Suwannee Hulaween is one of my favorite festivals of the year and this year’s 11th edition lineup is stacked, as it always is. String Cheese Incident, the perennial sponsor-curator-headline performer is up for likely 5 sets PLUS a special The Bobby Weir Incident collaboration with the Dead’s long time member. The festival does an amazing job of showcasing multiple genres, ranging from international acts to local up-and-comers. It’s seems this year’s planning is way out in front as they’ve released the daily lineups far in advance. This is great and gives me the opportunity to give you a look into my planned itinerary and recommendations on a day-by-day basis starting with this first look at Thursday’s amazing lineup, which could easily be a festival unto itself. I’ll have the remainder of the fest in additional articles.
CloZee has been an ascending star in the EDM world and is a Thursday headliner. She’s moved up from her 2019 performance on the Amp stage where I first caught a glimpse of the world bass performance and the great mood-setting light show that goes with it. Looking forward to seeing what she’ll bring this year.
Dirtwire is the band I’m most interested in seeing live, for the first time. I’m honestly not to familiar but seeing that they’re cited as playing “swamptronica” I’m so stoked because I love hearing experimental sounds with instruments from around the world. This show from Colorado earlier this year is an absolute trip. Their use of a range of percussion, horns, digeridoo, dancing and more is absolutely mind bending and I’m totally into it.
Lettuce are modern day, funk royalty and for me one of the top acts to see every single time. For the past couple of years, the band has been featured on one of the main stages, either the Meadow or the Hallows, based on their ever-increasing popularity. I’m hoping that shifting them back to Thursday will put them in the Amphitheater, hopefully close to midnight where they have put on some of their most legendary space-shot, intergalactic funk missions.Â
Mike Dillon and Punkadelick will turn a lot of heads. Mike is a brilliant vibe and keys player as well as all around maniacal musician out of New Orleans. I’ve seen him perform many times with different bands and he always is an absolute blast. Of course Punkadelick includes the fabulous Nikki Glaspie (The Nth Power, Kamani) on drums and Brian Haas (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey) on keys. This is not to be missed.
Say She She is the latest darling throwback group on the scene. I was lucky enough to catch them last year at the North Beach Music Festival on a blistering hot day and some how they were hotter. The band is fronted by three female lead singers, taking turns on the 1st mic and melding beautiful harmonies together. Of course, the backing band is largely the former players of Orgone, the Cali funk-soul band so you know this Hula debut is gonna be sahweet!
TAUK Moore is another special combination that has come to play over the last couple of years. TAUK alone are an amazing funk-fusion band, tight as a fist and able to key up some super tasty jams. Kanika Moore is a force of nature, an amazing diva as the frontperson of the band Doom Flamingo. They’ve put together an amazing string of shows including one that I caught at Atlanta’s Terminal West late last year that makes me wanna catch them again!
Headtones are a Tampa based experimental funk band. They feature excellent horn work, trumpet and sax, catchy lead and group vocals and stellar guitar work from the newest member Stephanie Perez. I’ve caught them a couple of times now including at Suwannee Rising and in Atlanta at Sweetwater Brewery and looking forward to catching up at Hula.