cryptid, and had vendors curated as such, the
Backhome festival is a celebration of hippie culture as a whole rather than
zeroing in on West Virginia.
This festival is reminiscent of the
Back to the Land Movement in West Virginia that started in the 1970s. During
this time period, people began buying land and moving to West Virginia in an
attempt to re-connect with nature and live a simple life. Many of the musicians
and handicrafters who live in West Virginia today have roots in this movement.
It really makes you wonder if the Backhome festival has roots in this movement,
at least in terms of the artisans who attend.
We were there on Saturday, so we
were able to see performances from several different bands. Ezra Hamilton was
the first performance we saw that day. We set up our blanket in the grass and
relaxed as he performed some jazzy tunes for the crowd. The next group to play
was Tray Dahl and the Jugtime Ragband, a band from New Orleans whose set was a
blend of ragtime jazz and country music. The final band we saw, Bucket of
Puppies, is a jam band whose high-energy rock set had the crowd up and dancing
in a matter of minutes.
The Backhome Festival brings
visitors from all over the country to New Martinsville in a celebration of all
kinds of traditional music. In the short time that we were there, we were able
to hear a wide variety of music genres. It is easy to see how it has earned
its’ title as Best Festival in West Virginia. This festival is one of my
favorites in the state and I look forward to attending in the years to come.
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