It's New Year's Eve and Black Betty and I are going to celebrate tonight at The Grey Eagle in Asheville (our favorite music venue) with Town Mountain and Acoustic Syndicate (two of our favorite groups).
The following is a list of many of the bands that we saw in 2011. We were fortunate indeed to see most of them numerous times. As I said last year, "There were so many incredible shows, so much inspiring music!"
Once again I would like to thank all the outstanding musicians who helped to make our year so incredibly fun and filled with great tunes.You know that we love you! I'm hoping for a repeat in 2012!
Black Betty and I packed up the little pop-up and cruised on down to the lovely Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park for the 15th Annual MagnoliaFest last week. We arrived in time to set up camp in the usual great spot, find a few Festivarian friends, and head down to the amphitheater stage in time to catch a few of the Thursday night acts.
Col. Bruce Hampton and the Pharoah Gummitt tore things up with their bluesy rock. We love this band featuring Nick Johnson on guitar, Kevin Scott on bass, and Duane Trucks on drums. Col. Bruce even channeled the late great Howlin' Wolf during a blistering cover of Smokestack Lightning.
Next we saw 7 Walkers featuring Papa Mali, Bill Kreutzmann, George Porter, Jr and Matt Hubbard. We had first seen them a year ago at Magfest and have been listening to their killer "swamp-a-delic" jammy bliss ever since. 7 Walkers thoroughly lit it up and warmed the cool night air and played for nearly three hours. They performed many of their own Robert Hunter penned songs and several Dead covers including Sugaree, Bird Song, He's Gone, I know you Rider and encored with New Speedway Boogie. What a way to start out MagFest! As an added bonus we got to meet and talk with Matt Hubbard who stood in the long coffee line with us before the show.
Papa Mail and Bill Kreutzmann of 7 Walkers
Friday, we enjoyed a leisurely morning around camp before heading over to the amphitheater to catch the Mobile Alabama rocker, Grayson Capps.
Friday night, we managed to catchthe jamgrass allstars Railroad Earth who encored with a crowd pleaser, Bird in the House. The Travelin' McCourys and Keller Williams seemed to be a perfect match for each other playing some great tunes from both the McCoury's traditional roots and Keller's more contemporary side (Oh, yes, they played the Port-a-Potty song). Keller / McCoury set on Internet Archive
We also walked over to the new mega-stage at the meadow for the big Lucinda Williams show. It was actually the first time that we saw Lucinda. She has a great band but otherwise maybe more "super-star" status than I'm used to in my local live-music scene.
There was lots of other great bands playing on Friday including: Dread Clampitt, Steel Pulse, Galen Kipar Project, Sloppy Joe, The Corbitt Brothers, and moe.
Grayson Capps
Railroad Earth
Saturday afternoon, Mr Americana himself, Jim Lauderdale, entertained the crowd at the amphitheater with various guests joining him on stage including the Infamous Stringdusters. The Lee Boys featuring the incredible Roosevelt Collier on pedal steel got the meadow rocking. Victor Wooten jammed on bass and provided every one there with a rhythm lesson. By this time if you weren't off your seat and on your feet there was something bad wrong.
Jim Lauderdale joined by The Infamous Stringdusters
Lee Boys with Victor Wooten
The defining moment of the weekend revealed itself to me when Bela Fleck joined Cornmeal for an unbelievably sweet-jam-bliss-eighteen-minute-long Shady Grove. Man! Allie, Kris, and Bela absolutely transcended the physical realm on that one! Wavy Dave really brought it on too and holds his own against the banjo guru! I couldn't believe that I was in the right place at the right time and got to video the whole damn thing! Talk about good karma! I'll get to re-experience this moment for years to come!I still get goose bumps when I watch it.
Cornmeal
Donna the Buffalo played Saturday night on the meadow stage. It was strange to have them so far above and beyond the audience. It's really not the whole Donna vibe. They were absolutely great though. They even started on time if you can believe that. I think it may have something to do with Dave McCracken doing the sound check. And talk about McCracken, is there a better keyboard guy around? Jeb and Tara have really put themselves together a hard driving boogie-groove machine with this rhythm section. Jeb talked some about the state of the nation (as he should) and about the Occupy Wall Street movement. He sang about loving life and the life of the living in a song called All Aboard. Most of all it was just a great Donna show; all about feeling good, feeling the love, singing the words, and dancing! They encored with Hot Tamale Baby before they were booted off stage by the stage manager who was in a hurry to set up for moe. Donna The Buffalo set on Internet Archive
Donna The Buffalo.
Saturday many other bands played including the New Orleans Suspects, Papa Grows Funk, The Mosier Brothers, Grandpa's Cough Medicine, and moe. Sunday schedule included Acoustic Ensemble, The Lee Boys, The Mosier Brothers, Jim Lauderdale, Cornmeal, and Donna the Buffalo.
moe
Magfest Vibes:
As always the camping was sweet. We had some pretty chilly overnight temps in the high 30's so it was good snuggling weather.
The best part of the festival is always reuniting with our festival friends. We were happy to be able to spend time with them. We missed the ones who were unable to make it.
The Meadow Stage now seems to be the main stage. This makes sense to some extent but it seems to be mighty damn big and far away. The sound is absolutely spectacular though.
I see the food vendors are back to taking cash instead of those stupid tickets. I bet they are glad about that.
We liked that the shows started later and the bigger shows at night were staggered so you didn't have to decide who you would see or miss.
We didn't seem to be able to see enough of our old Magfest favorites.
We were bummed that we couldn't stay for the Sunday shows. They are usually our favorite part of the festival especially the Donna and friends jams. We both had to work on Monday with a seven hour drive home.
Boogie Cat was in attendance but was off his boogie!
The apple crisp at Sweet Revenge Cafe is still the best!
Black Betty and I really enjoyed Music On The MountainTop once again this year. It was held at a new location at Grandfather Campgrounds In Foscoe, NC about 10 miles outside of Boone. The venue was very scenic, beautiful, and appropriate and may make a nice home for the future of this festival if they work a few little bugs out.
Once again the lineup was stellar. We got there early on Friday afternoon and set up camp near the Wautauga River. After a little afternoon soaking rain shower (it really knocked the dust down), we headed to the little and remote third stage to see two of our favorite North Carolina bands, The New Familiars and Town Mountain. Unfortunately the stage was experiencing problematic technical sound difficulties through TheNew Familiars set and they finally unplugged, came down into the audience, and played their last couple of songs to the delight of the crowd. You've got to love this band, this is exactly the kind of festival memories that really stay with you and keep you coming back!
We next went to the Main Stage area (Main Stage and Side Stage sat pretty much side by side) and caught Sol Driven Trail, Acoustic Syndicate, and Railroad Earth. This is when things started getting dicey, weather-wise. The sky grew increasingly dark and threatening through Sol Driven Train's set and by the time Acoustic Syndicate came on the rain was pouring down. Acoustic Syndicate sounded really GOOD! They started off appropriately with Water of Love as the crowd danced in the cool rain. Sadly, after just about five songs, nearby lightning forced the end of the set.
After the hazardous weather passed, Railroad Earth came out and performed their hot and jammy tunes. They were just really getting cranked up when the clock hit 11 pm and the sheriff rode up on a golf cart and signaled "cut-it off" and that was it. The boys came out to the edge of the stage and played one last tune unplugged, but that was it for the night. This place had a very strict and enforced noise ordinance! Eleven o'clock on Friday night in Foscoe is as wild as it gets!
Saturday, we hung out at the Main Stage area and checked out tons of good music; Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band, Do it to Julia, Greensky Bluegrass, Infamous Stringdusters, Sam Bush, and 7 Walkers.
Hurricane Irene was hitting the Atlantic coast on Saturday, and although we were in the far mountains of western North Carolina, we experienced high winds all day. The bands really toughed it out and took it all in stride. At one point during the Sam Bush show, they had folks holding amps in place to keep them from blowing over and they had to tape the drum set to the stage floor.
All the music was great and 7 Walkers with Papa Mali and Bill Kreutzmann finished the night out right. Talk about your swamp-a-delic rock and roll, they have got it down and do it up right! Besides performing various original Robert Hunter penned 7 Walker songs, they did a few Papa Mali covers and the Grateful Dead's Cosmic Charlie, I Know You Rider, and Wharf Rat. (I really loved their Wharf Rat!) As an added twist to 7 Walkers, they had Kirk Joseph (Dirty Dozen Brass Band) on sousaphone sitting in as bass. I'll bet that sousaphone was hard to hold up on stage in the 40 mph winds!
Of course, we were still in Foscoe so the music once again came to a screeching halt at 11 pm. Papa Mali stated that he'd love to stay and play for several more hours, but alas!
Black Betty, Aimee, Todd Sheaffer, and M Diddy
Black Betty at the Main Stage Area.
Right On:
The music, the lineup, the vibe, the camping, the price, the mountains.
Always a nice crowd. Plenty of clean port-a-johns.
You can bring your own cooler with your own beer and purchase a $10 wristband to drink.
Lots of Outdoor gear and Eco-oriented sponsors.
The best Appalachian-hippie-kids-eco-Mother Earth parade this side of Middle Earth.
This is a great little festival which donates part of their proceeds to a couple of meaningful causes, Appalachian Voices and The Mountain Alliance.
Read more info about this on their website MusicOnTheMountainTop
Near Misses:
I didn't see the need for a third stage. They actually had a really cool and educational Eco-Village set up there and this area was somewhat remote from the Main Stage Area. Several good bands played and much of the crowd never sauntered over there to enjoy them. It seemed to me that there was ample room in the big field for the Village and the extra bands could be dropped or added earlier in the day to the big stages.
There did not seem to be any clear Ingress and Egress into the large Main Stage Area. I don't know where you went in at, but I and hundreds of others had to walk through a campsite, squeeze past a tent, and walk through a narrow opening between vendors. It was very hazardous and haphazard.
The bands (especially the headliners) did not get enough playing time. The sets were way too short, both the fans and the bands seemed short-changed. Eleven pm is a ridiculously early ending time for outdoor live music. If it must be that way let the bands start earlier and jam longer. It really is about the music!
Boohoo, no Caroline Pond, Snake Oil Medicine Show, or Larry Keel this year!
2010 proved to be another great year for live music. Black Betty and I were fortunate enough to see many of these groups numerous times each. There were so many incredible shows, so much inspiring music!
We love each and every musician who poured it on and ripped it unselfishly in order to aid us in our never ending quest for spiritual growth through boogie woogie enlightenment and rock n roll endarkenment!
The new 7 Walkers CD is finally released today. After seeing 7 Walkers (Bill Kreutzmann, Papa Mali, George Porter Jr. and Matt Hubbard with Robert Hunter penned songs) at MagnoliaFest and streaming them on Internet Archive, I am more than excited about hearing the studio album. You should be too!
Besides, how could a guy with a blog name like Hometown Hiker not appreciate a band called 7 Walkers?
Here is a superb review from Dennis Cook on JamBase:
7 Walkers (arriving November 2 on Response Records) is the most organic, original music to come out of the core Grateful Dead alumni since the passing of Jerry Garcia. It's worth getting right down to brass tacks since 7 Walkers goes for the creative jugular in such a lusty, exuberant manner. With richly imaginative lyrics penned by Dead scribe Robert Hunter, the band is comprised of percussion master Bill Kreutzmann, psychedelic blues rock marvel Papa Mali, New Orleans funk pioneer George Porter, Jr. and multi-instrumentalist & longtime Willie Nelson collaborator Matt Hubbard. Even on paper this quartet is lethal, but that's nothing compared to the roiling energy when they come together in the flesh. With their collective pedigree, there's an enormous pool of possibilities and their self-titled debut reflects all their swirling undercurrents AND coalesces into fascinating new shapes, fresh colors forming on the surface of things as dark, interesting eddies move below. Put another way, there's something powerful and primal and beautiful going on in the music of 7 Walkers. Read entire article here.
Black Betty and I grooved our way through another great Magfest at the Spirit of the Suwannee music park this weekend. Perfect weather, a full moon, and a kick-ass music line up all came together to create one special and unforgettable Magfest.
Thursday night alone was worth the trip just to see the energetic and exhilarating performances by Cornmeal and Railroad Earth. We were psyched up to see both groups, listening to RRE's new CD and the Internet archive's Cornmeal show from Springfest on the drive down from North Carolina. Yes, Allie Kral and Tim Carbone joined each other on stage during the Cornmeal show (as predicted by festivarian, Melanie) and duelled with their deadly fiddles to the delight of the crowd.
Once again, Jim Lauderdale and Donna The Buffalo rocked Mag like they were on fire! There is nothing like dancing to Donna while Uncle Jim sings his heart out. And what about Dave McCracken on keys? Wow! Like I said on my SpringFest report, this guy fuels the jam.
Of course, we're big Keel fans around the Hometown homestead and I must say that Keller and the Keels had a huge show Saturday night playing most of the songs from their new CD Thief and a few from their older Grass. They were definitely a crowd favorite. There was an odd moment when Peter Rowan joined them on stage and appeared to have forgotten how to play his guitar!
7 Walkers, the super group featuring Papa Mali and Bill Kreutzmann was everything that I thought it would be, jammy New Orleans meets Grateful Dead meets Magfest. It was my first time seeing Papa Mali live, and I can tell you, he sure can play one mean guitar. They played a few old Dead songs (including "Sugaree") and some new Robert Hunter-penned 7 Walker songs. What can I say? We loved it and can't wait until the CD is released.
Magfest Vibes:
We managed to miss several bands that we wanted to see, bummer! You just can't see them all.
Mike and Ruthy were better than ever with their Folk City Band. We love their new CD.
The Turtle Duhks always steal the show, how can you not love Leonard and Lydia?
Bobby Miller and The Virginia Dare Devils, 18 South, Sloppy Joe, Peter Rowan, and Sam Bush played their hearts out for us. We loved them all!
Jeff and Johnny Mosier were hot, hot, hot! The Rev laid his "ole love" on us--may we all find that love! Talk about karma, their new CD arrived in time to be released at MagFest! David Blackmon on fiddle..... man!
I didn't remember Wet Willie being as funky and soulful as they are. I actually expected to be disappointed by them; instead, I was pleasantly impressed! Steamy stuff!
Joe Craven inspired us with his talk of enlightenment, growth, change, and courage. This guy is the true Renaissance man.
As always the camping was sweet; Gnometown was our oasis.
It was wonderful to see the old friends who could attend and it was sad that several were unable to make it.
The apple crisp at Sweet Revenge was as good as ever. I ate it all weekend.
If you ever get a chance, be sure to hop aboard the Hopryland bus!
There was talk of this being the last MagnoliaFest. Founders Beth and Randy Judy are not producing the 2011 Suwannee Springfest in March. I'm not in the loop, so we'll have to see what happens.
There seems to be too much momentum here to let it end here!
The lineup looks really good so far for MagnoliaFest 2010. I know that Black Betty and I are stroked and stoked to see it up and posted after the small turn-out for Suwanee SpringFest this year. I must say that I am intrigued by the joining of Bill Kreutzmann and Papa Mali in 7 Walkers, especially knowing that Robert Hunter has penned a number of songs specifically for them. No way am I going to miss that show.
Railroad Earth, hell yes! The jam is always sweeter when the train comes to town! Keller and Keels, awesome new album, see them every chance we get! Donna the Buffalo, Peter Rowan, can we have MagFest without them? I think not. Cornmeal, Col. Bruce, how about a fantasy jam with Allie Kral and the Quark Alliance? Jeff and Johnny Mosier, we love them guys around here. Can't wait to see them again! Dread Clampitt, hot, hot, hot! Mike and Ruthie are one of our all time favorites. We are so happy to be able to see them back in Suwanee!
So far, so good. I can't wait to see what else MagFest has in store for us!
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