How to describe Winfield? Never have I felt so good sitting in a pool of my own sweat. You know it’s hot outside when beads of sweat form on the legs of a person who is completely still. Sitting at Winfield with a portable fan in my face and an umbrella doing a horrible impression of a sun blocker across my lower half listening to some of the most amazing musicians in the country can only be described as restorative.
For those of you uninitiated, Winfield is the informal name of the Walnut Valley Festival or, simply, “the bluegrass” if you’re a local. Winfield is a 47-year strong multi-day music festival celebrating the best in bluegrass, folk, Americana, jazz and Celtic music.
My first trek to Winfield was in 2013, when my aunt finally persuaded my mom and me to join her for the weekend. No coincidence that it was the first year none of her kids were able to go with her so she really put the screws to us. While I thought I knew what to expect that first year, I quickly learned how very wrong I was. Winfield is not a little bluegrass festival. For an introvert who enjoys private bathrooms, the sheer volume of people was a bit overwhelming. But the quality of the music was undeniable. I grew up with John McCutcheon; Peter, Paul & Mary and Pete Seeger and the chance to see some of them and their fellow musicians multiple times amongst others who appreciate music has been calling me ever since.
The beating heart of Winfield is an appreciation for music, musicians and musicianship. The Walnut Valley Festival is home to the International Finger Style Guitar Championship, International Autoharp Championship and the National Mountain Dulcimer Championship. Though the autoharp and mountain dulcimer may not have reached the level of popularity that Auto-Tune has reached, the musicians who have found their calling with these instruments are some of the most talented musicians one will ever have the pleasure to encounter. We all go to Winfield to see and hear our favorites, but also to discover new musicians. My plea to the organizers: do not overlap The Steel Wheels and Socks in the Frying Pan! Many of my favorites (Socks, Steel Wheels, John McCutcheon) are featured elsewhere on my blog so I will refrain from gushing, but needless to say I could go on and on. As for new music, Molly Tuttle, The Outside Track and Opal Agafia were amazing discoveries.
Great musicians cross genres, so what makes Winfield different? There are hundreds of successful music festivals every year but, without even attending those other festivals, I know that Winfield is better. Winfield is a community. One can amble through the campgrounds or roam around the fairgrounds and meet and reconnect with their Winfield family. Over the course of five days one will hear frequent, raucous cries of, “Happy Winfield!” And it is easier here than anywhere else to sit down next to a complete stranger, strike up a cheerful conversation before the next set begins and do the same thing an hour later with a completely different person. That sense of community, the sense that people can band together to affect change is the essence of the folk movement that took root in the 50s and 60s and is necessary again, maybe now more than ever. And when a couple thousand people join together to sing the chorus of "The Times They Are A Changin" I have hope. Winfeld gives me hope.
So even though I have yet to purchase any tie dye clothes and the idea of camping will never appeal to me (I know, I’m missing out on some of essence of Winfield when I stay in a motel) my thought as I was driving away late Saturday night was, “How could I not come back next year?”
