Faerieworlds has a solid music line up this year, but there’s one act that should not be missed: Mariee Sioux. And Howard Buford’s Emerald Meadows will be the perfect setting for her nature-infused, pseudo-mystical tunes like “Buried in Teeth” (“Down past the fossil ferns and antlers
/ A pack of ghost wolves are going to bring you under”), “Wizard Flurry Home” (“Crown, crown, crown your mountains”) and “Wild Eyes.”
The indie-folk singer often draws comparisons to another Nevada City, Calif., indie darling: Joanna Newsom. But the truth is that Sioux has less of Newsom’s girlish tremor and more of Joni Mitchell’s ethereal and earthy qualities, in both style and content, and Neil Young’s silvery vocals. One could draw comparisons to Jewel’s sweet melancholy on Pieces of You or the contemporary Cat Power. But Sioux’s stories are all her own, told with an acoustic guitar, and layered with rich textures like the Native American flute; Grammy-winning flautist Gentle Thunder joins Sioux on her latest album Faces in the Rocks. Catch Sioux at 4 pm Saturday, July 27, on the main stage and 1 pm Sunday, July 28, on the Village Stage.
Another acoustic gem twinkling with the faeries (Friday and Saturday) is Sea Stars, a new project for Kan’Nal frontman Kurt Baumann with singer-songwriter Katie Grey. If you’re less acoustically inclined, Faerieworlds’ Friday headliner is Portland’s electronic dance music (trip-hop to be specific) producer Emancipator, who recently released his first album on his own label, Dusk to Dawn. Joining him in the beat arena on Saturday are pagan folk stars OMNIA and festival veteran and Canadian world music group Dehli 2 Dublin, mixing fiddle, electric sitar and guitar with Indian drums, tabla and dhol.
Faerieworlds runs July 26-28 at Mount Pisgah. For the full line up, stage schedule and tickets visit fairieworlds.com.