Marshfield, Massachusetts’s booker-promoter John Hall is a one man utility machine, bringing huge music events to his South Shore community and beyond all year long. Hall, who will be hosting the 20th anniversary of his North River Blues Festival at Marshfield Fair this summer, brings the blues goodies home to many in his greater-Boston music scene. His greatest achievement is likely the North River Blues Festival that runs the second weekend at the Marshfield Far.
“I am very grateful for having the opportunity to put on 20 blues festivals, 19 roots festivals, 15 SoundWaves, 10 Aquapaloozas, three Marshfield Summer Fests,” Hall said. “It’s been a very gratifying 20 years. Two CD stores, being a music director for a radio station for five years, being a staff writer for Metronome Magazine for 15 years, admittedly not too many stories.” Hall has also served at Boston Blues Society for special events and advertising for five years.
Hall thought, 20 years ago, his North River Blues Festival would have a better chance of survival if he had attached it to the Marshfield Fair, as opposed to renting space at the fairgrounds during off season.
“If I wanted to do a one day festival at the fair the way I do it now, it would probably cost me upwards of $35 thousand dollars,” he said. “And that’s a basic one day festival with no activities around it.” A year after Hall started his North River Blues Festival he created the Green Harbor Roots Festival, which is now going into its 19th year.
Running his roots and his blues festivals as attractions at the Marshfield Fair gives him an audience, and it brings in some more people for the fair. Hall started the entire festival idea by writing a letter to the fair organizers. The fair used to showcase, up until 1992, thoroughbred horse racing but the state licensing board took their summer dates away from them and gave them to Suffolk Downs. The state had offered, instead, to the Marshfield Fair, some dates in October which wouldn’t work, as their summer population would no longer be in town. Marshfield Fair organizers had gotten comfortable with their August dates, having held its fair in August every year over its 125 plus years existence.
“So, when they lost the thoroughbred racing, I wrote them a letter suggesting that they put on a blues festival,” Hall said. “It was a significant geographical site on the South Shore, and it was part of Marshfield.” Hall’s next task was to select bands for his event. He said that his selection process changes each year and some times the roster evolves by accident.
“One year I had Janiva Magness, Rod Piazza, and Jack Harmon,” he said. “Another time I had Captain Wah and Marcia Ball. I figured let’s go with the Louisiana thing when I had Marcia Ball. I’ve had days when it’s been heavier on guitarists. I try to mix it up too and just try to get the best. I was a softball coach for a bunch of years and you always put your best team on the field.”
Hall keeps an eye on the local talent and local audiences. This year he has Charlie Keating opening his Green Harbor Roots Festival. Hall also invites the acts who win the Boston Blues Society’s annual Blues Challenge.
“This year Erin Harpe And The Delta Swingers hold the title so I’ll be having them at the blues festival,” he said. “One of my most loyal and consistent bands over the years, Mission Of Blues, is having their 20th anniversary, so I’m plugging them in at the festival. They’ll celebrate their 20th anniversary” at the blues festival.”
For the national acts that headline, Hall has, in the past, brought in class acts like Charlie Musselwhite, who is laid back, old school, and he balanced it out with acts like Lil’ Ed And The Imperials, musicians who move around a lot on stage. Hall’s other requirement is that the bands he invites be professional.
“I very much believe in Karma,” Hall said. “I don’t want negative people around me that day. I just don’t want it. I want to have that can do attitude. I’m there to be a host, a gracious host to my guests. I also like to have all my guests as gracious guests too. It just keeps it all positive. I love that positive vibe. I don’t have any fences keeping people out. I don’t have V.I.P. up front. I don’t mind the concept of making extra money at all, but I don’t want it at the cost of blocking off the front of the stage.”
Hall continued expressing his dislike of the V.I.P. concept. “I don’t like the name ‘V.I.P.’ If those people in the front are ‘V.I.P.’ then what are the rest of us?” he asked? Hall compared one unnamed blues festival to a concentration camp because of all the fences and Keep Out signs and V.I.P only signs. “And the people were not friendly running the festival,” he related. “They just were not very friendly and accommodating, and I don’t like that.”
Hall recently retired from his full time job after 29 years and he recently completed his second term as selectmen but did not run for a third. He wants to spend more time creating music events for greater-Boston/New England audiences. He will need the extra spare time, as he produces many events throughout the season.
Hall organizes two events at Boston Harbor each summer. First, he runs Aquapalooza, to be held this year on July 18th, from noon to 6:00 p.m., sponsored primarily by Russo Marine, which raises funds to help keep the Harbor clean. Hall has recruited Booty Vortex, The Rampage Trio, and Fat City Band to appeal to the general audience that fills 200 seats on the boat which is surrounded by music fans in another seven hundred boats that pull up around it.
Boston’s Aquapalooza will be one of many taking place all over the country to support environmental awareness. “The one I do in Boston Harbor is the same thing,” Hall said. “It’s on the third Saturday in July, all over the country, and the one in Boston, I produce. We go on a boat out of Rowe’s Warf. We go to Perry’s Cove next to Peddocks Island on Boston Harbor.”
The Love Dogs
Hall’s next event will be SoundWaves, using the same boat, out of Rowe’s Warf, docking at Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor, which offers the best views of any island in the Harbor, as it has three hills made out of refuse stockpiled since the colonial years. Jim Perry’s Hothouse, Sam Gentile with special guest Toni Lynn Washington, and The Love Dogs will perform in turn with a likely all star jam at the end.
If all of that isn’t enough for area music fans, Hall will help organize the South Shore Irish Festival the weekend after Labor day, September 12 and September 13. It will feature Irish step dancing and Irish artists like Johnny McEvoy John McDermott, Na Fianna, and several others will take the stage over the two days.
Hall has just completed yet another forthcoming musical venture, involving, not surprisingly, a heck of a lot of blues music. Calling it The New England Blues Summit, Hall will utilize the Cape Cod Resort And Conference Center in Hyannis, Massachusetts on May 13 and May 14, 2016, a two day showcase of national, regional, and local blues acts.
“I’m going to have national acts come in on the Friday and Saturday nights in the grand ballroom,” Hall said. “Saturday night, I have reserved John Nemeth Band and the Curtis Salgado Band to headline.” Hall also has Sugar Ray And The Blue Tones hosting the event with an appearance by Samantha Fish and her band along with Mike Zito of Royal Southern Brotherhood fame.
A welcome reception will be held on Friday afternoon with a band playing in the resort’s lounge. This meet and greet will take place as attendees are checked into the 232 rooms there. A welcome buffet dinner will take place shortly afterwards. Then it becomes a night of blues with Sugar Ray, Zito, and Fish. On Saturday morning, attendees will be treated to a buffet brunch. Then the actual summit will showcase on Saturday afternoon the bands that won Blues Challenges for Blues Societies in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Boston, all performing in the grand ballroom.
Hall will donate meeting rooms for workshops and informational discussions. On Saturday night the show will feature John Nemeth Band, Curtis Salgado Band, and maybe a joint appearance of the two. After the show, attendees will go back to the lounge for another jam session. On Sunday, attendees will be treated to a sit down blues brunch in the grand ballroom, possibly featuring The Love Dogs, then everyone can go back to the lounge for another jam.
The event will run from Friday 4:00 p.m. to Sunday 4:00 p.m. The up front costs to Hall will be $150 per room and the food will cost him $100 per person. He has no way of knowing how many people will pay the $350 fee for the entire weekend event.
“I’m going into this the first year knowing I might not make anything but I’m going to have a great time,” he said. “So, I ain’t complaining if I don’t make any money.” Hall added later on that “there is nothing the matter with making money doing something you love as long as you do it honorably.”
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