Merbstock is the most indie of indie music festivals.

Under a small marquee on the grass, between two cottages, singers sing, guitar players strum, jazz ensembles croon, ex-hippies harmonize, rock bands jam and family quartets perform. And it’s a brilliant evening of entertainment.

Merbstock is the homegrown mini festival put together by a community of cottagers at the beautiful Melmerby Beach. This year’s event happened on Saturday night.

But don’t be fooled by the homegrown description. The talent at this thing is impressive.

Now in its tenth year, the festival features local talent who perform for the love of performing. Some used to be in bands, some aspire to be in bands and others just like getting up on stage to play and sing before family and friends.

In the audience of about 75, there were four generations represented. You could see the pride on the faces of grandmothers and moms. There were sisters, uncles, family friends, cousins, in-laws and friends from jazz school in Ontario.

The Eagles were playing in an outdoor venue a few hours away. I thought of going, but didn’t. I’m glad. I think I enjoyed Merbstock every bit as much.

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 4th, 2008 at 11:20 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.