JJ Grey and Mofro with Maggie Koerner
Vinyl Music Hall, Pensacola, FL
September 6, 2015
JJ Grey and Mofro with Maggie Koerner
All photographs courtesy of Beth Childs
Vinyl Music Hall, Pensacola, FL
September 6, 2015
JJ Grey and Mofro with Maggie Koerner
All photographs courtesy of Beth Childs
The Accidentals with Keller Williams
September 9th, The Vogue, Indianapolis, IN
All photography courtesy of Phierce Photography, Keith Griner.
September 5 & 6, 2015
Columbus, Ohio
Images by Vasquez Photography
Full gallery can be found at: Full Gallery
The second annual Fashion Meets Music Festival took place over Labor Day weekend in The Arena District of downtown Columbus, Ohio. The lineup included several bands over the course of two days. Saturday’s lineup highlights included machineheart, SOJA, Kid Runner, Ludacris, O.A.R., Rachel Platten, ZZ Ward, and Young The Giant. Ludacris drew the biggest crowd despite the heat on Saturday afternoon, and Young The Giant provided a perfect set to close down day one. Hearing the entire crowd sing along to “Cough Syrup” was definitely the most memorable moment of the day.
Day two kicked off on the Stella Artois Stage with Andy Grammer and his high energy set. The Nashville based band, The Nearly Deads, rocked the smaller Jagermeister Stage. Leader singer, Theresa Jeane, was all over the stage and provided some epic photo opportunities for everyone in the crowd.
Toronto based Lights, performed her Electro-Soul Pop in the steamy afternoon on the iHeart Radio Stage. Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness performed several crowd favorites including his summer hit “Cecilia and the Satellite” on the same stage. Andrew wasn’t afraid to engage his fans. He at one point jumped into the photo pit and reached out to the crowd. He then jumped back onto the stage and began singing from on top of his grand piano.
The anticipation for AWOLNATION had been building all day. They hit the stage in a sea of hazy lights, and the band played at full force. Lead singer, Aaron Bruno’s, vocals ranged from a whisper to full-on scream and blended perfectly with the bands intense wall of electronics and rocking guitars.
Closing the entire festival was St. Vincent, aka Annie Clark. She was a perfect fit for the festival with her long history of art-rock performances, choreographed dancing, and amazing guitar shredding. After performing Annie mentioned on her Instagram feed that she was officially retiring her black cat suit and dancing shoes from the Digital Witness Tour.
I’m looking forward to next year’s lineup with great anticipation to see how this small festival will continue to grow. For more info: http://fmmf.us
Here are a few images from Phierce Photography, Keith Griner from
North Coast Music Festival 2015
with D’ANGELO AND THE VANGUARD,THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS, The Roots, Wale, Shpongle (Simon Posford), Atmosphere, Porter Robinson, The Glitch Mob, Chromeo, Portugal. The Man, Booka Shade, RAC, Nahko & Medicine for the People, supergroup Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, and an exciting performance from New Orleans’ premiere funk band Galactic joined by Macy Gray, plus more.
and the after street Party with the Disco Biscuits
STAY TUNED IN!!
New Contests around the Corner
WTMD RADIO’S 1st THURSDAY
AT CANTON’S WATERFRONT PARK FINAL SHOW 2015
WTMD radio station is one of only a few locally-owned radio stations in the Towson and Baltimore vicinity. WTMD has one of the largest listening audiences of any public radio station in Maryland.
WTMD produces First Thursday Concerts in the Park, a series of six free after work shows at Canton’s Waterfront Park in Baltimore Maryland! What an amazing service they provide for the community bringing artists like The Damnwells, Joan Osborne, Los Lonely Boys, LP, Steve Forbert, The Colour, The Young Dubliners, The Heartless Bastards, and tonight to close out the season one of my favorites was also on the bill; The Reverend Peytons Big Damn Band!
What a party these shows have turned out to be, attracting crowds of about 3,000 people as well as many local vendors. The atmosphere is festive and the vibe is just plain great!!! If you have never seen The Reverend Peytons Big Damn Band then you really don’t know what you are missing. This band is a three piece American Country Rockin’ Blues band with an energy level that feels like it will never stop! With Ben “Bird Dog” Bussell on the drums, He plays a small drum kit, augmented with a five gallon plastic bucket fitted with drum hardware.
“Washboard” Breezy Peyton on Washboard and Vocals. Breezy is so aggressive that She plays the washboard using golf gloves to which thimbles have been attached. At some point during the show things got so hot that the washboard caught on fire!!!
And last but certainly not least we have The Reverend J. Peyton on guitar, lead vocals, and the principal songwriter of the group! The Reverend plays a rusty 1930 steel bodied National guitar, a 1934 wood bodied National Trojan Resonator guitar and a 1994 reproduction of a 1929 Gibson acoustic and also a 3 string cigar box guitar. Peyton makes it very clear to everyone that he uses no gimmicks, He takes the time to show everyone where the bass line comes from (His thumb and the bass string!) Make no mistake about it, there are no loops, no computers, just the old style way of making music. Peyton’s fingerstyle guitar playing has a wonderful sound with the bass line coming from his thumb while simultaneously playing the melody with his other fingers!
All in All this was a wonderful way to end the season and celebrate the community with music! If you have never heard or seen The Reverend Peytons Big Damn Band, I highly suggest that you make it a priority to check them out!
Thank You WTMD Radio for all that you do and Thanks to your wonderful staff and volunteers!!! See You Next Season!!
Peace & Blessings,
Stuart Dahne
Vulfpeck at Beat Kitchen
Chicago, IL – August 29, 2015
Images provided by Phierce Photography, Keith Griner
Carlos Santana
08-26-2015, Pier 6 Pavilion, Baltimore, MD.
An Amazing Artist in a beautiful setting, what a combination! The Pier Six Pavilion has to be one of the most beautiful venues in the United States with its panoramic views of Baltimore’s world famous Inner Harbor and a night that could not have been more perfect weather!
“We love the life we live, With light, We live the life we love, For light”
Carlos Santana, from “The Carlos Santana Blues Band” in 1967 up until today and still “relevant”! At 68 years young Carlos Santana still impresses us all with 2 hour plus shows and an energy that just washes over you and transforms you for at least the time that you are there! Last night’s performance at Baltimore’s Pier 6 could not have been more of a party with music spanning his entire career. Often times Carlos is very unobtrusive on stage yielding to showcase the rest of his amazing band, however, make no mistake about it, Carlos’s classic guitar work cuts through to the top no matter what! In the midst of this amazing party Carlos takes time to center us all with a spiritual reminder, a reminder that “we are all created of 2 things, Light and Love” and that we need to embrace that and carry that with us! He shares that we all can tell ourselves “I am that I am; I am the light” and he reminds us to look beyond religion and to love each other!
Tonight’s lineup was classic” Jose “Pepe” Jimenez ~ Drums. Paoli Mejias ~ percussion, Karl Perazzo ~ Percussion, Benny Rietveld ~ Bass, David K. Matthews ~ keyboards, Tommy Anthony ~ Guitar & Vocals, Bill Ortiz ~ Trumpet, Jeff Cressman ~ Trombone, Tony Lindsay ~ Vocals, Andy Vargas ~ Vocals
The band was fluid and impressive the entire evening. I was incredibly impressed when Carlos took a moment and spoke to a woman in the front of the audience, He said that he had seen her in the front and wanted to give her a gift; He then gave her a guitar and autographed it on the spot! WOW! This all reminds me of a principle that Carlos subscribes to: “There is no greater reward than working from your heart and making a difference in the world.” Thank You Carlos Santana! Thank you for years of beautiful service to mankind and most of all, Thanks for the music!
Peace & Blessings,
Stuart Dahne (Writer and Photographer)
Hard Working Americans
Words by Travis Wages, edited by Roger Patteson
Photos by Roger Patteson
After leaving the Southern Brewers Festival in Chattanooga, TN, the Hard Working Americans landed in Birmingham, AL for a Sunday night delight at downtown’s Iron City venue. The band is currently chugging along on their “High Up On It” tour. The country rock supergroup features singer-songwriter Todd Snider on lead vocals, Neal Casal on lead guitar (Chris Robinson Brotherhood and the Cardinals), Widespread Panic bassist Dave Schools, Chad Staehly on keyboards (Great American Taxi), Duane Trucks on drums (Allman Brothers lineage and current Widespread Panic drummer) and most recent member, young Jesse Aycock on lap-steel and electric guitar.
With the sounds of outlaw country and gospel ringing in fan’s ears, courtesy of the opening band fronted by Elizabeth Cook, the crowd gave full attention to the Hard Working opener and Gillian Welch cover of “Wrecking Ball” that set the mood “…look out boys cause I’m a rollin’ stone… “. Settling into the venue, Iron City provided a dynamic sound on the floor and its balcony seating with a full stage of lights and multi-color ambience. Duane led off with a swinging drum beat for “Mission Accomplished” from the band’s album, “The First Waltz”, and the crowd was set in for the ride. The band shortly rolled into a fan favorite with “Mountain Song” featuring a melodic, yet sharp lead from Neal Casal. The Birmingham crowd could not resist the urge to dance and stomp their feet to the band’s next honky-tonkin’, ass kickin’ “Stomp and Holler” showing the band’s country rock sound with Staehly’s slamming keyboard work.
Frontman, Todd Snider, regaled the crowd with a show of whiskey bliss and abandon that evoked the fans to pump fists and boogie! There was certainly no lack of enthusiasm on the band’s part and the crowd escalated with each gyration and hoot and bended E string. Dave Schools and company portrayed a genuine connection with each other and the crowd throughout the night with hearty smiles and a musical chemistry betrays the reality of this being each members “side project”. The band held nothing back on their newly added song “Someday Past the Sunset”, showcasing Snider’s raspy, soulful voice against a backdrop of swamp spawned School’s bassline and an Aycock pedal whine that evokes thoughts of everything southern and raw. “Down to the Well” was well placed mid set with a slow, driving sound that kept the Sunday night crowd swaying and swinging. From their self-titled album, the Americans showed off their rendition of “Blackland Farmer” and sandwiched a “Born to be Wild” and “Playing in the Band” jam that reached a new climax for the night seeming sinister yet satisfying.
As the band had left the stage, the Alabama crowd couldn’t sit still and eagerly awaited a huge three song encore. The Hard Working Americans could be described as Americana Country Rock featuring edgy lyrics, swampy basslines, and a twangy yet melodic guitar section that scream southern rock. The band’s encore featured a crowd sing-a-long with “Straight to Hell” and a driving “Mountain Jamboree”. The Hard Working Americans seem to have a blast together and definitely live up to their name.
HWA continues their late summer tour with more southern stops in Fayetteville, AR; Tulsa, OK; and Kansas City, MO before heading to golden Colorado with shows in Nederland and Durango.
