Happy New Music Year!

Thanks for all your feedback and support this year, readers. and here's to many good shows in 2012!

Galactic, Toubab Krewe Hit Jacksonville Jan. 5

Now here's a killer show coming up January 5 in Jacksonville -- New Orleans power-funk band Galactic -- hot off their New Year's Eve gig at NOLA's Tipitina's -- joins the cool, world-beat Toubab Krewe at Freebird Live in Jacksonville Beach. Tickets are $20 advanced  Corey Glover from In Living Colour and Corey Henry from Rebirth Brass Band will be playing with Galactic.

Here is a cool Galactic video with legendary singer Irma Thompson:



And check out this kick-ass show Toubab Krewe did in Tallahassee a few years back at the old Beta Bar:

Save a Little on Suwannee

The fine folks behind Suwannee Springfest (March 22-25) are extending their early bird prices to this midnight Saturday. You can get a ticket for $125, after that it goes up to $150. The newgrass lineup is lovely, with Yonder Mountain String Band, The  Gourds, and more.  The festival is held at the beautiful Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fla (see pic of lovely lake camping, above.)  It is a family friendly fest, a good place to bring bikes and hammocks and swimsuits for the pool and river.

The Pinkham Family from Tampa will be there, with the incredible mandolin player, Josh Pinkham. Josh has been playing this festival since he was a little tyke.  Here he is playing last year at Suwannee with David Grisman:

Bond-fire Festival Cancelled

But you already knew that......


Happy Holidays!

Festival Fiasco!

Folks hoping to go to go the funk-filled Bond-fire Art and Music Festival  starting this Thursday and stretching over New Year's Eve got the odd news last night that the entire outdoor camping festival is instead moving to indoor venues in downtown St. Peterburg -- The State Theater and one other facility, Local 662. This fiasco keeps unfolding.

After howling from patrons who paid for an outdoor camping festival (some buying tickets last summer), some traveling by air and some rolling down to sunny Fla in RVs with kids in tow, the promoters got on Facebook this morning and said they have a 50-50 chance of some other outdoor venue -- still unidentified -- and asked fans for ideas. For the latest, check the Bond-fire's Facebook page.


The festival went on the ropes this week when the Lake County Commission denied its permit, citing lateness of application and safety concerns.

Hmmmm. What Would George Clinton Do?

Bond-Fire Festival Change of Venue

Green man, can you help us?

It looks like the Bond-fire Art and Music Festival, scheduled outside Orlando over New Year's Eve weekend with George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, The New Mastersounds, and North Mississippi All Stars, will have to move at the last minute.

Hectic talks are underway after the Lake County Commission denied the promoter's permit. Whew, wouldn't want to be in those folks' shoes right now! The fest is suposed to kick off in eight days.

We've seen miracles before. The now-successful Bear Creek Art and Music Festival got the thumbs-down in Gadsden County its first year and scrambled and moved to Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak at the last minute. The fest remains there today.

Positive thoughts for the Bond-fire folks, people!

Super Talent at 30A Songwriters Festival

If you can make it over to Seaside, Fla (between Panama City and Destin) on Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend (Jan 13-15) you'll be treated to the excellent 30A Songwriter's Festival, now in its third year.

The past two years have been a talent feast. This is a showcase for hot songwriters, many of them working in Nashville. But it isn't a country festival -- here, songs are stripped down to their bare bones. The audience (for the most part) really listens.

Headliners include Rodney Crowell, The Bangles, Shawn Mullins, Sam Bush Band, Amy Ray of The Indigo Girls, and Matthew Sweet.

The thrill for me, though, has been listening to the "unknowns" performing there, and finding some incredible gems. Angel Snow was one of them last year. Madison Violet was another.
 
This is not a camping festival, and it isn't a great place to lug kids around, either.  Performances are held in a variety of  venues, including bars and restaurants, along the coastal highway there -- 30A. You can hop from place to place eating and drinking along the way. Tickets are onsale online at $125 for the weekend. The gate price is $150.
 
I was able to video quite a few of the performances last year. And you can read my post on lodging and logistics here. Here are some more of the folks performing this year:
 

David Wilcox, Steve Forbert, Mary Gauthier, Sam Bush Band, Randall Bramblett, Tommy Talton, Jeffrey Steele, Chely Wright, Chuck Cannon, Tim Nichols, Corey Smith, David Olney, Davin McCoy, Lori McKenna,Tommy Womack, Kevn Kinney, The Shadowboxers, Larkin Poe, Emily Lynch, Joseph Arthur, Matthew Mayfield, Rachel Platten, Callaghan, David Berkeley, Garrison Starr, Jeff Black, Joe Leathers, Ben Glover,Billy Montana, Chas Sanford, Brian and Karyn White, Greg Barnhill, Forrest Williams Band, Kyle Jacobs, Kelsey Anna, Reed Waddle, Meg Hutchinson, Brigitte DeMeyer, Daphne Willis, Shannon Whitworth, Suzi Ragsdale, Georgia, Ashleigh Flynn, Joanna Cotton, Matthew Kahler, Over The Rhine (Karin Bergquist & Linford Detweiler), Bryan Kennedy, Nicole Witt, Granville Automatic, Angel Snow, Chatham Street, Deux, Birds, Jesse Terry, Michael Witty, Sterling Fletcher, Grant Peeples, The Tall Pines, and over 75 more.

Here  is an amazing performance of one of my favorite songs, "Mercy Now," by Mary Gauthier -- that's Tania Elizabeth who used to fiddle for the great Canadian newgrass band, The Duhks, performing with Mary.  There's a long and funny intro by Mary congratulating country star Chely Wright (who is onstage but out of the frame) for coming out as a gay woman.

Live Electronica, Dub Step In Tally This Week

If you like dub step and live electronica, check out Jacksonville Beach's Greenhouse Lounge, playing Thursday night at The Engine Room. This band is known for its late-night rages at festivals.

For this show, doors open at 8 p.m. and cover is $8. Remember, they don't let ladies wear high heels at The Engine Room. They just don't, OK?

Check out the groovy Budos Band

These guys are just great....The Budos Band

Sweet Fest This Weekend Near Gainesville

The Farm To Family Full Moon Festival happens this weekend, Thursday through Sunday, (Dec. 9-11) in a little piece of paradise near Ginnnie Springs in Gilchrist County, outside Gainesville.

I can't say enough good things about this festival. Super chill, kind people, family friendly, totally relaxing, with just one stage. Set down your chair and your cooler and enjoy the show. You can check out the lineup of regional acts here.

You may not have heard of some of these performers, but trust me, you will enjoy them. It's a mix of folk, jazz, ska, blues, bluegrass, world beat and jam. This is a lovely event, and it is a bargain -- $20 advanced, $25 at the gate. Kids 13 and under are free. Nice spots for shaded camping, a good place to let kids run around. The Grilled Cheese Wagon and a few other vendors provide vittles. There are some great vendors also with handmade items for holiday shopping.

Check out the Farm To Family You Tube Channel.

And here's a video by the ska band The Duppies, who play Saturday night:

Wanee Early Bird Tickets Sold Out!

That was fast. Early Bird tickets for the Allman Brothers' annual Wanee Festival April 19-21 sold out in a day at $165 (plus fees.) The early bird sale was supposed to run through Dec. 10 at 10 p.m. woder how many the promoters set aside for this promotion?

And no, they don't have an announced lineup yet. This is just how Wanee rolls. This is one of the largest of the festivals at the gorgeous Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Lilve Oak, Fl., with fans rolling in from all over the country for some Southern rock and Florida springtime...and gnomes.

Get Your Early Bird Tickets for Orange Blossom Jam

Early bird tickets go on sale today. for the wonderful  Orange Blossom Jamboree May 17-20 at the Sertoma Youth Ranch  in the rolling hills outside Brooksville. The early bird price for weekend tickets is $45. Tickets go up to $60 after that. Primitive camping is free, and sites with water and electric are $60 for the weekend. Kids under 12 are free.

You can see the lineup, which includes the supremely talented Cope, here

This was one of the best festivals I went to last year. It's a family-friendly small festival with really nice campsites and some of the sweetest folks you will find anywhere. Plus, they have kick-ass acts like this:

(Beebs and her Money Makers)

This Funk Band Kills It!

This Brooklyn band, Turkuaz,  (pronounced 'Ter-kwaz') blew everybody away at Bear Creek Music and Art Festival -- They're touring America bringing the funk. Enjoy!

Beyonce Bluegrass

Yonder Mountain Spring Band's Southern Tour

Yonder Mountain String Band will be heading to the southeast for a tour in February, including five shows in Florida. The band will also be at Suwanee Springfest March 22-25. Tickets for the 'Cabin Fever" tour shows are here.

Below is a video of the band playing live, and here are the tour dates for your planning (and holiday gift-giving) pleasure:

02.08 Fayetteville, AR George's Majestic

02.09 Baton Rouge, LA Varsity Theatre

02.10 Nashville, TN Marathon Music Works

02.11 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle

02.12 Birmingham, AL Workplay Theatre Soundstage

02.15 Pensacola, FL Vinyl Music Hall

02.16 Orlando, FL Beacham Theatre

02.17 Fort Lauderdale, FL Revolution

02.18 St. Petersburg, FL Jannus Live

02.19 Jacksonville, FL Freebird Café

02.22 Charleston, SC Music Farm

02.23 Asheville, NC Orange Peel

02.24 Asheville, NC Orange Peel
 

Thanksgiving Bluegrass Festival

The lovely Sertoma Youth Ranch in Dade City (near Brooksville)  is hosting a bluegrass festival and potluck Thanksgiving dinner, starting tomorrow and lasting through Sunday. This is such a pretty campground and such a relaxing venue.

Advanced tickets are $63 for Thursday-Sunday and $69 at the gate. If you want an electric/water campsite, it's $60 for the weekend.

Here's the lineup:

THE LONESOME RIVER BAND – IIIrd TYME OUT

LARRY CORDLE & LONESOME STANDARD TIME - SPECIAL CONSENSUS – THE CHAPMANS - PACKWAY HANDLE BAND – PAM CURTIS & UP THE CREEK REMINGTON RYDE –

CHERYL WATSON & WATERTOWN - BACKWATER BLUEGRASS - MARK JOHNSON

THE LONESOME SPECIAL - CHAPPED OUT STEW - CRISPY BAKED BANJO'S - AND MORE

Have fun picking!

Bear Creek live recordings!

If you're missing the funk in the woods, here are some links for some live recordings of performances from the recent Bear Creek Music and Art Festival, as well as links for some videos:

Anders Osborne Trio


http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=5501
 ... =1#seeders

Big Gigantic

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=5501
 ... =1#seeders

Breakestra

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550144&uploaded=1


Chali 2'Na

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550145&uploaded=1

Chapter 2

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550146&uploaded=1


Dr Lonnie Smith

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550147&uploaded=1

Funky Meters

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550148&uploaded=1

Galactic

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550149&uploaded=1

George Porter, Jr. & Runnin' P

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550150&uploaded=1

Jon Cleary

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550151

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe

11-10

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550163


11-11

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550164


Lee Boys

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550166


Lettuce

11-12

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550167


11-13

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550168


London Souls

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550169


Medeski, Martin & Wood

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550170

New Mastersounds

11-12

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550171


11-13

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550172

Papadosio

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550173


Soulive

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550174

Spam All Stars

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550175

Trey Anastasio

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550176


Zongo Junction

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=550177
 
And here are some video links:
 

http://www.glidemagazine.com/hiddentrack/bear-creek-music-festival-2011-the-videos/

http://funkit.virose.net/?p=1316

Enjoy funkateers!

Discount Ticket Special for Bond-Fire Fest

The funkalicious New Year's Eve festival (Dec. 29-Jan. 2) in rural Lake County outside Orlando, called the Bond-Fire festival, is now offering 4-day tickets for $100. This promo lasts one week, ending next Sunday, Nov. 27,  at 11:55, use the case sensitive promo code SIRPRIZE. Kids 15 and under are free.

The lineup includes George Clinton and P-Funk, The New Mastersounds, North Mississippi All Stars, Soullive, Zach Deputy, Papadosio, Cope, The New Orleans Suspects, and more.

This is a first-time affair, so I can't advise much about festing conditions. I can tell you these bare details: The venue has port-o-lets only -- no brick-and-mortar bathrooms. They plan several stages and a late-night tent. They will be restricting campfires to designated areas -- that part of Florida has been so very dry. No pets, no charcoal grills. You can have coolers at the campground but not at the stages.





The four-day pass includes primitive camping. You cannot reserve RV sites ahead of time -- if you want to bring an RV in and set it up in primitive, you have to pay an extra $65 at the gate. If you want an electric site, it’s $85. The promoters were not sure, when I contacted them about a month ago, whether RV sites would have water as well as electric. So I'd bring my own water if I were you, along with my festive disco outfits. They have a no-glass policy, so not sure about how to handle New Year's bubbly. Do they make champagne kegs?

Wanna Be In A Video?

Newgrass aces Dread Clampitt will record a live show (CD and video) on Sunday at The Red Bar in the Panhandle's  Grayton Beach. This excellent  band is about to celebrate its10th anniversary, and the Sunday Red Bar gigs have been their bread and butter throughout that time. The show starts at 7 pm., kids are welcome, and it's free!

Here is a great Dread Clampitt original from Suwannee Springfest... note that Rashad Eggleston from Tornado Rider is sitting in.

Playing In The Band

Tonight, Tallahassee band Harvest Gypsies plays The Mockingbird Cafe in Tallahassee. Harvest Gypsies is a hard-working local band that always put on a heartfelt show with a mix of jazzy, bluesy, pop originals and covers that gets everybody dancing and smiling. At the keyboards will be the wonderful songwriter Mike Rychlik, a public school teacher, writer, all around great guy, and father of several fine musicians.

Mike has been playing the Tallahassee scene in various bands, including the Labamba Brothers,since the eary 1970s. This month, in his excellent blog, he has written a wonderful entry about playing on Tennessee Street in the old days at the Pastime, the Pastime II and Tommy's. Read it and take a trip back. 

Tonight, at the Mockingbird, Mike and Warren Sutton will play acoustic versions of Mike's songs from 7-8. The full Harvest Gypsies band plays from 8-11. The show is free. It's always a good idea to reserve a table, and get something to eat, since the venue is pretty small.  Have fun!

George Clinton's Makeover

Well, we hardly recognized George Clinton without the rainbow dreads he's sported for decades. Here he is last night in Tallahassee:

Clitnon's suprprise show at Tallahassee's club The Moon featured the time-honored P-Funk shenanigans --  simulated sex on stage, fur chaps, booty shakin girls, Indian headresses, zombie costumes, a giant doobie-smoking skull head, and killer funk. At the end, I counted 46 people on the stage.

Clinton and P-Funk now head out on tour after spending time in Tallahassee recording a new album. They go to Gernamy, the Netherlands, Belgium and England. They will be back in Florida on New Year's Eve, where you can catch them at The Bond-Fire Festival outside Orlando along with The New Mastersounds, The North Mississippi  All Stars,  Soullive, Particle, Cope, Papadiosio, Zach Deputy, and more.

If you get tickets now, it's $150 for a four-day pass. Kids 15 and under are free. This is a first-time affair for this festival, so I can't advise much about festing conditions. I can tell you the site has port-o-lets only -- no brick-and-mortar bathrooms, and will have several stages and a late-night tent.

The four-day pass includes primitive camping. If you want to bring an RV in, you have to pay an extra $65 at the gate. If you want an electric site, it’s $85.

P Funk New Year's? Oh yeah, I'm in.  

P-Funk Tonight!

Here we go, show is tonight at 8 at The Moon, let's show George Clinton and P-Funkadelic some hometown love, funkateers!

Back in the day......

George Clinton and P Funk in Tallahassee This Week!

George Clinton & P-Funk All-Stars will play at Tallahassee's The Moon this Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m. $10 at the door. The Tallahassee Democrat says: "Clinton and his players are in Tallahassee recording and decided to do a last-minute live gig."

Gone Festing!

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe is gonna rock it late night at Bear Creek Music Festival tonight...

Wow! Check Out this Bear Creek Band!

Some kind person (actually, the band's manager)  alerted me to this 11-piece afro beat band, Zongo Junction, from Brooklyn. They've been touring with Toubab Krewe, They will be rocking two sets during Bear Creek --  Thursday at 2:00pm at the Campground Stage and Friday at 11:30am at the Big IV Amphitheater.  Check out this wonderfulness:


Zongo Junction EPK from Zongo Junction on Vimeo.

Bear Creek Music Fest -- 10 Things To Know Before You Go

1. There's a giant bat house at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park. It is just beyond lake camping in the field. At sunset, you can grab a beverage and go watch incredible numbers of bats fly out!

2. You can camp for free on a beautiful cypress lake -- choose primitive "lake camping." Reese Lake, lined with cypress trees, is home to the campground stage, it has nearby Port-o-lets, and the lake bathhouse and showers are a three-minute walk away. Don't be discouraged by the roundabout kooky drive to get to lake camping. Keep a level head. Persevere. You'll find it. It's worth it.

3. You can bring your own beverages to performances on the campground stage, but not the other stages.

4. The on-site Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park restaurant has a good breakfast buffet. They have nice bathrooms. Also a really cool hand-painted mural of local wildlife. You can get food from the restaurant while watching shows in the Music Hall.

5. You can get fresh ice at the camp store next to the restaurant.

6. The white sand Suwannee River beach is not to be missed, especially with the big fat moon shining on it this week. The river's a long walk from the fest site -- grab a bike, a ride, or a golf cart.

7. The Suwannee River water is dark (dyed by tree tannins), but it is spring-fed and the river bottom is clean and sandy.

8. It can be chilly at night in North Florida. Then you dance. Then you sweat. Then you’re chilly. As festgrrl's friend says; "Layering -You're a fool if you don't!"


9. Bring a hammock. The Big IV Ampitheater is full of trees! The informal rule is you can get in anybody’s hammock until they want to use it. Then you go find another one, and so on.

10. Sunday night is awesome for those lucky enough to stay around for it. Check out my Bear Creek preview for more!

Two Fantastic Fests This Week

The musicians are coming south this week to play at two epic fests -- Bear Creek Music and Art Festival at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fl. (Thursday- Sunday, with a Wednesday night pre-party) and Orlando Calling (Friday and Saturday) at the Ctirus Bowl.

You get all the details  at the links above. Here's a little taste of what you're going to hear.

Orlando Calling performers the great Avett Brothers sing "Shame:"



Bear Creek funkateers Lettuce break it down:

Don't Forget Riverhawk This Weekend

Some Central-South Florida peeps aked me to remind folks today about this weekend's Riverhawk festival. Check out my post with all the details from earlier this week. I can't make this one, sorry to say, but wishing everyone a relaxing, sweet time, because I know you will have one in that special place!

Hello? Orlando Calling!

Bob Seger, Kid Rock, The Raconteurs and The Killers headline the two-day rock extravaganza Orlando Calling which happens Nov. 12 and 13 in Citrus Bowl Park. This first-time fest has a roster of heavy-hitting performers.It's not a camping festival -- in fact you can't bring your own chair, kids under 3 are prohibited, and kids over 3 have to get an adult ticket. So this is one of those giant stadium shows, with a lineup to match:

The Killers, Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band, Kid Rock, The Raconteurs, The Pixies, The Avett Brothers, The Roots, Gogol Bordello,O.A.R. (...Of A Revolution), Iron & Wine, Pete Yorn, Jenny and Johnny, Gavin DeGraw, Drive-By Truckers, Dr. Dog, Civil Twilight, Blake Shelton, Doobie Brothers, Dwight Yoakam, Buddy Guy, Warren Haynes Band, Chris Isaak, Brandi Carlile, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Lucero, The Felice Brothers, Ben Sollee,The Flatlanders, Los Lonely Boys, Blues Traveler, Michelle Branch, Justin Townes Earle, The David Mayfield Parade,The Supervillains, and  Renee & The Translators


With fees, day tickets are $93.25 each day, weekend tickets are $170.50. Some important stuff to know:  You can't park on site, but shuttles and other transportation options are here. There's a large list of prohbited items you should become familiar with.

Here's the great Buddy Guy, who plays Sunday at 5:
 

Get Your Bad Self To Bear Creek!

This time next week, folks will start rolling into the Wednesday night pre-party for Bear Creek Music and Art Festival. We are blessed here in the Southeast with many excellent music festivals throughout the year. Even with all that abundance, Bear Creek (Nov. 10-13) rises to the top. Fests don't get much better than Bear Creek – the lineup, the musicianship, the intimate atmosphere, the kind crowd, and the sheer joy of dancing in Florida paradise (Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak.)

Bear Creek’s excellence ties back to the promoters’ main goal: to have more sit-ins than any festival outside the big daddy of fests, New Orleans Jazz fest.

More sit-ins means that musicians are energized all weekend, not rushing back to the tour bus to move on to the next gig. It means fans are constantly surprised and delighted with instant, one-of-a-kind collaborations that you’ve just got to be there to experience: Mofro’s JJ Grey singing lead with Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk on Sly Stone’s Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin; guitar ace Derek Trucks popping on stage unannounced to play with Berklee School of Music funkateer alums Lettuce in the moss-draped, hammock-filled ampitheater; the surprise midnight act Soullive performing a scorching cover of the Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby in a circus tent.

Once you go, you’ll always want to come back. At least that’s how it’s been for me, since the days of Down on the Farm, the precursor festival to Bear Creek, where the (relatively unknown at the time) Avett Brothers played an astonishing show for a tiny crowd of us in a sunny field in Quincy, Florida. This fest has come a long way since then, but it manages to maintain the intimate feel of the early days. Expect a crowd of 4,000 to 5,000 on the spacious Spirit of the Suwannee grounds.

Bear Creek promoters Lyle Williams and Paul Levine are artful in their selections -- last year, James Brown band players Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and Maceo Parker roamed the festival as artists-at-large, sitting in – and kicking ass – with band after band. Legendary funky keyboard great Bernie Worrell (Talking Heads) has torn up Bear Creek’s stages. This year we’re going to enjoy a reunion of New Orleans’ greats, the original Funky Meters. Watching young funk players jam with the folks who first laid it down back in the day is something to see.

This year, there’s an emphasis on funky jazz. Trey Anastasio of Phish fame brings his jammy Trey Anastasio Band; Medeski, Martin, Scofield and Wood and Dr. Lonnie Smith, Pee Wee Ellis and others bring the jazz. There is a ton of funk, including Galactic, The aforementioned Funky Meters, Lettuce, Dr. Klaw, The New Mastersounds, Orgone, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Soullive, and smaller acts like horn-heavy Snarky Puppy and the quirky young Rubblebucket. There’s a bunch of electronica acts and a silent disco (headphones) as well. Music’s going to go all night. Here's the full, kick-ass lineup.

Williams and Levine have been known to scout  for Bear Creek acts in the late-night scene after NOLA’s Jazzfest, and so you’re always going to get the chance to see something new. I saw Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue for the first time at Bear Creek a couple of years ago before he got all Treme-big-time on us.

Bear Creek is about wandering the woodsy campgrounds and coming up on a horn section wearing high school band uniforms bringing the funk. It’s about groove-man Zach Deputy setting up an impromptu late-night stage on scaffolding above a food vending tent in the campground and instantly drawing a crowd getting down to a Michael Jackson cover. It’s about the magnificent Where the Wild Things Are wooden painted larger-than-life creatures placed around the cypress-lined pond a la The Wild Rumpus. It’s about reunion, new friends, great conversation, wacky costumes, and celebration. It’s about escape.

Ready to escape?  Tickets (which include primitive camping) are available online at $175 for 3 days, $225 for 4 days, and $245 for five days. Saturday and Sunday tickets at the gate are $130. Day-only tickets (no camping) are $80 Friday and Saturday and $50 for Sunday. 

Definitely plan on taking Monday off work — Sunday night is a funk get-down, including an extended jam session with Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk and a whole mess of ridiculously talented musicians sitting in. (Ivan's dad is New Orleans balladeer Aaron Neville of the Neville Brothers.)


If this video doesn't make you wanna go, well, I don't know:

Check Out Riverhawk Festival This Weekend

We love the wonderful venue that is Sertoma Youth Ranch outside Brooksville (less than an hour outside Tampa.) Rolling hills, a little stream, nice campsites, just two stages. There are several lovely fests there during the year, and this weekend is Riverhawk. You can check out the lineup here. This fest is family and pet friendly, and get ready for some wonderful campground picking. There are great food and craft vendors.

Tickets are $110 for three days and $95 for the weekend only, and that includes primitive camping. Electric sites are extra. Kids 13 and under are free. Kids 14-17 are $30 for the whole weekend.

You can't miss with this relaxing venue and kind folk!

Here is the Claire Lynch band, who will be playing Riverhawk:

Monster Mash!

JB's Zydeco Zoo Tonight

Here's a little clip of JB's Zydeco Zoo. They throw down tonight at the Bradfordville Blues Club at 9:30.

Musical Howling This Weekend In Tally

Tallahassee band Harvest Gypsies  -- so very pop-jazzy, danceable and soulful, with really wonderful orginals -- plays a benefit at The Warehouse tonight for The Alzheimer's Project, Inc., Halloween costumes encouraged -- Doors open 7:30 -8:00. Johnny and the Angels will play from 8:30 to 9:00 and then Harvest Gypsies play from 9:00 - 12:30. $5 cover. There will be games and a BBQ food truck.

Also tonight, Jazz trumpeter Scotty Barnhart plays with a smokin' quintet at 9:30 p.m. at Hi Jazz Cafe. It's a $10 cover, and a $10 minimum per table.

Saturday, JB's Zydeco Zoo hosts a dance party at Bradfordville Blues Club at 9:30 (sorry, not sure of the cover) and funkateers Crooked Shooz play The American Legion Hall --  $8 per person, $15 per couple.

Have fun out there!

Do You Voodoo?

It wouldn't be Halloween in New Orleans without Voodoo Music Experience at City Park in the Big Easy this weekend. This is the 13th year for this festival. There's no camping, so you've got to find a hotel or a NOLA friend.

Better put some effort into your costume, this is New Orleans. Don't slack. You can see some of the art installations here and if you can't make it over to NOLA, there's a radio webcast by Free Yr radio.

Tickets are $150 for 3 days.

Check out this crazy fantastic lineup:

* Soundgarden


* Blink 182

* Steve Angello

* Snoop Dogg

* My Chemical Romance

* Girl Talk

* The Raconteurs

* Band of Horses

* Fatboy Slim

* TV on the Radio

* Cheap Trick

* Dr. John

* Ray Davies

* Odd Future

* Portugal. The Man

* Fishbone

* Major Lazer

* X

* Social Distortion

* Mastodon

* Ozomatli

* Ani DiFranco with Ivan Neville and Herlin Riley

* Mates of State

* Dirty South

* Fitz and The Tantrums

* Blind Pilot

* The Wombats

* Civil Twilight

* Peelander Z

* Cassy

* King Britt

* Ever Expanding Elastic waistband w/Members of Morphine with Jeremy Lyons

* Mike Relm

* The Bangerz

* Claude VonStroke

* A-Trak

* The Static Jacks

* Quickie Mart and Tony Skratchere

* Red Baraat

* The Vettes

* Mary Jane Coles

* Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes

* Honey Island Swamp Band

* Force Feed Radio

* Fleur De Bris with Tork and Porter (David Torkanowsky & George Porter)

* Mississippi Rail Company and friends

* Ernie Vincent

* Three

* BeauSoleil w/ Dr. Michael White

* Kora Konnection feat. Morikeba Kouyate & Thierno Dioubate

* The High Ground Drifters Bluegrass Band

* Natalie Mae & Her Unturned Tricks

* Quintron & Miss Pussycat

* Cheeky Blakk

* Dangermuffin

* Achachay

* Noisician Coalition

* City And Colour

* Z-Trip

* Daedelus

* Boots Electric

* MyNameIsJohnMichael

* Kreayshawn

* Gordan Gano (Violent Femmes) and the Lost Bayou Ramblers

* Lee Burridge

* Star Eyes

* Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk w special guests

* Bobby Rush

* Soul Rebels Brass Band w Cyril Neville

* Danny Howells

* Iris May Tango

* Illluminasti Trio plus 1 featuring Mike Dillon

* James Singleton

* Skerik and Brian Coogan

* Fort Knox Five

* Craig Richards

* Tommy Malone and the Hard Heads

* Chris Thomas King

* Treme Brass Band

* Tao Seeger Brass Band

* Palmetto Bug Stompers

* Morning 40 Federation

* Deniz Kurtal

* Rotary Downs

* The Happy Talk Band

* The Revivalists

* Carmine P. Filthy

* Kyle Turley

* Hurray for the Riff Raff

* R. Scully's Rough 7

* Katey Red

* Vockah Redu

* The Limousines

* Wolf+Lamb

* Givers

* "Ma Maison" with the Trey McIntyre Project and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band

* Jackmaster

* Glen David Andrews

* Mannie Fresh

* DJ Swamp

* Soul Clap

* Bonerama featuring Dave Malone of the Radiators

* The Travelin' McCoury's w Keller Williams

* The Sheepdogs

* Stone Foxes

* The One AM Radio

* Tanner Ross w Voices of Black

* American Legacies with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Del McCoury Band

* New Orleans Klezmer Allstars

* Leo Jackson and The Melody Clouds

* Christoph Andersson

* The New Orleans Bingo! Show

* SWISS CHRISS

* Fleur De Tease

* King James and The Special Men

* Miracle at St. Anna

Amazing Carved Slopryland Pumpkins!

Every year at Magnolia Fest, we are treated to the wondrous hospitality of the after-hours stage at Slopryland, courtesy of the Wisconsin string band, Sloppy Joe. They build a tiki hut ot of palm fronds, fill the trees with hanging pumpkin lanterns, and keep an enormous bonfire going all weekend long for all manner of pickers to enjoy.

One of the best things is always the amazingly carved pumpkins, mostly courtesy of Stef Lee, Sloppy Joe singer, composer, banjo player, upright bass player, fiddler, and overall awesome chick! I got to watch her put the finishing touches on this gourd upright bass:

This one had exposed brains:

This one had a skeleton coming out of the side of its head:

Here are some more:

THANKS, SLOPRYLAND!!!

Seven Walkers Tonight At Magnolia Fest

Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann's band, Seven Walkers, headlines the first night of Magnolia Fest tonight at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park. Papa Mali, Matt Hubbard,  and funkateer George Porter, Jr. (The Funky Meters) round out the band .

It's going to be a beautiful weekend for bonfires and dancing, and festgrrl's outta here.


Here's a little Seven Walkers for you:

Ska La La

Ska  stalwarts The Toasters play The Engine Room in Tallahassee Wednesday night.  The Toasters are from New York City, and they have been around for 29 years (though not with all their original members.)  Cover is $10 and doors open at 8pm. (Ladies, please be forewarned that there is a no high heels policy at The Engine Room. No, I don't know why. Just don't wear them.)

I enjoyed some frenetic dancetastic Toaster shows in the '80s. Here's a link to a truly fantastic live show video of  The Toasters playing the Cat Club  then (1986) and in Philadelphia this year:

Magnolia Fest This Week!

What a truly wonderful festival Magolia Fest is. First off, it is awesome just camping at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park this time of year, even if there weren't a fantastic, family-friendly music festival there. But we get both! Plus campground picking, artistry, the incredibly carved pumpkins of Slopryland, family and friends and all the rest of it. Ahhhhhh.

Tickets for 3 days are $165 online through tomorrow, and $180 at the gate.Single day and Friday-Saturday-only two day tickets are also available.  (FYI, we got our tickets at Suwanee Springfest last year for just $110 -- that includes five days of primitive camping and music; a similar deal will be available for this weekend's Magnolia Fest attendees to buy Springfest 2012 tickets.)

The lineup this year is a melding of Americana and jam bands and, as always, you get a lot for your money. The daily schedule is here.

Lineup includes Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, moe.(headlines Friday and Saturday late night), Steel Pulse, Lucinda Williams, Anders Osborne, Railroad Earth, Lucinda Williams, Keller Williams and the Travelin McCourys, Donna the Buffalo, Jim Lauderdale, the Mosier Brothers, Col Bruce Hampton and the Quark Alliance, Cornmeal, Dread Clampitt, Torrnado Rider, Frontier Ruckus,Toubab Krewe, The Infamous Stringdusters, Honey Island Swamp Band, The Lee Boys, and more. As always, expect lots of collaborative sit ins, especially Sunday night when Donna the Buffalo closes out the fest.

This is gonna be good!

The Big Jammalamma

The Big Jammalamma Hops Art Cram and Hops Slam happens this weekend at a farm outside Lakeland with Cope, 3rd Stone, FunkUs and more playing. Organizers promise a big field of interactive art to go along with the music, and, of course, beer. Tickets are $50 for the weekend, with day pass options available also. Kids are free. Camping is primitive. Food vendors won't be up and runnning until Saturday noon, so if you go Friday night, bring yer vittles.

An update: BOGO ---- The giant DeLuna Fest, in Pensacola Beach this weekend has announced that folks who have 3-day tickets can now bring a friend for free. Also, more hotel rooms have opened up for last-minute decicion-making. Go to the site for details.