One of my college girlfriends has a brother who works at the Life is Good store on Newbury Street. Over the years she has gotten involved with the brand's philanthropic efforts, so when they decided to host a two day, outdoor music festival for charity, she insisted that we go.
With tickets in hand we headed down to the Blues Hills Reservation in Canton, MA to enjoy the weather and the live music. After taking the free shuttle from the MBTA station (major bonus!) we walked around the camp ground for quite a bit taking in all the games, tents and booths.
I saw my friends B.Good serving up burgers, fries and milkshakes from their ice cream truck, Harvey.
The first live act we saw was Guster. Although I have been listening to them since high school, I have never seen them perform. They are originally from Boston and said they were thrilled to be home again. While I only knew three of the songs they played, I found myself inspired by their drummer who played the bongos like his life depended on it. I am now determined to learn to play the bongos. Not kidding.
Next we hopped over to the stage across the field to see one of my absolute favorite female vocalists, Corinne Bailey Rae. She was positively magnificent.
Not only is she beautiful, but her voice is angelic. She sang mostly songs from her new album, but also played her most well know tune, "Put Your Records On" (see video below):
The headliner for the day was Jason Mraz. We had seen him almost two years ago at the Orpheum in Boston as part of his world tour. I thought that show was incredible, but somehow Jason managed to up the energy level!
Amongst the highlights were: a reggae version of his first single "The Remedy," a disco song he wrote with his band during which he invited up two fans to dance on either side of the stage, and his closing number, the Beatles "All You Need is Love." During the finale the Life is Good founders joined him on stage for a cute attempt at dancing.
Below a video of my favorite Jason Mraz song "Butterfly":
The afternoon at Blue Hills was perfection. The Life is Good company has such a positive, generous spirit and that is how the whole day felt. The volunteers, the crowd and the performers were all touched by the pure intentions of the event. If they decide to host the festival again next year, be sure you get a ticket!
