Suwanee Hulaween Announces New Artists

Suwannee Hulaween, the new festival happening Halloween weekend at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fla  just added some new acts. 

In addition to headliners The String Cheese Incident (our hosts, playing 3 nights,)  organizers have added to the roster, and here it is:

STS9 (late night)

Big Gigantic (late night)

Emancipator

Conspirator

Steve Kimock & Friends

Suwannee Bluegrass Surprise

Brock Butler

Future Rock

Moon Taxi

Van Ghost

Jennifer Hartswick

Applebutter Express

And listen to this delicious descrption of a light-art installation that will be happening around the park's already beautiful cypress lake:

Set in the midst of 800 acres of Spanish moss-draped oak and cypress along the Suwannee River, SOSMP is one of the most beautiful live music venues in the country. During Suwanee Hulaween the space will transform into the first rendition of the Spirit Lake Promenade, a visual arts extravaganza never before seen at SOSMP.  Fans can expect an epic fusion of dazzling lights, art installations and performance art that morphs the Spirit Lake waterfront and adjacent forest into a vivid dream-like space that fully engages the senses. Working with some of the Southeast's most talented sculptors, fire/metal workers, painters, performance artists and lighting designers, the Spirit Lake Promenade will also host a Silent Disco and other astonishing Hulaween creations. “I'm extremely thrilled and honored to have been brought on as the Art Director for the Spirit Lake Promenade 2013! It's a very exciting project on a remarkable chunk of land. My intention is to bring the local art community together in a way that unifies us all creatively while blowing people’s minds,” said Andrew Carroll.

Tickets are currently available or $163 including all taxes and fees but prices will go up soon. Stay tuned for info on Ultimate Incident VIP Packages and additional details. To join the wait list for cabins, golf cart rentals and RV hook-ups, please contact SOSMP at 386.364.1683. 

The Flaming Lips

The Blackwater Music Festival hits Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fl. this weekend. This fest draws a youngish crowd, with electronica acts STS9, Girl Talk, Eoto and Ghostland Observatory on the top of the bill.

Tickets are $165 through Wednesday, and $180 at the gate. That includes free primitive camping. (You could have bought 3-day tickets in May for the bargain advanced price of $110.)

You can get a one-day pass (no camping) for $40 Thursday, $60 Friday, and $70 Saturday.

The headliner is the incomparable psychedelic band The Flaming Lips, which puts on one of the best live shows on Earth. If you watch the excellent documentary about the band, Fearless Freaks, you'll learn that they used a motorcycle running on stage in tiny dive clubs to get a smoke-on-the-stage effect.

These days they have all the stage toys they can handle -- a plastic bubble to roll over the crowd with, clever cameras, confetti machines -- I'm writing this and it doesn't sound nearly as awesome as it is. Trust me, this will be one of the best live rock shows you will ever see.

Here's a little interesting video story about their shows featuring lead singer Wayne Coyne.

Report from Blackwater Music Festival

The first-ever Blackwater festival was an intimate treat for those of us who braved August weather to jam at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park. And get this --- it wasn’t all that hot after all. Overcast skies and a light sprinkle off and on for most of the weekend kept things cool. The small crowd made getting around and getting close to the stage easy, and with the river and the pool close by, it was paradise.


Kudos to the schedulers for keeping music on the shady stage for most of the day and moving to the meadow at night. Electronica masters  STS9 headlined Thursday night with a booming bass and light show that rocked to the early morning.

Most people I talked to thought Michael Franti and Spearhead put on the standout show of the weekend, taking it from folk to funk to reggae to rock and back again. Franti always wows everyone by coming off the stage and performing in the middle of the crowd. He also won us all over when he asked little kids to join him on stage for “Hello Bonjour” and they all rocked out adorably.

Galactic with Cyrus Neville laid down some hard New Orleans funk Saturday night that simpluy can't be beat. Particle with Michael Kang had folks braving a steady downpour in the Meadow field. JJ Grey did an acoustic set in the ampitheatre and a second set in the Meadow with Mofro. Unfortunately, he did mostly the same songs, which was a disappointment, since the crowd is pretty much the same at each show.

The Disco Biscuits had a uber-sweaty danceathon set with a killer laser light show Saturday night in the ampitheatre stage – and all the oaks in there amplified it beautifully.

Here’s the Band to Watch: Snarky Puppy They had a daytime set on the too-sunny porch stage which hardly anyone showed up for -- and it was fantastic driving, jazzy, jammy magic. You'll be able to see them play again at Bear Creek Music and Art Festival Nov. 12-14, also held at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak., Fl.

Hopefully this fest will return next year. My advice is: Go!

Here is a slideshow posted by LiveMusicShots, thanks! Here's another one they posted of the STS9 show.

Blackwater Bound

Heading out today for the Blackwater Music Festival at Spirit of the Suwannee in Live Oak, Fl. One of the performers festgrrl is most happy to see is Florida's own JJ Grey and Mofro -- who dropped their fifth CD, Georgia Warhorse, on August 24.

Mofro has had their own Blackwatrer Sol Review the last two summers in St. Augustine. So pleased to have them at Suwannee, and for two sets -- one a JJ solo set Friday from 4:30 to 6 p.m and  one with the whole band 8-9:30 on Saturday.

Many of you have complained it's too hot to fest now in North Florida. Come on,y'all, there's a cold river, a cold pool, and a shaded stage at Spirit of the Suwannee. Bring your bathing suit, your fan,  and your cold beer and come on witchyo bad self! Support these fantasitc performers coming all the way here to rage with us! See you there.

Here is a very positive review of the new Mofro CD from Iowa of all places...

The Daily Iowan
CD Review: JJ Grey and Mofro




BY JASON M. LARSON
AUGUST 24, 2010 7:20 AM

There are few albums these days that just make me want to listen to it over and over again. The fifth release from JJ Grey and Mofro, Georgia Warhorse, does exactly that and more.



In addition to the quality of guests Toots Hibbert and Derek Trucks, the music and narrative lyrics have an incredibly powerful presence. The group's previous releases, which include Orange Blossoms, Country Ghetto, Loochloosa, and Blackwater, all had this same Southern-blues feel but not to this degree.



Some of the sound comes from where the album was recorded.



That place is Retrophonics Studio in St. Augustine, Fla. The equipment used is described as vintage, which fits the style of the music and of Grey himself. The studio is owned by Jim DeVito, a large man whose MySpace profile picture looks like that of a biker-gang lord.



The album, released on Chicago blues label Alligator Records, starts out with a funky tune called "Diyo Dayo." With a wailing harmonica and backup vocals, it gets the head bobbing and feet tapping.



Listeners get a sense of being in a smoky Florida bar with the music pumping loudly, drinks pouring, and gators outside trashing around in the water with prey in their mouths.



It moves on to a slower seven-minute long ballad called "King Hummingbird" that makes you want to grab your girl and slow dance. Its acoustic guitar displays real soul mirrored not only in the lyrics but also in Grey's singing.



The song "The Sweetest Thing" features the soulful voice of Hibbert, who was also on local reggae group Public Property's latest album, Work to Do. Hibbert is one of Grey's biggest heroes and influences.



As the album progresses, more of JJ Grey & Mofro's talent comes out. The lyrics themselves are written like narratives that display Grey's ability as a storyteller. The music flows in and out of upbeat and slower tunes that are fit for a swamp king. Guitarist Trucks helps close it with the song "Lullaby," a slow psychedelic-blues song that builds up and up until it comes to a slow and steady stop. Truck's signature slide guitar is so apparent that it creates an epic ending to a great album.

Iowa's jazz station, 88.3 FM KCCK, recently had the album as its Saturday night "Midnight CD," a program that showcases a new album in its entirety. The program aired directly after "Da-Blues with Bob DeForest," an Iowa Blues Hall of Famer.



JJ Grey & Mofro's great cult status is now in danger after the release of the group's latest album. Georgia Warhorse raises the bar so high, the rest of the world may just start to notice this slowly rising star. Over the past decade, the group has been increasing its fan base show by show.



Some locals may remember when the group played in Iowa City at the Yacht Club in July 2008. Owner Scott Kading does, and he has told The Daily Iowan the group is his favorite band. He discovered JJ Grey & Mofro while on the Internet and stayed online for hours listening to its music. Kading loved it so much he wanted the group the play at his club.



"It took over five years to book one of the coolest shows ever," he said. "Love the swamp funk."

First-Ever Blackwater Music Festival in August!

So, yes, it is hot as Hades in North Florida in August. But our good friends behind the new Blackwater Music Festival , Aug. 26-28 at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fl. are luring us with a stellar lineup.

BUY 3-day EARLY BIRD TICKETS BEFORE JULY 4 for $125 (That's $50 off the $175 it will be at the gate.)

They assured festgrrl that they will schedule shows later in the day (so we can all go play in the river during the scorching hours) and that they will have misting tents to keep us chill, mon.  Roasty toasy steamy dancin' in the woods!

So, I'm down with it. The lineup is Sooooo worth it: Disco Biscuits, JJ Grey and Mofro, Toubab Krewe, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Galactic, Slightly Stoopid, STS9, Perpetual Groove, Matt Grondin Band, G-Love , Zach Deputy and more -- its fantastic, y'all!

Festgrrl tip: Bring along a baby pool for the campsite instead of a fire pit, plus lots o' fans and a bike to make trips for more ice at the store.

And don't hate me 'cause my hippie van's got A/C. You can come visit.