Groove Inside or Out This Weekend at Suwannee's Disc Jam and Monticello's Organic Americana

Tampa's Cope headlines the Suwannee Disc Jam Saturday night

You can get out by the river and springs this weekend --and play disc golf -- at the Suwannee Disc Jam at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fla. And in the beautiful town of  Monticello, there's a cool, daytime  indoor event at the historic Monticello Opera House called Organic Americana with fine music and organic food.

The Disc Jam has a disc golf tourney in the day and music by night on Friday and Saturday. Dangermuffin headlines Friday night and talented Tampa jammers Cope headline Saturday night. festgrrl also recommends  in-the-pocket New Orleans' funksters Boukou Groove, playing Friday at 7:30 p.m.

The disc jam is a bargain with tickets at just $35 for the weekend -- and that includes eight bands and primitive camping. Its $40 if you want to enter the tourney. Here's the music schedule:

Friday Night

Dangermuffin - 11:00-1:00

The Whiskey Gentry - 9:15-10:30

Boukou Groove - 7:30-8:45

Saturday Night

Cope - 11:00-1:30

Captain Green - 9:15-10:30

New Earth Army - 7:30-8:45

Sweet Knievel - 5:45-7:00

Motha Shmuckas Budda Crackas - 4:00-5:15

The Organic Americana event happens Saturday at the picturesque Monticello Opera House in Monticello, on Highway 90 about 25 miles east of Tallahassee. Doors open at noon, and music happens from 2-5:30 pm, with The New 76ers, The Sarah Mac Band, and Craig Daniel Hardin and the Porch Lizards. The excellent locavore treasure Tupelo's Bakery restaurant will have goodies, including summer salads, gazpacho, and sandwiches. Local artists and organic purveyors will will display their wares.

Craig Daniel Hardin and the Porch Lizards play at 2  pm, The New 76ers at 3 pm, and the Sarah Mac Band at 4:30 pm. The bands will sign CDs and do a meet-and-greet at 5:30 p.m. There's a cash bar and admission is $15. 

Mando Phenom Chris Thile in Gainesville - Get Your Tickets Now!

Mandolin master Chris Thile (winner of a MacArthur Genius Grant) is coming to Gainesville Nov. 1 to do a solo performance, and tickets go on sale Monday June 24.

Thile is known for his work with the Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek, and the Goat Rodeo Sessions (with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer -- they won the 2013 Best Folk Album Grammy -- even thought it isn't really a folk album.)

Thile will play the University of Florida's University Auditorium. 

Tickets go on sale here on Monday, June 24.

Thile is absolutely amazing to see live, and this should be a good one -- he'll be fresh off the release of a new CD of his Bach performances, which comes out August 6. Of that project, he says:


“This record to me is not about this iconic violin music played on the mandolin—like, ‘Oh boy, what fun, he’s playing a weird instrument!’ It's about Bach being one of the greatest musicians of all time, the solo violin music being some of his best work, and the mandolin having the potential to cast it in a new and hopefully interesting light."

Check out Thile shredding some Bach here: (You're welcome)

Now These Are Some Badass Festgrrls Here

String Cheese Incident To Play This Halloween at Spirit of the Suwannee!

In a brand-spanking new addition to the fall festival lineup, Colorado jazz/bluegrass jammers The String Cheese Incident will play 3 nights over Halloween weekend at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fla.,, joined by Sound Tribe Sector Nine and Big Gigantic, with more band announcements on the way.

Early Bird tickets go on sale this Friday, June 21st at 12pm Eastern Time.

festgrrl is continually amazed by the unlikely fact that she moved to the middle of nowhere and by some sweet providence, people keep coming from all around the world to play music right here in the middle of nowhere. And now it is happening again on Halloween!

SCI last played Suwannee in 2003, so their appearance is a real treat.

No word yet on ticket prices, but I'll keep you posted. 

Bonnaroooooooooooo!

All eyes are on Bonnaroo this weekend, when the masses hit the Tennessee countryside for one of the biggest and best music festivals in the southeast. Paul McCartney, Mumford & Sons,Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers,Björk,Wilco,Pretty Lights,R. Kelly,Wu-Tang Clan and all these amazing performers will be bringing it to the mammoth crowd of fans.


If you can't make it, you can do Bonnaroo couch tour by watching the streaming shows here. The camera work for the Bonnaroo webcasts in the past has been exceptional, so hook up your speakers, grab a beer and check it out if you can.

And to get you in the mood, here's a video by Reggie Watts who is riding around Bonnaroo in a golf cart collecting quirky cool tripper girls!

Jam Cruise -- This Year, Call it Funk Cruise!

Every year all my music fanboy/ girl friends tell me the same thing: GO ON JAM CRUISE!!! Frankly, you get tired of listening to them.

Well you could become one of those people who come back with epic musical tales to tell. Cruise cabins are available now, and they have an installment payment plan. 

This crazy-ass music festival at sea sails out of Miami on a giant cruise ship called the MSC Divina on January 4th - 9th 2014. The boat goes to Falmouth, Jamaica and the Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas and has a surprise act on a private island.

The lineup for this year's cruise is like Bear Creek Music and Art Festival and New Orleans Jazzfest at sea. They should call it Funk Cruise. Check it out:

Les Claypool's Duo de Twang, Thievery Corporation, Galactic, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, George Porter Jr., The New Mastersounds, The Revivalists, Anders Osborne, Rob Garza (Solo DJ Sets), Conspirator, Gigantic Underground Conspiracy, Bootsy Collins & The Funk Unity Band, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Lotus, The Wailers, Keller Williams, Keller and the Kimocks, Lettuce, Dumpstaphunk, DJ Logic and John Popper, The Infamous Stringdusters, ALO, MarchFourth Marching Band, Orgone, Pork Tornado, Bonerama, Robert Walter's 20th Congress, Monophonics, Mike Dillon Band, Eric Krasno Band, Everyone Orchestra, Alan Evans Super Jam, DJ Logic, Stanley Jordan, Nathan Moore, Brock Butler, Cyril Neville, Bill Evans, Oteil Burbridge, Will Bernard, Alecia Chakour, Skerik,

Master Class At Sea: Col. Bruce, Kofi Burbridge, Butch Trucks, Victor Wooten, Luther and Cody Dickinson

All this and a boat, too?

Our friends at Jambase posted a neat compilation of all their Jam Cruise reviews since the very first sail back in 2004.  And I simply must share this video of the Portland, Oregon  burlesque acrobatic funk outfit, March Fourth Marching Band, which features some nice mermaid spanking, 'cause its a M-ther-f-kin BOAT y'all!

Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad

Another band which caught festgrrl's ear during the spring festival run here in the southeast was the roots-reggae-psychedelic-jam band Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad from New York state.

These players put on a solid set at Wanee Festival this year. The band is an interesting mix --  straight-ahead good time reggae, some psychedelic, and they put out a nice bluegrassy Americana record last year called Country. 

Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad will one of the featured acts on the Rombello music cruise out of Miami this fall -- November 1-5, sailing to a private island in the Bahamas. Sweet!

Check out this track   from the Country album and see if you like it as much as festgrrl does!

Check Out this Cool Jazz-Jam Band, Seratonic

Having just finished an action-packed spring run of numerous and inspiring fests, I am so very grateful for all the love the musicians put out there for us lucky fans. 

A couple of cool bands caught my ear during my travels, and I'd like to share some of what I've heard. Check out this Florida jazz-funk band called Seratonic. They were a standout for me at this year's most excellent Orange Blossom Jamboree. If you've never had the pleasure of OBJ, I highly, highly recommend it. Small and lovely venue, sweet crowd, and good tunes. What more can you ask for? 

Here's a nice stream of Seratonic's cool music. Have a listen!