Florida Deadhead Has Online Petition to Allow Camping at Chicago Shows

Florida Deadhead Jeremy Davis has started an online petition to Chicago city officials, asking them to allow camping in the parking lots around Soldier Field, where the remaining members of the Grateful Dead and special guests will  play their final three shows July 3-5 in honor of the band's 50th anniversary.

Well HELL YES Jeremy Davis! It's a high bar indeed for folks to swallow both the travel prices, ticket prices, and Chicago hotel prices, and camping would be so ... Deadhead-lot friendly.

Oh we know we will have to endure the insipid media interviews about the 1960s still being alive, blah blah, as reporters wander among the assembled Dead family. But that's the price of hanging on and making history.

Grateful Dead members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann will be joined by Trey Anastasio (Guitar), Jeff Chimenti (Keyboards) and Bruce Hornsby (Piano), and will perform two sets of music each night.  You can get all the details about the shows at dead50.net, and you can see some killer ticket mail order envelope art here.

Take a minute and sign Jeremy Davis' Soldier Field camping petition, won't you?

Finally, a "Florida man" we can be proud of!!

Graham Nash Headlines 30A Songwriter's Festival This Month

The great Graham Nash. Eleanor Stills photo.

The 30A Songwriters Festival  is happening Jan. 16-18 along  coastal highway 30A, in and around the town of Seaside in the Florida Panhandle's gorgeous Walton County.

Graham Nash, Indigo Girls, Leon Russell, Jason Isbell, Shawn Mullins, Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek), Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket), Jeffrey Steele, Chely Wright, Bobby Bare, Jr., Steve Poltz, Angaleena Presley, Over the Rhine, Jesse Harris, Mary Gauthier, Hayes Carll, Bob Schneider, Ellis Paul, Allison Moorer, Toby Lightman, Liz Longley, Deana Carter, Heather Maloney, Peter Karp, Sue Foley and David Ryan Harris are among the 150 artists that play this fest.

This is not a camping fest. You buy a ticket ($237) that lets you in, first come-first serve, to 25 different venues (mostly bars and restaurants) spread out in the area, where the artists will be playing. You'll need a car, a designated driver, and a place to stay.

festgrrl has seen some A-mazing performances at this fest over the years. Additional artists confirmed for 2015 include Vicki Peterson and Susan Cowsill (Psycho Sisters), Charlie Mars, Randall Bramlett, Old Salt Union, Gabriel Kelley, Brigitte DeMeyer, Will Kimbrough, Craig Fuller (Pure Prairie League), Rusty Young (Poco), David Olney, Grant Peeples, Pete Sallis, The Smokin' Novas, David Berkeley, Jeff Black, Crystal Bowersox, Callaghan, Grayson Capps, Adron, Robbie Hecht, Ruston Kelly, Phil Madeira, Mark D. Sanders, Jonathan Singleton, Jeremy Stover, Tommy Talton, Reed Waddle, Daphne Willis, Webb Wilder, Nicole Witt, Alan Rhody, Kyle Jacobs, Joe Leathers, Gretchen Peters, Billy Montana, Season Ammons, Marc Beeson, Cory Branan, Eliot Bronson, Diane Durrett, Griffin House, Ryan Hurd, Jemina & Selina, Jaren Johnston, Ruston Kelly, Tony Lane, Brandon Lay, Emily Lynch, Hunter Phelps, Jameson Rodgers, The Shuggah Pies, Sugarcane Jane, Cooper Carter & the Royal Senders, Hannah Thomas, Pierce Pettis, and Willie Sugarcapps.

If you can't make it to 30A, Graham Nash has five other Florida tour dates -- Jan. 12 in Fort Lauderdale, Jan. 13 in Melbourne, Jan. 14 in Lakeland, Jan. 16 in Fort Lauderdale, and Jan. 17 in Jacksonville. 

And don't forget, that is also the weekend of the Sunshine Blues Fest, happening one day in Boca Raton, Fl. and one day in St. Petersburg, Fl. Grammy winners Tedeschi-Trucks Band headline that fest.

Sunshine Music & Blues Fest Coming Right Up

Blues rockers Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks

Let the 2015 fest season begin!

The powerhouse, Grammy-winning  11-piece Tedeschi Trucks Band headlines the Sunshine Music and Blues Festival happening Jan. 17 and 18 in South Florida. This one-day fest happens twice:  Jan. 17 at St. Petersburg's Vinoy Park, and  Jan. 18 in Boca Raton's Mizner Park. This is not a camping fest, so you'll need to make arrangements for a place to stay. The gates open at noon.

Grace Potter

Also on the bill are Grace Potter, Robby Krieger (from The Doors,) The Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Los Lobos,The Both, (new collaboration between Aimee Mann and Ted Leo,) The Rebirth Brass Band, Matt Schofield, and Sean Chambers.

Rebirth Brass Band

Although the website says general admission tickets are available for $49, I did a check and the cheapest seats I found on Ticketmaster were  $117. There are VIP options as well. 

As in past years, vendors will be available with food and drinks for sale (just in case you didn't get enough over the holidays!)

Have Camping Christmas With Your Festy Friends, Then Rage at the Home Team New Year's Rally.

Zach Deputy will play Saturday night at the Rally

The Home Team New Year's Rally , a camping festival at Maddox Ranch outside Lakeland, will open up a day early next week,  on Christmas Day, for a festy camping gathering of kind friends . More info here.

The fest proper happens Dec. 26-28. Those dates leave you free to catch the various New Year's Eve shows going on throughout the southeast (including Phish in Miami, Widespread Panic in Charlotte, Donna the Buffalo in Tampa, etc.).

Advanced tickets are just $65 for the whole three days ($80 at the gate,) and that includes primitive camping. More details from the promoters are below, after the schedule.

M = Main Stage 
S = Side Stage

FRIDAY:

M 2:45- 3:45 Legacy Orchestra Collective
S 3:45- 4:30 Endless Flow
M 4:30- 5:30 Between Bluffs
S 5:30- 6:30 Fil and Friends
M 6:30- 8:00 The Uncle John's Band
S 8:00- 8:45 Christie Lenee
M 8:45- 10:15 Come Back Alice 
S 10:15 11:00 Grandpa's Cough Medicine
M 11:00- 12:30 The Applebutter Express
S 12:30- 2:00 The Corbitt Brothers Band

SATURDAY:

S 11:00- 12:00 Bath Salt Zombies
M 12:00- 1:00 Shoeless Soul 
S 1:00- 2:00 Rev. D and the New Diggz
M 2:00- 3:00 Serotonic
S 3:00- 4:00 Future Vintage
M 4:00- 5:00 The Juanjamon Band
S 5:00- 6:00 The Funky Nuggets
M 6:00- 7:30 Green Sunshine
S 7:30- 8:15 Holey Miss Moley
M 8:15- 9:45 COPE
S 9:45- 10:30 Displace
M 10:30- 12:30 Zach Deputy
S 12:30- 2:30 S.P.O.R.E.

SUNDAY

S 1:00- 2:00 Jeremy Willis
S 2:00- 3:00 Under the Willow
S 3:00- 4:00 Currentz
S 4:00- 5:00 Ajeva

**Artists at large... Christie Lenee, Clay Watson, Isaac Corbitt, Christian Ryan (http://www.christianryanmusic.com/), Savi Fernandez, John Parkerurban

Here’s what you need to know:


• This is a KID FRIENDLY event, and children 12 and under get in FREE! Kids 17 and under MUST be accompanied by a parent or guardian**
• **VERY IMPORTANT** NO DOGS ALLOWED. The wonderful people at Maddox Ranch are kind enough to allow us to host our event on their property, and we respectfully oblige to their few requests. Thank you in advance for understanding
• No electricity is provided, but generators are welcome as long as they are properly maintained and not disruptive
• RV’s and campers are allowed
• Raised or confined fire pits ONLY! Firewood will be available for purchase on site at the event
• Port-o-potties provided, as well as outdoor showers
• NO outside FIREWORKS
• This is a RAIN OR SHINE event, be prepared for the unpredictable FL weather!
• If interested in vending, please send an email to: hometeamvendors@gmail.com
• Events such as these CAN NOT exist without the help of a good volunteer support system. If you are interested in volunteering, please send an email to: hometeamvolunteers@gmail.com


For any other general questions contact Jenelle Muir, Jillian Melucci or Robyn Alleman. Musicians with questions may contact Cody Bean or Kyle Biss..all via Facebook

Bear Creek Music and Arts Festival: A Soul-Filling Dance Throwdown

Loved the West African Mande Jam! festgrrl photo

It’s a very old tradition: Humans gathering together, playing music, wearing regalia, and dancing in the forest. Maybe that’s why I always feel so renewed when I come back from Bear Creek Music & Arts Festival. It’s ancestry in our bones.

For the ninth year in a row, Bear Creekers showed up in force Nov. 13-16, in costume, freak flags flying, ready to rage it once those funky bass lines caught hold. Some of the best funk players on the planet threw down on the five stages, a banquet that can only be described as musical gluttony.

Luckily, you can stream many of this year’s Bear Creek shows here, thanks to our dedicated tapers. WE LOVE YOU, TAPERS! I've got links to video of many of the performances below, too.

Dani Jaye of Come Back Alice. festgrrl photo

There are a lot of reasons Bear Creek is so special; the love in the crowd, the smiles and hugs people share all day and all night, and watching musicians having improvisational conversations because Bear Creek has more sit-ins and collaborations than most any festival save New Orleans Jazzfest.

It's exciting and relaxing at the same time. Being in the fairy-land 800-plus acres of Live Oak, Florida's Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park helps, too. You can breathe, you can be, you can come as you are.

'Nuff said. festgrrl photo

Standout performances this year included headliners Umphrey's McGee, who delivered two nights of blazingly fast guitar work, deep pocket groove, killer light shows, and a high energy setlist that did not disappoint. (OK, I wasn't all about the Huey Lewis and the News "Power of Love" cover but whatever; I loved The Police "Driven to Tears" cover, so, as my friend says, "You like what you like,") The addition of the horn section from the hot Boston funk band, Lettuce -- a Bear Creek fave --  was especially welcome. You can watch the shows here Friday set 1, Friday Set 2, and Saturday set.

I have to shout out to Brooklyn-based band Turkuaz, one of the best funk bands working today.Check out video of two of the songs they did  here and here.

David Brandwein of Turkuaz. festrggl photo.

Hellishly flat-out power funk with icy-cool hot girl singers, a killer horn section, great bass. They are a phenomenon on stage.

Zach Deputy. festgrrl photo

Zach Deputy brought his mad looper skills, stellar musicianship and big love to the party.You can see his set here.  Locos Por Juana, infectious Latin groove, were also very impressive. Check out one of their song performances at Bear Creek here  The 8-piece Washington, D.C. reggae-funk band See-I absolutely killed it on the ampitheater stage, watch it here. Special shoutout to SoberGoat, who filmed so many of the shows!

Carly Meyers of Yojimbo. festgrrl photo. 

How many ways can you shake your booty over one weekend? Funk heavy-hitters  Dumpstaphunk, The New Mastersounds, and  Lettuce inspired all-out dance frenzies. You can watch The New Mastersounds Friday set here.

Funk and soul band Orgone, out of California, turned out two great performances. They have gone through a few different lead singers, and the current front woman, Adryon de León, is a powerhouse, Tina Turner-esque performer.Highly recommend this band. Watch their show here.  Shout also to Jacksonville's own Herd of Watts, a boogie shaking band to watch.Watch their show here.

 Arleigh Kincheloe,Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds
festgrrl photo.

I was told to check out Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds and I was not disappointed. Lead singer Arleigh Kincheloe has some sly star power and one hell of a voice. I see this band showing up on festival lineups all over the country so I'm psyched to see them again, probably this summer at Floydfest in Virginia.

African Mande Jam. festgrrl photo.

The Bear Creek West African Mande Jam was not well attended (maybe because it was an inside performance on a gorgeous afternoon), and that was a shame, because it was a fantastic spectacle of world musicians that I will never forget. It included members of Benyoro, Kreative Pandemonium,Toubab Krewe, and special guests Balla Kouyaté and Raja Kassis. At one point,  I counted 23 people on the stage.

African Mande Jam. festgrrl photo.

African Mande Jam. festgrrl photo.

Chris Robinson (Black Crowes, Chris Robinson Brotherhood)  partnered up with New York's Soulive for a happy-hour set in the park's beautiful ampitheater. (Nice job covering the Grateful Dead's West L.A. Fadeaway,) You can see the set here.

Green Sunshine. festgrrl photo.

The Alecia Chakour Band brings the angels to Bear Creek. What a voice, what a presence! You may have heard her singing with Warren Haynes, Lettuce, and others.She is amazing.Listen to her set here.

Earphunk out of New Orleans delivered rock-funk fusion on the Forest Stage, pulling out an incredible  Rage Against The Machine "Bullshit on Parade"cover which made the crowd go crazy. You can stream the band's excellent "Sweet Nasty" album here.

The Budos Band. festgrrl photo.

Sit-in stalwarts over the weekend were George Porter Jr,, Grant Green Jr,, Pee Wee Ellis, Jennifer Hartswick, and the original funky drummer,  Bernard Purdie. We so appreciate these masters in our midst. Oh, and let's not forget the 11-year-old guitar phenomenon, Brandon Niederauer, also known as "Taz," the hardest working little man at the fest. Check out his playing on Manic Depression with Soulive here.

Jesus of lettuce, festgrrl photo

It's hard to get to all the music you want to see at Bear Creek, because there's just SO MUCH GOOD MUSIC and that's thanks to our funky curator Paul Levine. THANKS PAUL, for another great one! You are the best!

Paul Levine. festgrrl photo.

Our lovely Spirit of the Suwannee cypress lake. festgrrl photo.

Thanks for all the hugs, all the dances, and all the love, new friends  and old friends. Love y'all, and see ya next time!

Sweet festers and friends. festgrrl photo.

Mr. Bear Creek! festgrrl photo

A Florida Camping Fest for the Holidays

Well now, our festival season just keeps going and going, people! The third annual Home Team New Year's Rally happens outside Lakeland, Fla. Dec. 26-28.

Since this camping festival happens just after Christmas, it leaves you free to catch the various New Year's Eve shows going on throughout the southeast (including Phish in Miami, Widespread Panic in Charlotte, Donna the Buffalo in Tampa, etc.).

Advanced tickets are just $65 for the whole three days ($80 at the gate,) and that includes primitive camping. There are no RVs  or campers allowed at the event, which is held at the lovely Maddox Ranch outside Lakeland. More details from the promoters are below, after the lineup.

The gate opens Friday, December 26th at 10am. 

MUSIC LINEUP

Zach Deputy
The Applebutter Express
CoPe

Come Back Alice
S.P.O.R.E.
Grandpa's Cough Medicine
The Corbitt Brothers Band
Uncle John's Band
Come Back Alice
Displace
Green Sunshine
The Juanjamon Band
Holey Miss Moley
The Funky Nuggets
Future Vintage Band
Rev. D and the New Diggz
Legacy Orchestra Collective
Between Bluffs
Serotonic
Christie Lenee
Shoeless Soul
Endless Flow
Ajeva
Joe Moves
Jeremy Willis
Currentz

Here’s what you need to know:


• This is a KID FRIENDLY event, and children 12 and under get in FREE! Kids 17 and under MUST be accompanied by a parent or guardian**
• **VERY IMPORTANT** NO DOGS ALLOWED. The wonderful people at Maddox Ranch are kind enough to allow us to host our event on their property, and we respectfully oblige to their few requests. Thank you in advance for understanding
• No electricity is provided, but generators are welcome as long as they are properly maintained and not disruptive
• RV’s and campers are allowed
• Raised or confined fire pits ONLY! Firewood will be available for purchase on site at the event
• Port-o-potties provided, as well as outdoor showers
• NO outside FIREWORKS
• This is a RAIN OR SHINE event, be prepared for the unpredictable FL weather!
• If interested in vending, please send an email to: hometeamvendors@gmail.com
• Events such as these CAN NOT exist without the help of a good volunteer support system. If you are interested in volunteering, please send an email to: hometeamvolunteers@gmail.com


For any other general questions contact Jenelle Muir, Jillian Melucci or Robyn Alleman. Musicians with questions may contact Cody Bean or Kyle Biss..all via Facebook

Thank You, Suwannee Hulaween

Michael Kang (left) and Bill Nershi of
The String Cheese Incident (festgrrl photo)

The one word that keeps coming up for me after experiencing the second-annual Suwannee Hulaween is GRATEFUL.

Grateful for the dozens of artists who built the top-notch psychedelic forest for us all to frolic in, grateful for bands that played round the clock, grateful for the beautiful and well-run Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, and especially grateful for The String Cheese Incident, who again showed themselves to be among the most talented and versatile bands in the land.

***Check out a photo album of Suwannee Hulaween peeps here ***

Three nights of playing, and the boys of String Cheese continued to surprise and amaze. The Halloween night "Afterlife" set featured columns of fire, spit out of propane torches in front ot the stage, a disembodied giant projected head of Michael Jackson during a cover of Thriller, acrobatics, and the band dressed in voodoo costumes. Here is the night one setlist, courtesy of our friends at Jambase.

Set 1: Desert Dawn, Rhythm of The Road > Lets Go Outside, Doin' My Time, Betray the Dark > Valley of The Jig > Texas

Set 2 (w/ Antibalas Horns and Rhonda Thomas & Tony White on vocals): Hells Bells (AC/DC), Voodoo (Neville Bros), Zombie (Fela Kuti), Spirits in the Material World (The Police) , Monster (Kanye Rap by Jason), Voodoo Child (Jimi Hendrix) > Black Magic Woman (Fleetwood Mac)

Set 3: Rosie*, Black Clouds > Big Mon > Black Clouds, It Is What It Is, Spirit of Suwannee Jam > Joyful Sound > On The Road

Encore: Miss Brown's Teahouse*, I Saw The Light (Hank Williams)*, Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel)*

And then we were off and running. NIght two featured guest spots bymembers of  Leftover Salmon,Toubab Krewe, STS9, Trey Anastasio band members Jennifer Hartswick and Natalie Cressman. 

Set One: Sometimes A River, Mouna Bowa, Cedar Laurels, One After 909**, Zombie Jamboree**, Windy Mountain > Shine > Colliding > Drums*

Set Two: Best Feeling > Howard, Pack It Up > Shake Your Body Down To The Ground#, Rivertrance > This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody), Outside and Inside

Michael Kang of String Cheese (festgrrl photo)

Encore: Kashmir

Sunday night featured sit-ins by Keller Williams, Nicky Sanders of the Steep Canyon Rangers, and Dominic Lilli from Big Gigantic.

Set One:

Search>Lost>Mouna Bowa>Don't It Make You Wanna DAnce>Pack it Up>Alligator Alley>Franklin's Tower

Set Two:

Let's Go Outside,Black Clouds,Sweet Spot,Birdland,Sirens,Rivertrance,Drums,Swamp,Rivertrance

Encore: Bollymunster

Wow, what a three-day run.

festgrrl spent a LOT of time looking at the art in the Spirit Lake installation, which had, among other things, a two-story tall Buddha metal sculpture that belched fire, a geodesic dome jellyfish swingset, a "sonic forest" where when you waved your hands, each of the "trees" made crazy noises, fire dancers, acrobats, an intricate natural mosaic made of moss, pine cones, mulch, twigs and other small things, a "dragon" made of organic materials that seemed to undulate above and under the ground, trippy light installations, and a huge, elaborate  blacklight mural. And I know I'm forgetting some of the things, it was CRAZY! so grateful.

Below, you can see some of the performances I caught, as well as a look at some of the installations.
Seriously make plans to attend Hulaween 2015. This year had about 8,000 attendees, and it never felt crowded. It just felt FUN.

Suenalo brought the Latin groove from Miami (festgrrl photo)

Suenalo (festgrrl photo)

The Soul Rebels from New Orleans (festgrrl photo)

Soul Rebels (festgrrl photo)

Appalachia Rising (festgrrl photo)

Keller Williams (festgrrl photo)

Appalachia Rising (festgrrl photo)

Grandpa's Cough Medicine (festgrrl photo)

The Spirit Lake!

This breathed fire at night! (festgrrl photo)

Part of the intricate natural installation (festgrrl photo)

The jellyfish swing -- cool lights at night! (festgrrl photo)

Lots o' spots for chillin (festgrrl photo)