LEAF

Oh the joys of discovering new music! This weekend I did just that (and so much more) at Lake Eden Arts Festival, a semiannual "hippie fest" in the hills of North Carolina. The first time I experienced LEAF was about four years ago with the family I baby-sit. Sid, the kids' dad, is a lawyer; at the time Alison didn't let her daughter wear jeans outside the house in the summer--only matching patterned shorts from some yuppie boutique like Moppet's would do. Miles wore those little one-piece outfits with a train on the front pocket and matching socks. I didn't know back then, but you're not supposed to wear preppy pastel purple collared shirts with khaki shorts at a music festival, even if the shorts are cutoffs.

My family is known to have slight hippie tendencies, but we're nothing compared to LEAFers. Everyone at LEAF is a pretty hard-core hippie, with dreads and amazing broomstick skirts (even on the guys) to prove it. OK, not all the guys wear skirts, but you're bound to sight two or three. I saw more Chacos than I've ever seen in my life. Showers are communal. Love is free. Camping is a must!

Biz and I met Hannah at LEAF Friday night. We set up camp then headed to hear one of the bands at Eden Hall. Hannah told me the second band grace our presence would be great--the lead singer sounded like Alison Krauss. Biz and I planned on meeting up with Hannah for contra dancing after a few songs but we couldn't escape from the magical music of Crooked Still! The group is from Boston and plays the smoothest newgrass I've heard. Vocals: smooth, clear, and soft, no nagging. Aoife (Ee-fah) is accompanied by a cello, a banjo, and a string bass. The cello--wow. Aoife's boyfriend Rushad plays it, and he's awesome. How does he move his fingers so fast? He's this half Indian guy who dons elf shoes and a silk hat as he plays. He puckers his lips when he gets to the intense parts of his solos. He's entertaining to watch. The banjo's pretty sweet, too. The bass' carries the ocean of sound along. If you like bluegrass at all, check these guys out!

Hannah, Biz, and I decided it would be an all-girls weekend. I'm glad it was, even though we talked about our guy woes the whole time--guys and food. We ate a ton of healthful delicacies like vegetables dipped in ginger dressing, apple muffins, and sweet potato fries, stuff you'd buy at Whole Foods. No Happy Cow, though. We ate some pretty unhealthful stuff, too. S'mores--cold. Mmmmm... We danced the night away on the contra stage. After listening to some cool girl CD on the way up, Biz and I decided to start a girl band at Clemson. That's just what Clemson needs, in my mind. Not like the Spice Girls--more like the Indigo Girls. Too bad none of us plays guitar, or sings, really.