When the electricity cut out at last year’s Downtown Musical Benefit
for the Tucson Folk Festival, the music didn’t stop. People kept
dancing in the dark, and Tucson Afro-Brazilian drum group
Batucaxé kept pounding.

It was a memorable moment that illustrates the vibe of the show,
according to Batucaxé’s artistic director, Cliff Berrien. He
says the acoustic concert, featuring folk music from around the world,
brings a party-prone crowd of local music fans who support local bands,
no matter what technical difficulties may occur.

“The fundraiser brings a fun audience,” he says. “It doesn’t take
much to get them dancing—and we play dance music.”

Batucaxé will headline the first night of the two-day, 21-act
Tucson Folk Festival benefit show. The concert is both a preview of the
Folk Festival and a fundraiser to keep the festival free for the
community; it also offers musicians a way to support each other, says
Berrien.

“We like to connect with and collaborate with and support other
musicians. … We know that support goes a long, long way,” Berrien
says.

Sharon Goldwasser is a Tucson Folk Festival veteran; she’s been
playing the festival with various bands since the mid-’90s. Her current
outfit, Round the House, is a traditional Irish band that has played
the benefit for several years.

The show is a labor of love, she says. No one gets paid for the
performances.

“It’s something we do, because we just want to share what we know
with other people who are somewhere along the same pathway,” she
says.

The bands playing at the benefit are so diverse that “they often
don’t cross paths,” she says. “And one of the great things (about the
benefit show) is they do cross paths here.” The collection of
musicians—from Batucaxé’s drums, to Round the House’s
fiddles, and all the traditional American folk music in
between—proves “the definition of folk music is a little bit
flexible,” says Goldwasser.

“For some people,” she says, “it would mean songs that were
collected in 1930 in the Appalachian Mountains, but for a lot of
people, I think it’s expanded so it includes contemporary
singer-songwriters and bluegrass, and then traditional folk music from
different cultures. So it’s broad, but it doesn’t use anything
electric.”

The main difference between the Tucson Folk Festival and the benefit
show is the fact that there’s more of a focus on music during the
latter, Goldwasser says.

“I think the biggest difference is (the benefit) is just in one
place, one stage, and a little more focused,” she says. “It’s a longer
set. … From a musician’s point of view, we get a little more time to
present ourselves.”

Tucson has a lively folk scene, Goldwasser says—but without
the live performances, you’d never know it.

“Commercial radio is so limited in the kinds of music it plays;
other than KXCI (FM 91.3), there’s no place that people would hear this
type of music on the radio. So the only way to get exposed to it is in
a live performance,” she says. “To keep folk music thriving in all its
forms, it’s really important to have an event where musicians can play
their material and network and listen to each other’s music and get
some appreciation for it, too.”

The show is organized by the Tucson
Kitchen Musicians Association, which began in 1985
as a group of musicians gathering in kitchens for good food, good
friends and good music, according to Susan Liechti, the TKMA
president.

Keeping with that tradition of friends, food and music, Old Town
Artisans will host the benefit concert in their outside, shaded
courtyard/stage at 201 N. Court Ave. The family-friendly, all-ages
venue serves Southwestern and American dishes and has a full bar for
adults.

Liechti says the food, the shopping and the opportunity to hear and
support local musicians will make the event fun for the whole
family—and, hopefully, a successful fundraiser for the Folk
Festival.

The Downtown Musical Benefit for the Tucson Folk Festival takes
place from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, April 4 and 5, at
Old Town Artisans, 201 N. Court Ave. The concert costs $10 per day, but
Liechti says it’s more important for the community to be involved, so
anyone willing to put in a little elbow grease will be welcome. For
more information and a full lineup of bands, visit the
Folk Festival Web site, or call
792-6481.

This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2009.