For folks who really deplore crowds and confusion and traffic, the XFest sounds like the right place to be. "There is only one stage," says eXtreme Folk Scene booker/co-founder Courtney Malley. "After the stage goes dark, people retire to the campground to sip wine and make music all night long." And the food? "The food is phenomenal."

This is the sixth XFest, and till now it's been a September event. Malley explains, "We decided to move to the beginning of the season to get a bigger audience, maybe attract some attention before people are all fested out. Plus all of us in XFS are also involved in the big fest [the Philadelphia Folk Festival]. When it was crunch time for us to be getting press out we were working on [PFF]." Moving the date lets both festivals get their fair share of fresh and eager volunteer hours from the same crew.

In that case, why have two? "We started the XFS because we wanted bands outside the scope of PFF, or ones who were just 'not there yet.' Over the years a number of bands I've hired have moved on to Philly or Falcon Ridge or other bigger festivals." See: Gandalf Murphy, GrooveLily and Boris Garcia. "Eric Schwartz came to us first!," says Malley. "Full Frontal Folk's first official gig was at the first XFS."

This year will include David Bromberg's sure-draw Angel Band, which includes Nancy Josephson and Full Frontal Folker Jen Schonwald, along with newcomers like Jugtown Pirates and a triumphant return of spoken-word artist Chris Chandler.