By: Wes RollinsENGL 336.002
Saturday morning, many a college student were awoken by the unmistakable sounds of traditional folk music. Between the cool air, the smell of kettle corn, and the magnificent music, all of upper Frostburg knew it was that time of the year again; the Appalachian Festival was back at Frostburg State University for its sixth year running. All across campus, the jubilant harmonies rained down upon aroused ears and evoked an impressive student turnout. At the Compton stage, one particular Folk band attracted a significant crowd: The Barnstormers with the Rock Candy Cloggers. And with their catchy Folk tunes and amazing dancing, it's no wonder that such a large crowd of Frostburg residents, comprised of both young and old, were in attendance.
Slim Harrison and Tom Jolin make up the Barnstormers and have been playing American folk music for over 30 years. On Saturday, their spirited music could have made any man, woman or child jump from their seat and dance, but the award-winning Rock Candy Cloggers didn't need the added incentive of the spirited melodies. Just give them a pair of clogging shoes and a platform and they'd surely have been content for hours. As the Cloggers' Rock Howland and Candy Ranlet danced to the rhythmic melodies being played by the ever-talented Barnstormers (comprised of Slim Harrison and Tom Jolin), the crowd began tapping their feet, laughing, and cheering on the entire ensemble.
Collectively, the group's stage presence was remarkable. It was apparent that everyone on stage really loved what they were doing. At one point, Rock pretended to kick Candy in the rear-end while they danced invigoratingly. At age 75, one would believe it would have been a tall enough task for him to simply dance the routine, but you could feel the enthusiasm and excitement exuding from him as the crowed laughed hysterically at what he had done. Slim seemed to be the jokiest one of the bunch; in between songs he did most of the talking, often hassling Rock about his age, even though he isn't exactly youthful himself. At one point Slim joked, "Rock is 75 years old. Last year he was 74, and next year he'll be 76. Either you're good with numbers or you're not, and Rock's got a lot of high numbers, so he must be really good." Later, after one of Rock's solo dancing numbers, Candy remarked, "You all know I have to drive home with him", gesturing to Rock, "so when his legs stiffen up on the way back, I'll be in big trouble!" Then Rock shot back, "Oh, I'm like that all the time, honey". The exchange drew a unified laugh from the crowd.
While the group commanded the stage with their impressive footwork and sense of humor, their musical talents shouldn't go unmentioned. Candy and Rock, in addition to their dancing efforts, also played instruments: Rock played the fiddle, while Candy played the concertina and string bass. Although Rock and Candy were musically talented, Slim and Tom were on another level. Slim is adept at playing the fiddle, banjo, guitar, harmonica, and mountain dulcimer, while Tom plays the hammer dulcimer, banjo, button, accordion, guitar, and harmonica.
The group played lively songs, the most memorable of which was 'Shortenin' Bread', and some slower songs like 'Banks of the Bann' and 'Morpath Losses'. As the show came to a close there was an uproar of applause as the group waved to the crowd and began to walk off stage.
It isn't often that we, in the pop culture era, find time in our busy schedules to peek into the past: when fiddles and string bass guitars were the instruments of the day; when clogging or flat-footing wasn't a rarity, but was commonplace and trendy; and when the youth didn't walk around with mp3 players blasting Jay-Z, but instead sat by the radio hoping to hear the newest folk song or other type of American Roots Music. The Frostburg area should be so lucky to have such talented artists as the Barnstormers and Rock Candy Cloggers perform for us, and for free. One can only hope that the Appalachian Festival returns for a seventh year, so that other residents, both young and old, can take a look back at some of America's finest heritage.
For more information, go to :http://www.thomasjolin.com/rockcandy-cloggers
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