A little piece of New Orleans will be coming to the Monadnock region Sunday, Aug. 18, at Fred Simmons’ and Leslie Vogel’s 16th annual Folksoul Music Festival in Greenfield. 

“Folk and soul combine the two richest traditions of American music, the folk tradition, and the soul tradition,” Simmons said. “We named our band ‘Folksoul’ to honor the  rich history of American music.”

The Folksoul Music Festival starts at 10:30 a.m. at 8 Driscoll Road in Greenfield, off Old Mountain Road. A $20 cash donation is requested to cover the costs, and guests are invited to bring picnics, blankets, chairs. The event is bring-your-own-beverages, and children under 12 are free.  This year’s bands and artists include Low Lily, which features Simmons’ and Vogel’s daughter, Liz Simmons; the Tara Greenblatt Band; Perin and Garrett; Long Journey; Tattoo; and the The Folksoul Band. 

Founded in 2007, the Folksoul Music Festival, which always takes place on the third Sunday in August, came about partly thanks to a herd of Nubian goats.

“Back when the kids were little, we cleared the land in at our house to have goats. We  had Nubian goats for a while, and we were milking the goats, and then when the kids got older we had horses. So we had created kind of a small pasture,”  recalls Simmons, who moved to Greenfield in 1989 along with Vogel and their three children.  “Then the  kids grew up, and our horses died, and we still had this pasture. I had a moment where I thought, this would be a nice spot to build an outdoor stage. Having played in then area for over 30 years, I have lots of connections, and we figured we could make a a music festival.” 

Simmons says he and Vogel started out inviting musicians they didn’t know to play the festival, but ended up filling the whole day with family and friends. 

“Turns out we could fill the day with our own friends, with musicians we play with,” Simmons said.

Simmons and Vogel, both lifelong musicians, met at Bard College  in the mid 1970s. Together, they formed a band, Tattoo, and, after graduating,  the group set out for northern California, where they lived for several years.  Simmons, Vogel, and various band members then moved to Oregon, and eventually to Alaska. 

“We just explored America,” Simmons says.

In 1986, after starting a family, Simmons and Vogel decided to move to New England to be closer to the grandparents. Vogel’s mother lived in Temple, and Simmons’ parents were in western Massachusetts. In 1989, they bought the property on Driscoll Road, cleared the land, and with help from friends, built the log cabin where they still live. 

Simmons remembers being aware of “the birth of rock ’n’ roll,” in 1956, when Fats Domino came out with “Blueberry Hill.” 

“I was very much affected by the music. I was taken with it right away. I remember my brother listening to Fats Domino, who was born in New Orleans, and that music came straight from New Orleans. New Orleans  is the place where white culture and Black culture meshed together to create a new art form, which we call rock ’n’ roll,” Simmons said.

Each year at the Folksoul festival, Vogel and Simmons lead a “second line” parade, which is a tradition in New Orleans funeral processions.

“The first line, which leads the funeral parade is a dirge, very slow and sad, on the way to the cemetery,“ Simmons said. “But the second line, on the way back from the cemetery, is when people join in the procession. The music is fast and spirited, and it celebrates a person’s life. We have about six different songs we play in the second line parade.” 

Simmons said music has the power to bring people together even in the most-difficult times.

“These days,  we need something that unites us, so that is what I try to play,” Simmons said. “I try to to play the music that comes out of both of the major historic American music traditions – the African-American musical tradition, and European-influenced folk tradition. These traditions bound us  together as one American music culture,  and it is worth trying to keep that spirit arrive.” 

For information about the Folksoul Music Festival, go to facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064374594625.