Late Autumn 96

The Pagan Music Festival

by Brenna Huntington

This past Labor Day weekend, several hundred people gathered at Four Quarters Farm in Pennsylvania for the First Annual Pagan Music Festival. Three evenings of music from a variety of performers echoed through the hills. The days gave way to workshops, vendors, and the opportunity to explore the land. The relaxed atmosphere gave everyone the chance to sit back and enjoy meeting new friends, listen to great music and take in the beauty of Four Quarters Farm.

I spent my days walking the paths and viewing the variety of insects, birds, and trees whose space I shared. I sat in the grove where the Stones are being erected, a place of true tranquillity.

In the evenings, I sat on a grassy hill and listened to music from Big Blow and the Bush Wackers, Big Village, the Bardo Brothers, Sarah Stockwell, MotherTongue, Andras and Deirdre Arthen, Rhythm Alive!, Michael Ranauro, and other performers whose names I didn't catch. Late at night as I lay in my tent, the sounds of drums and crickets echoed through the trees and lulled me to sleep.

Communing with Mother Earth and sharing this experience with others---what a wonderful way to close the summer of '96.