Music festival fans were treated last weekend with the annual Life Is Good Festival, an event put on by the local T-Shirt giant to fundraise for The Life is good Playmakers, which help kids overcome life-threatening challenges such as violence, illness and extreme poverty. The two-day show took at Prowse Farm in Canton, MA highlighted acts from a variety of genres including rock, folk, and reggae.
The festival is a two-day celebration of music and optimism, featuring three stages of nationally known musical talent, hands-on games, interactive arts activities, and the “Good Kids” zone – home to the top acts in kids entertainment. Despite the projected weather warnings, the rain held off the whole weekend. A full crowd showed up both days to view the musical showings of the festival.
A surprising amount of families and children filled the crowd. Performers included the Avett Brothers, Ingrid Michaelson, The Hold Steady, Martin Sexton, Tristan Prettyman, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Dwight and Nicole, Barefoot Truth, Ray Lamontagne, Brandi Carlile, and many more.
The festival brought together all types of music: folk, rock, country, family, Americana, and everything in between. Martin Sexton rocked the country vibe with a USA feel. The Hold Steady rocked out on stage. Craig Finn, always the entertainer, played a well balanced mix of old and new songs. They played crowd favorites, “Stuck Bewtween Stations, “Chips Ahoy”, “Hoodrat Friend”, and “Positve Jam”.
Ingrid Michaelson, maybe the most comedic artist on stage, was unbelievable. Saying, “there’s lots of kids here. I had to take out my cursing songs, jk.” She busted out the her song “Blood Brothers”, along with crowd favorites, “You and I” and “Maybe.”
However, the most captivating aspect of of the whole weekend were the Avett Brothers, whose performance was exceptionally emotional and had plenty of power behind it. They played a few songs off their upcoming album, including “The Once and Future Carpenter”, but also played a good amount of old favorites, including “Murder in the City”, “Headful of Doubt”, “The Ballad of Love and Hate