Culann’s Hounds at the San Francisco Accordion Festival
uploaded by banjoheadIf you felt an earthquake in the Bay Area on Sunday afternoon, it was probably caused by the foot-stomping, booty-shaking good time had by everyone at the 16th annual San Francisco Accordion Festival. Here’s a roundup of audio/visual highlights from the weekend:

• “Squeeze Play” is a juicy cover story about the 2006 festival from Sunday’s SF Chronicle Datebook (the pink section), with quotes from local squeezebox luminaries like Tom Torriglia (the festival organizer), Big Lou, and Paul Rogers of TDA. Be sure to check out the accompanying photo gallery, too.
• Jan Sluizer from Westwood One Radio did an interview with Tom (MP3, 1.5 MB) at the festival.
• Jamin posted a fantastic short video that includes an interview with Skyler of Accordion Apocalypse and some festival performance clips. (I love the shot of all the bemused onlookers watching from above the courtyard.)
• Flickr user banjohead posted a huge photoset of Culann’s Hounds’ performance. (Renee de la Prade, button box player for the Hounds, also won the festival’s annual Main Squeeze pageant. Congratulations Renee!) He’s since added photo sets of San Francisco Accordion Band, Kielbasia, and Conjunto Romero.
• Flickr user melastmohican also posted a bunch of festival photos, including shots of TDA, Kielbasia, and Bella Ciao.

I’ll update this list as I find more, but it sure looks like everyone had a fantastic time. Tom deserves a gigantic thank you from the local squeezebox community both for putting the festival together, and for his tireless promotion of accordions everywhere. Thanks Tom!

Mother’s Day Morgani
uploaded by musicmuse_caNobody dresses the part quite like The Great Morgani, the Santa Cruz accordionist known for his outrageous (and sometimes slightly disturbing) costumes. This photo catches him in one of his tamer outfits, all decked out in roses for Mother’s Day last weekend.

Balkan style
uploaded by plenty.r.We’re suckers for photos of cute animals, so this Flickr shot of an accordion-playing puppy is right up our alley. And according to the description, he’s available for booking for weddings, bar mitzvahs, and funerals! I noticed he’s playing a button accordion — I wonder if he switched after having trouble hitting the piano keys with his paws?

Roy Bertelli
uploaded by JennyEagle-eyed readers have probably noticed the stream of Flickr photos (tagged with the keyword “accordion”) that appear on our home page. What I love about the stream is you never know what you’ll see when you visit; for instance, take this photo of Roy Bertelli’s elaborate “Mr. Accordion” tombstone at the Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, IL. Apparently he paid $30,000 for this 2,000 lb. granite slab, which is now a “must-see” on the cemetery tour (Abraham Lincoln is also buried at Oak Ridge). A small price to pay considering his “Lifetime Dedication to the Accordion.”