Andy Frasco Comes Alive at Northlands and Other Eclectic Festival Takeaways

At the mountains of southern New Hampshire, mandolin virtuoso Sierra Hull weaved through a melancholic cover of Tears for Fears' 'Mad World', a crowd of thousands at the Northlands festival captivated by the singer's voice:And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad, the dreams I die in are the best I've ever had…”

“Especially today, in the world we live in, it's very important,” says Hull Rolling rock backstage for the 1982 tune. “We live in such a strange world, where we don't know what's real and what's fake, and there's something so real about seeing people standing up there playing acoustic instruments.”

In its third installment, Northlands featured marquee names in the rock/jam scene – Goose, Greensky Bluegrass, Andy Frasco & the UN, Big Something, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and Eric Krasno & Friends.

“I experienced jamming at a formative age and it was such a mind-altering experience to see a band choose their own adventure and feel like a true participant in the crowd,” says Pigeons guitarist Greg Ormont. “So to pay that forward to the next wave of music fans is surreal.”

The gathering also featured rising acts like Kanika Moore, Cool Cool Cool and Super Sonic Shorties.

“The songs I sing? I know the story and I can tell the story,” says Moore, whose haunting, powerful vocals echoed throughout Northlands as its artist. “I'm not lowering my spirits. Whatever mood I'm in, that's how I tell the story.”

Located at the Cheshire Fairgrounds on the edge of the small town of Swanzey, Northlands grew out of the concerts that became popular during the pandemic. In just a few years, the festival has established itself as a jam-band stronghold at a time when many similar events have disappeared nationwide.

“It's all about love,” says Northlands co-founder Jen Meyerhardt. “That feeling of community, where you're with your friends and you make new friends and everyone sees the magic happen on stage.”

Here are the best things we saw.

Goose debuted the new drummer.
With his new drummer, Cotter Ellis, behind the kit and a renewed sense of himself, Goose burst into a slot on the Mountain Stage. Amid his storming lineup of intricate, improvisationally savvy jams and soaring vocals from singer/guitarist Rick Mitarotonda, a galvanized cover of the Who's Eminence Front surfaced midway through the second set.

“There's a lot of language that builds over time in a band, and playing with Cotter out of the gate, there was a ton of connection,” Mitarotonda says. “It was very clear from the beginning that it was a completely new thing—the runway feels kind of limitless.”

As the band itself is seemingly the obvious torchbearer of the jam scene, Goose was coming to the reds of the Northlands after a recent gig at Fiddler's Green Amphitheater in Colorado, an audience of thousands.

“It was shocking,” adds Ellis. “Especially with a big crowd like [Fiddler’s Green]it's something I thought I'd never experience.”

The Connecticut band is rampaging through its summer tour, which also coincides with its 10th anniversary — a time in which the ensemble went from relative obscurity and grassroots growth to now selling out massive venues coast to coast.

“Because you're creative, because you create, it's just like any other relationship — life will happen, and it's easy to get away from the original reason you did it,” Mitarotonda says. “Part of what's happening right now is going back to why we do it.”

Andy Frasco and the UN bring chaos to the mountains.
Whether he was jumping into the audience and starting a mosh pit, smashing his gear or throwing whiskey at his bassist, the most volatile, eye-opening set belonged to Andy Frasco. The frontman roars across the stage like a Tasmanian devil. As a raw and real performer or just a completely unique person, Frasco is in a league of his own.

“I'm just trying to make people happy,” says Frasco, a cigarette dangling from his lips. “Everybody asks me what kind I am. I call it “organized chaos.” I'm not into the jam scene. I'm not the folk scene. I'm just this anomaly trying to glue everything together so we can all play on the same playground.”

To watch Frasco live is to witness, and possibly participate in, a moment of absolute pandemonium. The show shifts erratically from rock to punk to country and back again, with Frasco's cover of Eddie Rabbit's 'Drivin' My Life Away' and Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs' a prime example of his artistic risk-taking.

“You don't know how much time you have on this earth. The importance of living life to the fullest and doing what you love is what keeps us in the moment,” says Frasco. “And the moment is alive. If we can appreciate being alive, then maybe we can appreciate happiness for what it is and not just for that idea.”

Eric Krasno & Friends honor Dickey.
Paying tribute to the late Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts, who died in April, six-string ace Eric Krasno offered a moving rendition of “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.” Krasno dueled with former Twiddle guitarist Michalis under a fading sun on the Echo Stage.

“[Dickey] she was extremely creative. It combined southern rock and soul with jazz,” says Krasno. “And he studied all kinds of players, from acoustic flatpicking to bluegrass to straight Albert King Blues and then he got into jazz – I was trying to do the same thing coming up.”

Throughout the tribute, Krasno invited many friends on stage to join him, including Greensky Bluegrass mandolinist Paul Hoffman for a spirited take on Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia's “Deal.” Closing out the set, Krasno brought up Moore and Frasco to rip through Jimi Hendrix's “Fire.”

Annie in the Water surface at camp.
At its core, Northlands aims to elevate those smaller jam outfits grinding it out around New England and the greater Northeast – Dopapod, Hayley Jane, Jatoba and Annie in the Water.

One of the first acts to perform at Northlands, Annie in the Water led the charge on the Switchback Camp Stage, the small, cozy platform surrounded by a sea of ​​tents, RVs and vendor booths. A heady mix of rock, indie-folk and soul elements, New York band Saratoga wowed the masses, with many in the crowd hearing the sextet for the first time.

“We pretty much do everything ourselves to make it in this industry, so it was a huge gamble for the festival to give us this slot,” says guitarist Michael Lashomb. “But once everyone starts coming in and everything clicks, the train is moving and everyone is a part of it, it's overwhelming.”