Lettuce fans around the world are excitedly converging in St. August, FL for this weekend’s inaugural Fool’s Paradise music festival to see what magic the boys have up their sleeves. Their favorite band is acting as curator for the festival, playing huge shows both days, helping select the bands joining them for the weekend and even hanging out with fans on excursions around the sun drenched surroundings.Â
Lettuce has a long history of welcoming a stellar assortment of music legends and funky players from all corners of the world to their stage for epic collaborations. The band has already officially announced they will be joining electronica maven GRiZ for one such collaboration over the Paradise weekend, but Lettuce heads know that’s only the tip of the iceberg. To help everyone get in the proper mindset for the mayhem to come, we thought we’d take a look at some of our favorite guests that Lettuce has welcomed to their stage in years past.
1. Lettuce with George Porter Jr. – 5/24/14
Let’s start with a legend of funk and the coolest wedding band ever. When well known funk super-ragers Josh Raskin and Karen Dugan got engaged, they knew they needed their ceremony to be something to remember. Since their hearts both pump to a funky beat they decided to have the grooviest wedding humanly possible. The couple brought in the minister of funk, George Porter Jr. himself, to perform their nuptials and then had Lettuce as their wedding band, all at The Brooklyn Bowl! That’s one sure way to ensure a wedding anniversary you will never forget!
2. Lettuce with the Wu-Tang Clan – 6/14/13
Tennessee’s Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival brings in the biggest bands in the world for four days of non-stop, round-the-clock sonic madness. With the huge variety of artists on hand the opportunity for unexpected pairings gives attendees the chance to see some undreamed of jam sessions over the course of the weekend, and the 2013 edition of Roo was no exception. Rap legends the Wu-Tang Clan and Lettuce seamlessly joined together for a super jam for the ages, with Lettuce’s funky grooves providing a perfect canvas for the masters of rhyme, featuring RZA, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Solange, Schoolboy Q and Chad Hugo of the Neptunes.
Check out a bit of their incredible set below:
3. Lettuce with Oteil Burbridge and Stanton Moore – 1/6/16
Jam Cruise is legendary for its endless parade of crowd pleasing, jaw dropping sit-ins and musical matches made in heaven. It’s no surprise, as the promoters actively search for artists who enjoy exploring new territory together. Though the planned guest appearances are always enjoyable, sometimes the best moments are unexpected. That’s what happened earlier this year, when Oteil Burbridge, Galactic’s Stanton Moore and a crew of merry musicians help make this Lettuce tune a bit more silly than the band had probably intended. Enjoy!
4. Lettuce with Jimmy Herring – 8/5/12
The Jomeokee Festival in 2012 brought together a diverse lineup of bands from the rock, funk, bluegrass and reggae worlds for three days of adventure. Lettuce was on hand to make help ensure the proper levels of groove, while Aquarium Rescue Unit and Widespread Panic guitar wizard Jimmy Herring had his own band there to raise a ruckus. When Herring came out with Lettuce for an extended jam, the crowd was treated to a musical masterpiece.
5. Lettuce with Dr. John and Maceo Parker – 1/28/11
Another entry on our list from the Brooklyn Bowl, Lettuce welcomed a pair of the funk world’s most revered figures, Maceo Parker and Dr. John, to the venerable stage! Parker’s tenure as James Brown’s sax player has cemented him as a one of the industry’s most influential voices, and Dr. John literally IS one of music’s most recognized voices. In the clip below, watch these two legends turn in a unforgettable version of the Dr. John classic, “Right Place, Wrong Time.” The music is naturally amazing, but just watch how much fun the Lettuce boys are having while playing with these sonic titans.
6. Lettuce with Warren Haynes and John Scofield – 10/2/10
Why have one guitar superstar join you when you can have two? That’s what Lettuce must have thought when they were joined onstage by both John Scofield AND Warren Haynes at NYC’s Terminal 5. With those two powerhouses standing shoulder to shoulder with Lettuce’s own resident Adam Smirnoff and Eric Krasno they were dangerously close to guitar overload! Check out the clip below for a incredibly dark and ripping version of “Born Under A Bad Sign.”
7. Lettuce with Sharon Jones & Alecia Chakour – 4/9/15
The Major Rager is always a cause for celebration, as the annual pre-Masters event welcomes some of the greatest in the live music scene for a surefire party. Last year, Lettuce headlined the event, and brought out regular contributor and current Tedeschi Trucks Band member Alecia Chakour to display her powerful vocals. Fans were treated to an additional surprise, as Chakour introduced legendary soul singer Sharon Jones to bring it home! Watch the madness below:
8. Lettuce with Brandon “Taz” Niederauer – 11/15/14
There were many standout moments throughout Lettuce’s incredibly funktacular Bear Creek Music Festival sets over the years, including this fun moment when young guitar wunderkind and star of stage and screen, Brandon ‘TAZ’ Niederauer, joined Lettuce at the 2014 edition of the festival for a joyful rendition of Curtis Mayfield‘s “Move On Up.”
9. Lettuce with Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis – 11/13/11
Bear Creek was known for its artist-at-large program, bringing some of the finest talents in the world for unexpected pop-ins throughout the course of the weekend. For the 2011 festival, promoters pulled out all the stops and brought in the legendary James Brown horns to add a level of historic prestige to the proceedings. With Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and the sax man himself, Maceo Parker on hand to blow their mighty horns, what other choice did Lettuce have but to show the world they could be “Super Bad”?
10. Lettuce with Derek Trucks, Kofi Burbridge – 11/15/08
One of the most exciting Lettuce moments from Bear Creek came in 2008, when the band crossed paths with virtuoso guitarist Derek Trucks and his bandmate, the beloved Kofi Burbridge. Musical fusion was at its peak, and the collaboration was so hot, they did it again in 2009! Here, Trucks and Burbridge lend a hand for a potent take on the Curtis Mayfield classic, “Move On Up.” Dig it:
Who knows what artists might have some fun performing with Lettuce this weekend at Fool’s Paradise? Whatever happens, it’s sure to be a great celebration, jam packed with a lineup that features GRiZ, Chris Robinson’s Soul Revue, The Nth Power and more. Heading to St. Augustine, FL from April 1-2, Fool’s Paradise is one event you won’t want to miss!