Kicking off what is sure to be another incredible year in music at The Spirit Of The Suwannee Music Park, funk pioneers Lettuce brought JAW GEMS, The Lee Boys, and a sold out crowd to one of America’s best loved concert venues for the weekend of January 13 and 14. With the recent move by the park to book non-festival shows featuring top tier talent, the walls of the indoor Suwannee Music Hall are left shaking from the musical onslaught. It was a true feast for the senses, with the dazzling lights and sounds on the stage off set by the succulent delight and tantalizing aromas from the new Southern Soul BBQ restaurant that acted as hosts to the revelry.
Paul Levine and his Purple Hat Productions crew have decided to make every possible use of the stages and picturesque environs of Suwannee for a series of showcases for national touring bands to rock the park. Though the weather across the country is bitter cold, the park was warm and the stages were practically on fire with raging funk and super soulful gospel and blues. With a sold out first try, it seems like there is going to be a lot of fun in the months to come besides the dozen some odd festivals on the calendar.
Our own Rex Thomson was on hand to photograph and film the wild goings on, and has some lovely performance to share with you all. Enjoy!
Lettuce
New York based funksters Lettuce are no strangers to the Spirit Of The Suwannee Music Park. Between their unforgettable Bear Creek appearances and performances at so many of the other parties thrown in the park, they are old hands at rocking the Spanish moss lined streets and stages. With a new EP Mt. Crushmore out, the band is pushing the boundaries of funk in some exciting and decidedly space-y directions. Signing up for a full two sets of futuristic gettin’ down, the boys lost no time getting moving.
The heart of Lettuce beats to a the rhythm of one of the finest drummers on the planet, Adam Deitch. His seamless interaction with the messiah of the deep end, Jesus Coomes, has made Lettuce of the most inescapably danceable bands to ever stride the stage. The Shady Horns, Benny Bloom and Ryan Zoidis punctuated and added their trademarked blend of smokey fills and distorted wails. Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff manages to be ever-present but not-in-your-face…switching from rhythmic chords to squealing leads at the drop of a hat. And, thanks to Nigel Hall and his soulful vocals and organ bravado, the whole evening had the trapping of a ritual of Funk. Check it out:
Jaw Gems
Joining Lettuce for a series of dates across the southeast, the music collective JAW GEMS hit all the right notes and served as a wonderful appetizer for the jams to come. Their music dexterity was well on display and their style of organ, drums, and loops found just the right balance between the technological and organic sides of modern jams. A very promising band who managed to deliver a very well received set of new age music for fans of funk past and present. Give a listen to some of their more focused work below:
Galbraith Group
The Galbraith siblings, Ashley, Josh and Taylor are the nucleus of the blues powerhouse Galbraith Group. With the sisters holding down the rhythm with earth shaking results, guitarist Josh was free to blow minds with his spot on take on the blues fundamentals of legends past. With echoes of the finest layers of years, he managed to invoke but not imitate; a tricky proposition at best. Winning over the crowd near instantly with their daunting wall of sound the Galbraith Group played a near seamless set of the most rip roaring blues the park has seen in a while. Check out their rip roaring twelve minute free-for-all set closer below:
The Lee Boys
The southern steel soul tinged gospel of The Lee Boys is always a welcome sound for any ears blessed enough to be in the area when they take the stage. No strangers to Suwannee, The Lee Boys met a warm reception as they took the stage to close out the Friday night festivities. With Alvin Lee leading the way on guitar, while sons Derrick and Keith on vocals the band took everyone to church with a nearly two hour musical sermon on the topic of love. Pedal steel player Chris Johnson showcased some monster riffs, with some of the tastiest jams captured in the video below! Check it out!
Troy Youngblood & the SoulFish
While some folks might have balked at playing on the supposedly bad luck holiday of Friday the 13th, Troy Youngblood and his band, The SoulFish showed they weren’t afraid of anything with a fierce set of bone chilling blues. While the band managed to give a fully fleshed out accompaniment to Youngblood all eyes and ears were on the deeply heart wrenching blues leads laid down by the guitar hero. Check out the heart rending jams he let loose below:
With the first party of the year in the books as a complete success, it seems like the promise of a year of incredible music is sure to be kept by one of the most venerated music homes in the nation.
For a full dose of the massive funksplosion that is Lettuce, join them for the second edition of their Florida festival Fool’s Paradise. Featuring back to back days of Lettuce, with incredible bands like Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, The Floozies , Manic Science (Manic Focus & Break Science), The Main Squeeze, Organ Freeman and more! Plus there are after parties, exclusive excursions where you can share adventures with the bands and, of course, the chance to lie in the sun after a chilly couple of months trapped inside! Tickets for Fool’s Paradise go on sale Friday, January 20th at 10 am EST. Don’t miss out on your chance to spend some time in the sun, funking it up after a long winter’s nap. More information can be found on the festival’s website.
