Good Times at Shady Grove Music Fest

Brad Turner of 3EYES. Photo: Joe del Tufo

A bit of rain couldn't slow things down at the Shady Grove Music Fest on Saturday -- rather than head for the hills (and their dry cars), partiers barely blinked an eye. After all, bailing out would mean missing out on some of the day's most anticipated bands, New Sweden and Bullbuckers, who rounded out the festival's roster of ten main stage bands, acoustic performances on the Moonlight stage and live graffiti art by Brad Turner of 3EYES.

The early part of the day featured The Joe Trainor Trio, Sharon Sable and E. Shawn Qaissuanee, Smoke Signals and Frequency Bender. As the afternoon warmed up under cloudy skies (nice, actually -- the grove is shady, but without the full summer sun in the sky, the day was a refreshing change from the recent heat waves), local youth Local Chaos took the stage to a supportive crowd as they honed their skills with songs by Motley Crue and the White Stripes, among others.

I especially enjoyed Newark's Little Invisibles, fronted by the lovely Dina Degnars on piano and vocals. Shades of Within Temptation, but singularly original. And, with an audience-participation hula hoop interlude, a lot of fun, too.

Little Invisibles. Photo: Joe del Tufo

A little drizzle started to fall during Deadbeatz, Inc's politically charged set, and by the time Villains Like You took the stage, the rain was really coming down -- and the crowd was starting to dance. Nothing like an outdoor music festival to get your body moving it the rain, right?

And through it all, 3EYES created a piece of his distinctive, hand-and-stencil graffiti art, while DJ Zip kept the beat going between bands.

You'll have to wait until next year to hang at another Shady Grove Music Fest, but the Arden Concert Gild offers live original music throughout the year -- like them of Facebook to keep up with the schedule.