Music festivals from Ocean Grove to Elmer are beckoning.
By: Susan Van Dongen
A Philly girl with no car, singer-songwriter Birdie Busch enjoys the way her flourishing career gets her out of the city, especially when she’s playing in a pretty place, tucked away down a long country road.
That’s one of the reasons Ms. Busch is happy to be performing at the Appel Farm Arts and Music Festival in Elmer June 3.
"I’m excited because I’ve never been there, but I love that area," says Ms. Busch. "I have friends who have played there and they say it’s a beautiful stretch of land, a great place to see and be part of a festival.
"It’s always nice to get out of the city when you’re living in it year after year," she continues. "If there’s any chance of being able to jump in a car, or borrow a car and go out on stretches of country road, I always enjoy that."
The day-long event at Appel Farm is one of many musical delights you can enjoy with just a little planning, a tank of gas and the motivation to take to the road.
On the other side of the state, the Great Auditorium at Ocean Grove launches its summer season May 27 with the Atlantic Wind Ensemble. This summer, the venue again offers up renowned pop vocalists, legendary bands, doo-wop, folk, jazz and gospel legends. Among the highlights, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band rolls in June 3, Peter, Paul and Mary will appear Aug. 19 and the Blind Boys of Alabama round out the season Aug. 26. The auditorium is especially pleased to welcome Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion Rhubarb Tour June 27.
A tradition in Philadelphia, the Jam on the River returns to Penn’s Landing May 27 and 28, featuring World Party, Ween, Railroad Earth and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, among others. For classical, jazz and world music fans, the Cape May Music Festival continues at various locations in and around Cape May through June 18, with the Pablo Zeigler Trio, the Denis DiBlasio Quartet and the Bay Atlantic Symphony featuring violinist Hilary Hahn among the performers.
There’s also the 23rd Annual Bridgeton Folk Festival at Sunset Lake in Bridgeton, June 17, where Ani Di Franco is the star attraction. And WXPN’s All About the Music Festival returns to Wiggins Park on the Camden Waterfront July 21 to 23.
Ms. Busch will open the 18th annual festival at Appel Farm, kicking off a day-long celebration of singer-songwriters, alt-country and folk, roots rock and R&B. Area talents such as Philadelphia’s Slo-Mo and Hopewell’s Daniela Cotton will take the stage, but so will legends such as Janis Ian and Richard Thompson. The festival also welcomes fiddler Mark O’Connor’s Appalachian Waltz Trio, the Klezmatics, as well as the artsy pop of Toad the Wet Sprocket, Fountains of Wayne and Duncan Sheik.
Music fans Ms. Busch included are most curious to hear British blue-eyed soul sensation James Hunter, who might be best described as the sonic reincarnation of Sam Cooke. Championed by Van Morrison, the R&B singer is getting heaps of praise for his live performances and debut album People Gonna Talk (Go/Rounder Records, 2006).
"I’d like to see him and also Richard Thompson, who I hear is a fiery storyteller," Ms. Busch says. "One of the best things about getting into the music business is that you get to go out and see all these people. We got to play a show with Richie Havens at the Sellersville Theater and I had a lot of fun talking to him. I also just saw Michael Hurley at Big Jar Books in Old City. I consider him an influence as far as melody and lyrics, so it was great to sit just a few feet from him and then talk afterward."
A fairly new and self-taught talent as far as writing and playing the guitar, Ms. Busch is starting to get national attention, thanks to her 2005 album The Ways We Try (Bar None Records). Described as unpretentious and filled with delicate melodies and deceptively simple lyrics, the release was recorded at Scullville Studios, an up-and-coming venue just outside of Atlantic City and Ocean City. Like Appel Farm, the rural setting appealed to Ms. Busch.
"It’s on Route 559 in an old auto garage you’d probably miss it if you weren’t looking," she says. "The backyard runs along the inland waterway. My friends were doing some studio work there so we met (the proprietor) who invited us to record our own music. I was delighted because I love it down there and that road is a favorite of mine. It ended up being a nice retreat from Philadelphia."
Ms. Busch, who names Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell as major influences, has always loved music but never imagined writing, singing and playing her own material. A graduate of the University of Miami (Fla.), a little more than five years ago, she was working at an upscale Cuban restaurant off Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square, enjoying the Cuban folk and jazz music the owners played for ambience, but was champing at the bit to do something more rewarding with her life.
"I made the executive decision that this ‘something’ would gather itself in song and started telling my life’s experiences through words and melodies, rhythms and rhyme," Ms. Busch writes on her Web site. "I started to scrappily pick up the guitar and opened my mouth to sing."
It’s always refreshing to see someone have enough confidence in their talents to walk away from a steady but dead-end job and launch an entirely new career, especially a creative endeavor. Ms. Busch says she came to hate the idea that she was doing things to please other people, almost like getting grooved into someone else’s idea of a life.
"Even back in college, I kept trying to compromise and do things that I thought other people wanted to see me do, rather than what I wanted to do," Ms. Busch says. "I had to make a decision that I wouldn’t do those things anymore. I knew in my heart that I wanted to play and sing music. Once I figured out the basics, I trusted the positive feeling I got. Even after just the first few weeks of playing and singing original songs, I realized that this was what made me feel really good."
The 18th Annual Appel Farm Arts and Music Festival, featuring Birdie Busch and others, will be held at the Appel Farm Arts and Music Center, 457 Shirley Road., Elmer June 3, 11:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tickets cost $38, $32 advance, $35 seniors/students, $29 seniors/students advance. For information, call (856) 451-9208. On the Web: www.appelfarm.org. Birdie Busch on the Web: www.birdiebusch.com
The Jam on the River will be held at Penn’s Landing, Phila., May 27-28, gates open 11:30 a.m. Tickets cost $40, $29.50 advance. For information, call (609) 520-8383. On the Web: www.jamontheriver.com
The 23rd Annual Bridgeton Folk Festival will be held at the Donald Rainear Ampitheater at Sunset Lake, Bridgeton, June 17. Gates open at 11:30 a.m. Tickets cost $28, $25 advance, under 12 free if accompanied by an adult. For information, call (800) 319-3379. On the Web: www.bridgetonfolkfestival.com
The Cape May Music Festival at various locations in Cape May continues through June 18. Tickets cost $15-$22, $10-$18 seniors, $5-$10, students. For information, call (800) 275-4278. On the Web: www.capemaymac.org
WXPN’s All About the Music Festival will be held at Wiggins Park, Camden July 21-23. Doors open July 21, 5 p.m., July 22-23, 10 a.m. (Subject to change.) Tickets cost $18, $13 advance, $10 Friday night tickets. On the Web: www.xpn.org
Ocean Grove will present its 2006 Summer Season at the Great Auditorium, Pilgrim and Ocean pathways, Ocean Grove. For information, call (732) 988-0645. On the Web: www.oceangrove.org

