While looking back and reviewing all my YouTube videos and blog posts from this past year, I am beginning to realize that 2013 emerged as a pretty terrific year of live music for the Hometown gang. Black Betty and I were joined by family and friends to boogie to some of the best music ever, played by many of the most talented artists in the world. As I have said before, "There were so many incredible shows, so much inspiring music!" Here is a list of many of the incredible bands that we were fortunate enough to see in 2013:
Donna The Buffalo, Railroad Earth, Cooking With Quanta, Town Mountain, Greensky Bluegrass, Danny Barnes, Willie Nelson, Apple Butter Express, Peter Rowan, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, The Traveling McCourys, John Prine, The Duhks, Jeff Sipe Trio, The Freight Hoppers, The Horse Flies, The Deadly Gentlemen, Solas, Tornado Rider, Col. Bruce Hampton, Ralph Roddenbery, Bibb City Ramblers, Keller and The Keels, Keller and Traveling McCourys, Taylor Martin Acoustic Band, Mavis Staples, The Corbitt Brothers, Jim Lauderdale, The Brothers Comatose, Stephen Marley, Drive By Truckers, Todd Sheaffer, Rayna Gellert, Strung Like A Horse, Grandpa's Cough Medicine, Darol Anger, Elephant Revival, Kris Kristofferson, Lizzy Ross Band, The Hackensaw Boys, Bobby Miller, Heavy Pets, Mamajowali, Apple Chill Cloggers, David Via and Curtis Burch, Scythian, The Stacks, Vagabond Swing, Leftovers Salmon, Jerry Douglas, Dread Clampitt, Yonder Mountain String Band.
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!
Black Betty and I were thrilled to see one of our favorite bluegrass groups, Town Mountain on the lineup for Del Yeah! over Labor Day weekend in Black Mountain. I managed to shoot this clip of Town Mountain joined by Andy Thorn (banjo) and Tyler Grant (guitar) of The Emmitt Nershi Band.
Asheville's Town Mountain consists of Robert Greer (vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter); Jesse Langlais (banjo, writes a large part of Town Mountain’s original material and sings tenor and baritone); Barrett Smith (bass, guitar, vocals); Phil Barker (mandolin, vocals); and Bobby Britt (fiddle).
Black Betty and I had a great time of fun and music (and nothin' but fun and music) at the Music on the Mountain Top Festival in Boone, NC on Saturday. We spent the day with our favorite groups Snake Oil Medicine Show, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, Acoustic Syndicate, Toubab Krewe, Sam Bush, and Railroad Earth. They rocked us like we needed to be rocked. We're some happy Festivarians, indeed!
Here are the fabulous Pond Farm Pickers performing the high octane bluegrass standard Hangman at The Keel Family Function this spring. Featuring Caroline Pond on fiddle, Andrew Pond on banjo, and George Pond on bass.
We always look forward to the rockin', swingin', funky, bluegrass of Dread Clampitt when we head south to Suwannee Springfest. This great grass band from Walton County, Florida knows how to lay down the boogie-woogie. It's as if your feet and hips move under their own volition. There's no scense in trying to control it, the boogie is deep inside you and Dread Clampitt is gonna get it out!
We are back home from a 798 mile round trip to a scaled-back and down-sized Suwannee Springfest.
Black Betty and I arrived Thursday afternoon and were soon set-up in Gnometown and reunited with fellow friends and Festivarians. A rain blew through the area for a few hours on Thursday evening but otherwise the weather was perfect for a weekend of camping and live music.
Thursday night we walked down to watch the Tornado Rider spectacle at the Ampitheater stage and then discovered that the Dirty Dozen Brass Band was moved to the Music Hall stage. We decided that we really didn't want to fight the indoor crowd in the little Music Hall, so unfortunately, we missed the DDBB.
Friday morning, storytelling blues singer Roy Book Binder started us out with his great tunes and insightful tales of the classic blues masters. Crowd favorites newgrass band Dread Clampitt and the fabulous Mosier Brothers, with fiddle-monger David Blackmon, got the crowd rocking. Next, the jazzy Belleville Outfit, featuring the talented Phoebe Hunt on violin, introduced themselves to the Springfest Friday afternoon crowd and gained lots of new fans with their unique style of Americana roots music.
Friday evening we caught Texas song writer Robert Earl Keen (first time live for me) and then danced the night away with a turbo-charged Donna the Buffalo. I must say, at this point, that keyboardist Dave McCracken has totally fired this band up. They are playing HOT HOT HOT right now inspired by McCracken's jammy-fueled organ engine!
The show I was excited about on Saturday morning featured songwriters Jim Lauderdale, Shawn Camp, Peter Rowan, and Verlon Thompson. Jim and Verlon had us laughing, Shawn had us crying, and Peter had us all flying high in the Free Mexican Airforce. These four guys are all master song craftsmen, and it was, a pleasure and an honor to hear them share their music.
Saturday night we were introduced to the bluesy and soulful Ruthie Foster during a disappointingly short one- hour set. It was a shame to have such a talented heavy-hitter on stage for such a short time. We were just getting to know her.......
Slam grass, boogy band Leftover Salmon performed the big show on Saturday night. They didn't disappoint either. Vince Herman, Drew Emmitt, and the band were totally fired up and burned down the house. It was a great finish for the day, and we returned to Gnometown exhausted and ready to sleep.
Somewhere in there we manged to see the wonderful Turtle Duhks and Jonathan Edwards (I seem to know every word to all of his songs). Disappointingly, we missed 18 South who received rave reviews by everyone to whom I spoke. Also, we were bummed that Jessee Havey was unable to attend due to the current border skirmish with our neighbor to the north, Canada. Somehow we also managed to miss Scythian this time but did get a great photo of Black Betty with Josef. We'll catch them next time.
We couldn't stay for the Sunday show. We had to head back to Cackalacky. Bummer!
Sweets: kids and families, Boogie Cat, friendly, good vibe, small crowd, one damn hot Donna the Buffalo,
the apple crisp at Sweet Revenge, great primitive camping.
Sours: The Meadow stage is bye-bye; the tiny Porch stage with its laughable 30 minute tweener sets is not even a close substitute. A $20.00 extra charge for a Saturday night midnight jam (did anyone even attend)?
In three short weeks, the 2010 festival season will start for Black Betty and I with the Suwannee Springfest near Live Oak, Florida.
I can hardly wait. We are really looking forward to reuniting with our Festivarian friends, many of whom we haven't seen since October. Our little popup camper has been waiting patiently in the garage for the cold weather and snow to leave, knowing that we'll soon take her south. I've also got a new dutch oven that I want to break in with some new camp food recipes. And then of course, there's all the great music!
The lineup looks great again this year, and includes: Robert Earl Keen, Leftover Salmon, Johnathon Edwards, Donna the Buffalo, The Mosier Brothers with David Blackmon, The Dirty Dozen Dirt Band, Peter Rowan, Jim Lauderdale,18 South, Dread Clampitt, Belleville Outfit, Sythian, The Steeldrivers, Roy Bookbinder, Verlon Thompson and Shawn Camp, Tornado Rider (I'm a Falcon!) and the Turtle Duhks. We will be rockin' the weekend away, for sure!
We drove to Floyd, Va on Sunday, July 26 to see one of my favorite bluegrass / jamgrass bands, Railroad Earth.
Our friends, Marie and Aimee and Aimee's son Isaac, came along. It was our first visit to Floydfest, although it had been on my radar for several years (bad timing, it's on the same weekend as Bele Chere).
RRE "kicked grass" as usual and gave an inspired performance. What can I say? I'll let the video speak for itself....
June 21st is traditionally the unofficial "hike naked day" on the Appalachian trail. My buddy Segue sent me this picture of him and Houdini doing their best to expose themselves to nature.
Black Betty and I are packing up the popup and heading towards Spartanburg on Friday to try a new festival experience. This will really be the 5th year for this little festival put on by members of The Bellville Outfit, but will be our 1st experience with it.
I actually learned of both the band and the festival while driving home from Asheville last month and listening to WNCW. The Bellville Outfit were live guests and I really enjoyed their music. They talked about the festival and I came home and purchased the incredibly affordable tickets ($60. each for the weekend and $30. a carload to camp).
The line-up looks awesome, the crowd should be small, and the camping fun! What's not to like?
This coming weekend I will attend Trail Days in Damascus, Virginia. It's the big hiker bash and reunion get-together for Appalachian Trail hikers, past, present, current, and future.
The masses of unwashed pedestrians will descend on this sleepy little trail town like a biblical plague of locusts. There will be lots of activities: a hiker parade, free meals provided by local churches, gear demos, talks, eating contests, dog shows, book-signings, and so on...
The big thing for me will be a chance to reunite with so many great friends who I had the pleasure of meeting on the trail last year. Here's hoping that that they ALL attend!
We had a wonderful weekend at Hot Springs for the French Broad River Festival. In spite of some rain (what's a festival without rain?) we boogied 'til we dropped to some of the best music in the region.
A great time was had by all, what a cool vibe at this little festival. I can't wait for next year!
Highlights of the weekend include:
The Will Ferrell Loofa.
Meeting my Blog Buddy, Caroline Pond (emcee and Snake Oil salesman).
Visiting with some Appalachian Trail friends.
Eating some delicious camping meals.
Larry Keel and Natural Bridge ripping it up, Acoustic Syndicate tearing it down, dancing to Rosie Ledet and the Zydeco Playboys. Snake Oil Medicine show in the big tent.
We enjoyed a wonderful weekend at SuwanneeSpringfest. In spite of a little wet weather and a few manly gusts of high wind, the music went on and the Festivariansfestivalized as only those who are unbathed and barefoot with divine purpose and mystic insight can. We were pleased to be joined by cousin Amy (Amyl Nitrate), Jesse (Fighting Cock), and the one and only SuperChunk. The music kicked ass, the dancing was dirty, and the spirit was alive! Reverend Jeff Mosierlaid down the gospel of Garcia and Boogie Cat proclaimed, "I never eat while I'm on the boogie!" And the Tornado Rider taught us all to "be a vicious bird!" What can I say? I am a believer!
Drew Emmitt and Billy Nershi with Tyler Grant. The EmmittNershi band played like they were on fire!
Mike Merenda (with baby on back) on banjo and his wife, Ruth Ungar (of Mike and Ruthie) with
Jordan McConnell of the Duhks.
Festivarians "Hometown" on "Superchunk", Jesse (sometimes known as "Fighting Cock")and "Amyl Nitrate"
"Fighting Cock" "Amyl Nitrate" and "Black Betty" ponder the true meaning of "I'm a Falcon!"
BlackBetty and I are heading down to the beautiful Spirit of the Suwannee music park in North Florida on Thursday for Springfest. It'll start the 2009 Festival season for us. I'm looking forward to seeing all the great music. (It'll be the first time I've seen Guy Clark since June 1981!)
Suwannee is a great venue, it's usually a smallish crowd, two stages, has a mellow and friendly vibe, and of course the music is great. We bring our bicycles, tent camp, and chill for the weekend. No worries.
We are also looking forward to camping with my AT buddy, Superchunk and also our niece Amy and her boyfriend, Jesse. We should also reunite with other festivarian friends who we see there.
Posts
Segue and Houdini on the A.T. in Virginia.
Black Betty and I are packing up the popup and heading towards Spartanburg on Friday to try a new festival experience. This will really be the 5th year for this little festival put on by members of The Bellville Outfit, but will be our 1st experience with it.
Black Betty and our daughter Becky
