After a two-year hiatus, it’s great to have the Candler Park Music Festival (CPMF) back in its traditional early-June slot. The lineup for this year’s festival is eclectic with something for everyone ands strong from top to bottom. This festival originated as smallish, neighborhood event and has evolved into an event that attracts a decent number of out-of-towners for a great weekend. Here’s a quick rundown of the bands you’ll see top-to-bottom each day and highlighting what I’m most looking forward to.
Friday June 3rd
Grace Potter headlines on Friday bringing her strong rock roots and vocals back to Atlanta for the first time since the pandemic. She’s been around so long it’s hard to believe she’s still so young – having had her group Grace Potter and the Nocturnals in the early 2000s. This will be my first time seeing her since she went solo in 2015
Yonder Mountain String Band out of Colorado is one of the great bluegrass jam bands. Aside from funky horn bands, I love to see fiddle and banjo for straight up adrenaline rushes and expect nothing less from Yonder.
Andy Frasco & the U.N. is probably the wildest, most indescribable band of this or any festival. The band is super tight and funky and Ernie Chang on sax is super powerful. Of course the focus is on Frasco and his non-stop, psyched up party band singing and stage antics will absolutely get the crowd riled up.
The Orange Constant are and Athens-Atlanta staple and they really groove hard. They’re a strong fest opener and I definitely plan to catch their psych-prog mixture early on Friday.
Hive Mind late night at Aisle 5 will be a super bonus. The local superband plays a mix of spacey jam fusion and funk and I’m super pumped for that. Drummer Allen Aucoin from the Disco Biscuits will also be there with his side project Dr. Fameus making this an extra special adventure.
Saturday June 4th
The Disco Biscuits, jamtronica titans, will headline Candler Park Saturday coming off of their most recent shows during New Orleans Jazzfest. The Disco Biscuits will continue their run of blazing hot and creative setlists. Their new tagline of “Set Break is Over” has sparked masterful sets at the Capitol Theater and Mission Ballroom earlier in the year and we hope they continue to dig deep in their song repertoire and deliver the festival ending dance party. (This coverage written by my friend and super fan Stanky Muffin).
Trouble No More is another supergroup, paying homage to The Allman Brothers legacy. What’s amazing here is that most of the band members have headlined their own sets that I’ve seen and recorded. The leads are Brandon ‘Taz’ Niederauer on guitar and his brother and Dylan Niederauer on bass. The band is rounded out by Daniel Donato (guitar/vocals), Jack Ryan (drums), Nikki Glaspie (drums), Peter Levin (keys), and Roosevelt Collier (pedal steel guitar). Definitely looking forward to partying with these guys.
Twiddle is the “other” Vermont jam band playing a mix of rock, jam, bluegrass and funk. It’s been a while since I’ve seen them so psyched to get back together and hear what they throw down.
Cha Wa is actually the band I’m most looking forward to. I’ve never seen (or heard of) them before this but their YouTube videos are fantastic. They bring the sound and style of New Orleans Mardi Gras to the stage replete with Indians and full on horn section. This makes the festival extra special.
CBDB out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama play what they refer to as ‘joyfunk.’ They’re frequent headliners in the Atlanta-Athens corridor and the segments of brilliance they bring to their sets will be a great afternoon treat.
Webster are the hometown heroes direct from the Candler Park neighborhood and the de facto hosts of the party. It’s great to have them set the stage on stage to kick off the Saturday festivities.
Casual Commander late night will close out the unofficial festivities, again at Aisle 5 and this guitar funk band will feature SunSquabi members as well. It’s sure to be a wild night and one of the most memorable after parties.