Music Jam Productions hosted the Florida Jazz and Blues Jam on Saturday at Sunset Cove Amphitheater in Boca Raton, Florida and provided a solid lineup of music for those who attended. The lineup included Marcia Ball, Kenny Neal, Robben Ford, Walter Trout, The Devon Allman Project with Duane Betts and Peter Levin, and Gov’t Mule.
Kicking off the day was five-time Grammy nominee Marcia Ball. Ball’s opening set was full of energy as she played songs that covered a long career that includes winning the 2002 Blues Music Award for Blues Album of the Year with her critically acclaimed release Presumed Innocent. The band played “The Tattooed Lady and the Alligator” and “The Squeeze is On” off of her latest release as well as “Party Town” from her album Peace Love & BBQ.
Next up was blues legend Kenny Neal from Baton Rouge, La. As Neal took the stage, the rain began to fall, but that didn’t discourage the folks in the crowd who stayed in place throughout and enjoyed the music. Neal’s musical career began at three years old when his musical father’s friend, Slim Harpo, gave him his first harmonica. Neal was fantastic with the crowd and on guitar and harmonica as he ripped out a solid set of blues.
Neal had the longtime local blues legend Joey Gilmore join him on stage and the results were fantastic. Neal and his band played “The Things I Used to Do”, “Keep on Moving” as well as covering the hits “Don’t Mess With My Toot-Toot” that later turned into “When the Saints Go Marching In” by the great Louis Armstrong. After his performance, Neal and his band were kind enough to sign posters, take photos with fans, and meet and greet all that were interested in the merchandise tent, and the line of takers was long.
Following Kenny Neal was guitar virtuoso legend Robben Ford. Ford has had a stellar career and has performed on stage and in the studio with such greats as Miles Davis, George Harrison, Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, Barbara Streisand, KISS, Warren Haynes, Gregg Allman, and Phil Lesh, as well as many others. His most recent album titled Into The Sun debuted at #2 on the Blues Charts. The group performed a fantastic set of blues that was well received by the crowd.
The rain disappeared and night began to fall as Walter Trout took the stage for the Florida Jazz and Blues Jam. Trout is a true blues legend, and his latest release We’re All In This Together quickly rose to the #1 spot on the Blues charts with guest appearances on the album by the likes of Kenny Wayne Sheppard, Joe Bonamassa, John Mayall, and Randy Bachman.
Trout’s band put on a heavy, rock-filled set, and Walter Trout’s son, Jon Trout, came out and joined the band on guitar. Later in the show, Trout became extremely emotional when telling the story of his near death experience and life-saving liver transplant that came at the most desperate of moments. He had to learn to walk, talk, and play guitar again all over but clearly overcame all the adversity and still performs at the highest level. His joy for playing and being alive was clearly evident as he touched the crowd with his story, then proceeded to shred the guitar song after song.
The Devon Allman Project followed and were fantastic. Devon, the son of the late, great Gregg Allman, is an accomplished musician and brought in special guests for the performance. Duane Betts (son of Allman Brothers founding member Dicky Betts) and Peter Levin (keyboardist for The Allman Brothers, Greg Allman Band, The Blind Boys of Alabama to name a few) joined the band on stage and added to an already great show.
The band played several songs off of the Devon Allman album titled Ragged and Dirty including “Ten Million Slaves”, “Midnight Lake Michigan” and “I’ll Be Around”. The band also did a tribute to the Allman Brothers by playing “Blue Sky”, “One Way Out”, “Melissa”, and “Midnight Rider”. Betts and Allman were fabulous together! Peter Levin was, as usual, a true joy to watch and hear perform as well. This band is definitely worth going to see if you have the opportunity.
Headlining the festival was Gov’t Mule who, on short notice, took the place of Dr. John—the band was originally scheduled to play but could not due to medical reasons. Mule opened with “Railroad Boy” and covered a wide range of songs. “Soulshine”, “Banks of The Deep End”, and “Revolution Come, Revolution Go” are some of the originals they played, but Warren Haynes mixed in some amazing covers as well playing the likes of the Allman Brothers’ “Mountain Jam” and “Statesboro Blues”. “The Sky is Crying” by Stevie Ray Vaughn was surely one of the highlights of the night, as the band was joined by Walter Trout and Peter Levin. Peter Levin, Devon Allman, and Duane Betts came out and joined in on the show-closing “Statesboro Blues” and brought the house down with their rendition. The Allman Brothers band may be finished, but their music is alive and in great hands with those on stage this night.
