Handy Jazzfest Daily Sked

Jambase has a great day-by-day schedule for Jazzfest, y'all. check it out! But of course, you already knew that, professionals!

Suwannee Springfest Early Bird Tix Still Available!

Early bird tickets --- at $126, up from $99 last year --- for Suwannee Springfest are available until Jan. 31. It happens March 25-28 at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak. Fl. (Paradise.) Kids under 12 are free, thank you very much.

This fest is heavy on newgrass as usual, with Cajun-influenced jam band Donna The Bufffalo and high-energy slamgrass faves Leftover Salmon (celebrating their 20th year) headlining. (You can read all about Leftover Salmon, listen to their music, and get special free downloads at Jambase) The insane Tornado Rider will also play, the incomparable Peter Rowan, and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

I am LOVING Springfest newcomers  18 South, (check out their mind-blowing cover of the Blind Boys of Alabama song "Run On") steppy, fun, Little-featish-Lyle-Lovett sound which has hot, hot, hot guitarist (and hell of a nice guy) Guthrie Trapp (who played with Dread Clampitt a bunch last year, and hot singer-songwriter Jessi Alexander, who is a good singer (and yes, she co-wrote Miley Cyrus' hit "The Climb." ) I'm pretty sure that's the only time you'll ever see Miley Cyrus in festgrrl's blog.


The Duhks, a young Canadian string band with a world-beat vibe, has broken up. Their cool and ridiculously talented fiddle player, Tania Elizabeth, has left the band. Duhks banjo player Leonard Podolok will be at Springfest with a new project, The Turtle Duhks, and former Duhks lead singer Jessee Havey will be there with The Jessee Havey project. Should be interesting, but I will really, really miss Tania Elizabeth. I still remember her amazing performances a few years ago when she was the only member of the band able to cross the Canadian border due to some bureacratic problem. She sat in with EVERYONE and absolutely killed it. Good luck Tania and hope we see you again soon!!


Here's Suwannee Springfest's lineup announcement:

"More than 30 of the finest performers in Americana & Roots Music will appear on the festival’s five stages with nearly 100 individual performances & workshops to be scheduled.


Leftover Salmon will make a rare Florida appearance Saturday evening at Suwannee Springfest in celebration of their 20th year performing together as a band. Salmon defined the contemporary Colorado bluegrass/newgrass sound which influenced groups like String Cheese Incident and later Yonder Mountain String Band. Their high-energy sets at festivals like Telluride Bluegrass, High Sierra, Merlefest and others helped to establish the band and those events’ reputation as well.

Texas singer/songwriter Robert Earl Keene comes to Suwannee Springfest on the heels of his recent CD “The Rose Hotel” which held the #1 position on the Americana airplay charts for several weeks.

Dirty Dozen Brass Band will bring the funk to Thursday evening. Donna the Buffalo will rock the Suwannee Springfest stage for the 13th time beginning on Friday (they were not at the very first Suwannee Springfest).

Peter Rowan is marking his 14th Suwannee Springfest maintaining his role as the Festival Patriarch. Veteran bluesman Roy Book Binder also maintains a perfect reco rd as he performs for the 14th time. 2010 Blues Grammy nominee Ruthie Foster will bring her sultry tones to Springfest on Saturday. Mr. Get Your Mag On Jim Lauderdale, another Grammy nominee as well as multi-instrumentalist Joe Craven will appear on Saturday and Sunday.

Suwannee Springfest will also present several exciting new projects from other Americana favorites. While the Duhks take a brief hiatus, band leader Leonard Podalak is featuring his trio, The Turtle Duhks. And a brand new project featuring former original Duhks vocalist Jessee Havey will debut at the festival, too. Blueground Undergrass is also on hiatus, so Rev Mosier, Johnny Mo and David B will treat us to the new adventures of The Mosier Brothers with David Blackmon.

Another powerhouse new Americana band with deep bluegrass roots appearing is 18 South. The organic and earthy quality of their sound rings with overtones of Blues, Bluegrass, Jazz and Gospel. Larry Atamanuik and Mike Bub hold down a deep and unmovable groove behind Jimmy Wallace's rich vocals and slamming New Orleans Style Piano that in turn gives Guthrie Trapp the opportunity to freely express his fluid and versatile guitar style. With Jon Randall's mournful tenor vocals and solid guitar playing, the band provides a perfect venue for Jessi Alexander to nail the audience to the wall with her smoky heart wrenching vocals.

A young Louisiana group with a bluegrass background, The Belleville Outfit comes to the festival after a nomination for an Americana Music Association award last year. And pure bluegrass will be represented on the bill by The Steeldrivers and their popular new songs.

Expect the unexpected with Tornado Rider bringing smiles to all on the Amphitheater Stage on Thursday night and don’t miss the Emerald Coast favorite sons Dread Clampitt on Friday.

More acts will be added soon. For complete information, visit the Suwannee Springfest Lineup Page on MagMusic.com."

Wanee Festival Tickets on Sale Today

People get your Wanee tickets today. They are -- ouch! -- $180 (including the service charge,) but you'll be paying $210 at the gate when the fest happens at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park April 15 - 17. Get that credit card out, suck it up, and KNOW you'll be happy you did!

New Videos

I've uploaded a few videos from the 30A Songwriters Festival, you can see them there on the right.  There are two of Pat Hull and two of The Smoking Flowers. These are done on my little Flip camera, so they aren't stellar quality, but still. Festgrrl was there and came back with recordings. Enjoy!

Wanee Lineup is INSANE!

The lineup for Wanee Festival at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park is out and Lord have Mercy it's GOOOD....April 15-18. Tickets go on sale Friday, Jan. 22.

Allman Brothers


Widespread Panic

Gov't Mule

Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi

Bob Weir, Rob Wasserman & Jay Lane are Scaring The Children

Stephen Stills

The Black Keys

Dr. John

Hot Tuna Electric

7 Walkers featuring Bill Kreutzmann & Papa Mali

JJ Grey & Mofro

Johnny Winter

George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic

The Funky Meters

The Wailers

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

North Mississippi Allstars

A Family Affair with Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk (Performing Sly & the Family Stone)

Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band

Chuck Leavell with The Randall Bramblett Band

Particle

Oteil & Kofi Burbridge with the Lee Boys

Col. Bruce Hampton

Devon Allman’s Honeytribe

Scrapomatic

Bobby Lee Rogers Trio

Bonobos Convergence

Standouts at 30A Songwriter's Festival

The 30A Songwriter's Festival was a gluttonous buffet of killer talent. Only saw one act I didn't care for, and I won't say who.

Here are a few wonderful morsels:

The Smoking Flowers are a husband and wife alt-country/folk duo with unusual harmonies, fabulous stage presence and, to me at least, a very new sound. They are taking old forms (think June Carter and Johnny Cash) and bending things in new, intriguing  ways ways. Tight vocals, tight playing, an a super-cool vibe. A delight. I'd like to see these two tour with festgrrl's long-time faves, The Avett Brothers.

Pat Hull. This guy just absolutely slayed me. High, clear as a bell voice that hits you right in the solar plexus. Heart-wrenching lyrics. He's a youngster but has an old poet's soul for sure. He and his girlfriend drove 20 hours from New York to play here on the Gulf coast, and I am so very glad they made the trip.

Dread Clampitt and Sam Bush. Blistering set Saturday night, everyone sweat-drenched, Kenny Oliverio SLAPPIN' that bass,  Johniie Reinlie on drums, Balder Saunders killing it on the mandolin, Kyle Ogle shredding the guitar, and the uber-talented Sam Bush letting his hair down and playing that electric mando wild and nasty like some lead guitarist for an arena rock band... except way better. It was a Walton County throwdown, the likes of which  I haven't seen before and I've SEEN some Walton County throwdowns, y'all!

The Indigo Girls These two should win the gold medal in Olympic singing. Ridiculously talented. And worth it even though it was freezing and windy and they started late. Their new song, "Fighting for the Love of Our Lives" is an awesome anthem for the push to allow people to marry whoever the hell they want, thank you very much.

A final word about the festival: Organizer Jennifer Saunders had the worst weather luck imaginable. Here she holds a fest in sunny Florida on the beach and it rains ALL DAY Saturday and Saturday night. Then, bitter cold winds kick up just in time for the Indigo Girls concert on the once-sunny beach! It was brutal! Let's hope the bad weather this time doesn't keep anyone away for what we hope will be a repeat of this worthy event. Thanks Jen!

Strange Irony

This was an odd sight to see as we headed to the 30A Songwriter's Festival in Walton County!

No Muzak around this festival, which is crawling with talent from Nashville and beyond.

Musicians and fans rubbed elbows at the dune-side kickoff party Friday afternoon at Bud & Alley's restaurant. From Los Angeles, Susanna Hoffs, of the pop all-girl supergroup The Bangles, along with singer-songwriter Matthew Sweet as "Sid & Susie," did a bunch of fun ''70s cover tunes - Neil Young, Yes, Fleetwood Mac, Carly Simon, etc. I'll admit it was a bit odd to start a songwriter's festival with covers (and to see a Muzak van on the way in), but they WERE good songs, well performed (Hoffs has some soulful chops) and the crowd was convivial. BMI sponsored the party, which offered an appetizer buffet for all ticket holders. Nice!

On to the tiny venue, the Seaside Meeting Hall ampitheatre,  for an up-close and personal concert with three gifted Nashville songwriters: Kelly Archer, who played "On My Highway," a hit she co-wrote on Jason Eldean's album "Wide Open." Luke Laird  writer on Carrie Underwood's "Last Name," "So Small," and "Temporary Home," and Natalie Hemby, who has written songs perfomed by Lee Ann Womack, Miranda Lambert, and Carrie Underwood. These soulful writers  put on a loose, intimate show. Laird's "People on Planes" was haunting and moving.

Most of the members of  Walton County's hometown boys Dread Clampitt took the stage next: Kyle Ogle, Baulder Saunders, and Kenny Oliverio. They showcased some of their solo song writing projects, as well as rockers the band typically plays at live shows. They were joined by Mike Whitty, a wonderfuly theatrical and quirky singer songwriter. This was an uncharacteristically tame Dread performance, but fit nicely into the more quiet folksy vibe.

Then it was on to headliners Sam Bush, Jeff Black, and John Oates, who did a round robin. The level of musicianship for these three pros was about what you'd expect: stellar. You could hear a pin drop in that hot and stuffy place. Newgrass king Bush's intricate mandolin work and buttery vocals shined, Black's emotionally fraught lyrics resonated, and Oates was simply fantastic. He paired wicked guitar skills with those gorgeous high and lonesome vocals we remember from 1970's pop sensations Hall & Oates.  He did a stripped-down version of the duo's hit "She's Gone" and a nice rag-time cover of "He Was A Friand of Mine." I'll admit I haven't kept up with Hall or Oates, but after seeing this performance, I'll go looking for more work by this very talented performer.

Bush took the show out with Bob Marley's (dubbed "Billy Bob" Marley in honor of the country luminaries present) One Love...a sing along that left us all warm and fuzzy,

Inaugural 30A Festival this weekend sold out!

Little ole Walton County is gonna be rocking this weekend, with the 30A Songwriters Festival coming to town. Let's call it Nashville-by-the-Sea. Lots of hit makers on the lineup. They include  The Indigo Girls, Sam Bush, John Oates (Hall & Oates), Rodney Crowell....Check out the very long list on the festival's web site. This festival will take place in a series of bars and restaurants, mostly, with attendees running up and down Scenic Highway 30A to catch shows. Locals (and festgrrl faves) Dread Clampitt will be playing with Sam Bush (who plays on their upcoming CD) and others.  The Indigo Girls have a special show Sunday afternoon. I'll post a full report!

New Fest on Spring Lineup

Fabulous Afrobeat Funkateers 3rd Stone, above, will play.

Hey folks, check out the Orange Blossom Jamboree, May 21-23 at the gorgeous Sertoma Youth Ranch in Brooksville (home of Riverhawk and String Break)

Looks like a great lineup with Gainesville-based 3rd Stone, Orlando's Funk Us (both bands have new CDs out, BTW), and the excellent Dead cover band, Crazy Fingers, among others.

This is a really nice park to camp at, with lots of bathrooms and showers, a pretty lake and a pretty creek running through it. It's also a small venue, very intimate, festgrrl recommended!

Bear Creek Initial Lineup Announced

OK, I know it's not until November, but the Bear Creek Music and Art Festival initial FUNKY lineup is out:

Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk x 2
Lettuce x2
Soulive
George Porter's Running Pardners x2
Papa Grows Funk
Toubab Krewe x2
Zach Deputy x 2
John Brown's Body x2
Will Bernard Band
The Macpodz x2
Garaj Mahal x2
Rebirth Brass Band
Eric Krasno and Chapter 2
Adam Deitch and Break Science
The Dead Kenny G's
Big Sam's Funky Nation
The Tony Hall Band
Brian Stoltz
Dr. Claw
The Sam Kininger Band
Rubblebucket Orchestra x2
DubConscious
Lubriphonic x2
The Nigel Hall Band
The Legendary JC's
Avis Berry's Soul Revue
Matt Grondin w Snarky Puppy
Cadillac Jones
The Malah
Green Hit
Greenhouse Lounge
Burnin Smyrnans
Entropy
Spiritual Rez

Artists at Large
Fred Wesley
Skerik
Mike Dillon
The Shady Horns
Kofi Burbridge

Amazing Jamcruise Portrait Series

I'm not at Jamcruise, sadly. You're probably not on Jamcruise if you are reading this. But here's a treat: this awesome series of portraits of jamcruise artists dressed as various cruise-ship workers on Jambase That's Al Schnier of moe. A fabulous job by photographer Michael Weintrob!

Nice Bear Creek Montage!

Bear Creek Music and Arts Festival Montage from Jeremy Sewell on Vimeo.

Early Bird tickets for Bear Creek 2010 are supposed to be on sale now for $99, but the link doesn't seem to be working....Enjoy the video in the meantime!

Mofro's Jacksonville Homecoming

It's a rare and dear thing to watch a big break-out act come back to play its hometown. I imagine The Avett Brothers Asheville, North Carolina New Year's show this year was a special one.

North Florida native JJ Grey and his band Mofro played Freebird Live in Jacksonville for a 3-night run on New Years Eve, Jan. 1 and Jan. 2. I caught the Jan. 2 show and it was special, indeed. What can you say about a crowd which sings the lyrics to "Lochloosa" so loud that JJ Grey just stops and directs it all with a huge grin? This song is a sad tale of the development-bombed landscape that our state has become, and JJ sings his wrenching lament with heart. I got goosebumps when the crowd bellowed with raised fists: "All we need is one more developer tearing our heart out!" "All we need is another shopping mall, another golf course, another gated community!"

Mofro was absolutely smoking, with hot horns, a killer drummer and JJ's bad-ass guitar, harmonica playing, and soul-drenched vocals. JJ wails like the soul great that he is, on a par with the Otis Reddings and Wilson Picketts of the world.

JJ Grey and Mofro are off on Jamcruise. When they hit land, they will play two more Florida dates with New Orleans funk powerhouse Galactic: Jan. 8 at Orlando's House of Blues, and Jan. 9 at Fort Lauderdale's Revolution. Catch 'em if you can, you won't be disappointed.