After almost a decade, Strangefolk reunited for a show at the Flynn Theater in Burlington, VT on Saturday, October 11th. Jon Trafton, Reid Genauer, Erik Glocker and Luke Smith were met with an overwhelming response from the audience as fans welcomed them back to their home roots. The show just happened to coincide with the 20th anniversary reunion weekend at the University of Vermont for a lot of their friends, where the band originally formed. 

The first time the band played at the Flynn, things did not go as smoothly as they wished. Back in 1998, the band first took the stage at this venue with alien masks on. Unfortunately, this hindered their sight and things got off to a rocky start when first walking on to perform. Within seconds, Strangefolk took off their masks and things got underway at their positions on stage. Their performance this weekend did not include masks, but the band did throw one hell of a party for the audience.

Strangefolk announced their creation of the Strangefolk Scholarship in Environmental Studies at the show, which Trafton noted as “not being very rock and roll.” Having been involved in environmental studies at UVM, the band created this scholarship so that a student wanting to go to the school in this program could have a chance. The charitable air around Strangefolk does not stop with the band. The nonprofit organization, Strangers Helping Strangers, was formed back in 1997 by Strangefolk fans. The mission involves collecting non-perishable goods at shows and festivals, which are then donated to local food banks and shelters. This organization has taken off and extended far beyond the Strangefolk scene.

Once Strangefolk finally took to the stage, nostalgia filled the air. Things started off with “Speculator,” which felt like a warm hug to the fans back into their musical lives. Hints of extended, face melting jams were peppered in as the band got underway. It was a fine day indeed as Strangefolk eased in to this long overdue, and much anticipated, show. “Rather Go Fishing” took the audience down a river that heavily flowed with crunchy guitar and took the audience higher as the jam gained momentum and eventually spilled over with intense energy. 

After a brief break, the second set comfortably took off with “As…” which rolled into a spectacular “Stout Hearted Man”. By now, the band clearly had reigns of the energy over the audience. The meanderings of the guitar within this second set heightened the musical experience of the audience, and vibes were at an all time high. A quick “Go Cats Go,” which included full audience participation, led right into “Reuben’s Place.” Hips were swaying and arms were in the air. “Diary” calmed things down a bit with this relaxed tune that grooved right into “Burned Down”. The jam midway took fans down a journey of musical goodness due to the intense freedom of improv created by the band. “Like You Anyway” eventually morphed into a psychadelic whirl of sound that sucked the audience in and made them fly high. That jam was ridiculous. How could the night possibly get any better?  

“Rachel” literally had people do-si-do’ing in the aisles during this feel good, impossible to not smile jam. “So Well” started off as a sing-along with the audience, and turned into a giant jam monster packed with up and down sways of musical genius.  This jam was almost 17 minutes of pure love to the ears, the kind that you get lost in and have no idea how you ended up where you are.  Set two ended and had the audience begging for more.  

The show wrapped up with the encore including “Things That Fly” and “Juicy Fruit”. Overall, Strangefolk clearly has the knack for creating psychedelic jams that flow into crunchy sounds of the guitar begging for your attention, only to take things up a level to blow your mind once it grabs you.  This performance was incredibly special and fans hope they won’t have to wait another decade to see such an amazing group of talent again.  

Set I

Speculator
Valhalla
Rather Go Fishing
Alaska
Come On Down
Poland
Two Boys

Set II
As..
Stout Hearted Man
Go cats go –>
Reuben’s Place
Diary
Burned Down
Roads
Like you Anyway
Rachel
So Well

encore:
Things That Fly
Juicy Fruit