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There is likely no more iconic group for Spirt of Suwanee Music Park as Lettuce and there’s no better timeslot or stage for their interstellar funk than midnight on the Amphitheater stage.  And so it was for Hulaween 2017 the flagship set where Lettuce torched the festival with one of their alltime spaciest, spookiest, funkiest low down and nasty sets.  You can catch the Mt. Crushmore opener from the second set at FunkCity.net on YouTube with the link. Of course, the pre-party opening set scorched the stage as well.  They kicked off with a New Intro and rolled right intoContinue Reading

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Lotus was the Sunday highlight of Hulaween 2017 as they took their jamtronica to the masses on the Patch stage.  In some ways, the band is a perfect fit for this festival which tends to host jam bands and EDM and Lotus is a nice blend of the two.  Their tunes are unique and instantly recognizable and the band hit with a number of classic tunes as shown in the setlist.  Spiritualize (opener) and Age of Inexperience (closer) are available on FunkCity.net on YouTube. Spiritualize Sid > Sunrain Whitelight Fadeaway Nematode Gilded Age Greet The Mind Age of InexperienceContinue Reading

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Kamasi Washington‘s set was a major highlight at Hulaween 2017.  On Saturday afternoon, Kamasi and his musical family, including his father, was stellar, super funky  and captivating.  His compositions are beautifully arranged blending elements of classical, jazz and even spiritual music into a very special mix.  Each tune steadily builds harmonically to a crescendo that makes it feel very uplifting. The entire set was exceptionally but was highlighted by the final two numbers, Truth from the Harmony of Difference EP of the same name and Kamasi’s now classic The Rhythm Changes from The Epic 3-CD inaugural voyage which features theContinue Reading

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I had my first recent opportunity to see Beausoleil avec Michaet Doucet at City Winery on September 3rd. I’d last seen them in the early 90s and had my last two purchased tickets go to waste due to first a car accident on the way to the venue 3 year ago and second a schedule conflict 2 years ago. The group is iconic for Cajun/Zydeco/Lousiana folk music and Michael Doucet is a master on vocals, fiddle, and Cajun accordian.  Doucet’s vocals in French and English are evocative of the hard life, the blues, of the Acadian/Cajun people of whom heContinue Reading

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Bill Laurance’s Live at Union Chapel is Grammy-worthy material.  I’ve procrastinated reviewing this CD/DVD since getting my copy in February simply because it’s been in my car rotation every since and I wanted to do it justice.  It’s a live performance in London accompanied by his Snarky Puppy bandmates Michael League on bass and Robert “Sput” Searight on drums along with Felix Higginbottom on percussion.  A full string section plus French horn round out the team. Overall it is one of the richest sounding live piano/keys albums I’ve ever heard and instantly enters into my list of all-time classics.  The musicianship,Continue Reading

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BALTIMORE, Md. – On a midsummer’s steamy night in downtown Baltimore, the sweltering asphalt from the “Charm City” streets seemed to reflect the sizzling sounds of one of Augusta’s newest live-music packages. Source: ‘Funk You’ band enjoys steady successful ride | The Augusta ChronicleContinue Reading

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Shofukan, arguably Snarky Puppy‘s most popular song, was recorded on the We Like it Here album but played live well before then.  It is frequently played during live shows, often as the encore and is replete with audience participation singing the chorus.  Here is a wonderful orchestral version with the Metropole Orkest, whose members also sing along. Enjoy.  P.S. Love Larnell’s mug into the camera after the drum-percussion duo.Continue Reading