Much like last year, the third annual Peach Music Festival was a smashing success. Nestled on the beautiful Montage Mountain, just outside of Scranton, PA, Peach Fest brought top-notch musicians for four days of non-stop entertainment. 

The festival was organized by Live Nation, who worked tirelessly to promote the ideal festival environment. Staff members were helpful and polite, with security actually concerning themselves with real issues of security (instead of wasting time with arrests). This environment only encouraged a comfortable community environment for festival attendees and vendors alike.

But, most importantly, the music at Peach Fest was undeniably awesome. As we live for live music, we decided to run through some of our favorite musical moments from this year’s Peach Music Festival:

1. Cabinet – “Mr. Spaceman > Shady Grove > Mr. Spaceman”

Hometown favorites Cabinet brought their Pennsylvania bluegrass to the Peach on Thursday night for their first of two sets. They dusted off a cover of The Byrd’s song “Mr. Spaceman,” showcasing their jammier side with a spacy improvisational segment that segued into “Shady Grove,” before finding its way back into the final verse of “Spaceman.” With guest saxophonist Ron Holloway adding a jazzier element, this set was a fantastic way to kick off the musical festivities.

You can stream Cabinet’s set in full below:

2. George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic – “One Nation Under The Groove”

After nearly 60 years, funk master George Clinton knows how to get things shaking. After a particularly moving guitar solo from Mike Hampton, the band busted out their 1978 masterpiece, “One Nation Under the Groove.” The classic tune kept the fans dancing deep into the night.

Here’s the original version of “One Nation”, because it’s that much fun:

3. Victor Wooten – “Kashmir”

Bass-master Victor Wooten brought the funky vibes to Peachfest, for an early afternoon set on Friday. Perhaps best known for his work with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Woten shredded through bass frets, capitalizing on his unique sound to provide for a fantastic concert experience. The masterful musician led his band through a powerful performance of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir,” inciting the crowd into a frenzy.

4. A Dead Set With Joe Russo, Jeff Chimenti, Scott Metzger, Tom Hamilton & Reed Mathis, with Special Guests Jackie Greene and Joan Osborne – “Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Shakedown Street”

With the unfortunate news of Bob Weir cancelling his tour, a troupe of Grateful Dead-inspired musicians took to the stage for a Dead Set on Friday night. The band weaved through numerous Dead classics, with an opening “Truckin'” and a “Sugaree” jam that teased “The Other One.” The highlight of their set was a classic “Help On The Way > Slipknot!” that, instead of settling into the familiar “Franklin’s Tower,” switched gears into an exciting “Shakedown Street.” Veering from the normal progression allowed the talented musicians to experiment, with Chimenti and Greene sharing organ duties during a particularly moving moment.

Check out this fan-shot video of the band playing “Not Fade Away” into “Lovelight.”

5. Tedeschi-Trucks Band – “Bound for Glory”

Derek Trucks is easily one of the most electrifying guitarists alive, emitting a sliding sound that sooths the soul. Trucks, along with his ever-talented wife Susan Tedeschi, came out in full force on Friday night. The band played a number of tracks from their 2013 release, Made Up Mind, and dug into their catalog for a cover of Derek and the Dominoes’ “Keep On Growin'” They closed the set with a riveting rendition of “Bound For Glory,” with Tedeschi and Trucks trading outrageously inspired guitar solos. Beautiful, beautiful work.

Here’s the version from their Live from Atlanta official release:

6. Papadosio – “Garden”

Sandwiched between Tedeschi-Trucks and Trey Anastasio Band, the great Papadosio brought their intoxicating electronically-fueled jam sound to the smaller Mushroom Stage for a hair-raising set. Their fluid music weaved through various themes and motifs, keeping the crowd moving from start to finish. They also played one of my favorite tunes, “Garden,” in the middle of an excellent performance.

7. Trey Anastasio Band – “Black Dog”

Stepping up in lieu of Bob Weir, The Trey Anastasio Band closed out the Friday night festivities on the Peach Stage. The band played two sets in total, jamming on some Phish standards like “First Tube,” “Gotta Jibboo,” and “Sand,” as well as a number of TAB classics, like “Cayman Review” and “Night Speaks to a Woman.” The sets included a cover of The Gorillaz’ “Clint Eastwood,” and a monumental performance of the Led Zeppelin classic, “Black Dog.” Powered by the energetic guitarwork of Trey Anastasio and the incredibly moving vocals of Jennifer Hartswick, TAB brought this Zeppelin song to life! Played as the encore of the first set, “Black Dog” was easily the highlight of both TAB performances. The song was certainly a testament to this amazing ensemble, who play with limitless enthusiasm and prowess.

Here’s a version of the band playing “Black Dog,” from earlier this year:

8. Infamous Stringdusters – “Let It Go”

The Infamous Stringdusters are among the best bluegrass performers playing today. The band exhibits such passion for their music, bringing a warm-spirited sentiment to the crowd. The band played a number of tracks from their latest release, Let It Go, including a rousing rendition of “Where The Rivers Run Cold,” and the moving title track, “Let It Go.” They also went into a cover of The Police’s “Walkin’ On The Moon,” but the sheer gravitas of “Let It Go” was easily the highlight of the show. Check out the raw energy of the song from the official video below:

9. Greyboy Allstars – “The Way You Make Me Feel”

Karl Denson is a musical legend. As a powerful vocalist, brilliant flautist, expert horn player, and inspired band leader, Denson has found success with his own project (Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe), and continues to tour with The Greyboy Allstars. The band played several of their classic tunes, including the ever-jazzy “Happy Friends,” and snuck in a cover of the Michael Jackson hit, “The Way You Make Me Feel.” The bust-out cover sent smiles throughout the Peach Stage crowd; a surefire musical serenade. Check out the band playing the song from Vibes 2012 below:

10. Gov’t Mule w/ Karl Denson – “Sco-Mule”

Gov’t Mule is an enormously powerful band. Backed by the guitarwork of Warren Haynes, Mule continues to celebrate their 20th anniversary in style. Haynes and co. brought out Karl Denson on saxophone, for an inspired performance of the classic Mule tune, “Sco-Mule.” The collaboration between Haynes and Denson is thoroughly exciting, as two creative masters bounce musical ideas back and forth. The interplay between Mule and Denson was easily one of our favorite musical moments throughout the weekend. Check out the fan-shot video below:

11. The Allman Brothers Band – Eat A Peach!

As promised, The Allman Brothers Band opened the first of their two performances with the 1971 classic album, Eat A Peach. The last ABB recording to feature legendary slide guitarist Duane Allman, Eat A Peach will forever hold a place in rock music history. Hearing this music from cover to cover, live, with two of the best guitarists alive (Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes), along with Mr. Gregg Allman himself, was truly a blessing. The band promised Eat A Peach and wasted no time with their “Ain’t Wastin Time No More” opener. 

The Allman Brothers played a mind-blowing “Mountain Jam,” a rip-roaring “One Way Out” into “Trouble No More,” and finished the set with a beautiful “Blue Sky.” The encore performance of “Little Martha” included a touching video montage of Duane Allman, including photos from the early ABB era. The music itself was a delightful guitar duet, and an eloquent way to cap off a monstrous performance. Not to mention the final two encore numbers, “That’s What Love Will Make You Do” and “Black Hearted Woman.”

12. Wake Up With Warren – “Wish You Were Here”

The following morning, fans were treated to a special Wake Up With Warren set. Playing by himself, Haynes roared through a number of Gov’t Mule songs, a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “High Time,” and came back to delight fans with an encore of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” The moving morning performance stirred things up for a festive Sunday schedule.

Check out this older video of Haynes playing the classic Floyd tune:

13. The Allman Brothers Band w/ Taj Mahal – “Statesboro Blues”

Playing their second show in two nights, The Allman Brothers brought out a number of guests to enhance the final performance at the Peach Music Festival. Ron Holloway came out for some saxophone work on “Soulshine,” but, by far, the most impressive addition was Taj Mahal on “Statesboro Blues.” The energetic blues number was written by Blind Willie McTell, covered by Taj Mahal in 1968, and brought to the public eye by the Allman Brothers, on their pivotal album At The Fillmore East in 1971. To see these venerated blues masters collaborating on this timeless track was simply magical. While this wasn’t the first time they played together (check out the video below from 2011), this was certainly a special performance, and a great way to end the Peach.

The band closed their set with an encore “Whipping Post,” a perfect ending to four days filled with musical festivities.

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There you have it, thirteen of our favorite musical moments from this year’s Peach Festival. With so many fantastic bands on the lineup, there were undoubtedly some more musical moments worth sharing… leave your favorites in the comments!

See you at the Peach in 2015!

-David Melamed (@DMelamz)

Special thanks to the Jocelot for her photos, and heartfelt thank you to the Fuzztival family, especially Berta, James and Andy, for making this weekend so memorable. Just remember: it’s okay to eat as many Cheese Puffs as you want.

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