Free Music at St. Augustine's 450th Anniversary!

Mavis Staples plays for free Sept. 4. Stock photo.

What a present for us -  the lovely St. Augustine, Fla. celebrates its 450th anniversary Sept.4-8 with a big fat free street party, and  they will have a bunch of free music shows and fireworks!

On Friday, Sept. 4, Mavis Staples and Aaron Neville headline. On Saturday, Sept. 5 -- Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers, Justin Townes Earle, North Florida homeboy JJ Grey and Mofro, and Emylou Harris and Rodney Crowell will perform.  The festival has five stages in all, with the big acts on a stage at the Bridge of Lions along the riverfront. Nice!

Aaron Neville. Stock photo.

All around the cobblestone downtown area, performers will be playing on the smaller stages. You can catch the likes of Sam Pacetti, Gatorbone, salsa, flamenco, Greek dancers, bagpipes, West African drummers,bluegrass bands, choruses, and more. (Favorite title of the smaller stage bands: Lonesome Bert and the Skinny Lizards.)

JJ Grey. festgrrl photo.

Noirmally, this is the part where I tell you how much tickets cost. Nothing!! The schedule of events is here, and you can get your questions answered here.

Reunion Campout Fest At Suwannee This Weekend

Suwannee River beach! festgrrl photo.

The summer vibe will be thumping this weekend at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, at a new jamtronica and electrofunk fest called Reunion Campout.

The intimate fest under the oaks  features the Stratosphere All-Stars, with members of Lotus, Particle, Kung Fu, STS9, and Gramatik. Also on the bill are Greenhouse Lounge, Zoogma, Gravity A from New Orleans (doing a Talking Heads tribute,) and Colorado's Dynohunter.

Since this is August and it is hot as hell, most of the  music will happen in the park's air-conditioned Music Hall, but there will be a Saturday music party at the park's gorgeous Suwannee River beach. A Silent Disco will run pretty much all night.

Weekend tickets (which include primitive camping Friday and Saturday nights) are $69.59  including fees. Or you can get an online-only  $219 package deal for four, which works out to $54.75 each. including fees.

Check out this Video of Gravity A breaking out the Talking Heads "Girlfriend is Better" at Tipitina's in New Orleans;

Fall Fest Planning -- Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival

Kick-ass jammer Jeb Puryear of Donna the Buffalo. festgrrl photo

It's hot and lazy at festgrrl's deep-South headquarters this time of year, but oh yes -- we can hear the thump of a bass, the slide of a fiddle bow and stomping feet in our distant memory.

October will be here before you know it, and so will the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance. This is one of the small, lovely fests organized by roots-rockers Donna the Buffalo around the country. These fests feature some really cool world-beat and Americana acts. For this year's extravaganza, I advise you not to miss two acts: the quirky art-band Rubblebucket or Indian brass-band funkateers  Red Baraat.

(Shakori 2014: Kim Hawks photo)

Shakori Hills happens Oct. 8-11 in Pittsboro, North Carolina, which is about 20 minutes south of Chapel Hill. Four-day early bird tickets are just $104 for adults. Kids 12 and under are free, and there's a special Youth Pass for the 13-15-year-old set for $54. Camping costs extra, and you can peruse the various options here.

 

festgrrl photo.

Sooo, besides Donna the Buffalo, who is playing, you ask? Read on, dance partners:

Hot Rize featuring Red Knuckles & The Trailblazers

Rubblebucket

JD McPherson

Kinobe & The Wamu Spirit

Red Baraat

The Black Lillies

Preston Frank

Big Mean Sound Machine

Liz Vice

The Old Ceremony

Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds

Norah Jane Struthers & The Party Line

Blind Boy Paxton

Old Man Luedecke

Kelley & The Cowboys

Big Fat Gap

Brett Harris

The Midatlantic

Ellis Dyson & The Shambles

The Fairlanes

The Cane Creek Cloggers

Lobo Marino

Mason Via

& many more…