Our friends at
Magnolia Fest, held October 21 to 24 at the beautiful
Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida,have released an initial lineup! Here is their notice detailing who will be playing. It looks like a FINE lineup indeed!
Cornmeal is sure to bring to MagnoliaFest more of their highly-charged & energetic Midwestern newgrass they have displayed in their rapid rise up the festival ladder. This band is one of those that once you hear them, you will come back for more.
Appearing will be
7 Walkers featuring legendary drummer and co-founder of the Grateful Dead, Bill Kreutzmann, together with funky bluesman and voodoo electronic pioneer Papa Mali. 7 Walkers also features bass virtuoso Reed Mathis (Tea Leaf Green, JFJO) and multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard (Willie Nelson and Friends). 7 Walkers recently spent time at an Austin, Texas studio, recording an album to be released later this year. In addition to a brand-new batch of Robert Hunter (Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, NRPS, and Jim Lauderdale lyricist) originals that were co-written with the band, the new album offers up favorites from the Grateful Dead repertoire, Papa Mali originals, and some New Orleans and Southern songbook interpretations. Overall, the result is a fiery and funky collection of tunes that quite brilliantly capture the unique collaboration between these two very different musical shamans.
Wet Willie, after the Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd, was the hardest-rocking of the Southern bands to come to national attention in the early '70s. For seven years, from 1971 until 1978, they produced an enviable array of albums awash in good-time music, rollicking high-energy blues-rock, and white Southern soul, and for their trouble they racked up just one Top Ten hit ("Keep On Smilin'") and a lot of admirers. The band, originally called Fox, got together in Mobile, AL, in 1969 behind the powerful vocals and distinctive sax of Jimmy Hall, with Jimmy's brother Jack on bass and banjo, Ricky Hirsch on lead and slide guitars and mandolin (as well as writing a lot of the songs), Lewis Ross on the skins, and John Anthony (later succeeded by Mike Duke) playing the keyboards. In the 1990s, Wet Willie re-formed around a core of keyboardist John Anthony, guitarist Ricky Hirsch, and Jimmy Hall, with other musicians -- including Smith, Duke, and Lively -- filling out their ranks. Everyone at MagFest will keep on smiling as Wet Willie rocks the amphitheater.
Festival powerhouse
Railroad Earth has built a nationwide following based upon their experience & dedication to solid songwriting and musical craftsmanship. RRE never fails to deliver an exciting live experience anywhere, but they are especially pleased to be playing under the live oaks at the Suwannee.
MagnoliaFest will also present
Keller and the Keels, a configuration which combines two of the most talented, unique, and respected acoustic music talents around in the state of Virginia’s own Keller Williams and Larry & Jenny Keel. Their new recording, Thief, was just named the #1 selling bluegrass album on the Billboard charts and they appear this very weekend at no less than the prestigious Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Bot h Keller and The Keels have graced our stages separately over the years, so we’re very pleased to bring these guys back to share their music and talents with us once again.
Grayson Capps first discovered music in Alabama where his father and friends would sit around the house getting drunk, telling stories and strumming acoustic guitars. They’d run down songs by Hank Williams, Tom T. Hall, Glenn Campbell and Woodie Guthrie to name but a few. Today, the southern troubadour’s live performances are ignited by sanctified
Southern soul, howling back-country stomp and raucous roadhouse blues. Having drawn comparisons to the likes of Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt and Drive By Truckers, we predict Grayson will be a new favorite for MagFest.
Perennial Magfest favorites
Donna the Buffalo will also be returning to MagnoliaFest. This veteran band of roots rockers continue moving forward stronger and more focused than ever on making more meaningful, relevant, and danceable music for the body, mind, and spirit of all ages.
The
Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band consists of dyed‐in‐the wool traditional players with over 100 years of combined live gigging experience. Joining guitarist Peter Rowan are Jody Stecher, mandolin; Keith Little, banjo; and Paul Knight, bass. The ensemble has graced the stages of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Grey Fox, Merlefest, Rothbury and numerous other festivals, entertaining audiences with original songs executed in vibrant harmony.
Col. Bruce has been making his brand of greasy, southern r & b music since he formed his first band way back in 1963. He has been in constant motion ever since with bands like The Hampton Grease Band, The Late Bronze Age, and of course, The Aquarium Rescue Unit. Along the way he starred in the cult classic movie "Outside Out" and also appeared in "Sling Blade." Anytime Col. Bruce is on stage you are sure to remember it -- at times his guitar solos seem as though he is summoning spirits!
Young bluesman
Seth Walker has just completed a move to Nashville, but don’t look for any country from this Texas-based guitar slinger and songwriter when he hits the stage at Magfest. Seth’s latest record has gained him well-deserved recognition everywhere from the West Coast to the Wall Street Journal and all points in between.
Founding members of Blueground Undergrass,
The Mosier Brothers Band brings 30 years of experience to this latest project of alternative Cosmic Americana and bluegrass-laced roots rock. At the helm is electric banjo frontman (and former Phish bluegrass coach) Jeff Mosier (A.K.A. “The Reverend”) along with brother Johnny Mosier on guitar.
Legendary Widespread Panic fiddler David Blackmon underpins the front line, and drummer Jack Watson and bassist Dustin Sargent bring the rock solid array of styles to fill in the eclectic genre-bending arrangements for which the Mosier Brothers are best known. Always high energy and entertaining on ev ery level, each show is like a musical journey.
We wish to recognize the recent release of a new CD from our Florida friends
Dread Clampitt. The new recording “Learnin to Live” features newgrass sensei Sam Bush, who performed with the band on the Music City Roots radio program and at a nearly-sold-out showcase held at the world-famous Station Inn in Nashville recently. Congratulations are in order and we look forward very much to hosting Dread Clampitt again at this year’s MagnoliaFest. Rumor has it that other special guests may be joining DC’s Magfest celebration. Be sure to stay tuned for further information as it becomes available.
Mike & Ruthy, the folk-rock duo formerly of The Mammals, will also join us at MagnoliaFest. They are releasing their new album Million to One on July 27th, 2010. The story behind the making of Million To One is as compelling as the album’s songs themselves. Where most bands limit fan involvement to the occasional live show “stomp, clap and sing-along” and post-show merch table pleasantries, Mike + Ruthy took things a two-step further. They issued a massive fan-list call-out inviting the full breadth of their fanbase to help make what’s being called their “folk-rock masterpiece.” < /span>We bet some of you helped make this record!
The complete lineup of over 30 performers, who will be appearing on the festival’s four stages, will be announced very soon. Discounted Early Bird tickets are on sale now at MagnoliaFest.com, check out the new home for Magnolia Fest.
Stay tuned for our next newsletter announcing the rest of the lineup. Thank you for your time. We appreciate your support and commit to bringing you quality events that feature great music, a joyful community spirit, healing vibes, and that are just plain fun!
Suwaneee Hulaween happens Oct. 31-Nov. 2. This fest is hosted by the incomparable improvisational band, The String Cheese Incident. These cats can PLAY, and they will -- all three nights. Also playing: Emancipator, Conspirator,Steve Kimock & Friends, Suwannee Bluegrass Surprise, Future Rock,Brock Butler, Jennifer Hartswick, Van Ghost, Moon Taxi and Applebutter Express, One of the coolest things about this festival will be the special electric forest light and art installation along the park's already beautiful cypress lake in the campground. The promoters say: "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." So you're going, right? Right?
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