Soulshine Farm Music Festival: Musical magic at Green Mountain
At the recent Great Outdoors Jam in Florida, there was an invasion of bands from North Carolina. Florida is returning the favor next weekend at the Soulshine Farm Music Festival in Green Mountain NC, presented by Shine On Productions. This is their second year as a comfortable family-oriented festival (on a working farm!).
Truly, this amounts to an awesome Asheville-Florida mash-up with a couple of great additions thrown in. It all starts with Toubab Krewe, the kings of West African, rock and world music with some surf music added for good measure. And a reunion show from Snake Oil Medicine Show is always welcome: who doesn’t need a bit of reggae, slam grass and psycho-billy in their lives?
Nikki Talley will bring her guitar and clawhammer banjo (and voice!), joined by Jason Sharp on guitar and bass. The Jon Stickley Trio, with Jon on guitar, Lyndsay Pruett on violin, and Patrick Ermitage on drums, are coming, too. And you know you need some stankgrass! Brushfire Stankgrass, that is!
From south of the border (the NC-SC border, that is), Zach Deputy and his looping self will keep you dancing and twirling. And you’re in for a treat: authentic, old-school blues courtesy of Mac Arnold & Plate Full o’ Blues. You’ll hear music from the Delta all the way to Chicago.
Illinois offers up The Giving Tree Band. Now you might not think that a band with that name would brand themselves as “new age outlaw.” Prepare yourself!
You’ll also get to hear: Saylyn, Mountain Feist, The Screaming Js, Franklin’s Kite, Ali Randolph & the Outta Luck Band, and Awake in the Dream.
And then you’ve got those pesky Floridians. Come Back Alice has been blowing it up every time out. Backed by an amazing rhythm section (Big Bad John Werner and Yral ‘datdudeondrums’ Morris), Tony Tyler and Dani Jaye are both serious triple threats. Tyler plays a wicked guitar and amazing Hammond B3, but his voice is the best, a true soul belter in the vein of Warren, Gregg and JJ. And Jaye sings, will spin your head on guitar and plays a world of violin. They will play two days.
The Applebutter Express looks like a PG bluegrass band, but don’t let appearances fool you; they can be riotously salty. Shannon and Kyle Biss are wonderful singers, Kyle plays mandolin, and Matt deSear is on bass. Their secret weapon: Joe Trivette on violin.
You’ll get to hear them three times!
Finally, Displace is a superb jam band. Which means they rock, funk, shred, and, oh, yes, jam. The rhythm section is superb: Vinny Svoboda and Tucker Sody. Sam Dobbin is an excellent guitarist, and Chris Sgammato is another triple threat: guitar, alto sax and vocals. MusicFestNews published an album review and a CD release party review.
Let’s go over our checklist.
Beautiful location in the Appalachians? Check.
Lots of wonderful music-loving friends? Check.
Awesome musical lineup? Check.
Any questions?