What NESI is Like

 NESI is something like a summer camp . . . with the newcomers wondering what it'll be like, thinking about what they might do, and having all kinds of expectations.  Since expectations can be very different from how things really are....and perhaps make for difficulties or confusion . . . here are some words from long-time participants about how they think of NESI:

" ....the musicians who come to the weekend range from absolute beginners to professionals, and workshops are often aimed at the full span of levels. People who are just getting started on a free-reed instrument can meet up with more advanced players who are ready to share what they know.  I don’t think there’s another music festival anywhere in which the emphasis is on sitting around and playing together for 48 hours. It’s not a music camp, and it’s not a concert festival. It’s a gathering."

"The Northeast Squeeze-In is not a performance-oriented festival.  The festival is small and is composed mostly of players who gather to share our music with each other and play music together. There are no paid performers.  Volunteers hold such workshops as morris tunes, French Canadian dance music, French Waltzes.    There is an evening concert, but each player is limited to one tune, because many people want to share. Folks who have scheduled small concerts within the festival to show their stuff (as good as it is) are often disappointed, as people are more interested in playing than sitting and listening."

 To which we'll add:

 Every Squeeze-In is different: different people, different activities. A big part of the activities are the workshops. They aren't planned in advance and have no particular set format.  The way it works is that a blank (empty) schedule is put up with spaces for the time periods/venues, and people write the title of the workshop topic/activity they are offering into a time slot on the schedule.  The activity may range from a (somewhat) organized/led instructional activity to a jam session for a specific kind of music to an oddball instrument demo to who knows what. People who want to learn or do something specific may post a workshop request, and someone may decide to provide it.

 NESI is very egalitarian and generally a bit disorganized.  There are  plenty of world-class musicians (who generally make no fuss about it), and a lot of them are more interested in trying new things and  other idioms than ripping off wicked-hard show pieces.  There is almost always an open-ended jam session going just about everywhere possible. Musicians playing non-free-reed instruments (piano, guitar, fiddle, harp, hurdy-gurdy, who knows what?) are always welcome to "fill out the sound.”  

 The cabaret/concert show show-cases everyone at all skill levels and musical interests on a range of instruments: a kid playing Clementine, Klezmer tunes, a Telemann duet, self-composed rags, a Broadway show-tune from 1901 (would you believe that's where "Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Rum" comes from?), When Irish Eyes are Smiling, folk songs from the 1500s, a hurdy-gurdy, a tango . . . And after the cabaret/concert, you have your choice of a contra dance or a pub sing. The real night-owls even manage both.

Welcome, all.  If you are a newcomer or beginner, don't hesitate to ask for help.  There are always people from all skill levels, so look around.  Were you there now, you would walk into the Chimney Corners dining hall and be enveloped by a sea of talk, music, and good fellowship.  NESI is a magical weekend created by us all.

Tons more pictures of NESI 2010 here