GREEN RIVER FESTIVAL
July 10 - 12
Kids were already underway. Dressed in full, black
suits that must have been weighed heavily with
sweat, the duo proceeded to croon their tender voices over the crowd. They have a certain sound where
at times you could swear you hear an uncanny resemblance to Simon & Garfunkel. Sweet, perfect
harmonies that stick around the air long enough to
seep into your soul. Their folk is original and has
a maturity that feels like they’ve been around for
decades.
By the end of the Milk Carton Kids the sun had
its cruel grip on both my body and mental state. I
retreated to the Parlor Room Stage, the smallest of
the three stages, where I spent the remainder of the
sun’s light under the shaded confines of the trees
and enjoyed three different sets worth of pure en-
16 • CIDER MAG • cidermag.com
tertainment by three bands I would never normally
have seen.
First, In The Round, a one-time collaboration
of Charlie Parr, Suitcase Junket, and Kris Delmhorst hit the stage hard and put out a solid set. The
Stray Birds were brilliant too. A string trio huddled
around one microphone, they merge an old-timey
sound with exceptional harmonies, and do it all in
style.
Marco Benevento was my surprise find of the
day. The 38-year-old keyboardist stands alone with
his seemingly endless exuberance. The smile never
seems to fade even when his eyes are closed and
he’s ferociously banging away at the keys. What
comes out of those keys is a hearty mix of jazz, pop,
and rock, with serious hints of improvisation. And
Winter • 2015