Dancin' in the Streets! Sunfest, Shaky Knees, Jazzfest, and More

This weekend is packed, y'all: Not only is it the second weekend for New Orleans Jazzfest, as well as the Gamble Rogers Fest in St. Augustine, Fla this weekend, there's more:

West Palm Beach is home to Sunfest, and Atlanta is putting on the Shaky Knees Music Festival.

Sunfest, West Palm Beach's  huge downtown street festival, kicks off tomorrow (Wednesday, May 1) at happy hour, with several bands before twin headliners Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and the Smashing Pumpkins. Then it's four more days of music, featuring:

Train, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Offspring, Ed Sheeran, Morgan Page, David Solano, The Black Crowes, Slightly Stoopid, Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, Big Sean, Gavin DeGraw, Phillip Phillips, Boz Scaggs, Cheap Trick, Barenaked Ladies, Jimmy Cliff, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, Dickey Betts & Great Southern, The Airborne Toxic Event, Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, Yellowcard, Gary Clark Jr., Molly Hatchet, The Chevin, Tribal Seeds, The Lone Bellow, AAN, Kaleigh baker, Roadkill Ghost Choir, Breeze Davinci, Chris McCarty and The Underground Movement, Community Property, Dharmata, Future Prezidents, Jahguar, Making Faces, Rich Coccaro, Set the Score, SJ, Stiletto Red, The Curve, The Duppies, UNRB, Shatterglass, Shifta, Jonnie Morgan Band, Shootout Winner, Raggy Monster, The Crazy Carls

Atlanta's Shaky Knees Fest has a sweet lineup as well:

The Lumineers, Band of Horses, Drive-By Truckers, Jim James, Gary Clark Jr., Dr. Dog, The Joy Formidable, Lucero, Delta Spirit, Kurt Vile, Heartless Bastards, The Antlers, J. Roddy Walston and The Business, Moon Taxi, Murder by Death, Oberhofer, Vintage Trouble, Shovels & Rope, Robert Ellis, The Orwells, Frontier Ruckus, Hanni El Khatib, Roadkill Ghost Choir, T. Hardy Morris, You Me and Apollo, Death on Two Wheels

Enjoy!

Getting Folky: St. Augustine Hosts Bob Dylan, Gamble Rogers Fest This Weekend

Dylan Back in The Day

Bob Dylan  (Do we even have to link him? Oh, what the hell) hits Florida's St. Augustine Ampitheater Sunday, May 5. The ampitheater is a great outdoor venue (mostly covered) and it is adjacent to the lovely Anastasia State Park, which has camping. Dylan recenlty announced he's going to team up with Wilco and My Morning Jacket for this summer's tour,called the "AmericanaramA Festival of Music," which kicks off June 27 at Cruzan Ampitheater in West Palm Beach (ensuring a sweltering time for all.)

This weekend, Dylan (with Dawes) follows a packed musical weekend in St. Augustine, the Gamble Rogers Music Festival , with performances by the Claire Lynch Band, Nouveau Honkies, Sam Pacetti, Grant Peeples, and more. Check out the lineup here.

This fest pays tribute to the late Florida troubador Gamble Rogers. This is not a camping fest, although there are plenty of places to camp in the area, including the above-mentioned Anastasia State Park. As you probably already know, St Augustine is a tourist town filled with B&Bs and hotels.

Here's a description of the Gamble Rogers Fest from the promoters:

Friday Night May 3rd, the festival will open with a party/concert in beautiful downtown St. Augustine right on the waterfront at the Municipal Marina, the same as last year. With sun setting over the skyline and the sea breezes whipping the harbor flags, we will kick off at 5 PM and enjoy the music and atmosphere until 10PM. The Friday night show will also coincide with the monthly First Friday Art Walk in downtown St. Augustine so come on down and make it the beginning of a great weekend.

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Saturday May 4th, we move to the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, one of the top ranked outdoor music venues of its size in the entire world!  Our show will begin at noon and we will have 4 stages of music and song and story operating simultaneously until around 7 PM. Then, all attention will focus on the main stage of the Amphitheatre for the headliner show, capped by the appearance of the Claire Lynch Band.

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​Sunday May 5th, we will have an open-house celebration of the 18th birthday of the festival which will take place at the St. Augustine Beach Pier Pavilion on A1A a couple of miles south of the Amphitheatre.  This will be an un-ticketed event and it will feature live music from noon until…we are not really sure when…with beverage and food sales. Bring your own chair and get their early as parking is what it is.
Sunday evening, under separate ticketing and independent of our festival, Bob Dylan (with Dawes) will be appearing at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre.

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Wonderful Wanee

Costumes, costumes everywhere. Madness reigned

Last weekend's Wanee Festival at Spirit of the Suwanee Music Park was one for the record books -- stellar performances, a kind crowd, mostly good weather (several shows were rained out last year, but this year the shows went on) and lots of  festival color.

Some fine photographers wandered the event, and now it's our great fortune to take a look at their fine images, it'll take you right back there to paradise!

Click here to see a wonderful Wanee album by Broward-Palm Beach New Times photographer Claire Nelson

And here's Claire's highly entertaining album of Wanee people

Click here for a lovely slide show of photos by Tarver Shelton of Jamsplus

And these by photographer Ian Rawn

And these by photographer Jason Koerner

Last but not least, one of the the most buzzed-about tunes of the weekend - the video is kinda shaky but the performance and sound rock:

Jazzfest - The Big Daddy of Southern Music Festivals

The big daddy of Southern music festivals kicks off its two-week run this weekend. I'm talking, of course, about the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival,  You can get the skinny on all things Jazzfest (April 26-May 5), including links to live feeds, here at NOLA.com. And don't forget you can stream from WWOZ, one of the best radio stations on the planet.

A regular general admission Jazzfest ticket costs $59 a day, and there are more expensive and elaborate options as well. No camping -- you have to find accommodations (or a friend's couch.)

Check out the lineup to pick your days, and remember that an insane amount of music happens after-hours in the bars.

And if you're not going to Jazzfest, starting this Wednesday, April 24-28, the absolutely amazing, free Festival International de Louisiane happens in Lafayette, Louisiana. This downtown fest has an incomparable world-beat, funk,  jazz, and dance lineup and killer Louisiana food.  Go to the festival website to find someplace to stay -- no camping at this one. 

Also this coming weekend, don't forget Merlfest in North Carolina.

Whew! Get out there and find some live music, y'all!

Merlefest This Weekend!

The late, great  Doc Watson

Roots and Americana fans will be converging on the campus of  Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina for Merlefest this coming weekend (April 25-28.)

This fest is in its 26th year, and this will be the first without eight-time Grammy winner Doc Watson, who died in March 2012. Doc founded the festival to honor the memory of Merle Watson, his late son and picking partner who died in a tractor accident in 1985.

This year's lineup includes The Avett Brothers, Sam Bush, Gov’t Mule, John Cowan, Peter Rowan, Del McCoury and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Donna The Buffalo, Leon Russell, Jerry Douglas, Delta Rae, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Charlie Daniels Band, Michael Martin Murphy, Leon Russell, Steep Canyon Rangers, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, The Waybacks and more.

This is not an on-site camping fest, other than a lot for RVs (with no electricity hookups.) There are private campgrounds, cabins, motels, and homes for rent in the area. Shows are held in various venues throughout the campus. It's a very family-friendly crowd -- you can't bring alcohol into the venue.

Tickets: Four-day general admission, $150; Thursday, $40; Friday, $55; Saturday, $60; Sunday, $45.

In the early evening on Saturday, Sam Bush will lead an all-star lineup of 15 or so musicians who knew Doc and Merle best in a tribute that will include film clips and interviews with Doc. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band headlines on Saturday. 

WMVY Radio in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts (now an online-only station) has a great archive where you can stream past Merlefest performances.  

Gone Festing!

festgrrl is rocking the Wanee Festival this week, catch her posts on Facebook (as long as the Internet connection lasts over there in the middle of nowhere)  just click over there on the Facebook icon right!

Funkin Wanee - Galactic and Dirty Dozen

A Galactic show will wear your boogie ass out. This New Orleans-based band comes at you with blasting horns, a slinky bass line, and driving drums that pull you out of your seat until they quit. At least that's how it always is for me.

Galactic hosts the Saturday night Wanee closeout after the Allman Brothers play their set on the main stage. The Galactic & Friends show -- during which all manner of sit-ins will happen -- starts at midnight on the Mushroom stage. Check this out:

New Orleans stalwarts, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, know how to throw a dance party. They play 1:30-2:30 p.m Saturday on The Mushroom Stage.

Funkin Wanee Part 3 -- Tower of Power, Les Claypool

Tower of Power back in the day

Tower of Power is the band who asked -- and answered --- the question "What Is Hip?" in 1973, and 40 years later, they are still answering it.

When you're talking power horns, you've got to talk Tower of Power. This California band was formed back in 1970, and at least 60 different musicians have  played with the band over the last four decades.

You can catch Tower of Power at Wanee from 5:15-6:30 Saturday at the Mushroom Stage.

Now onto killer bassist Les Claypool -- a longtime hard rock musician, but I'm going to put him on our funk roster here 'cause we all know he can slap the hell outta that bass -- just check him out in the second video posted below.

Claypool plays with his Duo De Twang Band 3-4:30 pm Friday at Wanee on the Mushroom Stage, right after the excellent Jaimoe's Jasssz Band.

Funkin Wanee Part 2 - Blow Maceo!

Listen to James Brown recordings, and you are bound to hear Brown shout, in the midst of musical frenzy,   "Blow, Maceo!" The late Godfather of Soul was talking to Maceo Parker, his killer sax player, and one of the funkiest fellows on the planet. Maceo has occupied the funk pocket for over four decades, playing with --among others -- George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic and Prince. 

Maceo Parker plays Wanee 3-4:45 pm Saturday on the Mushroom Stage, and I'm going to venture a guess he'll be sitting in with a lot of acts over the weekend. Here's a nice clip of this soul man:

Funkin Wanee

Rock and roll heavyweights The Allman Brothers and Widespread Panic are obviously the big draw at the Wanee Festival, happening this week at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fl.

But this year, as in past years, Wanee is also a garden of delights for funk fans.

Over the next few days, I offer you a Funkateer's Guide to the Wanee Festival.

The first advice for funk fans is to get to Wanee early --- Wednesday night's Wanee pre-party is a funky throwdown with one of the top contemporary funk bands working today, New Orleans' Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk.

Today, we feature two great California bands -- Monophonics, a super fine psychedelic soul and funk band out of San Francisco, and The Greyboy Allstars, an acid jazz-boogaloo band from San Diego.

Monophonics plays 2-3 p.m. Thursday on the Mushroom Stage, and The Greyboy Allstars play Thursday late-night from 11 :30-1:30 on the Mushroom Stage.

Here's a taste of their tastiness and check out the awesome puppets in the second video!:

Wanee Spotlight: Guitar Master Bobby Lee Rodgers

If you’re going to Wanee Festival at Spirit of the Suwanee Music Park this week, chances are you’ll see Atlanta guitarist Bobby Lee Rodgers somewhere. While most acts (other than our hosts The Allman Brothers) have just one slot for the weekend, The Bobby 

Lee Rodgers Trio will be riding around on the mobile 420 stage, and he has three sets over the weekend. 

(The Wanee pre-party starts in the afternoon on Wednesday, April 17, and the full-on fest is Thursday-Sunday.)

Rodgers is a power rock and roll guitarist who has a degree in classical and jazz guitar. He was a jazz professor at the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston when he was just 23. 

As a member of the Codetalkers with Colonel Bruce Hampton from 1999 to 2006, he consistently delivered jaw-dropping performances. 

These days, he has a regular gig in Hollywood, Florida, playing tributes to jazz greats like Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, John Coltraine, Charlie Parker, and Horace Silver. On the other hand, he composes and plays Southern rock and jam band tunes.

Rodgers played his first solo performance at Wanee in 2009. This year, the Bobby Lee Rodgers Trio will be playing mostly rock and roll, with Rodgers on the electric banjo and guitar. He gets a unique sound using a 1960s super reverb and a Leslie organ speaker.

Festgrrl caught up with Rodgers recently, as he was putting the finishing touches on his new release, Firefly.

So you’ve been in the studio working on a new release?

I literally got finished with it a second ago. I’m playing electric banjo – I haven’t played it since the Codetalkers. I also play my old 1948 Martin V18, and I play the same banjo my dad got me when I was young. I also play a little drums and a little bass on it.

Besides your trio sets at Wanee, you have any sit-ins planned?

I’m going to be sitting in with people and having a couple of people play with me also. I never know what I’m going to play until I get there, but I know it’ll rock!

When did you first start playing guitar?

I didn’t start playing guitar until I was about 14. My first instrument was upright bass. I played in the fifth grade in Stone Mountain, Georgia in the orchestra. I didn’t know back then what you could do with a bass.

I practiced hard. I played some Bach and the cello suites. I played drums for a couple of years. I played traditional banjo when I was a kid. I wanted a guitar but my dad got me a banjo. He wanted me to play banjo. I wasn’t really that interested in it.

We put a rock band together in high school. Our high school band director heard us play rock and roll and he said ‘You’re in the jazz band now!’ He wanted us for his rhythm section. Our jazz band was one of the best in the nation. He was pushing us. He was getting us to learn how to listen. He’d help us understand that music is a language; it’s not just about a certain lick. All music is a question and an answer.

I just started loving jazz guitar. When I graduated from high school I didn’t really have anybody to study with. I’d go to the record stores and try to find jazz albums to learn from. It was so hard to get the kind of jazz I wanted to learn in a record store, it was all geared to commercial things. I got a scholarship to play in the jazz band at the University of Georgia. I studied classical guitar – Bach Villalobos, Segovia…all that.

I am among the many people who just love your song “Outer Space.” I know the Tampa jam band Cope covers it also. Can you tell us a little about writing it?

I was driving from Atlanta towards Savannah on Highway 16 and I saw a major weird-looking light I’ve never seen in my entire life, ever. It shocked me.

I started writing this tune and I was thinking: If I were from outer space, what would I be thinking? People of the Earth, they need to get along and they need to stop mandating things and justifying things. If we could just wake up for a second. Man, people need to listen to people, you know? 

Listen to Bobby Lee Rodgers at Wanee: He plays 3:30-5 Thursday on the Mushroom Stage, and he holds down the 11:30 a.m. -12 p.m. slot both Friday and Saturday on the Peach Stage

And here's that song, Outer Space: 

Avett Brothers, Ben Harper, Grace Potter, Kenny Chesney at Tortuga Fest This Weekend

Grace Potter &The Nocturnals Play Sunday

Right on the beach in Fort Lauderdale this Saturday and Sunday (April 13 &14) -- Rock the Ocean's  Tortuga Festival!

This is not a camping festival, and 2-day tickets are $149 for Friday and Saturday. One-day tickets are $99. This event aims to raise awareness about ocean conservation. A "Conservation Village" will be set up with hands-on exhibits like touch tanks and science talks.

Kenny Chesney headlines Saturday and The Avetts play Sunday. Here's a look at who all will be rocking the beach:

* Kenny Chesney
* The Avett Brothers
* Gary Allan
* Gary Clark Jr.
* Eli Young Band
* Kip Moore
* Michael Franti & Spearhead
* G. Love & Special Sauce
* Gloriana
* Sister Hazel
* Mac McAnally

Also The Wailers, Lynrd Skynrd ...and more

Get Your Wanee Tickets Before the Price Goes Up Tonight!

Get your tickets for Wanee right now and pay $205 plus $23 in fees -- the price goes up at 10 p.m. tonight!

A Friday Anthem

Uproot Hootenanny from South Florida tells it like it is with their song "That's Why I Drink." Video was captured by our friends at Hype Magazine, (THANKS!) at Suwannee Springfest 2013...

Mind-blowing Performance From Suwannee Springfest 2013

left to right: Rushad Eggleston, Darol Anger, and Mike Marshall

This video clip is just ridiculously fantastic. In the words of the taper (THANK YOU, taper!)"How good and funky can one song be?"

Watch and you will see!

Darol Angor, Rushad Eggleston, and Mike Marshall go to another astral plane with this instrumental,  called Gator Strut. Incredible!

Jazz in Pensacola, Blues in Jacksonville

This coming week, there are two non-camping and FREE festivals on opposite sides of the Florida Panhandle, where spring is a-busting.

The Pensacola Jazz Fest happens April 6 & 7. It's the festival's 30th anniversary. You'll have to find a hotel room or you can camp in one of the nearby state parks.

Jacksonville Beach hosts its annual Springing the Blues Festival April 6 &7.  This is a fine little family-friendly street festival with lots of vendors right along the ocean. It's free, but you can pay for premium seating with chairs in a fenced area in front of the stage with its own port o lets and a beverage bar. You can get tickets for the premium seats here.  Jax Beach has plenty of hotels nearby, some with heated pools and outdoor hot tubs in case the Atlantic is still too chilly for you.