Wanee 2012- A Musical Communion in Paradise

Bruce Hornsby. festgrrl photo

Phil Lesh. festgrrl photo.

Beneath the shade of live oaks and swaying Spanish moss, headliners the Allman Brothers and Grateful Dead alumni band Furthur delivered intriguing, hours-long jams at Wanee Festival  over the weekend.

This is the Allman Brothers' festival, and the Brothers graced the large crowd with two soulful nights of music with plenty of sit-ins at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fl. The crowd came from all over the U.S. and beyond, spreading over the 600-acre park. Though the crowd was large (I don't have numbers yet), the vibe was friendly and things seemed well organized.

Wanee is always a bountiful smorgasbord -- besides the Southern rock and blues offered up by the Allmans and their many offshoot bands, the promoters cram the weekend with funk, jazz, jam, electronica, psychedelia, and even a soupcon of bluegrass.

The Allman's first night was a high-energy dancefest that featured a heartfelt tribute to The Band's late Levon Helm -- a thrilling performance of "The Weight" with Susan Tedeschi, The Tedeschi-Trucks horns and Bob Weir of Furthur sitting in. The second night's set was more blues-y, with standout performances of Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic" and Jimmy Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower" with a haunting trumpet solo.

To get a detailed setlist for each night, visit our friends at the Allman Brothers forum here.

Warren Haynes' Government Mule played six songs on Saturday before a booming thunderstorm cut the show short.

A rumored Grateful Dead reunion of sorts didn't materialize, even though GD drummer Mickey Hart, bassist Phil Lesh. guitarist Bob Weir and sometime GD keyboardist Bruce Hornsby were in attendance. Mickey Hart Band delivered a spaced-out tribaly- afternoon set to introduce their new record, Mysterium Tremendum, which features sounds collected in deep space. I don't have words for it except to say it was cool as hell.

Furthur warmed up the crowd both Friday and Saturday nights with sunset sets which were a compendium of the band's most beloved songs -- from Ripple to Stella Blue to Shakedown Street, Franklin's Tower,  and everything  in between. Here are links for Friday's and Saturday's setlists. Look how much fun these players were having...

Bob Weir. festgrrl photo

John Kadlecik. festgrrl photo

Buddy Guy. festgrrl photo

Buddy Guy was electrifying on the Peach Stage, delivering a sassy blues show during which he turned his guitar around to face him and played it with his ...um crotch ... now I can say I have seen everything.

More later...