After the first day of the festival, which kicked off on Thursday evening, day two of LOCKN’ had attendees waking to cooler temperatures and gorgeous blue skies. The heat is staying away, as is any possibility of rain. With Friday marking LOCKN’s first full day of music, yesterday, attendees made sure to take advantage of the unseasonable weather, setting up their spots on both fields earlier in the day to catch as much music as possible.
Friday’s music began with early morning sets at the Terrapin Porch stage, with solo sets by Danny Louis of Gov’t Mule on the piano followed by Jay Starling leading an acoustic circle at noon. Over at the Relix Stage, the afternoon moved along with back-to-back bands keeping the music flowing. Rockn’ to LOCKN’ winner, Sun Dried Opossum, opened up the music for the day on the field. Their gritty rockin’ melodies had the crowd on their feet and ready to dance the day away. Sax player, Dean Mitchell, of the Marcus King Band joined Sun Dried Opossum on stage for a few tunes ahead of Mitchell’s own performance. At noon, Marcus King Band followed with their soulful southern roots sound. King’s old soul vocals resonated throughout the packed venue. Fans enjoyed the set under beautiful puffy-cloud skies. Jazzy trumpet and sax weaved in and out of every melody, throwing out smooth vibes to the crowd.
TAUK continued the flow of music on the Relix Stage. This is the band’s second performance at LOCKN’, the first being in 2014. Late starters who were still drowsy from sleep jammed up the field to catch their energetic set under the blazing sun. Brooklyn-based Sinkane performed a joyous set overflowing with funk vibes that were intertwined with worldly tones. Midway through their set, singer Ahmed Gallab and drummer Jason Trammell, switched places, throwing the crowd off with their musical antics. Continuing the afternoon on the Relix stage, Antibalas wasted no time busting out the energy. Colorful outfits and a rarely seen xylophone kept the attention of the fans. Refreshing melodies and flavorful tunes rolled along throughout their performance.
Late afternoon brought Blackberry Smoke to the Main Stage, spreading crunchy vibes over the field. Their southern rock roots kicked up the energy like a well-worn pair of boots. Leathery guitar chords ripped through melodies while quietly building energy along their entire set. The crowd went nuts as they segued into the Grateful Dead’s “Fire On The Mountain” in the middle of their song “Sleeping Dog” before charging into The Beatles “Come Together.” The song itself was a crazy collaboration of covers thrown in for one hefty jam sandwich that just wouldn’t quit. Keeping the hotbed of awesome moving, the band punched out a rockin’ cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Baby Don’t You Do It.”  Their killer set also included a sweetly played “Amazing Grace” in honor of Gregg Allman.
Last year, My Morning Jacket performed a ridiculously sick set at LOCKN’. This year, Jim James came back for a solo set opening with a tender version of Frank Sinatra’s “Young At Heart.” Acoustic versions of My Morning Jacket tunes had the crowd on a high, seeing as his band was a festival favorite the prior year. Brandi Carlisle rolled right into her set without skipping a beat. She was full of fire and vigor. Jim James joined in to sing “Angel from Montgomery” with the other musicians clearing the stage to make way for the duo and her acoustic guitar. Her powerful voice boomed across the grounds, injecting energy into everyone. A surprising version of Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California” flowed onto the set, bringing enormous cheers from the audience.
The much awaited Phil Lesh and The Terrapin Family Band didn’t waste any time as they began their performance with “Bertha.” The set was crammed with fan favorites featuring “Broken Arrow,” “Unbroken Chain,” and “Scarlet Begonias.” Bob Weir joined the band and was welcomed to explosive cheers by the crowd. Weir sang “Jack Straw” as well as “Uncle Johns Band” to close the set.
Up next was the heavily anticipated set by Gov’t Mike. “Thorazine Shuffle” pumped up the audience early on. “Revolution Come, Revolution Go,” the title track of their new album, went into a serious jam. “Soulshine” crept onto the set before the main event that everyone was waiting for. Powerhouse Ann Wilson of Heart took to the stage and slammed right into Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song,” which was quickly followed by “Black Dog.” A powerful cover of Janis Joplin’s “Cry Baby” had a heavy blues spin on it while Heart’s “Magic Man” showed up with a vengeance, receiving a blast of applause and cheers from the venue.
After their set, the stage turned and Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, and the Terrapin Family Band, along with Nicki Bluhm, started right into “Estimated Prophet” kicking off the Terrapin Station set. Bluhm sang a beautiful version of “Sunrise,” followed by a delicate and tender start to the song everyone had been waiting for all day—”Terrapin Station.”  Lesh smiled brightly during the entire performance. Grahame Lesh put a unique spin on the latter part of the song, finishing up the full album performed track by track, to a clean close. Phil Lesh gave his donor rap to the audience before Joe Russo’s Almost Dead took over on the Relix Stage for the late-night performance.  Get the full rundown of their set, with special guests Jim James and Nicole Atkins here.
For fans who can not attend the festival, a free LOCKN’ stream is available, courtesy of Ben & Jerry’s, Airstream, and YouTube, in conjunction with Relix and Headcount. Viewers are encouraged to make a donation, with proceeds going to the Heal Charlottesville Fund. Funds raised will go towards assisting local residents seeking trauma counseling, supporting victims involved in the car attack who need help with their medical expenses, and towards helping law enforcement to prevent future attacks. Click here for more information regarding donations, as well as how to link up to the live stream.
Stay tuned as we continue to bring daily coverage from the festival each day.
Words by Sarah Bourque
Photos by Sam Shinault Photography
