Two Featured Fests For the Last Weekend in May

Thomas Wynn and The Believers play the Briar Patch

Here are a couple of fests to check out this coming weekend!

The Briar Patch Music Festival happens May 29-May 31 in Damascus, Georgia  -- three hours south of Atlanta and about an hour and a half north of Tallahassee, Fl.   It's only $40 for the whole weekend, and that includes primitive camping. Kids 12 and under are free. Single-day passes are $25.

festgrrl has not been to this venue or this gathering before. She highly recommends the headliner, Thomas Wynn and the Believers. Here is who is playing and the details::

·        * Thomas Wynn and the Believers

·        * Rollin' in the Hay

·        * Bo Henry Band

·        * Tony Brook

·        * Evan Barber and the Dead Gamblers

·        * Larry Mitchell Band

·        * Funk You

·        * Bibb City Ramblers

·        * Evergreen Family Band

·        * Wainwright Applegate

·        * Bret Mosley

·        * Bubba Hall

·        * Ben Sutton

·        * Pine Box Dwellers

·        * Biggest Band in the Land

·        * Spong

·        * Rod Holt and the Fractured Souls

·        * Travers Brothership

·        * Mathis Brothers

·        * Lee Lindsey

·        * Lingo

The organizers say: 

"The Briar Patch Music Festival was created in 2010 by Jeb Tabb, Brandon Lovering, and Bo Henry. These natives of Damascus, Ga wanted to better their community through live music with many different genres.

What better way than a festival to accomplish that. In a musical landscape polluted by the same old two or three radio stations with the exact same Nashville pop playlist, the Briar Patch is bringing meaningful, thoughtful, and entertaining music that would otherwise never be heard in this area.

This festival is here to change the culture of South Georgia music by bringing "The Real to the Field". The Briar Patch is located at 13810 Five Bridges Road Damascus, Ga. It embodies all of what you think of in a rural farming community. The stage lies in between cotton, corn, and peanuts field in one of the most peaceful environments to ever see your favorite band perform. Bring a tent, lawn chair, cooler, and have the musical experience of a lifetime."

Tickets are $40 for the weekend, kids 12 and under are free. RV hookups are sold out, but you can bring a camper with a generator.

No glass, fireworks, golf carts/ four-wheelers, or campfires. 

The Randall Bramblett Band plays Finsterfest

Summerville, Georgia is home to the Finster Fest 5/31-6/1. That's about an hour and a half drive north of Atlanta. This fest is a fundraiser for an art garden left behind by the late Southern Folk artist, Howard Finster. Here's who is playing:

·        * Shenandoah

·        * Randall Bramblett Band

·        * The Whiskey Gentry

·        * Travis Denning Band

·        * The Van Lears

·        * Thayer Sarrano

·        * Yankee Slickers

·        * 3 & 20

·        * Tracie Victoria Mattox

·        * True Blue

·        * The Strange

·        * Dennis Brown Trio

·        * Daniel Parrish

This is not a camping fest. So look to this link for places to stay. Here's a little more about the event:

From the organizers: "Paradise Garden Foundation was developed to help raise funds to help successfully revive the site and continue Howard Finster’s inspiring work of inspiring. Our annual fundraising event, Finster Fest, is one of the Southeast’s most popular folk art and music festivals.

What began in 1992 as “Howard Finster Day” in Summerville, Finster Fest has grown into one of the region’s most popular events. Throughout the years, Finster Fest has continued to draw significant artists from all over the country. Howard Finster was a man with many “visions". His art and message had international appeal, drawing thousands from around the world to his Paradise Garden. The Paradise Garden Foundation hopes to continue in Howard’s faith-filled messages with art, and part of those efforts include presenting a community event like no other. Finster Fest 2014 will take place on May 31st and June 1st in Summerville, GA and will feature art and live music in Dowdy Park. Finster Fest will host over 50-juried artists and hundreds of visitors from around the world. We are excited to be bringing to the area a wide spectrum of art, live entertainment, and fabulous food, all in a family-friendly atmosphere.

On Saturday night, May 31st, the Man Of Vision  Aftershow with Randall Bramblett Band, The Whiskey Gentry, and the Travis Denning Band will take place from 5:00 P.M. to 12 am in historic Downtown Summerville on the corner of East Washington and Economy St. The show will feature nationally known musical acts on a professionally assembled stage. Tickets to the concert are $10. 

The Whiskey Gentry  play Finsterfest

Get Your Folk On - Florida Folk Fest This Weekend

JJ Grey and his band Mofro headline Saturday

The Florida Folk Festival happens this weekend (May 23-25) in White Springs, Florida, along the Suwannee River.

This fest is 61 years old, and these days, it is run by the state. There's a lot of interesting folk dancing, home-grown food, crafts, storytellers and demonstrations at the Folk Fest, and lots of musical acts all day on various stages. It's a great place to bring kids.

Clog dancers kickin' it old-style

Advanced weekend tickets are $50; $60 at the gate. Single-day tickets are $25 advanced; $30 at the gate. Kids under 6 are free, Kids aged 6-16 are $5 for the whole weekend -- yes!! The only way you can camp onsite is if you are a performer or have signed up beforehand as a volunteer. There are, however, campgrounds and motels nearby. 

Seminole sewing traditional clothing

Friday's headliners include two shows by talented blues guitarists --  Albert Castiglia and Ben Prestage.

On Saturday night, it's Star Time, when the great swamp rock/blues performer JJ Grey and and his band Mofro -- out of Jacksonville, but touring all over the world -- headline. Also playing Saturday -- fiddler Mark Johnson and mandolinist Emory Lester, blues man Willie Green, country music singer Billy Dean, and Tallahassee up-and-coming Americana act Belle and The Band.

Talented guitarist/singer Sam Pacetti from St Augustine headlines Sunday, as well as Florida folk troubadour Frank Thomas. Longtime folk festival guitarist-singer Doug Gauss and his folk-singing gals, "The Enablers,"  also perform.

Don't miss the Seminole fry bread and the amazing Church-lady suppers lovingly prepared at the fest, it's all Southern cooking at its finest, for sure.

A luthier building instruments

And, don't forget, up Alabama way this weekend, is another excellent little fest called The Acoustic Cafe, read all about it in my previous festgrrl post.

A Sweet Little Fest, The Acoustic Cafe, Happens This Weekend.

There's a cool little festival this coming weekend (May 23 & 24) in the gentle mountains about a 90-minute drive from Birmingham, Alabama -- The Acoustic Cafe.   They call it the largest gathering of tie-dye hippie types  in Alabama, and it's a couple hundred people at most.

Where the magic happens: The Acoustic Cafe stage

I have met some of the nicest people at this Americana music gathering over the years, and have seen some remarkable shows. Don't worry if there's a band you don't recognize on the lineup, trust me, they will be fantastic. This fest is run by a string music nerd, and he brings in quality performers. Everyone from the late Vassar Clements to Sam Bush to Dread Clampitt to the Carolina Chocolate Drops have played here.

It's a camping festival (you can camp with your car) and it is a one-stage affair, so everybody gets to see the same show at the same time. That makes for a relaxing weekend, and the setting is really beautiful. There's only one food vendor and BYOB (no glass.) There are showers and port o jons.

This is a very family friendly venue, and the crowd is full of folks who are really listening to the shows. Expect some nice campground picking. Pets are not welcome. As far as camping, there's some shady spots and some out-in-the-sun spots, some level and some not. It's first come-first serve. No RV hookups, and campers are located in a designated area.

There are trees for your hammocks, hula hoop demonstrations, yoga, and free coffee all weekend.

Tickets are $60 at the gate, and there is a $10 parking fee. Here is a look at the lineup:

POKEY LAFARGE
RAY WYLIE HUBBARD
HOT BUTTERED RUM
REBECCA FRAZIER AND HIT & RUN
BLUE RIBBON HEALERS
ED PICKETT
THE HERB TROTMAN BAND
SWEETWATER ROAD

Purple Hatter's Ball Was a Ball For All

Sweeties!

Monarch butterflies fluttered through the campground at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida on Saturday afternoon at The Purple Hatter's Ball. The magical butterflies were released on the ampitheater stage by Rachel Morningstar Hoffman's friends and family in a memorial service to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the Florida State University graduate's tragic death.

Spirit of  the Suwannee was one of Rachel's favorite places, and in the years since her death, friends and family have gathered together to listen to the live music she loved. And wear the purple hats in her honor.

This year's fest was a raging dance party from start to finish, capped off by a blistering 3-hour set by Colorado power-funk masters The Motet on Sunday night.

Rachel's' mom, Margie Weiss, in the 2013 memorial

Rachel Hoffman

Rachel  was stopped in Tallahassee in 2007 for a traffic violation and arrested for having pot. Police convinced her to be a confidential informant to avoid jail and a criminal record. For her first assignment, the Tallahassee Police had her buy guns and drugs from two big-time drug dealers.The police lost track of Rachel during the sting and the drug dealers shot Rachel to death.

After her death, Rachel's family advocated successfully to change the confidential informant law.  “Rachel’s Law” is now in place to protect others from the same kind of coercion by authorities. The family also won a wrongful death suit against the City of Tallahassee.

And now, every Mother's Day Weekend is Purple Hatter's Ball. It is a small,  intimate, friendly festival with a kind vibe, good food, nice wares and a great crowd.

Rachel's mom and friends

This year the fest started early with a Thursday pre-party. On Friday, folks started strutting their purple outfits while a host of bands took to the stages. A funk band out of Atlanta, Cherrry Royale, played Friday afternoon and was among the best bands of the weekend. Friday featured the reggae band Trial by Stone, jammers The Heavy Pets, newgrass pickers Grandpa's Cough Medicine, electronica acts The Fritz, Greenhouse Lounge and Emancipator Ensemble, and New Orleans R&B group The Nth Power.

Cherry Royale

Like I said, people came out with some FINE finery:

Saturday was another packed day of music. Standouts included the newgrass band Applebutter Express, reggae band Dubconcious, and North Florida sex-rock band, Catfish Alliance.

Applebutter Express

Dubconcious

The progressive Appalachian groove band, Rising Appalachia, gave a spellbinding performance at happy hour in the ampitheater.

Rising Appalachia

Rising Appalachia

Rising Appalachia

Another Saturday standout; Space Capone, kickin' it disco style and shaking the booties. If you like to dance, don't miss this band.

The Mind-Officially-Blown Award goes to Beats Antique. I don't even know how to describe this show, but I will try: Balinese dancers dancing inside flames projected behind the stage, acrobatic shadow dancing, a GIANT inflatable Cyclops monster with psychedelic lights projected on it jumping out of the stage and over the crowd, a Vaudeville-themed "game show" film running behind the musicians -- just an amazing spectacle set against Middle-Eastern inspired electronica beats. This is the wildest stage show I have seen outside of The Flaming Lips. I'm sorry I did not get any pictures that would even begin to show how wild it was.

The Floozies out of Lawrence, Kansas delivered a solid jam/dance show and British funkateers The New Mastersounds rounded out the night with a dance frenzy just when we thought we couldn't dance anymore.

Sunday was a special day of music, with many bands from festgrrl's hometown of Tallahassee on the bill. The Avis Berry/Scott Campbell and Friends show was a gospel/folk/blues/Americana wonder. Here are some pics of that marvelous performance:

The amazing Avis Berry -- goosebumps

Guitarist extraordinaire Scott Campbell

Tallahassee jamband Stillwood ended a long hiatus with a solid performance on the porch stage.

 Stillwood's Danny Goddard brought out the purple guitar

Stillwood's Danny Goddard and Brian Durham

A group I had never seen before but definitely want to see again was the Miami Latin dance band Locos por Juana. Just when we thought we couldn't dance anymore, they sparked it up

Locos por Juana

And then it started raining ever so gently, enough to cool us all off but never enough to be bothersome. Surprise, The Motet started early, and powered through a 3-hour killer set to bring Purple Hatter's Ball to a close.

The Motet

Purple Hatters Ball, Y'all

Rachel Hoffman

Update: Go to the festgrrl Facebook page to check out photos and coverage of the The Purple Hatters Ball -- as long as the cell signal holds out!

The Purple Hatters Ball  happens this coming weekend (May 9-11) at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fla. This sweet little fest, in its seventh year,  honors the life of Rachel Morningstar Hoffman, a festgoer who loved to sport a purple hat. Rachel senselessly lost her life during a drug string botched by law enforcement. Her death sparked changes in law. Rachel's parents and friends gather each year to remember her and listen to the music she loved in the place she loved.

A three-day weekend ticket (which includes primitive camping)  is $100. A ticket to the Thursday night pre-party is $20.

This is a smallish fest, and it tends to skew toward younger college and post-college folks. Very sweet crowd and danceable music all weekend long. The excellent Colorado funk band, The Motet, closes out the festival Sunday night.

The lineup:

Beats Antique • Emancipator Ensemble • The New Mastersounds • The Motet • The Floozies • The Nth Power • Space Capone • Rising Appalachia • The Heavy Pets • The Fritz • DubConscious • Greenhouse Lounge • Catfish Alliance • Avis Berry & Scott Campbell Band • Locos Por Juana • Grandpa’s Cough Medicine • Applebutter Express • Stillwood • Ketchy Shuby • Trial By Stone • Cherry Royale • Shoes and Laces • S.P.O.R.E. • Herd of Watts • Parker Urban Band • Squeedlepuss • Jason Lamar & The Rig • Jacksonvegas • Love Chunk • Stereo Vudu • DJ Ruby • Morning Fatty • Flat Land • Antique Animals • Hail Cassius Neptune • Universal Green • Bells and Robes • MSNRA • Parker Robinson • Yankee Slickers • Famato