Over the past 20 years, one of my summertime activities has been attending a few music festivals. I typically attend three festivals during the summer – one bluegrass and two cajun/zydeco/roots dance festivals. I enjoy getting immersed into the music at these gatherings, enjoy dancing with my wife, and with friends I’ve met over the years. My wife has attended a few festivals with me but she usually passes when the camping is too rustic.

But then came the Covid pandemic and most festivals were cancelled along with any type of big gatherings of people. The last festival I attended was in September of 2019. Like most, my family and I stayed safe by hunkering down, wearing our masks, getting our shots, and avoiding people gatherings. This post is about getting back and attending my first music festival in three years.

Back to Normal But with Questions

In early 2022, things began to return to normal. Baseball games came back, concerts, and going to the movies. I saw that one of the smaller local dance festivals (Blast from the Bayou in Preston CT) was back this year and being held in early June.

I debated whether to go. The risk of Covid was a factor, but I decided to not let fear rule my life. Covid will always be with us just like the flu and a slew of other diseases. I just need to take reasonable precautions to reduce my risks.

The bigger questions for me were – 1) could I still dance? I hadn’t danced in over 2 ½ years. And yes its sort of like riding a bike. But since Covid, I had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in both knees. Certain activities like walking long distances (over 3 miles), climbing down stairs, and certain knee bending cause some pain now. Would dancing create discomfort or be painful?

Second, I questioned whether I would still enjoy dancing. It was something I enjoyed doing more as a social activity versus physical activity. I enjoy dancing with my wife (she got my into dancing), like meeting new people, and connecting with friends that I had met over the years. Would people still turn out to dance and would my friends be there?

Lastly, it has been a while since I heard the music from Louisiana. The Cajun and zydeco music had always resonated in my bones and made me want to move. Would it still do so after a long hiatus?

I was curious to find out the answers to my questions. My wife had other plans to visit her Mom in Maine, so I purchased a single ticket to the Blast from the Bayou. I was being somewhat Covid cautious in choosing a small festival. I also figured that I would attempt only one festival in 2022 and see how it went. Would my knees hold up, would dancing and the music still hold my interest, and would my friends be there?

So, now you know the backdrop. I went to the Blast from the Bayou festival seeking enjoyment but also seeking answers.

Getting Back on the Dance Floor

The Blast from the Bayou is a 3 ½ day dance festival that started on Thursday evening and ran all through Sunday. It typically draws about 400-600 people. It’s held at an upscale RV resort in Preston CT. People can rent lodging at the resort, rent a campsite, or camp in the rough (i.e., in a field) for free with no facilities. With my self contained RV and solar setup, I chose the free camping in the rough.

The bands that played are some of the best in the genre. This years bands included Jeffery Broussard, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Geno Delafose and French Rockin Boogie, Dennis Stroughmatt, Jesse Lege, Rusty Metoyer, and a few others.

So how do it go? Well, it took some courage to ask for that first dance. It had been awhile since I asked anyone other than my wife to dance. After watching for a while, the band played a bluesy tune and I ventured out and danced a swing with Sandy. I love to swing dance and most of the steps and moves came back during that first dance. Next, Rona asked me to dance a 2-Step. The timing on that took a little bit to come back. I danced the Country 2-Step (vs the easier Cajun 2-Step). I did six dances the first day – mostly swings and 2-steps. I had to count on a few of the dances but overall in was reassuring to know that my dancing skills were still intact. And my knees felt ok.

I decided to keep a log of my dances. I primarily wanted to remember names of new people, but I also was curious about how many times I’d dance and what dances stood out.

Over the 3 ½ days I danced 49 times!! I met up and danced with 5 friends that I’d met over the years – Carolyn, Cynthia, Jenny, Sarah, and Tricia. About half of my dancing was with these friends. It was so nice to see them and get caught up. I also saw some other friends (Peter, Janine, Mike, Doug, and Sharmell) and made a few new friends (Pete, Monica, Eileen, Val) over the weekend.

The encounters with friends and meeting new people were the highpoint of the festival for me. Many of these people have become somewhat like an extended family that I only see 1-2 times a year. Having been away for three years made the time with them even more joyful. I’m guessing many felt the same based on all the smiles I saw and captured in photos.

Answers to My Questions

How did my knees hold up? Well, waltzing and 2-steping were fine. It’s sort of like walking which doesn’t give me any pain. But, zydeco was another story. Zydeco is a faster stationary dance and involves mostly the hips, knees, and feet. I could feel some pain in my left knee after a couple of zydeco dances. On day two, I put on a knee brace and that seemed to help.

I talked about it with my camping neighbor, 77 year old Val from NJ. Val also has bad knees. He told me he just modifies his dancing technique to use more hip movement, does less picking up of his feet, and he avoids knee bends. I gave it a try. On the 1, 4, and 7 beats in the dance, I kept my left foot on the floor and didn’t bend the knee – I just did a hip movement on those beats. It worked ok and got me through the weekend. But both knees were sore on Sunday. Overall I learned that I can still dance and still enjoy dancing, but my zydeco dancing days are going to be limited.

And finally the music. I enjoyed hearing the cajun and zydeco music again. Many played songs that I’ve heard them play repeatedly over the past 20 years. But, by Saturday afternoon, I was weary of it. Years ago, on a bike trip around the Cajun prairie of Louisiana, I met a local who had a dislike for Cajun music. His name was Wayne and he told me – “Dawg, there’s basically only three Cajun songs – a waltz, a 2-step, and a jitterbug. All the songs you’ll hear down here are just variations of these same three songs.” I now think Wayne was on to something. At the festival, the songs all seem to have the same beat – 4/4 or 3/4 time, and the only thing different was the words. A friend Doug, who plays drums in a zydeco band, once told me all zydeco songs pretty much have the same drum beat.

But there was a special music set played on Thursday evening. Dennis Stroughmatt played a honky-tonk set of old country tunes from artists like Merle Haggard, Jimmy Rogers, Marty Robbins, Hank Williams, and Buck Owens. It was great 2-stepping to these old songs.

So, overall I enjoyed the festival. I enjoyed dancing again. My knees told me I’ll need to take it easy on them and perhaps cut back on some of the zydeco. At 65+, that seems reasonable. The music was good but I don’t long for it like I used to.

Mostly, I enjoyed visiting and dancing with friends and that is what will bring me back.

PS: And I didn’t get Covid 🙂