A World Series Lineup: Nine Bands You Should Check Out at Suwannee Hulaween
With dozens and dozens and dozens of bands of all genres to see and hear at Suwannee Hulaween later this week, there are almost unlimited combinations and permutations of schedule possibilities. We love to remind all festival-goers that one of the most exciting aspects of music festivals is discovering bands you don’t know much about or may never have heard of.
With that in mind, we’d like to suggest nine bands you ought to check out if you can fit them into your dance card (that’s a very old reference for very old readers — and writers like me).
CUSTARD PIE (Thursday 12:30-1:30 PM, Campground)
We’ve seen this Valdosta band twice since May, and they truly made an impression at the end of September at Great Outdoors Jam:
Custard Pie were covering a song by Moonshine Still. I have a recording of the only show of theirs I saw (2006) but had no idea of track listings, so on my iPod they are listed as A, B, C, and so on. My car occasionally, randomly decides to play the iPod by song titles, so the first song that always comes up is — “A.” Its real title is “Barely Alive,” and Custard Pie crushed it.
We had seen them in the first festival appearance at Backwoods Fam Jam and enjoy both of their sets, but this set was light years beyond what they were doing just five months back. Then, they were raw rock and blues. Now they were jazzy, spacey, with still plenty of rock to go around. “Barely Alive” led into “Big Country.” This was a great set.
THE DEVIL MAKES THREE (Thursday 4:30-5:30 PM, Amphitheater)
That old saying “you and me and the devil makes three” is used to indicate that somebody is about to have fun and/or get into trouble. So the name is entirely appropriate for this amazing bluegrass/country/folk trio: Pete Bernhard and Cooper McBean on guitars and Lucia Turino on the bass fiddle. I’ll quote a female friend talking about Turino: “They have a smokin’ hot female bassist. And I mean smokin’ hot bassist (although she’s smokin’ hot too!).”
Their Redemption and Ruin tour starts Tuesday. This is the only band on the list I have not seen yet, but every — and I mean every — bluegrass fan I know swears by them, holds them in the highest esteemed, and has threatened me with bodily harm (more or less) if I don’t go see them.
I was going to anyway, so there!
THE RUSS LIQUID TEST (Friday 5:15-6:15 PM, Spirit Lake)
We were unfamiliar with this band when they hit the stage this summer at Purple Hatter’s Ball, where they blew us away:
My mantra at festivals is to be sure to check out bands you’ve never seen before. That was never more true than when The Russ Liquid Test hit the stage. They were stunning. One aspect in particular appealed — although not to everyone — no matter where I thought the music was going, it veered someplace else. They opened with a dub-heavy song before jamming out totally. Drummer Deven Trusclair was incredibly propulsive, and Andrew Block on guitar was dynamite. And then there was Russ Liquid. The man with the plan had a band of keyboards and computers, and he was wicked awesome on trumpet, muted trumpet, wah-wah trumpet: WOW.
Then Liquid said, “we’re going to take you out of your comfort zone!” Not mine! They flirted with disco, more dub, trance-y stuff, “1984,” and “a new tune we’ve never played live.”
JON STICKLEY TRIO (Friday 2:15-4:30 AM, Spirit Lake)
This band had a late-night slot at last year’s Hula, but most attendees didn’t hear them. At the time, we said:
With a quick stage change, we got the late-night Bluegrass Surprise: the Jon Stickley Trio. They are so beyond incredible, each one a brilliant player. They had impressed so much at Springfest, and they were even more so in this (relatively) unusual slot. Lyndsay Pruett is incredible on violin, and Patrick Armitage powers everything on drums, twisting the sound this way and that. Most of the music played was from their upcoming release Triangular.
I was blown out the first time I saw them while attending Suwannee Springfest (now Suwanee Spring Reunion) 2016:
The Jon Stickley Trio. See, right there, we’ve got a problem. It says trio, but there had to be, like, five or six people on stage, right? Except I kept counting. Kept getting three. Holy WOW! Stickley is a beast on guitar, the perfect follow-up to Brett Bass’s shreddin’/pickin’ with Grandpa’s Cough Medicine. And Lyndsay Pruett? Believe the hype. More than anything, this was an astounding weekend for fiddlers.
HEATHER GILLIS BAND (Saturday 12:00-1:00 PM, Campground)
We first encountered Heather Gillis at Magnolia Fest (now Suwannee Roots Revival) 2015, playing with the late Col. Bruce Hampton, Ret.:
[Friday] Somewhere along in here (my notes are inconclusive), THE festival moment happened. Perhaps you can relate. Some event occurs that bookmarks the festival in your brain for all time. It happened midset, when the Col. introduced Heather Gillis, a young lady from Tallahassee with a guitar. She might be a tad older than the 15 announced by the Col., but she is a young lady who made a ton of wanne-be guitar players shrug and cry as she ripped three separate solos over the next few tunes, each in a different style. And with a huge smile. AND with a huge upsurge from the crowd after each one. Yep. THAT was the moment — a bunch of ‘em, actually.
[Saturday] When it was time for “Look Over Yonder’s Wall,” he again called out young guitar phenom Heather Gillis, and they worked that tune into “Got My Mojo Working.” Gillis ripped several more fine solos, and the set closed with the Col.’s nod to Sun Ra, “Space is the Place,” and then “Yield Not to Temptation.” WOW.
She has, of course, skyrocketed since then, joining the late Butch Trucks in his Freight Train Band, highlighted by that incredible Wanee Wednesday performance in honor of Butch. And we caught up with her again at Backwoods Fam Jam in May:
After “Souls on Fire,” she stomped on “Fire” (Hendrix). After a bit, the band vamped as she reminded us that “their are two spirits in the sky tonight,” referring to Butch Trucks and Col. Bruce Hampton (Ret.), both of whom were responsible for giving Gillis the opportunity to demonstrate her great skills on a much larger stage. With that, the song morphed into “Space is the Place,” the Sun Ra tune that the Col. adopted (usurped?). Gillis then invited Tony Tyler and Dani Jaye of Come Back Alice onstage, and the jam moved into “Mountain Jam,” with everybody taking a solo and Gillis playing her guitar over her head.
THE PARKER URBAN BAND (Saturday 4:00-5:00 PM, Campground)
If you don’t feel lifted after hearing Jacksonville’s Parker Urban Band, we recommend checking yourself into the ER, although it’s probably too late. Their soaring harmonies and soul-stirring music will captivate you. Our most recent encounter was at Backwoods Fam Jam:
We have all been waiting for the return of the Parker Urban Band, sidelined briefly by Mateo, the alert ten-month-old born to Juanita and John Parkerurban. The wait was worth it. They opened as a quintet (minus the ladies) for a slammin’ jazz opening of “Juke > Windjammer” that was totally over the top. Then the ladies appeared, Juanita stage right and Myrna Stallworth stage left. Juanita sang lead on “Tears of Love” before they slowed the pace down for some magnificent harmonies on “No Shoes.” Juanita and Myrna also intertwined on Bill Withers’ “For My Friend.”
The group then shoved it into overdrive with a funk rave-up on “Trust Someone.” John Parkerurban had several great solos, and what followed was even better, a tremendous version of Wes Montgomery’s “4 on 6,” with John abusing his wah-wah pedal. The jam covered a range from straight-up to “Willie the Pimp”-like Zappa overtones. D’Angelo’s “Betray My Heart” segued into beautiful Latin jazz with “Spanish Jam.”
When John introduced the opening chords to “Franklin’s Tower,” I was admittedly skeptical. My mistake. Corbitt joined in, and he and John started trading choruses. Chris Poland jumped into the fray on alto sax. Then Corbitt and John really started to battle, and the band blew the titanic jam sky-high.
SHAK NASTI (Saturday 8:30-9:30 PM, Campground)
There is a reason I have seen this incredible Orlando trio (plus friends) more than any other band, period. A lot of reasons, actually. Each member of the band is a brilliant player: Tim Turner, guitar and vocals; Matt Lapham, bass; and Rion Smith, drums. Turner is a superb guitarist, while Smith a tremendous polyrhythmic drummer. And then there is Matt Lapham on bass. He is also in the Roosevelt Collier Trio and much in demand. Also, he is my favorite bass player on the planet, so there’s that.
It never mattered whether it was a Thursday night show at Tanqueray’s in Orlando or the trio working with Roosevelt Collier or with Bobby Lee Rodgers or with Thomas Wynn and the Believers or opening Bear Creek 2009 on the Amphitheater Stage, Shak Nasti killed it. Every time. Still do. They’ll have Keegan Matthews (keyboards ), Roland Simmons (guitar), and Chris Charles (sax) in tow, which will really up the ante!
HERE COME THE MUMMIES (Sunday 12:15-1:15 PM, Patch)
I’d been familiar with Here Come the Mummies for years, thanks to their riotous Bob and Tom video of “Pants.” When I finally got to see them at Funk Fest 8 in March:
The biggest crowd of the fest swelled in front of the main stage for Here Come the Mummies, the brilliant studio musicians from Nashville who wrap themselves in their music, literally (the proper use of that word). The Mummies made a magnificent entrance, marching on stage, several with drums, before grabbing their instruments and putting on a spectacular show. Think Blue Man Group with deep funk and double-entendre fun.
“Moral Freaks” gave us a fairly good indication how the set would go. They hit Latin funk with “Nothing New Under the Sun,” the horns blazing. Hard-rocking “Friction” was next. After “Let Your Freak Flag Fly,” the Mummies delivered their big ‘hit’ “Pants,” pure genius double entendres start to finish. A heavy funk piece was highlighted by one of the sax players playing two saxes at once, then two of them playing two horns. They shut it down with a massive song called “We’re Your New Neighbors.” WOW!
CADILLAC JONES (Sunday 2:15-3:15 PM, Campground)
This great Atlanta band threw down a great set at Purple Hatter’s Ball 2015:
Time for yet another difficult decision: Toubab Krewe, also from Asheville, versus Atlanta’s Cadillac Jones. I love Toubab, but this was only my fourth opportunity to see Cadillac Jones, and they had blown me away all three previous sets.
Correct decision for me. The band is so incredibly tight, and the horns are amazing. But this was a day for guitarist Gary Kurz to go nuts. Totally flipping bonkers. He was lit up. And it all climaxed in, thank you very much, my favorite song of theirs, “Friend or Foe.” I am rarely on the rail, but I was front and center for this one, as were Buck, from Trial by Stone, and his ladyfriend.
So here are nine great bands worthy of your time. As Lavar Burton always said on Reading Rainbow:
