Brian Slattery Photos
Singer/songwriter Dylan Hartigan began the final song of his set alone on acoustic guitar. Alex Haddad joined him on electric. Halfway through the song, Hartigan said if the audience would sing along in the chorus, he might have a surprise for them. The audience obliged, and an entire backup band — Them Vibes — joined Hartigan and Haddad on stage to turn Hartigan’s quiet song into an all-out rocker. The shift set the tone for the rest of the evening, as a three-band evening of headliner Maggie Rose, supported by Them Vibes and Hartigan, brought the sound of ‘70s rock and funk to CT Folk’s Folk at the Edge concert series and showed how expansive the concept of folk music can be.
Folk at the Edge is CT Folk’s summer pivot as continued Covid-19 safety concerns led to the folk-music nonprofit canceling its flagship event — the CT Folk Fest and Green Expo, usually held over Labor Day weekend in Edgerton Park — once again. Instead, it created a series of concerts; the first, featuring the band Parsonsfield, was held June 24. Thursday evening marked the second concert. Pokey LaFarge and Goodnight Moonshine will appear on Aug. 26, and a triple bill of Amethyst Kiah, Thabisa, and Phat A$tronaut will finish up the series on Sept. 25.
CT Folk also moved the concerts’ locations from Edgerton Park to the expanse of Edgewood Park along Edgewood Avenue near the corner of Ella Grasso Boulevard. A change of format, a change of location — and a change of sound.
Even before Them Vibes joined him on stage, Hartigan signaled what was to come with a series of songs replete with contemporary attitude. “I like to write songs from a storyteller’s perspective, whether it’s fiction or,” he paused for comic effect, “the other one.” As Haddad turned up next to him, he noted that “these are weird chords” he was about to play on the guitar. “They’ve never been played before and hopefully they’ll never be played again.” After Them VIbes’s incendiary intro, Hartigan beamed. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “let me introduce you to the most badass ragtag band to ever come out of Nashville.”
Them Vibes remained on the stage for a set of the band’s own music, which soaked thoroughly in the sounds in the 1970s South, from the rock jams of the Allman Brothers to the R&B factory created at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala. Them Vibes was big, loud, and above all, fun. “Hello, New Haven!” they shouted from the stage, a delirious sendup of rock bands of the past. Singer Larry “Brother Love” Florman served as bandleader, front man, and court jester.
“This song’s called ‘Who Do You Love?’” he said toward the beginning of the band’s set. “It’s pretty obvious, right? We’re all here loving one another.” In a sign that the band had done its homework, he asked the audience to short the loudest for its favorite apizza place. At one point he checked in with Rose to ask how much time they had. Rose gave an answer of 15 minutes.
“Look at that!” Florman beamed. “Maggie Rose wants us to play for another three hours!”
It turned out Florman was only half-joking. When Maggie Rose took the stage, Them Vibes — now with Florman on percussion — served as backup band. For the first few songs, they kept the party going, with Rose’s firework of a voice soaring over the band’s aggressive sound. But as the set continued, the musicians in Them Vibes then got a chance to show that they could do more than party. They excelled at some of the moodier ballads that Rose has started to make her name on, such as “For Your Consideration,”
But as the set continued, Rose and the musicians in Them Vibes got a chance to show that they could do more than party. They excelled at some of the moodier ballads that Rose has started to make her name on, such as “For Your Consideration,” and sounded positively sweet on the crooner “Change the Whole Thing.”
“Live music is alive and well, right?” Rose said. She explained that it had been a long time coming, that Nashville — where all the musicians in the show were based — had been hit by a tornado shortly before the pandemic shutdown began, and material they had wanted to release had been delayed. But she knew this day was coming.
“We’re all human, and we’re gathering in the joy of music. That’s what this is all about,” Rose said.
CT Folk had put all the elements in place for that gathering to happen. In addition to food and drink vendors, some of the elements of the Green Expo, from clothing vendors to nonprofit booths, were in attendance.
For many — especially given the near-ideal weather — conditions were perfect for a long hang on the lawn.
But it turned out that most of the people had come there to dance. As Maggie Rose and Them Vibes kept tune after groovy tune coming, eventually the seats the crowd had brought were empty, and instead the audience was close to the stage, dancing to the scorchers the band laid down.
“It’s surreal to be all together,” Nicole Heriot-Mikula, CT Folk’s events director, had said at the beginning of Rose’s set. “We’ve been at home and quarantining. Now we’re back and it feels so good. Folk at the Edge was born out of the desire to be together again, to expand our audience, and give back to our community.”
As Rose brought her set to a raucous close, the crowd insisted on an encore, chanting her name until she and Them Vibes returned to the stage.
“All right!” Rose said. “I can’t get enough of you like I can’t get enough of your pizza.” Then they played some more.
Visit CT Folk’s website for more information on upcoming Folk at the Edge concerts.
What a absolutely wonderful concert. Maggie Rose FANTASTIC!!!! I wish that the publicity about this event was better cause New Haven I know you would have appreciated the energy that Maggie and her band brought to Edgewood Park. Dylan Hartigan wasn't too shabby either.
Thanks so much to the sponsors of the concert and my hope is that the two future concerts will be better publicized and consequently better attended.
You go Maggie Rose your the real deal.