Resonate Suwannee is coming up May 15th-17th on the hallowed festival grounds of Spirit of Suwannee Music Park. Once again, it’s a STS9 headlining event combining jamtronica, EDM, funk, reggae and aftro-cuban vibes into one amazing lineup. It’s a great vibe with minimal, if any, music overlap on the stages so you get to see as many of the acts as you want with plenty of time to chill as well.
As usual, FunkCity.net, will be there soaking it in, predominantly at the live band stages. Here’s the rundown of where I expect to be at any given moment of each day.
Thursday Schedule
STS9 is back as the headliner and hosts for Resonate ’25, this year performing two sets, Thursday and Friday. Their potent combination of jamtronica, funk, and psychedelia is not to be missed. I’ve seen a few videos where they play the classic “What is Love?” from Deee-Lite and that’s at the top of my wish list for this year.
Lotus are one of my top live bands to see of the last 20 years. Their melodic electronic jams are always filled with adrenaline pumping shredding from Tim Palmieri on lead guitar. The Miller brothers write the most intricate and elegant songs and Mike “Greenie” Greenfield has been a master on drums and percussion with the group configured as a foursome.
Beats Antique will be another artist one hte must-see list, since I haven’t caught them live in a few years. They combine multiple styles including belly dancing, jazz, afro-beat, and electronics for a very unique miz. On top of that, their stage show with the dancers is visually entrancing as well.
Sneezy is a funk band out of Chi-town that puts on a festival party everytime they play. They have all the elements – funky horn licks, slappin’ bass, heavy organ and some bitchin’ vocals. I’ve caught them a few times over the last few months, including at Resonate ’24 and this year on my first Jam Cruise. Their afternoon set will make sure everyone is pumped up and ready to roll.
Balkan Bump is another rising star of the live electronic music scene. Will Magid plays trumpet and beat and I expect with have a few additional musicians with him. His music is a mix of Eastern European grooves and brass with electronics with high energy performances.
Friday Schedule
Papadosio was a mainstay headliner at past Resonance Festivals and performed at SOSMP many times. Earlier this year, the band announced that they will be going on indefinite hiatus from performing after 2025 so there are a limited number of opportunities to see these favorites of the electronic jam-band scene. Fortunately, they’ll be playing Friday and Saturday to give them a fitting send-off.
Hive Mind out of Atlanta, are rising stars of the jamtronica scene. Their spacey, psychedelic tunes are always invigorating and definitely worth the early wake-up call. This video is from their most recent Atlanta show when they opened for none other than Papadosio! Don’t miss this set!
Saturday Schedule
Cimafunk will be one of the highlights of the final day of Resonate. I first cautht them at Hulaween in 2022. Since then, Cimafunk have been making the rounds at a lot of headining and festival appearances and turning people on to his Afro-Cuban funk. Cimafunk is a cross between half James Brown and half Fela Kuti and 100% dance music.He’s got the chops and his band has all you need to tickle your funky bone! Get out and shake it up with Cimafunk!
Algorhythm is probably the newest band on the roster, having come out of Oakland, CA, about two years ago and their first album just about one year ago. Algorhythm’s mixes elements of reggae, rock, electronic, and pop. This will be the first time I get a chance to see them and another reason to get out early on Saturday afternoon.
Sauce Pocket is one of my favorite new bands and this will be the fourth time seeing them in the last 15 months. Their funk-fusion jams hit just right and I’m really stoked to capture them again (see video from last year’s Resonate). It’ll be a great way to start the day on Saturday so make sure to get settled in on time – you don’t wanna miss these guys.