New Record and a Cool Radio Interview With Warren Haynes

Warren Haynes debuted his new band -- the Warren Haynes Band -- at the Wanee Festival last month at Spirit of the Suwanee Music Park in Live Oak, Fl. A veteran player with The Allman Brothers, Government Mule, and the Dead, Haynes' new solo CD, "Man in Motion"  focuses on his soul roots.

It's official release is this Tuesday. His all-star band that performed on the recording includes several New Orleans musicians -- Meters bassist George Porter, Jr., keyboardist Ivan Neville and drummer Raymond Webber -- as well as Austin-based keyboardist Ian McLagan ("The Faces,") singer Ruthie Foster and tenor saxophonist Ron Holloway.

Today's National Public Radio show, Weekend Edition Sunday, had  this conversation and performance by Haynes. Check it out!

Wa-wa-Wanee!

This week it's all about the Wanee Festival, the Allman-Brothers-hosted all-star jam extravaganza that brings a big crowd to Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fl.

This year's lineup, as in past years, is epic. You can get your online ticket discount through tomorrow. It's $221.50 (including all the fees) online for a weekend ticket, which gets you shows Wednesday through Saturday and free primitive camping. On Wednesday, it's gate prices only -- and that will set you back $265. (Note: The Early Bird tix were $165!) Still, considering the number of shows and awesome musical raging that will doubtless occur, it will be money well spent.

Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk is going to do a James Brown set Wednesday night. And that's AFTER JGB (Jerry Garcia tribute band) AND after the smokin' New Orleans' band, The Radiators. Lord have Mercy! That's just Day One.

Here is the crazy good lineup:

The Allman Brothers Band, Widespread Panic, Robert Plant & Band of Joy, Steve Miller Band, Warren Haynes Band, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band, Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, Ween, Stephen Marley, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Mike Gordon, Hot Tuna, 7 Walkers Feat. Bill Kreutzmann, Galactic, Taj Mahal, North Mississippi Allstars, Keller Williams, John Popper & The Duskray Troubadours, The Radiators, Wanda Jackson, Rusted Root, Oteil Burbidge and The Lee Boys, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Big Gigantic, Melvin Seals & JGB, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, New Deal, Lotus, Tea Leaf Green, DJ Logic, Toubab Krewe, Devon Allman’s Honeytribe, Bobby Lee Rodgers Trio, Soul Rebel’s Brass Band, Guitar Shorty, Dangermuffin, Honey Island Swamp Band, Kevin Hammond, Death on Two Wheels, The Yeti Trio, Jacob Jeffries Band and Griffin Anthony

Wanee Early Bird Deadline is Tomorrow

Don't forget to take advantage of early bird savings for Wanee festival April 14-16 at Spirit of the Suwanee Music Park  The deadline is Tuesday (March 1) The early bird price is 188.50 - and that doesn't include fees. So you're going to want to get the early bird. That gives you primitive camping from Wednesday through Saturday nights.

This year they are including music on Wednesday from 2 pm to 2 am.

Widespread Panic headlines on Thursday. Festival founders The Allman Brothers play Friday and Saturday nights.

And check out this amazing lineup for the festival: Robert Plant & The Band of Joy, Steve Miller Band., Warren Haynes Band, the Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band, Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, Ween, Stephen Marley, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Mike Gordon, Hot Tuna, 7 Walkers featuring Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, Galactic, Taj Mahal, North Mississippi Allstars, Keller Williams, John Popper & The Duskray Troubadours, The Radiators, Big Gigantic, Melvin Seals & JGB, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, The New Deal, Lotus, Dead Confederate, Tea Leaf Green, DJ Logic, Toubab Krewe, Devon Allman’s Honeytribe, Bobby Lee Rodgers Trio, Soul Rebels Brass Band, Guitar Shorty, Dangermuffin, Honey Island Swamp Band, Kevin Hammond, Death On Two Wheels, Jacob Jeffries Band and Griffin Anthony.

festgrrl's word to the wise on Wanee - this fest is CROWDED. Bring your own potty situation if you got one, and a sun shower, too. The showers get nasty and the bath houses quit working generally on the first day. It's all port o lets.

Good News for Wanee

Ticket sales for Wanee, this weekend at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fl., are up 50 percent over last year, says this story in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Great for the promoters!

My advice is make sure you've got what you need when you get there because going in and out will be a royal pain. There is plenty of room at the park for primitive camping, but the later you get there the more you'll have to hike. Still, weather's gonna be fine and the music ---- the music, wow --- stellar!

Wanee Festival Tickets on Sale Today

People get your Wanee tickets today. They are -- ouch! -- $180 (including the service charge,) but you'll be paying $210 at the gate when the fest happens at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park April 15 - 17. Get that credit card out, suck it up, and KNOW you'll be happy you did!

Wanee Lineup is INSANE!

The lineup for Wanee Festival at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park is out and Lord have Mercy it's GOOOD....April 15-18. Tickets go on sale Friday, Jan. 22.

Allman Brothers


Widespread Panic

Gov't Mule

Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi

Bob Weir, Rob Wasserman & Jay Lane are Scaring The Children

Stephen Stills

The Black Keys

Dr. John

Hot Tuna Electric

7 Walkers featuring Bill Kreutzmann & Papa Mali

JJ Grey & Mofro

Johnny Winter

George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic

The Funky Meters

The Wailers

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

North Mississippi Allstars

A Family Affair with Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk (Performing Sly & the Family Stone)

Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band

Chuck Leavell with The Randall Bramblett Band

Particle

Oteil & Kofi Burbridge with the Lee Boys

Col. Bruce Hampton

Devon Allman’s Honeytribe

Scrapomatic

Bobby Lee Rogers Trio

Bonobos Convergence

Wanee Early Bird Tickets Go On Sale Next Week

NICE Warren Haynes photo from the great photographer,music fan, and cool cat Bob Pollack.

My earlier post today gave y'all the heads up about the early bird Suwannee Springfest ticket deadline (Dec. 16)

Early Bird Tickets for Wanee Festival (April 16-17 with an extra pre-party April 15) go on special holiday sale Dec. 14-21. I don't know the price yet.

The Allman Brothers, et al, put on a great fest, and they pack 'em in from all over the country, but it's usually a bit pricey, so save up your pennies or put the tickets on your credit card. I am ever so grateful they are not holding this in June like they did last year, because we all know it is beastly hot in North Florida in June. April should be loverly.

You can get them here

Wanee Review

So that picture above is Tara Nevins from Donna the Buffalo, playing with the Bill Kreutzmann Trio at 2009 Wanee festival in Live Oak, Fl. In a weekend of stellar performances, this one was a standout. Tara sang lead on Grateful Dead classic "He's Gone," and she did a kick-ass job of it, the trio also did one of my fave DTB songs, "...Walking, Talking, too Far from the Light, Living, Breathing, in Colorless Black and White..."

Wanee was a mudfest, but none of the shows were cancelled by weather, amazingly. The crowd was super-giant compared to other Spirit of the Suwannee fests. There was also an abundance of what I call "Bowlegged Whiskey Walkers," some of them fixin' to fight. Mostly peaceful, though, and a hell of a lot of fantastic music! Here's a few show reviews for ya:

The Doobie Brothers - They did some classic old tunes, my favorites were Black Water, Listen to the Music, and Takin' it to the Streets. What struck me was really how great their playing is (and was) beyond just being catchy. Their 70's hair --completely unchanged! -- was hysterical.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - This was my first time hearing Grace, and she ROCKED it! She's a super-sultry bad-ass with the attitude of Marcia Ball, and the sound of Bonnie Raitt and Nora Jones. Her band was impeccable.

The Wailers - Did the entire Exodus album at midnight on Saturday as the show closer.Their sound system was curiously low-fi, but it was awesome to hear those old tunes live.

The Allmans, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi -- This is what the crowd came for, and they delivered -- blistering guitar solos, soulful singing, nice long, fat sets.

Little Feat - Were a disappointment, and I'm a real fan. They seemed bored, and Lowell George's daughter, who had been wailing out lead vocals last year, wasn't with them. The set was predictable and forgettable.

The Radiators - LOVED that New Orleans sound! Ditto Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, I had to sit down after that funk-fest!

Col. Bruce Hampton and the Quark Alliance - Never disappoints! He laid it DOWN with fancy riffs and super soulful vocals. The thing about Bruce is, even though he's been performing for so long, he never seems stale to me. He's just got that funky thing going, deep inside. I had a HUGE smile on my face and a spring in my step!

Arc Angels - Lots of people were loving this band, I was not one of them. Sounded like boring Southern rock to me, I left.

Keller Williams - Was just precious and fascinating to watch his one-man band, plus his very ardent fans.

Umphrey's McGee - One of the best shows of the whole weekend. Their jazzy, jammy riffs were tighter than tight, and they just played the hell out of their afternoon set. Super standout in a weekend filled with Guitar Gods.

I've only got one real complaint -- there were very few sit-ins. With all that talent, I expected a little more cross-pollination among groups. Warren Haynes was stage-skippping for sure, but he was the rare one.

I'll be back next year!

Wanee and Full Moon Fest

BIG WEEKEND!!!!

First off is the amazing Wanee I can't say enough about the off-the-hook lineup for this festival. They've posted the schedule on the site. Thursday night kicks off with New Orleans' kick-ass band, The Radiators, along with a personal favorite of mine, Bobbie Lee Rodgers out of Georgia (of the Codetalkers). Then, my God, a parade of killer music ... Allman Brothers, Col. Bruce Hampton, Derek Trucks, Buddy Guy, Drive By Truckers, Gov't Mule, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Doobie Brothers, Little Feat, the Wailers, Jorma Kaukonen, Keller Williams, Bill Kruetzmann, the Wailers, Ivan Neville, Susan Tedeschi, Lord, that doesn't even tell HALF the story, so go to the link and get the rest of the info.

Wanee ends Saturday night, but there is a special benefit later that day at Spirit of the Suwannee for Zach Deputy, who is one hell of a nice guy and a great player. Somebody ripped off his equipment, so he's raising bucks to replace it. He's a looper like Keller Williams, though his music isn't like Keller's. I LOVED the Deputy show at Bear Creek last year, I couldn't believe how many things he was doing at once. He's funky, he's reggae, he's folky, he's really, really cool.

There are two Zach Deputy shows Sunday, one in late afternoon and another in the evening. The shows are brought to you by the folks at Bear Creek Music festival.

SO.....Get yer butt to Suwannee and rage it!

OK, so if you can't swing the ticket price at Wanee, the kind folks at Farm To Family are holding their Full Moon Fest outside Gainesville. Check the link for the lineup. See previous posts about this groovy little fest that costs $10 to $20, sliding scale.

Wanee in the Summer!

Well now, Wanee Fest has moved to June! Tickets on sale March 7.

And the lineup? Please! It is off the hook! This is gonna be great.

Warning to out-of-staters! JUNE can be hideously hot in North Florida. Of course, we'll all endure, because of the music.

JUNE FEST TIPS:

Bring a sun shower and bungee it to a tree so you can cool off when you stop back at camp to grab a beer

Bring a little portable bottle mister for the blazin'-no trees-field.

Battery powered fan for your tent. I got one that has a magnet that you put on top of your tent and put the fan inside so it is a "ceiling fan." This has made a world of difference!

More later..