Snipes Farm hosts its second annual River Roots Fest this weekend.
By Jack Firneno
Wire Editor
For more than a decade, Snipes Farm in Morrisville has celebrated music from across the country every summer. But only recently did the farm start paying tribute to the bands in its own backyard.
On May 17, Snipes Farm will host its annual River Roots Festival. Now in its second year, it exclusively features artists from the Delaware Valley.
“We wanted to feature the talent from this area, and have a place that features music of the river valley,” explained George Price, the music production coordinator at Snipes Farm.
Accordingly, all the bands hail from Bucks, Mercer, Lehigh and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, and Huntingdon and Mercer counties in New Jersey.
“There’s some amazing local talent that’s really blossoming,” he said.
Guitarist Zack Wallace seconds that idea.
“There’s definitely a distinct sound,” he said of the music he hears — and makes — in the Delaware Valley.
Wallace is part of the Wallace Brothers Band, a trio that plays country and folk with some jam band colorings. Today, they hail from South Philadelphia, after living in Tennessee for a short while and then Kutztown for a decade.
“You hear more of a straight-ahead country kind of style, and in Philly there’s more of a hybrid thing going on,” he explained. “There are a lot of converts, people who used to play rock or jam band stuff, who are now playing alt-country, or alt-bluegrass.”
But no matter if the players are old-school or newcomers, Wallace said an outdoor festival is an ideal place to hear the music.
“Everybody goes out every Friday and Saturday night and you expect the same thing. But there are only a few festivals a year, so people really embrace it,” he explained. “They connect with the music more because they’re there for the music.”
The Wallace Brothers Band plays around 125 shows a year, many of them outdoor events. This year, they’ll be playing the main stage for the first time at the Philly Folk Fest, but before that, they’ll be making their River Roots debut.
“I’m really looking forward to checking out the other bands,” said Wallace.
And, one of those bands will comprise a bunch of kids from the audience.
“We’re a family-friendly environment,” noted Price. “We want to have a place that is welcoming for everyone and to introduce [children] to the music.”
Children under 12 are admitted free. Among the farm’s attractions are a playground with a pirate ship, a large wooden tractor and a kid-sized maze.
There’s also Bobby Beetcut. A family music performer from Princeton, New Jersey, part of his act starts an hour before he hits the stage. That’s when he gathers up kids in the audience, tells them his band couldn’t make it, and asks them to fill in.
After they pick out instruments and decide on a song, they practice it a few times before playing it on stage.
“Kids love it, and the parents love that their kids are on stage,” said Beetcut. “I think it’s priceless for them and for me, quite frankly.”
The set-piece started at last year’s River Roots Festival.
“I was there bright and early, and the idea just came to me,” he said. “I’ve done it probably fifteen times since then.”
And while moments like this make the River Roots Festival a day of fun and music, for Price it’s something more: a dream come true.
“I’ve been coming to Snipes since I was a kid. It’s a beautiful place, and I had a dream that people could come out for a festival,” he said.
And for more than 10 years, people have been coming out for various music events at Snipes Farm. The farm’s hosted the Bucks County Bluegrass Festival since 2003. And, it regularly draws around 2,000 people for In and Out the Garden We Go, which started as a weekend of Grateful Dead tribute bands, and now includes bands covering Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and other ’60s San Francisco luminaries.
“It’s a gorgeous venue,” said Price. The River Roots Festival takes place at Snipes Farm, 890 W. Bridge St. in Morrisville, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on May 17. Tickets are $20 in advance of $25 at the gate. For information, visit www.musicatsnipesfarm.com
