Welcome to the Faerieworlds Blog

At long last, it is our great pleasure to welcome you to the official Faerieworlds blog. For many months, we have looked forward to opening a more direct and personal conversation with our guests and fans about exciting happenings within The Realm, which includes Faerieworlds: Summer & Winter Celebrations, and FaerieCon. 

Here we will share breaking news, our thoughts about shows and the inspiration, intention and concepts behind them, as well as inside looks at our wonderful vendors, performers and musicians.  Our relationship with you is very important to us as we continually improve, expand and enhance all aspects of our events. We invite you to respond, contribute and join the conversation: Welcome to the Realm!

Robert, Emilio & Kelly

Louisa John-Krol: An Introduction

by Kelly Miller-Lopez

As the producers of Faerieworlds, we are on a constant search for the artists and musicians whose work truly serves to open the doors of the wondrous otherworld that exists within and all around us. We have been dreaming for years of bringing the very real and tangible magic of Louisa John-Krol to our mainstage. The time has finally come, and we greatly anticipate the opportunity to present to you one of the most authentic and enchanting storyteller musicians of our time.

Louisa comes to us this summer all the way from her home in Australia. Over the past decade she has produced six albums of her internationally-acclaimed original songs, as well as several notable collaborations and compilations. Currently belonging to the popular french record label Prikosnovenie, Louisa's unique style has been described as "romantic pop-ethereal faerie music" ,among many other attempts to define the indescribable. Her works are a bit like faerie in that way, you can never quite put your finger on it, it seems to emanate directly from some familiar and far-off "in-between".  As a songwriter she is influenced deeply by literature and folklore, and her discography reveals a fascinating breadth of mythological and magical realms explored through a truly unique musical style. Her evocative lyrics are drawn from an obviously real understanding and connection to the singular language of what Robert Graves once referred to as "pure poetry". Louisa is a true bard. (to be continued in my next post)

My Sudden Love Affair With Zoe Jakes

by Stephanie Lostimolo

In terms of live entertainment, Thursday was the best night I've had in quite a while. Out of the blue, I got the news: Emilio and Kelly were driving to Portland for an evening show featuring The Indigo, the internationally renowned bellydance troupe comprised of Rachel Brice, Mardi Love and Zoe Jakes.

We arrive and for the next couple of hours I sit back and relax as the pure awesomeness of the girls and the musicians washes over me. And one girl in particular (spectacular?), Miss Jakes, Miss Zoe, what do I call her? She catches my eye and I can't look away. She moves like a serpent, an angel, a honeybee, and at the same time the sheer theatrics of this girl's expressions and stage presence are pure gold. I love it. She reminds me of an animated character. Or perhaps a faery. Yeah, that's it. She's a faery.

Honestly, I didn't want the show to end. It was mesmerizing and heartwarming to see all of the performers and guests having such a good time. It makes me wish more people would come out and see these shows. I want the world to know there's beautiful art out there in many forms, and yet another one to discover is Zoe Jakes and her talented cohorts. I can't wait to see her again this year at Faerieworlds! 

Faun's CDs are great! So how are their live shows?

by Emilio Miller-Lopez  

After years of listening to Faun's beautifully produced albums, we booked them for this summer's event having never seen them live. Recently, we received their live DVD and their new album The Pagan Folk Festival. I have to say, that I am now even WAY more excited to see them this summer. Not only does this band's music have mythic depth and lush tonality, it's completely amazing live! Check out this sample from their live DVD for a taste of their live musical magic.

Meeting Louisa John-Krol

by Kelly Miller-Lopez

I had the opportunity to meet Louisa and experience a live performance at the recent Trolls and Legendes festival in Mons, Belgium. Her performance transported the mesmerized audience almost immediately...her silvery voice, caressing the ears of all who were present, invited a deeper presence from us all. Effortlessly I observed her compel the extremely large (somewhat noisy) audience to listen closer. With the words of a storyteller who speaks a language that seems to transcend both time and space, Louisa weaves a powerful invocation of true magic and myth with her voice and mandolin. Appearing simultaneously like an ever-young maiden of infinite moonlight, and an earth-wise and age old faery godmother, Louisa is both young an ancient, she emanates light and is shrouded in mysterious feminine depth and darkness...she has the royal countenance and strength of an otherworld queen, with a kind and gentle character that speaks of the humble wisdom of an earth-wizened peasant...on stage it is clear that she is a true living faery...the essence of a being of true balance, of twilight.

Her most recent album is called Djinn, and explores the age old realm of Cats (more specifically, faery cats), and their infamous interconnection to legendary people and realms of magic since time immemorial. An accomplished, self-produced musical/lyrical master, Louisa has an impressive discography with a wide range of styles and myths explored there-in. I dare say she probably has something that would appeal to almost anyone...being the green witch that I am, my favorite album is Apple Pentacle, but I would not hesitate to recommend everything she's released. A song from Apple Pentacle was produced into a music video called "Muse" with the art of our dear Brian Froud.  I've attached the "Muse" video below for your viewing pleasure.  Many Faerieworlds attendees may remember seeing this screened at both our west and east coast events over the past two seasons. Now we get to experience the magic onstage live, and in the ethereal flesh! Welcome dear Louisa to our ever-growing Faerieworld!

Anticipation

by Robert Gould

It’s now about 9 weeks from Faerieworlds and the excitement is definitely building.  In these days of “instant access” to pretty much anything, I find “anticipation” to be a very unique feeling.  There is really something pleasurable about looking forward to an event that exists in its own space and time: all of our technology just won’t get you to Faerieworlds any faster! Until that special day, you get to think about everything you will see and do , the wonderful arts, crafts and music, all the friends you will meet and wonder what unexpected discoveries are waiting for you this year. And the best part is: for all of your anticipation, dreaming and imagining, Faerieworlds is always more than you expect: even for us who produce the event.  That’s because it is YOU – our guests – that make every show unique. So what are you most looking forward to at Faerieworlds?: write in and tell us!