Jazz and Blues Festival This Weekend in Tallahassee

I posted news of this weekend's  Earth Day Jam yesterday and some folks reminded me that there is yet another music festie in Tallahassee this weekend (gotta love spring!)

It's the Tallahassee Museum's Jazz & Blues Festival. It happens Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 pm. Admission is the same as if you were just going to the museum --   $9 for adults and $6 for younguns aged 4 to 15. If you go Sunday between 11 am and 12 pm, you get in for half price. There will be food, beer and wine for sale.

This is the 20th year for the festival, which  takes place on the beautiful grounds of the outdoor museum, filled with wildlife. The stage is under a nice canopy of trees with a playground close by. It is a wonderful event that features local bands, and a terrific place to take kids.

Here's a quick look at the schedule:


Saturday, April 9

11 am: Thursday Night Music Club (jazz/swing ensemble)

Noon:  Royal Garden Dixieland Band (dixieland)

1 pm:  Quanta (piano based jazz)

2 pm:  Brett Wellman (traditional blues)

3 pm:  Zach Bartholomew Trio (classic and contemporary)

4 pm:  Tallahassee Swing (big band/swing)

Sunday, April 10

Noon:  Swingin' Harpoon Blues Band (Detroit blues rock)

1 pm:  Roadhouse (rock rhythm and blues)

2 pm:  Bogazedi (contemporary blues)

3 pm:  ACME Rhythm & Blues (horn driven blues)

4 pm:  Riverbreeze (fusion)

You can even give blood while you tap your toes-- The Southeastern Community Blood Center will hold its blood drive at the festival on Sunday, April 10, from noon-4 pm. All who donate blood on the bloodmobile, located onsite at the Museum, will receive a free Jazz and Blues tee shirt. Each donation, they say,  saves up to three lives. For more information visit www.scbcinfo.org.

The Earth Day Jam Happens This Weekend in Tally

Now this is going to be a good time for a good cause.

The Earth Day Jam hits the bucolic Bradfordville Blues Club on Saturday, April 9 with proceeds benefitting the Magnolia School.

Tickets are $30.00 at the gate, $20 advance. Kids under 12 are free.


You can go for the day or camp primitive overnight. Don't forget to bring a chair, and they don't want any coolers or pets there, so leave those at home. Libations and food will be sold on site, and there will be lots of environmental groups represented, as well as a solar stage, and free drinking water with biodegradable cups. The gate opens at noon.

Bluegrass pickers The Mosier Brothers headline. Other acts include the wonderful world-beat Gainesville band, 3rd Stone, The Sarah Mac Band, The Swingin Harpoon Blues Band, The Popheads, Trial By Stone, Stranger Still, The Silver Daggers, Eclectic Acoustic, Ital Stew, Bedhead Betty, Sharla June & The Mayhaws, The Wailin’ Wolves, TZ Jonz & The Ontological Elephants, The Electric Government Cheese Band, The Tallahassee Tuba & Euphonium Ensemble, with special after hours performances led by Two Foot Acoustic and renowned Tallahassee bluesman Big Daddy Randall Webster with Red Hot Java. You can check out the schedule here.


Here's what the promoter has to say:

The four Earth Day Jam festival stages are named for the classical elements of the old world: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Bring your camp chair or blanket and enjoy music on three outdoor stages, or slip into the blues roadhouse for a rousing indoor set. The EARTH STAGE will be positioned in an open, gently sloping field on the Blues Club grounds, creating a grassy natural outdoor amphitheater.  The Earth Stage is sponsored by The City of Tallahassee. The AIR STAGE will be positioned in another naturally sloping area under the ancient live oak trees that tower over the grounds.  The Air Stage is sponsored by Leon County "Growing Green". The WATER STAGE will be the famous "corner stage" inside the legendary Bradfordville Blues Club, "the badest little blues roadhouse south of Chicago and east of New Orleans".  The Water Stage is sponsored by The Bradfordville Blues Club. The FIRE STAGE is a pre-existing, permanent stage located on the grounds of the Bradfordville Blues Club beside their popular bonfire pit. The informal, "organic" nature of this stage promises to be one of the more intriguing aspects of the show, as several musicians from the day’s festivities (and other surprise guests) perform in an environment of spontaneous creativity and improvisation.  The Fire Stage is sponsored by J.B. Ritter Sound and Stagecraft.

Most outdoor music festivals sell bottled water, at inflated prices, and the empty bottles pile up! To eliminate the need for plastic bottles which clog our landfills and cause problems down the waste stream, ice cold water will be served FOR FREE at the Earth Day Jam. Buy your biodegradable cup for just one dollar and reuse it throughout the festival. The Earth Day Jam committee is also proud to announce the use of a SOLAR generator this year to power the outdoor stages, backed up by propane - which burns cleaner than diesel or gasoline, reducing the event’s carbon emissions. CELL PHONE AND PRINTER CARTRIDGE RECYCLING ON SITE! Bring your old cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players and toner cartridges to The Jam. Recycling bins will be available to keep your obsolete device out of our landfills and out of the Pacific Gyre.

furthur rocks Atlanta

The Deadhead faithful converged on the unbelievably ornate Fox Theater on Atlanta last night (stars on the ceiling! Egyptian carvings in the bathroom!Fancy loom-woven seat cushions!) for a furthur show that a few folks I talked to said was the best of the Hampton-Charleston-Atlanta run.

I really can find few words for this show, other than you had to be there.... down on the floor, no one sat down and the bamd rolled out one gem after another, impeccably played, with a sublime space jam and Dark Star into Pink Floyd's Time smack in the middle.

The energy in that place was amazing, that's all I gotta say.

Here is the setlist and you check out the audio here.

I: Hell in a Bucket, Cold Rain and Snow, West L.A. Fadeaway, To Lay Me Down, Peggy-O, Ramble On Rose, Samson and Delilah, Deal


II: Iko Iko, Last Time, Wharf Rat > Born Cross-Eyed > Dark Star > Time > Breathe Reprise > Dear Prudence > The Eleven, Lady with a Fan > Terrapin > At a Siding > Terrapin Flyer

E: Brokedown Palace

Only ''To Lay Me Down''; Only ''Last Time''

furthur heads to Florida with shows in Orlando and Boca Raton next!

Punch Brothers Deliver One in Jacksonville

The Punch Brothers delivered a stunning performance last night at the historic  Florida Theater in Jacksonville. It was the avant-garde string band’s first visit to Jacksonville, and their impeccably inventive show drove fans to their feet for at least three ovations.


These classically trained players have serious chops as well as a playful sensibility. With perfect dynamics and an understated performance style, the upright bass, guitar, fiddle, and banjo surrounded Chris Thile, the mandolin madman master in the middle (formerly of Nickel Creek.)

Their two-hour show took fans on a sonic adventure with forays into classical, jazz, power pop, bluegrass, and even a little punk. The Punch Brothers’ quirky, original tunes showcase Thile’s clear, unusual vocals and each player’s virtuoso solos. Their Beatle-esque harmonies soar over complex picking and lightning-fast tempo changes. The effect keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire performance.

The crowd jumped to its feet after the band played a quarter of Thile’s sublime long-form composition, “The Blind Leaving the Blind,” from the band’s record Punch. They played a few innovative covers including "Heart in a Cage"  by The Strokes and The Band's classic, "Ophelia."

At the encore, Thile came out alone and performed a thrilling acoustic solo performance of Bach on the mandolin, saying he simply had to try acoustic in such a grand old theater. An ovation followed.

They continued the encore with the complex pop ballad “Alex,” from the outstanding Antifogmatic album (The New York Times accurately calls it "determinedly radical,") and ended the night with the crowd on its feet again dancing to rousing traditional bluegrass.

The band came out to the lobby after the show to meet and greet fans, which was very sweet. The Punch Brothers hit Savannah tonight and Pensacola on Sunday. If you're nearby, don't miss them.

Furthur Hits the South!

Furthur comes to our neck of the woods next week, with shows in Atlanta, Orlando, and Boca Raton. I know there are still tickets available online for the Orlando show at the UCF Arena.

The show they put on last year in Orlando (at the Hard Rock Live in Epcot, of all places) was one to remember. It wasn't some oldies Dead show. This was a chance for Grateful Dead  players still at the top of their game to strut their stuff with some fine younger additions and take us along for the long strange trip. Phil Lesh anbsolutely KILLED it with his hellaciously jazzy-jammy bass lines.

Some people I know make fun of Deadheads for being grandparents and great grandparents by now. Well screw that noise. How beautiful to see all those ages mixed together at the show, grooving together to some very tasty tunes. To build a community in the 1960s and have it stil vibrant in the 2000s, well, that's a prodigious feat, and one to celebrate.

festgrrl will be celebrating at the Furthur show (with floor seats!) Sunday night at Atlanta's Fox Theater, oh yeah!

Heading Out To See the Punch Brothers

festgrrl is hitting the road this weekend to see sublime musicians The Punch Brothers at the Florida Theater Friday night in Jacksonville. If you haven't bought their album Antifogmatic, you really ought to.

I thought we could warm up with this choice little tune by these seriously talented lads:

A Pickers Paradise

The Tennessee Firearms Perform In the Music Hall

In its 15th year, the Suwannee Springfest festival at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida this past weekend delivered a fresh sound and impeccable organization.

The longtime bluegrass festival was run for the first time this year by Big IV Productions, the team of Paul Levine and Lyle Williams. The duo produce a number of music events and festivals, most notably the funkified Bear Creek festival held at Spirit of the Suwannee in the fall.

There were a lot of worries among the crowd last year that the Suwannee Springfest would change when longtime bluegrass promoters Beth and Randy Judy bowed out. But the worries were for naught. Beth and Randy were present this year, with big smiles. Both hit the stage as performers themselves.

Levine and Williams added a fresh sensibility to the lineup. They had bluegrass legends Larry Keel, David Grisman, Joe Craven, and Jesse McReynolds. They preserved festival faves Donna the Buffalo, Dread Clampitt, Jim Lauderdale, Ralph Roddenberry, Sloppy Joe, Tornado Rider, and the Mosier Brothers.

They also added hot newgrass acts -- The Avett Brothers, Emmit-Nershi Band, The Honeycutters, Danny Barnes, Steep Canyon Rangers, Josh Phillips Folk Festival, Cornmeal, Greensky Bluegrass, and Trampled by Turtles.

The new twists came with kick-ass danceable additions like the funky horn-heavy Motet, the high-energy Holy Ghost Tent Revival, and the absolutely astonishing avant-garde Surprise Me Mr. Davis. Surprise Me Mr. Davis is a super group with singer Nathan Moore, the members of The Slip and pianist Marco Benevento. They delivered, hands down, the best shows of the weekend, and some of the best music I have heard at a festival - period.

What is beautiful is to watch this event grow in new directions while elegantly honoring the traditions that make people return year after year to see their fest families and their favorite acts. Once again, we managed to build a beautiful, loving paradise among the live oaks along the Suwannee.

You can catch some great videos from the weekend here and here and here


Here is a great song by Surprise Me Mr. Davis. Enjoy!