Sunshine Get Down: The Thursday-Friday Report
[Thanks to Mitch Levine Photography for the quick turnaround on photos!]
We have one more day here at Florida Sand Music Ranch in Brooksville. The past two at Sunshine Get Down have been superb. Here is a quick glance at the music so far, from my vantage point:
THURSDAY, MAY 16
Day 1 featured Southern-drenched rock and soul from The Tony Tyler Band and Mushroom Soup, tackling the Allman Brothers canon for only the second time.
Harber Wynn (Hannah Harber and Thomas Wynn) offered a gorgeous Americana country folk set in great stark contrast to the other performances.
Wall of Echoes did their excellent Pink Floyd set. Perhaps a bit too much prerecorded stuff, but they were solid. So great to see Christian Ryan back on the stage he’s played dozens of times on tenor sax, flute, and Roland Aerophone. And Alanna Chuyan on vocals soared on “The Great Gig in the Sky” and provided stunning harmonies during “Shine On, You Crazy Diamond.”
The day’s revelation was the set by Adam and the Testifiers. Adam Chendley hails from Atlanta, as does his band. Except that, for this show, his band was back in Atlanta. So he recruited three Bay area studs who absolutely nailed this set with no rehearsal: Lloyd Thacker and Mike Nivens of Ajeva and Vinny Svoboda (Anthill Cinema, Row Jomah).
Adam explained that they were about to take a tour through soul and R&B and then delivered big-time on his promise. He is a fine drummer and consummate showman, and he covered the full vocal range of R&B singers. WOW!
FRIDAY, MAY 17
Everything about Day 2 was right. Foolish Sextet unfoolishly combined four members of Ship of Fools and one each from Uncle John’s Band and Dead Set Florida for a great romp through the classics, including two of the festival’s main promoter/sponsors: Turner Moore and Alan Gilman!
The Low Heavies rolled out a fine set of funk with New Orleans accents (and more Christian Ryan!). Ponder the Albatross transported their gypsy punk newgrass from the Rockies for a blast of a set.
Row Jomah always delights, polished off with another round of Pam A Lama Songstress belting out “Bang Ban (I Shot You Down)” — the kickass version, not the wimpy one!
Free Range Strange expanded to seven members (plus artist at large Arrie Bozeman) for their deluxe and irreverent look at Americana and bluegrass. The Strangeways crushed a set of ska, reggae, and rocksteady that kept the crowd dancing.
Which brings us to four sets, each of which was the best I’ve ever heard from that band. It began with HoneyWhat rocking an excellent set of original tunes. Danielle Mohr (lead vocals/guitar), Sam Adwell (killer guitar), Timothy Nichols (bass), and Andi Tafelski (drums/vocals) made this one so much fun. Also, we need to have a face-off between Tafelski and Michael Garrie (Antelope) for most joyous approach to the drum kit.
Tand has been a mainstay on the Florida scene and beyond for some years. They came our rocking, then blasted off skyward about ten minutes into the set with jaw-dropping jams. Michael Garulli is a monster shredder, and new drummer Harley Galeano is kicking them into interstellar overdrive.
The Ain’t Sisters gave us a remarkable set of their screamers and rockers and numerous wonderful ballads as well. This set was so perfectly balanced. Better and better, these non-sisters get!
And finally to Antelope: A Tribute to the Band Phish. I am not a huge Phish fan, but every time Antelope plays, they CRUSH. And this was, by far, the CRUSHIEST set from the quartet. Stunning. I am sure there is something Matt Weis on guitar and vocals cannot do; I just haven’t heard it yet.Â
READY FOR DAY 3.
Here is what is on tap today:
SATURDAY, MAY 18
Day 3 begins with a very important message: our music is in MAGNIFICENT hands, thanks to The Sgammato School of Music and all of its wonderful teachers, students, and supportive parents. THIS IS THE WAY.
From there, you can ease into Saturday (for a while, at least). The eclectic and profoundly engaging shoeless soul are up, followed by more great Americana string band music from The Wandering Hours. And another very exciting new project is rapidly gaining new fans with their indie folk rock from the heart: Light the Wire.
Now fasten your seatbelts. Grindstone Sinners out of Jacksonville hit the road, well, stage, at 90 MPH, and they do NOT slow down! 22 years in the business, Earth Bombs Mars specialize in original songwriting, head-friendly covers, and primal improvisational exploration.
Tire Fire continue to be the best definition of the Florida-Georgia line with superb players from both states, offering their amazing bluegrass fusion. You’ve also got new darlings Minim, who have been killing on stages all over. If you caught them at Whippersnap (or have seen the incredible video), then you know.
The night closes with two amazing sets. Rainbow Full of Sound hails from Asbury Park; they are a Grateful Dead tribute/jamband featuring keyboardist Waynard Scheller, who has performed with Bob Weir, Jorma Kaukonen, and more. They will be throwing down a DeadZep set!
The last set on the Blueberry Patch Stage features Melody Trucks & Friends. Melody is the vocalist and percussionist and daughter of the late Butch Trucks, one of the founders of The Allman Brothers Band. She will be bringing along the fabulous Fitzkee Brothers (drummer Alex is now 17, bassist Drew is 19) and two great Maryland boys, Nick French on keyboards and Otto Grundman on guitar. But wait! There is a LOT more, namely Vaylor Trucks, brilliant guitarist and Melody’s brother. Both Melody and Vaylor are all in on Roots, Rock, Revival, the educational summer camp for musicians created by Butch Trucks. They were both also integral components of the Jam Cruise Masters at Sea education program in February.Â