Whippersnap Music & Arts Festival Rocks Year Two in Florida

Whippersnap Music & Arts Festival Rocks Year Two in Florida

[True appreciation for videos from Volke Mon Productions and FunkCity.net and

photographs from Funk Eye Media, Kristy Walker, and numerous others!]

This year’s Whippersnap Music & Arts Festival, the second in Florida after years of success in the Chicago area, blew out a superb event, with improved production values, outstanding music, and an enthusiastic crowd braving unseasonably arctic night temperatures. Whippersnap has settled in nicely at Florida Sand Music Ranch in Brooksville (February 19-22).

For a variety of reasons, we had no correspondent available for the Wednesday pre-party nor Thursday’s full day of events. We will provide photo galleries of those bands. I was able to attend Friday, and fortunately Nate Bonilla-Warford was there to report on Saturday. I know you’ll appreciate his view of the day. And Nate Riggs of Music Festivals Podcast may also weigh in; here is the link to his podcast.

Headliners included three just back from Jam Cruise — Kanika Moore, Polyrhythmics, and Joe Marcinek — and two who have sailed on Jam Cruise often — Keller Williams and The New Mastersounds. And never forget Displace, the sunrise set and elevator band on board!

Production was top-rate, with great lights from Laser Fox, Planet Zuton, Herm Lights, and DreemLume, and the sound production was magnificent. Bravo to Shane LaVigne and his entire crew!

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19 — Pre-Party

Steeln’ Peaches

The Central Florida Allman Brothers tribute band played two sets for early arrivals.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20

Sooza

This fine band from Gainesville was so impressive last year kicking the festival off that organizers made the right move in bring them back.

Barefoot Fred

These guys from Chicago are old-school Whippersnappers.

shoeless soul

Clearwater quartet playing outstanding original music with thoughtful lyrics and great skill.

Bodhicitta

Wisconsin-based Bodhicitta are long-time Whippersnappers.

Tire Fire

The real Florida-Georgia line playing bluegrass, Americana, punk, and a lot more.

Organ Fairchild

This great organ trio was making an all-too-rare area appearance.

Joe Marcinek Band

Marcinek assembles bands like a skilled Lego master. So Good!

The Firewater Tent Revival

It’s always a party with FWTR. These boys just ain’t right.

Keller Williams

The best-known looper brought lots of Kellers to the party!

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21

Kat Hines is a fine young vocalist many of us saw for the first time at last year’s edition of Whippersnap. She opening Friday backed by a seasoned trio who gave her a great platform to show off her voice to advantage. She offered a range of songs such as “Somebody to Love,” “Killing Me Softly with Your Song,” and “Me and Bobby McGee.” Keep her on your radar. 

We hadn’t encountered Tasty Vibrations before. The Pompano Beach quintet knocked us out with a solid set that covered a lot of bases, from an islands feel and rock to blues and jam. They had a truly engaging stage presence and kept everyone involved in the jam. 

This is probably The Reality 5.0, but whatever the number it is the best version (so far!). The addition of Juanjamon on keyboards, tenor saxophone, and vocals has provided them with even more dimensions. Take “She’s Got a Real Nice Booty,” for instance. For “Don’t Care Anymore,” a vehicle for the best male vocalist in the area (Caleb Bone, bass), Dani Jaye of Tire Fire joined the jam on fiddle, and guitarist Dan Jones whipped out his trombone. The long jam that ensued was superb! Artist-at-large JP Miller of Your Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band kicked some ass with them before they closed the great set with “Waste My Time,” their signature tune.

There were at least 20 warriors who rolled off Jam Cruise Wednesday and headed to Whippersnap. Displace, the mad quartet who played sunrise sets on the boat daily plus pop-up sets in the disco elevators, still had plenty of spark, although leader and multi-instrumentalist Chris Sgammato claimed his voice was gone. The band opened with a cocktail lounge version of “Generation Sloan” from the group’s first offering in 2015. It was magic. 

After “Eleanor Rigby,” they tore into my most favorite of their deep jams, “Geonosis Shuffle,” and it was brilliant. Kyle Sareyani, also a multi-instrumentalist, shredded away on guitar with Sgammato vamping on electric piano. Joe Marcinek joined them for “Hillsborough River Rapids,” followed by more Sareyani shredding on “The Flight of Admiral Archibald,” where we discovered that Sgammato’s voice recovered.

The superb Sooza horns joined in as Sgammato did his keytar thing on “Friction,” and they closed with brand new single “All In,” Sareyani on flute. The backbone of the band is absolutely the rhythm section of Darryl “D Truth” McGowan on bass and Evan Thibeault, who distinguished themselves time and again.

The Ain’t Sisters are blazing right now, with so many great shows and that special main-stage Suwannee Hulaween set. They came out swinging with “The Fighter” and never let up. Artist-at-large JP Miller joined them several times during the set. This band kicks ass, beginning with Richie Jones at kit and Justin Boudreau on bass. The Sisters who Ain’t — Barb Carbon and Arrie Bozeman — were lit start to finish. 

There was a superb sequence opening with their great single “Horses” that progressed: “Horses > Creek > Late Checkout > Crime > Shake Your Taint/Sleep Now.” “Shake Your Taint,” the band’s mantra, is also their latest single, just issued February 28. It also contains that very important public service announcement: DON’T COOK THE BACON NAKED! Their great set closed with soaring harmonies on a lovely ballad, “Let There Be Love,” enhanced by Dani Jaye’s fiddle and Juanjamon’s tenor sax.

Greenhouse Lounge from Jacksonville have been on my dance card since 2009. I was crushed when they went on hiatus in 2016, then elated when they returned in 2019. Crushed again when they faded to black three years, and beyond excited when their appearance at Whippersnap was announced. The quartet — Dave McSweeney, bass; Billy Begley, keyboards, synth; Steven Rose, guitar; and and Jason Hunnicutt, drums — said their one rehearsal went great. Given the set they pumped out, that is a gross understatement! The sound engineers all weekend did a great job, but this set was mixed by Eric Kauffman, absolutely first-rate at twisting the knobs to perfection.

Jamtronic prog? Funk jam? Whatever, they were in prime form, beginning with “Ataraxis” and “Lemurian Beings.” McSweeney and Hunnicutt were locked in tight, and Begley is one of the greatest keyboard wizards anywhere. Vocalist Darryl Green sang Morris Day & The Time music “Get It Up > 777-9311” and then two more tunes. Steven Rose was dynamic all set on guitar, and they closed with “Koto > Sands (DnB only ending).” Welcome back, fellas! There is more to come!!!

Hometown heroes Minim blew everyone away with last year’s set. Would they do it again? Unequivocally YES! All of the vocals fell upon the shoulders of keyboard player David Rakower, who did a great job. The opening jam “The Way it Is > Evolving > Concrete Jam > The Way It Is (reprise)” was excellent. Joe Marcinek guested on “Away,” then Kat Hines for “Butterfly Pearls.” Guitarist Mike Hibler and Hunter Richey on bass had outstanding nights.

As “City Lights” was winding down, Kanika Moore, Queen of Jam Cruise and most everything else, entered the stage wearing a huge furry parka. They broke into “Groove is in the Heart” and then “Like a Prayer.” A chorus magically appeared to support, with Emily Cooper (Future Joy), Kat Hines, artist-at-large Alex Steele, and Dave Sarkis. DEELIGHT-FUL!

The boys from West Palm Beach, Guavatron, were ready to spread their version of jamtronic prog rock far and wide, opening with a massive 26-minute “Xilla” that eventually drifted into new tune “Mitochondriac.” Roddy Hansen’s keyboards and synths were omnipresent. Everything was working for the quartet, with Cory Ricardy and Casey Luden blowing up drums and bass. Joe Marcinek came up to wrangle guitars with Adonis Guava on superb composition “Help (I’m Stuck in the Fuselage).”

They were crushing some heavy prog but shifted gears a bit as Kanika Moore in furry parka joined them for a nasty take on the Franc Moody song “Dopamine.” DAMN! To cap it off, they romped through Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker,” with Moore letting it all out. Be still, my heart!

Polyrhythmics got the last word on the Whippersnap stage. This outstanding nine-man band just blazed through two great sets on Jam Cruise plus a wedding set. Helene cancelled their scheduled area appearance last October, so it was great to finally get them here. Leader Ben Bloom is a tremendous guitarist as well, and he took some great solos and allowed his band members to shine through song after song.

Mid-set they rocked a killer arrangement of “Rock the Casbah,” after which Kanika Moore appeared again — in that great parka — for “Do You Believe In Love.” They offered up three more songs before Moore came out (trading her parka with trumpet player Scott Morning for his jacket!) one last time to explode “Rock Steady” through every nook and cranny of Florida Sand Music Ranch.

There was a late-night set. I was done.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22 — by Nate Bonilla-Warford

Let me start off by saying that I LOVE small festivals. I am generally OK with having fewer stages to choose from if it means that there is enough room to dance close to the front. There are also many chances to talk to musicians near the food trucks or around the fire or whatever. Whippersnap  Music and Arts Festival at Florida Sand Music Ranch was no exception, although I could only attend Saturday, February 22.

Chicago Farmer eased us all into the day with a great solo set. People drank coffee or danced loosely while he spun yarns about his youth, cars, and women. He ended his set with the song that he said has replaced “$13 Beers” as his most requested song, the most rousing version of a song about discarded mattresses I have ever heard.

As I was enjoying a talk with what appeared to be my future self, a woman reminded me to absolutely NOT miss The Moonstone Riders, who had played last year. As I wandered down to lakeside Home Team Stage, the jam slowly morphed into The Police’s “Walking on the Moon,” which was appropriate since the band were in spacesuits. The rest of the set was fantastic, including firing up the crowd with a psychedelic hoedown, some mid-jam sound guy heroic tech support, and a slow and sneaky quote of Phish’s “Stash” (audience clapping induced).

It was amusing that they closed by covering “Sultans of Swing,” including the lyrics “They don’t give a damn about any trumpet-playing band; that’s not what they call rock n roll.” Because The HeadTones, who DO give a damn, have a trumpet and sax. MC PK introduced them: “This is not background music! THIS IS ROCK AND ROLL!”

And they were right. Although I had heard snippets of their music before online, they were harder and heavier live than I thought. I parked myself in front the guitarist Stephanie Perez while she melted my face over and over again.

Next was Antelope, the Phish cover band. I’m a Phish 1.0 guy. I was a little unsure going in for two reasons. First, it occurred to me that I might actually not now know any songs they played. (It was OK; I did). Second, when I saw Antelope years ago, they weren’t very tight, fun but raw. This was a whole new experience, and it was great. 100% would see again.

One of the great things about festivals is the cross-pollination that can occur when artists are in close proximity. One sweet example was when singer Kat Hines joined Antelope for “If I Could.” Lots of swaying in the crowd. Throughout the day there were many examples of sit-ins that I enjoyed immensely.

At this point I should say that the weather was gorgeous: partly cloudy, high 60s, low 70s. This made for some extremely pleasant light disco naps in various spots throughout the day so I could keep my energy up for more dancing.

I’ve been trying to see the ever-touring Cocoa Beach-based outfit Tru Phonic for quite a while, so I was quite happy that they were playing the main stage. While The HeadTones were a little different than I expected, Tru Phonic was EXACTLY the funk/jam/hiphop /jazz conglomeration I expected, and I got down with whole bunch of other people. There was not a single band I didn’t enjoy this day.

By now the sun had set, and I was ready for the act that was, to me, most enigmatic of the day, Future Joy. What I knew about this duo is that they live out of their RV, traveling and making music. They had just recently gotten married in St. Petersburg, and they have a pretty ravenous fanbase. They also dressed in some adorable matching outfits that were wedding gifts.

Future Joy is hard to pin down. They have a totally original sound. It is like 20% EDM/dubstep, with 60% original vocals, 40% gnarly sax, 20% special guests, and 10% performance art. (Don’t check my math.) It was extremely fun. and I bet they feel right at home at a fest like Hulaween. While I feel a little old fully “getting” what they do the way I would, say, Umphrey’s McGee, they are extremely fun, and I would see them again for sure – especially if they have a whole night to play with, not just a festival set.

That leaves the two final acts of the festival.

Ajeva has become regional jam powerhouse and I had missed every single chance to see them, so I was NOT about to mess this one up. And I didn’t. The vibe was right, and Laser Fox knows how to make pretty lights. Through many peaks, a clear standout was Kanika Moore (Doom Flamingo, TaukMoore), fresh off Jam Cruise. She joined to sing King Gizz’s “Mars for the Rich”. Listen/purchase the whole show here.

Last but not least were The New Mastersounds, who played two sets. There just is something about well-dressed British men playing incredibly tight funky jams The Hammond organ is my favorite instrument, and The New Mastersounds have it in spades with Joe Tatton.

Overall, between chatting with friends, meeting new ones, and lots of boogieing, the final day of Whippersnap was a pure delight, and I look forward to the next one.