Put A Spell on You: Voodoo Experience in New Orleans This Weekend

Neil Young and Crazy Horse headline Friday night

New Orleans hosts an all-star lineup for The Voodoo Experience this weekend -- Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Metallica, Jack White, The Avett Brothers, Skrillex.... and lots more, as you can imagine in this musical city. A 3-day weekend pass is $175, day passes are $90. Some 80,000 people are expected to attend over the 3 days.

This extravaganza takes place in New Orleans City Park, and this year marks the first time that there is camping available for an extra $150-$215 charge. You can't camp next to your car, though, and once you're in, you're in. All sites are primitive. No open fires allowed -- not even tiki torches or grills.

Our friends at Fuse TV have a handy guide to all you need to know for this festival, and the folks at NOLA.com have lots of great info as well.

Here is a look at the lineup:

Neil Young & Crazy Horse The Avett Brothers Kaskade Gary Clark Jr. Bootsy Collins JFK of MSTRKRFT Die Antwoord Nervo The Pimps Of Joytime Say Anything George Porter Jr. & Runnin' Pardners Delta Rae Supagroup Thomas Dolby Infantree Skerik Mike Dillon Johnny Vidacovich CC Adcock and the Lafayette Marquis Beverly Skillz Andy Suzuki Big History COYOTES TBC Brass Band Force Feed Radio

Magnolia Fest 2012 Delivers Great Performances

festgrrl is just back from a lovely Magnolia Fest at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fla., where the vibe was a bit different this year than past Magnolia Fests -- a bit less bluegrass and more soul, rock, blues, and pop. The mix was lovely, and the musicians brought their best to the beautiful park.

Fest stalwarts Donna the Buffalo, Col. Bruce Hampton, Tornado Rider, The Mosier Brothers, Jim Lauderdale, The Lee Boys, Quarter Moon and Sloppy Joe were all represented. But promoter Judy Van zant used her rock n' roll connections to bring in some big guns -- Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, the Jimmy Herring Band, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, the Del McCoury Band, and Little Feat alums Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett. She also brought lots of folks from her hometown of Jacksonville -- the fantastic, bluesy kLob, and JJ Grey and Mofro, to name just two. 

Bonnie Raitt put on a stellar performance Saturday night under a clear sky. The sound was absolutely perfect, and Raitt delivered soulful renditions of new and old tunes with her kick-ass band. As my friend said: "She didn't just sing her hits tonight, she SANG."

The Jimmy Herring Band blew all the guitar-heads' minds in a stirring ampitheater set which featured a spot-on cover of the Beatles' "Within You Without You."

The Honey Island Swamp Band out of New Orleans continues to deliver killer sets, and  -- most appreciated by festgrrrl -- they prepared completely different sets for their two performances of the weekend.

JJ Grey and Mofro have grown up  a lot since their first days at Suwannee, and the now silver-haired JJ Grey owned the main stage early Saturday night with a fat horn section and a glitzy stage show that had the crowd roaring.

With all that talent, there were fantastic all-star jams both Friday and Saturday late-night; and, of course, picking 'til dawn in the campgrounds.

The whole fest was well managed and easy to navigate, smiles all around, a nice crowd in a beautiful place. We are so very, very lucky.

Here are some pics!

All-star jam with Emmylou Harris in the center

Jeff Mosier raging at the all-star jam

My crazy friends

All star jam

AJ Ghent, KILLER lap steel player for Col. Bruce Hampton

Slopryland pumpkin!

Kip Kolb of kLob. This guy is WILD

Sloppy Joe from Wisconsin -- absolutely wonderful

Bonnie Raitt and Emmylou Harris headline our own Magnolia Fest! This week!

One of the many awesome Slopryland pumpkins!

Magnolia fest -- one of the most magical of all the festivals in the southeast -- happens this weekend at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida.

This fest is under new management (Judy Van Zant, widow of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ronnie Van Zant,) and she's bringing in the famous ladies this year -- Bonnie Raitt headlines Saturday night on the Meadow stage (right after  JJ Grey and Mofro and Jimmy Herring Band.) Emmylou Harris headlines Friday in the ampitheater (right after Del McCoury Band.) 

The trippy Mickey Hart Band, featuring Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart, anchors the ampitheater stage on Thursday night. (right after Anders Osbourne.) Donna the Buffalo closes the fest out Sunday night (right after Tornado Rider.) You can see the full, talent-packed schedule here. 

Weekend passes (which include primitive camping) are $165 until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT, then they cost $180 at the gate. (Remember that these very same Magfest passes were available at early bird for a mere $115.) RV sites with water and electric cost extra and you contact the park about that. 

One of the greatest things about Magfest is the lovely camping weather, which makes the pickin' circles extend late into the night. Also, there's Slopryland, the magical campsite after-hours picking world lovingly created by our friends from Wisconsin, irreverent "Slopgrass" pickers Sloppy Joe. 

They show up way before the fest and carve dozens and dozens of artisitc pumpkins, lay in firewood for the all-weekend picking fire, build a cool tiki tent, and hang lanterns all through the trees. Slopryland is at the far side of Rees Lake, the cypress-lined jewel in the lake camping area beyond the ampitheater stage. I really appreciate spontaneous art and effort like this in our musical community. 

Here are some of the other acts festgrrl urges you not to miss:

The New Orleans Suspects -- Members of The Dirty Dozen Brass band, The Radiators, and the Neville Brothers. 'Nuff said.

Flannel Church -- Love this funky blues and New Orleans-style band. It's made up of talented alumni of Col. Bruce Hampton's bands. It is anchored by drummer Duane Trucks -- brother to guitar legend Derek Trucks (Allman Brothers, Tedeschi-Trucks Band.) 

Honey Island Swamp Band -- These guys are absolutely fantastic New Orleans funk and rage. Danceable and fun, fun, fun.

Cope -- Tampa's jam-rockers, insanely talented.

kLob -- Nice soul, funk, rock five-piece out of Jacksonville. Great original tunes. 

And don't forget to make time for the Suwannee River .....aaaaahhhhhh....

And the Beat Goes...

A drumming festival happens this weekend at Camp Kiwanis in Silver Springs, Florida. It's the 21st annual Paralounge Drum Gathering.

International percussion ensemble the The World Beat'nicks, the athletic Tampa Taiko, and celtic tribal percussion ensemble Tuatha Dea are among the headliners. This is a camping festival with some great learning workshops for kids and adults. They have extra drums to borrow if you don't have one -- how nice is that? .

I went to Paralounge when they held it at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida, and it was a really good time - kind folks and the percussion performances were fantastic, with performers showing us drum styles from all over the world. The drum circle was not your usual festival experience -- you know, drunk people who won't go to bed playing badly in the campground when everyone wants to sleep. This was a really good, really spiritual drum circle with dancing and transcendence.

Tickets are $55 for the whole weekend, and that includes primitive camping and an all-night drum circle with a great fire and drum circles. You can also get a day pass for $30.

Gram Parsons Fest This Weekend

The 15th annual Gram Parsons guitar pull and festival happens in Waycross, Georgia at the Okeefenokee Fairgrounds this weekend. Jim Lauderdale and Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys headline.

This country-roots camping and music festival honors the late Parsons, who died in 1973. Parsons is a legendary musician who was a pioneer of the alt-country genre, singing partner to Emmylou Harris, brief member of The Byrds, co-founder of The Flying Burrito Brothers, and a pal of Rolling Stones wild man Keith Richards. He came from Waycross, and they've been honoring this hometown hero for several years now. 

Tickets are $25 a day and include tent camping. If you bring an RV, it's an extra   $30 for the weekend. Kids 12 and under are free.

From The Heart -- Helping Out Our Neighbors

Tallahassee Democrat Photo

Rick Ott and Nelle McCall are wonderful folk who have the From The Heart music recording studio in the little North Florida town of Sopchoppy. They also produce the From The Heart Music Hour specials which showcase local musicians and run on public television.

Unfortunately, Rick and Nelle lost most of their belongings when the Sopchoppy River flooded in Tropical Storm Debby. 

On Saturday, musician friends are throwing a benefit concert for Rick and Nelle at The Moon. Tickets are $10 at the door. 

Performers at this very worthy event include  Labamba, River Breeze with Pam Laws,  Bogazedi,  and the Harvest Gypsies -- all fine local talent. Bogazedi's going to start things off, and the other bands will mix and match from that point on. 

It happens from  6-10 p.m. Saturday. Note: There's no food planned, so eat before or after. See you there!

Jam-O-Rama Rage-A-Thona This Weekend

The Jam-O-Rama Rage-A-Thona  jam and electronica art and music festival happens this Friday and Saturday at Maddox Ranch in Lakeland, Fla.

This is a camping festival put on by Doapbox Radio. You can camp by your car. All sites are primitive. Tickets are $35 in advance here.  At the gate, tickets are $55.

This is a first-time event, and the organizers promise light shows, vendors, and music all night Friday and Saturday. Here's a look at who is playing:

Dopapod
Greenhouse Lounge
COPE
Aquaphonics
Arpetrio
Silo Effect
J2K
Legacy
Auto?Automatic??
Matt Henderson & Invisible Friends
Stone Street
Lucky Costello
Lumagrove
S.P.O.R.E.
Come Back Alice
Conscious Sound System
Riverside Project
Josh We Know
Beard Day
DJ Andrew Blass

If you want to bring in an RV, it costs $18, but your site is still a primitive one. Kids under 15 are free if they come with a guardian or parent. Play safe, ragers!