The AURA Music & Arts Festival down at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, FL came and went all too quickly this past weekend. With a number of major sets to look out for, and the always surprising sets from up and coming acts, festival goers had a lot of music on your plate that would fill their bellies (musically, that is).
But before we get to the musical highlights, it needs to be said that the festival site, Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, is one of the best festival/event facilities out there. It is built specifically for these types of events, which makes it no surprise that it hosts events such as Bear Creek, Wanee, the String Cheese Incident’s Hulaween, Purple Hatter’s Ball, and a multitude other events. Whether you camp, rent RV’s, or stay in the on-site cabins, there is no other facility that comes close to providing you with what SOSMP does.
With nearly 5,000 people in attendance for AURA – a small, intimate affair for the 700+ acre property located on the historic Suwannee River – festival organizers Daryl Wolff and Cameron Ferguson, have put together an excellent, ever-expanding event that features the jam, livetronica, and funk scene’s biggest veterans, as well as its brightest up and coming acts. Definitely keep AURA on your list of must-see festivals in 2016. Here are SOME of the highlights:
The Disco Biscuits
With what was arguably the most anticipated set of the weekend and seemed to have brought everyone in attendance together at the main stage, the Biscuits threw down a pretty first set, with “The Very Moon” highlighting the fact that we were all under a very bright, almost full moon. The “Great Abyss” got things warmed up, and “Little Shimmy” drew on some Latin flare to properly end the first set.
Second set brought the absolute heat as the Biscuits opened with “Helicopters,” with a flawless segue into “I-Man.” The highlight of this set was the monster jam from “Crickets (intro)” that straight dropped back into “Helicopters” – minds were definitely blown at this point. Ending with a little “House Dog Party Favor” left the crowd begging for more, but slowly coming to the realization that the Biscuits went straight into their encore and actually went over their set time.
SET 1: World is Spinning, Very Moon > Bombs > Great Abyss > Catalyst, Little Shimmy in a Conga Line
SET 2: Helicopters > I-Man > Crickets (intro) > Helicopters, House Dog Party Favor
“Helicopters > I-Man > Crickets (intro) > Helicopters”
American Babies
Directly after the Disco Biscuits, from beginning to end Tom Hamilton and his American Babies was the perfect late night music elixir. Opening with a upbeat version of Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up In Blue,” once the Babies got started they never let up. As the band was running through some originals, there was a Marc Brownstein sighting, then Aron Magner was around, and people got to talking. As the Babies tore through the Brothers Past number “State Police,” Hamilton gave a nod and Magner came out to join the band for a jam, then another nod was given and Clay Parnell handed over his bass to Brownie as the group went into a super funky “Shakedown Street.”
As if that wasn’t enough, Barber could be seen side-stage enjoying a beer and listening in as the group went into “Little Lai”. Then, all of a sudden Barber comes out and shreds through a “Lai” jam and we are witnessing the birth of the Disco Babies (or American Biscuits) right before our very own eyes; as you looked around, there were plenty of smiles in the crowd. One more thing- the Babies version of the War on Drugs’ “Red Eyes” is absolutely terrific, talk about being locked in. Hopefully there is a soundboard or taper version of this set, as it most definitely deserves another listen.
The Main Squeeze’s “Michael Jackson” Set
Really, does it get much better than MJ? A Sunday afternoon set, with plenty of sunshine, led straight to the boogie. Not going to lie, this would have been a pretty epic late-night set though, as well. Check out “Blame It On The Boogie” with the Shady Horns and Isaac Teel from Tauk:
Break Science Live Band
Bringing along friends and fellow bandmates from Lettuce, Break Science’s Adam Deitch and Borahm Lee went with a full live band for the first time in the group’s history, and they did not disappoint. Watching Deitch and Lee lead the Shady Horns, Jesus Coomes and Shmeeans through the Break Science repertoire was a treat, and will hopefully happen more often in the future.
“Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe > Let’s Groove”
moe.
moe. certainly provided two solid sets of music for the AURA crowd for their headlining set on Friday night. The first set was solid from beginning to end, which was needed on this more than brisk night. The second set kept things heated up, especially during a straight run of “Bily Goat > Not Coming Down > Wormwood > St. Augustine” which was played exceptionally well. Any time you get Mike Dillon to come out and jam with you, you can bet your ass the energy will be high, and that was certainly true during his “Meat” sit-in.
SET 1: Annihilation, Same Old Story, Spazz, Ass > Kyle’s Song > George
SET 2: Billy Goat > Not Coming Down > Wormwood > St. Augustine, Bear Song > Meat (w/ Mike Dillon)
Encore: Akimbo
“St. Augustine”
TAUK
We can’t really say enough about these guys. TAUK is the real deal, and are consistently playing incredible live sets with a full, polished sound. Both of their sets at AURA were evident of this as well. Their version of The Beatles’ “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” (seen below) is much more than a cover song; TAUK gives their own spin on the song, and makes it very much their own.
“I Want You > In the Basement of the Alamo”
– Chris Meyer
[All photos courtesy of Jason Koerner Photography and AURA Music & Arts Festival]
[all videos courtesy of CHeeSeHead Productions, with the exception of the Main Squeeze’s “Blame It On The Boogie” video]
