‘Harry’s Hoe Down’
Festival brings new twist to 19-year tradition at Starks farm
STARKS —  For 19 years Harry Brown has hosted festivals on his land celebrating his belief in the right of free people to assemble freely. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 19-21, at Harry’s Hoe Down, that vision will find new life as the hill comes to life with diverse music, giant puppets, circus performers, fire twirlers and dancers.
“Harry and his family felt it was time to make a fresh start with a group that shared their vision for the land, shared a commitment to ending marijuana prohibition, and for using the festivals as a place for people of all ages to enjoy liberated space while fully engaging their minds, bodies, hearts, and consciousness,” said Jonathan Leavitt of Cow Pasture Productions in a prepared statement.
The musical lineup reaches beyond the usual fare of jam bands and reggae to include the following artists:
• CB-3, live Afro Dub that blends modern and ancient sounds, fronted by internationally known Zimbabwean musician Chris Berry on vocals, mbira and percussion joined by members of the internationally known Brazilian Girls; and by Bino, a South African prodigy who made his own guitar from an oil can at age 4 and began performing at 12 when he was discovered by South African guitar legend Louis Mhlanga
• The Brew, an innovative quartet that has developed a large and devoted following with its infectious grooves rooted in classic rock and seasoned with prog, jazz, reggae, world beat, indie, funk and orchestral pop influences
• Hot Day at the Zoo, rising stars in the roots music revival, a four-piece string band that delivers foot-stomping down home jams
• Inanna, Sisters in Rhythm, a percussion and vocal ensemble that explores the heritage and rhythms of West Africa through original arrangements and compositions invoking ancient traditions of the drum
• Jen Kearney and the Lost Onion, who blend jazz, rock and roul, soul, reggae, samba, and Afro-Cuban influences with powerful vocals, keyboards, percussion and horns
• Re-Up, flowing between hard hitting hip hop, soulful melodies and booty-shaking grooves
• The Scallywags, a roving band of pirates bringing songs and stories of ghost ships and revolutionaries in a mad blend of 18th century sea chanteys and 21st century chaos magic
Other musical acts include Roots Nation Reggae, the Stoned Mountain Boyz, Bajaly Suso, Lamine Toure and Group Saloum, Raising the Sun, Unit 7, State Your Mind, Jordan Kaulbach and  Lazloo.
Nonmusic performances include Trash Into Art, a community collective founded by multimedia performance artist Rijah Newll that uses giant puppets in energetic street theater pieces that promote environmental awareness; One World Puppetry; the dance troupe  Resistdance; Starma Circus; the Old Time Pagan Revival; and yoga, arts and crafts, puppet making and other activities.
For more information, visit www.harryshill.com and www.mainecommonsense.org or call 333-6985.