My favorite weekend of the year is
Storyhill Fest, the sweetest little folk music festival in the gorgeous wooded lakes of central Minnesota. I believe I've attended all but one of the Minnesota fests (it has its origins in Montana, where Storyhill, aka Chris Cunningham and Johnny Hermanson, hail from). Every year from 2010 (coincidentally the year I started this theater-and-occasionally-music blog) to 2014
I spent Labor Day weekend at Clearwater Forest Camp in Deerwood, a beautiful campus with lodges, camping, hiking, boating, and other activities. But of course, we were there for the music - two full days of folk/country/bluegrass/Americana artists from Minnesota and around the country. I discovered many new favorites in that time (
Carrie and
Danny,
Connor Garvey,
Moors & McCumber,
Anthony da Costa, and many more), but the reason we were all there was Storyhill - the high school friends who became folk sensations, well, if that's a thing. For over 30 years (with a few breaks) they've been touring Minnesota (beginning with their time at St. Olaf College in Northfield, which of course has a great music program, as well as musical theater) and the country, recording many albums. After
the 2014 fest came one of those breaks, but seven years later (it would have been six if not for a global pandemic)
Storyhill Fest was back! This is the third fest of this incarnation, and there are rumors it could be the last, as
Chris and Johnny are taking yet another hiatus from the duo to pursue other interests. But every Storyhill Fest I've ever attended has been rumored to be the last, and it's always returned - whether that was a year later, or seven years later. No one can say if or when this festival will return, but judging by the music, joy, magic, and love shared amongst the artists and attendees, I believe it'll come around again someday. And I can wait.
