Wanee 2015: The Torch has been passed
In the weeks and then days leading up to the 2015 Wanee Music Festival, there were questions, questions, questions, flooding into the mind of the concerned young person today. Old folks, too. Were we going to get wet? Would the torch be passed from ABB to WSP? Were we going to get soaked? Would the schedule come out in time to groan about conflicts? Would Wanee survive without its ten-year main attraction? Would the Mushroom stage flood out again?
There’s a lot to be said for karma. There must have been a whole mess of good karma floating around, because the great rains that plagued many parts of the Gulf Coast skirted around Live Oak. Rain early in the week gave way to mostly gray skies but only a sprinkle Wednesday and another Saturday, and that cooled things off and kept the dust down.
Wanee: Wednesday
It had never been in the cards for me to make it to Wanee Wednesday before (this was my 9th time at this April mecca – yes, and the June one). I missed fest opener Bonnie Blue from Jacksonville. I was really sad to miss, by minutes, the set by the Parker Urban Band, also from Jax. (Fortunately, they will play at Purple Hatter’s Ball and Orange Blossom Jam.) The buzz for the remainder of the evening was about the PUB set. “Oh, man! You missed it!”
The Hometeam boys from Tampa, CopE, put on a smashing set. “What Goes Up” got everybody dancing, and by the end of the set we were prepared to “Shake Anything.” Juanjamon took a fabulous solo on his EWI, a relatively new toy for him to go with his tenor sax and keyboards.
Crazy Fingers kept the good vibes going as the sun set and the Mushroom stage lit up. In addition to their Grateful Dead music, they offered “Blue Skies” before a beautiful “Eyes of the World.” Then Melvin Seals & JGB rocked us into the night. The vibe was perfect for those able to arrive early. Both bands hit full stride during their sets and pumped up the jams. There were times when Melvin’s great voice seemed to out-Jerry Jerry! Vocals were great from the ladies, and the band rocked the entire set. This promised to be epic.