Here’s my 1st ever annual video recap of 29 live sets that I recorded this year. This is a sampling of the more than 80 videos I posted on YouTube this year, which is a subset of the videos that I recorded (some are not public), which is yet a further subset of the sets that I’ve actually seen or heard this year (since I don’t record every set).
The videos are notable in one way or another, perhaps based on the quality of the recording, the circumstances of the recording or the uniqueness of the set. I’ll give a short rationale for the inclusion of each video. Each video will pop in the viewer by clicking on the thumbnail in the grid below. Happy New Year 2025 and I hope to see you at a show next year!
Moon Hooch at Terminal West – these guys are one of my faves to video as their sets are always beautiful, high-energy and they really play to the camera extremely well. I’ll be seeing them in January with Too Many Zooz!
Louis Cole’s Huge Band at GroundUP – I knew this one would be a ton of fun will Louis and the three female singers up front AND Snarky Puppy as the backing band. The vast majority of the fest was livestreamed and recorded and the video team was out in front of me so I decided to just have fun recording with my phone bouncing on a strap around my neck. As it turns out, something happened to the pro video so I believe this is the only full set recording available!?
Basstardos at GroundUP Late Night – thes skill and creativity of this group is unmatched. A very rare opportunity to see Munir Hossn, Michael Pipoquinha and Hadrien Feraud together! One of my most watched of the year!
TWYN at GroundUP Late Night – another great late night set from this dynamic duo, with special guests. Also, the first time my son got to experience late night with me.
YAM YAM Aisle 5 – Honestly one of the great surprises of the year, YAM YAM delivers that old school soul feel in such a good way. Great covers of the BlackByrds! They’re definitely a band to see live. And the sound is great on this one.
Eric Gales at City Winery – Eric Gales is the real deal, a genuine Southern blues rocker. He’s such a wonderful entertainer, playing, singing and story-telling in a very real way. I’ll get to see him again at GroundUP ’25 as a guest performer.
Cool Cool Cool at Whippersnap Festival – This band is hot and they were a highlight of the Whippersnap Festival. I’m glad that I got to see Mikey Carubba again on drums with them before he took off on his next life adventure.
The New Mastersounds, (Two Sets) at Whippersnap Festival – First time back in U.S. since pandemic and it was epic. They absolutely ruled this festival, the lights and the atmosphere and the music was an incredible return.
Doom Flamingo at Terminal West – First time for me videoing DF, after having seen them several times. Kanika Moore is an absolute Diva and ruled that staged. Second closeup camera from my brother CosmicHippo. Also, little did I know that Doom was gonna go on hiatus henceforth so glad I bore witness.
Jonathan Scales Fourchestra at Southern Feed Store – JSF plays some of the most interesting steel pan music you’ll ever hear. Maison Guidry on drums and E’Lon JD on bass are amazing and super fun to watch. I recorded this on a main front cam and rear ‘pan’ cam for Jonathan. He took the two angles and turned them into five with individual zooms on each of the three players with the front camera. I’ve gotta say he did a spectacular job and then used it on his channel. I welcome all the musicians I film to use the footage as they see fit.
POTCH at Terminal West – This group of hometown ATL homies are one of the best jam bands we have right now. Catching them on the TW stage was a treat.
The New Orleans Suspects at From the Earth Brewing – It’s been a while since I got some of that NOLA jambalaya that the Suspects cook. Their new lineup additions fit in tight and Jake Eckert and CR Gruver sound as good as ever.
HIVE MIND at Aisle 5 – Hive Mind shows are special because they’re beautiful jamtronica and because they happen infrequently. This was the second night of an even more rare two-night summer stand.
The Psycodelics at From the Earth Brewing – This was my first time seeing these young Charleston soul cats and they blew me away. Hats off to FTE to bringing in more and more top notch shows. I’ll be catching them again on upcoming Jam Cruise.
Squeaky Feet at Smith’s Olde Bar – A friend who knows what up tipped me off to Squeaky Feet and he was right. They’ve got that great jamtronic sound plus sax so I got into them right away. Definitely a show to go to evey time.
Neal Francis at Wire and Wood Festival – For the last several years, my hometown of Alpharetta has been putting on a two-day fall festival and they keep upgrading the talent. This year’s second night headliner was Neal Francis and it was such a fun time.
Kevin Scott’s Funky Holiday Spectacular (two sets) at Variety Playhouse – This was truly the best (of several) Kevin Scott holiday shows I’ve seen. The coordination of such an amazing amount of talent on stage at one time must’ve been a huge effort but it paid off as it was great seeing so many musician friends collaborate to close the year in style.
LA LOM at Terminal West – Absolutely one of my favorite videos of the year. These guys are so talented and put on a great show smashing together Mexican, South American and LA styles in a heady mix. Check out my writeup on the making of the video here (LA LOM video).
Bird City Revolutionaries at Southern Feed Store – BCR are ATL’s finest reggae – psychedelic dub – Afrofunk band! This was a fun set on a beautiful night and I’m gonna try to catch more of them in 2025.
Ghost-Note at Vinyl – This was my third GN show of the year and the best, although they’re all Sputacular (iykyk). This was a headliner show (not a fest) in a tight club setting and they got all the way down! So damn funky!
Lettuce (2 sets) at Sierra Nevada Brewery – Driving up to this venue is amazing — the most impressive brewery and amphitheate I’ve been to. Got there eary and it started to rain for a slight delay. Great position for this set with so many friends from around the country and then they put forth a magnificent show with intermittent rain throughout some parts. Didn’t dampen anyone’s good time. Two weeks later the storms hit Asheville – we’re all in this together!
Lettuce at Hulaween – The funk royalty returned to their throne on the Amp stage Thursday night for an epic throwdown. All of the stars (and Paul Levine) aligned to put them back in this slot after a 5-year hiatus.
Mildlife at Hulaween – It was my first time seeing this Australian electronic space funk band and they blew me, and the crowd away. Sort of a cross between Lotus, Jungle and Snarky Puppy. I’ll catch them again on Jam Cruise.
Mike Dillon and Punkadelick at Hulaween – Loved the energy and musicality at this set. The trio lit up the Amp stage, at one point all three played the vibes for some very cool moments. Probably the most fun set of the festival.
The New Mastersounds at Hulaween – NMS were scheduled to close out Hulaween on the Spirit Lake Stage and ended with an amazing 2.5 hour set that covered some way back hits, covers and some new classics. It was fantastic.
Flamingosis at Aisle 5 – This is an unlikely entry for me but a friend of mine tipped me off that the live band would be in my sweet spot and it surely was. Flamingosis was a big old dance party with horns and a great groove.
HIVE MIND at Aisle 5 – Once again, my brothers in HIVE MIND delivered a spectacular set, including a cover of Lotus’ Spiritualize, a personal favorite. The sound and video (great lighting) came out great and such a wonderful memory).