Gnometown didn't really knock it out of the park this year with live music, but we did the best we could. Between working night shift, taking a summer Europe trip, and hanging with the grand kids, we skipped out on seeing some music. Here's hoping for a groovy 2015!
Here are some of the great bands that we were fortunate enough to see in 2014.
Railroad Earth, Donna The Buffalo, Yonder Mountain String Band, Town Mountain, Jim Lauderdale, Green Sky Bluegrass, Jeff Mosier, The Traveling McCourys, The Duhks, The Royal Tinfoil, Punch Brothers, Jason Isbell, Steep Canyon Rangers, Grandpas Cough Medicine, Ralph Roddenbery, Henhouse Prowlers, The Honeycutters, Sam Bush, Del McCoury Band, Jerry Douglas, The Avett Brothers, Southern Soul Assembly, Sloppy Joe, Dread Clampitt, The Freight Hoppers, Porch 40, Dustin Martin and the Ramblers, Jon Stickley Trio, Mandolin Orange.
It was a wet and cold Springfest at times this year, but we still had a fun time and saw lots of killer music.
Gnometown was out in full force with Nate, Phil, Cody, Jessie, and Lucas joining us in camp.
The 2013 Springfest lineup stayed true to its roots and we couldn't have
asked for a better weekend of music. Just maybe, better weather. Hey,
it happens. At least our little popup stayed dry. I bet that was the
exception and not the rule, I saw lots of wet tents out there! It's
about the live music for us, and we were not disappointed.
Black Betty and I did bow out of a couple of shows due to the excessive thunderstorm activity on Saturday night, so we missed a few of our favorites, but what we did see was right on.
I got lucky this year and won the Tie Dye hanging in the LOMAF raffle. Nice!
I cooked up a big dutch oven full of my infamous Pineapple Express for our Gnometown dinner on Friday evening. Somehow, we missed out on our regular nightly servings of Sweet Revenge apple crisp and ice cream.
The river was flooded and the beach was closed, so we did not get a swim in this year. It was pretty cool over the weekend though, with night time lows dipping down into the high 30's to low 40's so the water may have been pretty cool yet. I did however, get a nice bike ride in on Friday with Nate and Phil and we explored the old highway and closed bridge area across the road from the park.
Due to the storming on Saturday afternoon and evening, Black Betty and I ventured into Live Oak for supper and found some delicious fried oysters at the Dixie Diner. It was our first visit.
As always, the Sunday Donna The Buffalo Jam was as hot as it gets and I was in jam heaven with the return of Peter Rowan to Suwannee Springfest after his conspicuous absence last year. Peter seemed to be everywhere! He was having a fantastic time playing with many of the bands that were there. I know we were having a great time listening to him.
I was lucky enough to capture some special moments on video and I still smile every time I watch Peter and DtB buring it up on "Burningman".
Some of the bands/artists we were fortunate enough to see:
Applebutter Express Tornado Rider Scythian
Hackensaw Boys Dangermuffin Dread Clampitt
Elephant Revival Leftover Salmon Keller & The Keels
The Travelin' McCourys Mamajowali Grandpa's Cough Medicine
Larry Keel & Natural Bridge Jim Lauderdale Peter Rowan
Darol Anger Bobby MIller Jerry Douglas Donna The Buffalo
Phil "Free Mexican AirForce"
Lucas
Cody
Hometown and Black Betty
Jessie
Nimble Nate
Wayne
With Sam and Mary and girls.
Gnometown
Amphitheater stage.
Raffle win!
Gnometown Camp.
Bobby Miller with Jeb Purveyor.
Hackensaw Boys.
Salmon! Vince Herman.
Sythian
Jim Lauderdale.
Peter Rowan with the McCourys.
Moon from the Porch Stage area.
Larry Keel and Keller Williams.
Lucas and friends playing in the meadow on Saturday.
And really, can it get any better than Keller, The Keels, The Traveling McCourys, Drew Emmitt, and Vince Herman doing "Born To Be Wild"???? I think not.
Here is a link to all 15 of my Springfest videos: Springfest 2013.
Suwannee SpringFest 2012 was highly anticipated around the Hometown Homestead. The lineup was spectacular, maybe the best in years. We had our tickets purchased before Christmas and kept the fires burning all winter. Finally on Thursday morning, we packed up Gnometown and headed south from western North Carolina to arrive on the banks of the Suwannee Thursday afternoon.
I was particularly excited to see Hot Buttered Rum. It had been perhaps five years since I was last able to catch them in Asheville. This San Francisco area band just hadn't made it out to the East Coast for a while, and Black Betty and I really missed their high energy, positive vibes, jammy, grass groove. We weren't to be disappointed since they played the little Porch Stage on Thursday night and fired us up with their infectious enthusiasm and great songs.
Next, we caught Great American Taxi driven by Vince Herman. It seems that every time I see them they get better and better. They are certainly hard rocking and soulful, everything you want in a live band. They were joined on stage by Drew Emmitt, Sean Foley, and Zebulon Bowles.
Friday morning we slept in as long as possible before riding our bicycles to the crowded beach on the Suwannee for some cool and refreshing bathing and swimming. It was a good time spent relaxing with family and friends before committing to the many hours of music that we had ahead of us in the Friday lineup.
Black Betty, Michael, and Sam
Suwannee kiss from Melanie
Our big Friday shows were: Hot Buttered Rum, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, The Emmitt Nershi Band, Elephant Revival (1st time for me) Great American Taxi, Jim Lauderdale, and Greensky Bluegrass. We were especially pleased that Greensky Bluegrass had the big Friday night Amphitheater show; they have worked hard, toured hard, and are finally getting the recognition that they deserve. They produced an inspired and ass kicking performance at the crowded midnight amphitheater. I swear I even spotted Billy Nershi dancing in the wings!
Saturday Morning started out with rain and a visit from my sister, niece, and two great nephews, Dutch and Raleigh. Not only was it Dutch and Raleigh's 1st music Festival, it was the first time that Black Betty, Becky, and I got to meet the little fellows, so it was doubly sweet that this all took place at Springfest. The weather soon cleared and we were off to show the boys how to Festival!
Gnometown Gang
Dutch checking out Greensky Bluegrass
Raleigh diggin' the groove
Meadow stage
Our Saturday shows were Darol Anger and Republic of Strings, Bobby Miller and the Virginia Dare Devils, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, Randall Bramblett and Geoff Achison, The Joe Craven Trio, Donna The Buffalo, Greensky Bluegrass, and Yonder Mountain String Band. As always, it was give and take, it was hard to miss other groups that we would have like to see but choices had to be made.
Paul Hoffman and Mike Devol, Greensky Bluegrass.
Mike Bont, Greensky Bluegrass.
Yonder Mountain String Band closed it down on Saturday night with a kick ass jam with a virtual Who's Who of Springfest musicians. I know I'll skip a bunch but I remember seeing Larry Keel, Vince Herman, Drew Emmitt, Anders Beck, Paul Hoffman, Zebulon Bowles, Sean Foley, Josh Pinkham, Andy Thorn and Wildman Steve on stage. What can I say? It was a great show, great jam, great Suwannee Springfest Saturday night! We joined the huge Amphitheater crowd in dancing, twirling, stomping, and singing along with Vince Herman to the Leftover Salmon anthem, "we gonna rise up...we gonna wake and bake"!
The Yonder Spring Jam
Sunday was cool and breezy in the morning. We were looking for a relaxing day, because we didn't have to pack up and leave like we have at times in the past. We wandered up to see Guy Clark and Verlon Thompson playing the Amphitheater stage. I still have memories of happy times and happy tunes from Guy back in the 1970's. It's all pretty dark these days and Guy has been battling poor health for a few years now. If you've seen him in the last few years, you know what I am saying. Many tears were shed during the show.
Verlon Thompson and Guy Clark.
Dread Clampitt rocked the Porch Stage, and then we hit the Meadow for the fabulous Ralph Roddenbery Band. The Infamous Stringdusters were up next with plenty of hot licks and great tunes, followed by The Mosier Brothers. The Mosiers were joined onstage by the insanely talented cello mad-man Rushad Eggleston and young newcomer, Emily Morris.
Ralph Roddenbery.
Jeff Mosier.
Donna the Buffalo closed the show down on Sunday, as is the tradition. They played several of their hits and crowd favorites and then started being joined by friends on stage. Randy Judy, Verlon Thompson, Sean Foley, Rushad Eggleston, Donna Hopkins, Taylor Martin, Bobby Miller, Ralph Roddenbery and Samantha Jones, and then again with Randy Judy for Seminole Wind. Verlon's rocking cover of a Dylan tune with improvised lyrics and Ralph's wonderful sing-a-long of That's Gonna Leave A Mark were the highlights of the jam. Donna finished it out with one of my favorites, Mystic Waters.
Nephews
Suwannee Chicks
Gnometown Gang, Phil, MDiddy, BB, Becky, Nate
Lilly, Chris, Black Betty, and M Diddy enjoying the Yonder show
Festivarians, Becky, Rex Thompson, Black Betty, Marie
Final Thoughts:
Once again this festival was a wonderful way to start off the season for our family and friends.
I hate that we had friends who couldn't be there. We missed you!
These musicians are among the best in the business. I'm sorry that I didn't get to catch many of the wonderful bands that played. You just can never see them all. Maybe next year.
The crowd is always friendly, accepting, and appreciative. Anyone would have a difficult time not fitting in.
The organization of the festival was as smooth as ever, no surprises, no hassles.
The grounds are always a great place to camp, the river a sweet place to swim. The weather, perfect.
Did I mention Sweet Revenge's apple crisp and ice cream?
Boogie Cat was in attendance, but seemed pretty mellow. It looked like there were several lone dance-masters ready to step in and take his place if he's lost his boogie.
Black Betty and I returned to our favorite harbinger of spring the Suwannee Springfest near Live Oak, Florida, last weekend. The weather provided a perfect stage for four days of music, fun, and camping with several thousand of our best friends. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and were joined in Gnometown by our daughter Becky, and friends, Marie, Nate, and Phil.
Gnometown
After setting up camp and reuniting with fellow Festivarians we headed down to the stages and caught kick ass performances by Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, Scythian, and Greensky Bluegrass. As a special treat Larry Keel joined Greensky to rip it up on the jammy King Of The Hill.
We couldn't hang for the midnight show by The Motet, but we happily boogied in our sleep to their tunes.
Mark Schimick and Larry Keel
Friday the tough decisions had to be made. Who do we see? Worse yet, who do we miss? It's always a dilemma, I just try to limit the losses. So Friday we were fortunate enough to catch Trampled by Turtles. They were actually standing on stage and not sitting down (as we'd seen them before). As always they picked hard, fast, and precise. We also caught the unique Sacred Grass sound of the Travelin' McCourys with The Lee Boys. Now that's my kind of Praise Music, bluegrass meets sacred steel!
Ampitheater Stage
The Gnometown gang was especially excited about the late shows on Friday night. As everyone who knows us understands, we are BIG Greensky Bluegrass and Emmitt Nershi fans. Although we have seen Greensky Bluegrass numerous times, this was their first time playing Springfest. I knew the Friday night Meadow Stage show, which followed Cornmeal would be spectacular. They surely did not disappoint. Greensky ripped it up to a loving and enthusiastic crowd in the midnight hour. The highlight performance of the weekend had to be when Allie, Kris, and JP of Cornmeal joined Greensky on stage to perform the Grateful Dead's China Cat Sunflower/I know You Rider. What a show, what a show!
As soon as the Greensky show ended, we hauled it over to the Emmitt/Nershi Colorado Jam featuring Michael Kang and just about everyone else. There were too many fine musicians joining them on stage to mention them all. Suffice to say the tunes were awesome and Bill Nershi and Drew Emmitt know how to host a super jam!
Black Betty, Becky, Hometown, Marie with Greensky Bluegrass.
The big show for us on Saturday night had to be The Avett Brothers. Four years ago when they played Springfest we were among the few who had seen them before. We ran around telling people not to miss their performance, and I remember them tearing it up on the Meadow stage in front of a small crowd of about 100 people. Of course, now they return to their little festival roots in the big bus as conquering rock stars, hot off their Grammy performance with none other than Bob Dylan! Big time, big time! Their show was hot and inspired. I thought the sound was really terrible for the first half of the set. It was like they were trying to crank them up too loud and it resulted in a constant buzzing for at least six songs. After a LONG time they finally got the sound worked out. They played lots of old favorites, the crowd loved them. Oh yeah, did I mention that they have a drum set now?
A crew of happy Festivarians!
Sunday is always our favorite day of music at Springfest. We can't always stay but this year we could. The highlight of Sunday is always the Donna the Buffalo and friends jam. Once again it was spectacular. Donna was joined by Randy Judy, Galen Kipar, Verlon Thompson, Acoustic Syndicate (Big Daddy sang Rainbow Rollercoaster and the band tossed out Lassie Pops), Rushad Eggleston, Ralph Roddenbery, and, of course, Jim Lauderdale. Wow, each performance was spectacular to say the least. We spent hours smiling and dancing and once again you just can't beat a Donna the Buffalo show.
Bands we managed to see over the weekend: Acoustic Syndicate, Cornmeal, Danny Barnes, David Grisman, Donna The Buffalo, Dread Clampitt, Emmitt-Nershi Band, Greensky Bluegrass, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, Jim Lauderdale, Larry Keel, Ralph Roddenbery, Scythian, Sol Driven Train, Steep Canyon Rangers, The Avett Brothers, The Lee Boys, The Mosier Brothers, The Travelin' McCourys, Trampled By Turtles, and Verlon Thompson.
Jim Lauderdale
We were a little worried about the future of Springfest last year. I think between the poor economy and a huge 2010 Wannee Festival, the 2010 Springfest took a hit. They did manage to come back bigger and better this year, with the addition of a campground stage. Hopefully, Suwanne Springfest will be around for years to come!
Black Betty and Becky on the beach.
Suwannee Sweets: Reuniting with old friends, making new friends, Boogie Cat, Sweet Revenge's apple crisp, as always great vibes, killer line-up, the best primitive camping at any festival, my new solar shower, riding bicycles, the river, Jim Lauderdale's corny jokes, Larry Keel's guitar, Allie Kral's fiddle, and Dave McCracken's keys.
Bummers: Not a Peter Rowan in sight, nor did we see any configuration of The Duhks or Turtle Duhks at the Spirit of the Suwannee all weekend!
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)?
The Vernal Equinox on March 20th this year may mark the start of Spring, but Suwannee Springfest has been our official start of Spring for several years. In two short weeks we will be back down south, looking for The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park and all the great music and sweet vibes of our Festivarian friends.
The lineup this year includes the legendary Texas singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen, a reunited Leftover Salmon (celebrating 20 years of slamgrass), and the world famous music machine from the Crescent City, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
Springfest favorites; Donna the Buffalo, Jim Lauderdale,The Mosier Borthers, Peter Rowan, Joe Craven, Sythian, Tornado Riders, Dread Clampitt, and many other 'mighty fine' pickers will of course be there.
We hope to see you too.
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