No Ren Faire gets it right. At least none that I’ve been to. .

I’ve performed at maybe a couple dozen Renaissance festivals over the years. I have yet to find one that had a decent music stage. I’m not sure why. But the Mid-South Renaissance Faire did. .

I’m still trying to wrap my head around why this stage worked so well. The best that I can come up with is that they weren’t trying to make it a period stage. .

At most faires, they put you on a small unbacked stage with a dozen seats for the audience. The problem is that Faire audiences don’t typically stick around for a music act unless it’s bawdy songs or loud music like bagpipes. .

The Wit’s End stage was not that. It was more like a modern music festival stage. There were tables for eating and drinking. It was covered. The sound was good, even unplugged. And people stuck around. .

Is that a product of the stage? Or their audience? I don’t know. But I took this short video to remind me of what I liked about it. .

I will say that Master Freiman was not only a delightful proprietor of the pub but also a fantastic mc who gave the pub character and helped musicians that are notoriously bad about asking for tips, earn more money. .

#renaissancefestival #musicstage #renfaire #renfest #renfest2018