Uproot Hootenanny

SUWANNEE SPRINGFEST SURPRISES
Humble when compared to other gatherings, this festival varies the vibes

Call it Bonnaroo South. Or Telluride East. Or both, with a sprinkling of the Newport Folk Festival, Merlefest and the Americana Festival tossed in for good measure. Humble Suwannee Springfest has yet to reap the recognition and appreciation that some of those bigger and more venerable festivals have managed to attain, and indeed, being that it’s in its 18th year, it can only be due to the fact that perhaps it’s a slow burner. Clearly, it’s not for lack of location; held outside Live Oak Florida — practically on the banks of, yes, the same Suwannee River Stephen Foster once celebrated in song — it’s easily accessible from Jacksonville, Tallahassee and all points south. And, for that matter, many points north “There’s so many musicians here from North Carolina, it looks like half the state took a field trip,” Steep Canyon Rangers’ Woody Platt was heard to remark to fellow state mate, Town Mountain’s Phil Barker.

Still, the Springfest — one of several gatherings held at the lovely Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park year round (the biggest being Wannee, an annual festival begun 18 years ago and curated by the Allman Brothers) — remains relatively small compared to the aforementioned gatherings, a source of pride for the predominantly Florida-based crowd that return year after year in a show of steadfast devotion. Despite the modest numbers — between 5,000 and 5,500 attended this year — it’s an eclectic bunch of attendees, a family friendly crowd of all ages and backgrounds. There are hippies and harbingers of a forward-looking populist approach, young and old alike. Tie-dye is the predominant fashion statement, both in terms of garb and as a staple amongst the various vendors. Were it not for that, as well as a certain shared enthusiasm, it’s easy to imagine that many of those present might be bankers or lawyers in their day jobs, given the fact that, along with a sizeable throng of young people, there were plenty of folks with greying locks, if, in fact, they had any follicles at all.

So much for that age-old adage, youth is wasted on the young. Clearly, that’s not the case here. Want to imagine your grandparents getting into a groove? Springfest can make it happen.

Of course, none of this would be possible without a first rate assortment of bands, all of whom come courtesy of Paul Levine, who’s been booking the various Suwannee festivals for the past eight years. Levine’s intention to add a younger element to the musical mix has paid off; this year’s event, held over four days, March 20 – 23, took a nod towards up and coming Americana acts, many of them if the bluegrass persuasion. As always, Donna the Buffalo held court for the band’s faithful, but they also shared the various stages with some other festival veterans as well — Steep Canyon Rangers, the Sam Bush Band, The Avett Brothers, the Del McCoury Band, Greensky Bluegrass, and Jim Lauderdale, along with relative newcomers like Aoife O’Donovan, Town Mountain and the Punch Brothers in particular. “That’s one of the special things about this festival,” Sam Bush would later remark, referencing the musical variety. “It’s bluegrass, it’s country, it’s Americana, it’s Rock, and practically everything in between.” It’s a credit to Levine’s acumen — as well as the festival founder and organizers — that Springfest is able to consistently offer such a diverse roster.

Of course, part of the reason has to do with the lovely setting, consisting of an expanse of meadow, a naturally shaded amphitheater and a collection of rustic buildings, all of which are surrounded by an overgrowth of swaying Spanish moss. “This is one of the reasons I wanted to play music for a living,” Bush remarked, pointing to the scenic surroundings. The fact that it’s the first major festival of the year doesn’t hinder the interest either.

Happily then, the music measures up to the surroundings. Spread among four main venues — the Amphitheater and the Meadow Stage being the largest stages, with smaller shows taking place at the Porch Stage and the indoor Music Hall — the sounds are nonstop. And, unlike many other festivals, few choices have to be made when it comes to the choice of who to see and when. The sets are well planned, so that when one must-see act ends, another begins elsewhere. The lesser-known acts still suffer of course; as always, the crowd tends to gravitate towards the bigger names, making for sparser crowds in the smaller settings. Still, with lengthy breaks between the bigger bands, there is ample opportunity to catch many of the newer artists as well.

On Thursday, Springfest offered a quiet soft opening with Town Mountain, SOSOS, Whiskey Gentry and the Duhks among the main attractions. By Friday afternoon, the activity intensified, with a string of topnotch acts — Willie Sugarcaps, Steep Canyon Rangers, Jason Isbell, the Punch Brothers and Greensky Bluegrass taking their turns in the Amphitheater. Even so, two days in, the ambiance was remarkably mellow. Some people in the audience even had a full recording set-up readied from their vantage point a few rows back, unimpeded by any restrictions on recording. Steep Canyons’ Graham Sharp also noted the laid-back vibes, which found some of his bandmates discarding their usual formal stage attire. “This makes me glad I wore a jacket,” he remarked, injecting some irony into the otherwise casual confines.

Steep Canyon Rangers’ superb set, mostly made up of songs taken from their new live album recorded with Steve Martin and Edie Brickell and from their latest studio effort, Tell The Ones I Love, led into another incendiary set performed by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. Indeed, Isbell’s anthemic tunes further elevated the energy. However, the high point of the evening, at least as far as the crowd was concerned, was the performance by the Punch Brothers, who started their set by noting that this was only the fourth time in their eight year history that they were playing in Florida. Happily, they gave the crowd a quick primer, demonstrating their versatility with material that ran the gamut from a catchy new song called “Magnet” to an unlikely read of a classical composition by Debussy, as performed with mandolin, banjo, guitar, fiddle and stand-up bass. What’s more, it was front man Chris Thile’s bemused facial expressions and over-arching body language that ensured they left the crowd entertained and amused.

Saturday found the energy elevated even further, with superior sets by Jeff Mosier, Aoife O’Donovan, The Honnycutters, the Sam Bush Band, and the Del McCoury Band, whose rendition of Richard Thompson’s “Vincent Black Lightning” stood out overall. Both Greensky Bluegrass and the Steep Canyon Rangers made encore performances, the latter discarding their traditional stage suits entirely in favor of street apparel. Bush was also brilliant, tossing in various covers (Stevie Wonder’s “Jammin’,” some “Jumping Jack Flash,” “Little Feat’s Sailin’ Shoes and a hint of “Crossroads”) and, as always, making additional appearances throughout the afternoon while sitting in with the day’s other acts. Jim Lauderdale entertained a small and intimate gathering with a songwriting session, which found him tapping material from his vast catalog and tying in his amusing anecdotes. Noticing one woman making an early exit, he commented, “I’ve always been told some of my material is offensive. I guess I’m seeing that some of you may agree.”

As the day wore on, Greensky Bluegrass got the groove going again out on the Meadow Stage. However it was the Avett Brothers who saw to it that the quiet vibe dissipated entirely. Lounge chairs that had been set up in the Amphitheater hours earlier in hopes of retaining a decent vantage point proved totally useless as a standing crowd took over and crowded the area to capacity. The Avetts, a rowdy band to begin with, egged them on, exuberant and electrifying from the first notes on. Seth Avett, his hair now grown out practically to his waist, whooped and hollered, but it was left to his brother Scott to act as cheerleader, as he leaped to the edge of the audience to shake hands, pump fists and shout out encouragement. Even the McCoury Jam, normally one of the more exhilarating sets of Saturday night, seemed somewhat tame in comparison.

Still, there was at least one additional highlight remaining, that being the first of two Donna the Buffalo sets out on the Meadow Stage. The crowd, obviously amped up from the Avetts, managed to retain their enthusiasm for the Donnas, thanks in part to the vast expanse of the late night environs, but also due to the band’s thunderous performance. While often classified as a jam band, the Donnas are obviously much more, a group capable of conveying substantial melodies along with a disciplined instrumental outpour. To be sure, there’s some evidence of a Grateful Dead-like aura in their casual sway, but overall their’s is a sound that’s wholly their own.

By Sunday, the fourth and final day of the festivities, things had winded down considerably. Nevertheless, a few good shows were still to be seen. Uproot Hootenanny provided a rousing set of Celtic-flavored drinking songs, helping to define a common theme throughout, that having to do with the pleasure of imbibing alcoholic beverages. (It should be said at this point that there was little evidence of herbal consumption.) Grandpa’s Cough Medicine, a bluegrass trio out of Jacksonville, was also impressive, due in large part to their lightning fast picking. Jim Lauderdale, resplendent in a purple stage suit, offered a set of songs culled mainly from one of his newer albums, Black Roses, and continued to keep playing despite a sudden downpour that forced many in the crowd to seek shelter.

As is their tradition every year, Donna the Buffalo closed the festivities with an extended set featuring guest appearances from other artists that remained onsite. It’s appropriate that they offer the final performance year after year; after all, they’ve played Springfest for all of its 18 years and played an additional 18 times at Magnoliafest as well. “This is one of our favorite festivals,” the band’s Jeb Puryear mentioned earlier in the day. “A lot of festivals are great and have great music, but there’s also a certain intangible that adds an extra thing at certain festivals. And this festival definitely has always had that.”

“There’s something magical about the setting,” bandmate Tara Nevin agreed. “It’s my favorite festival site, with the live oak and the Spanish moss and the palm trees and the Suwannee River. It looks like this southern, sultry something. We can list all these different ingredients and it can all add up into this one thing, but then there’s this one X factor. What is that?”

“The good news is that this festival has that certain something.” Puryear added. “The bad new is that it’s hard to put your finger on it.”

No matter. It’s likely that one just has to be there. - American Songwriter

The night at the Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton began the way most nights at the Biscuit do - with a desperate search for a parking space somewhere in the strip malls of the Big Pink along Mizner Boulevard. But that spot secured, and a mid-length sojourn by foot later, the Biscuit provided a welcoming atmosphere, with Fat Mannequin picking along onstage.

After a little more than three years together as a band, the Short Straw Pickers celebrated the release of their debut album, Upon That Hill, Saturday night, headlining a bill that included both Fat Mannequin and fellow string-band Uproot Hootenanny.

Fat Mannequin, one of several side projects for the boys from the jam band the Heavy Pets, allows guitarists Mike Garulli and Jeff Lloyd to explore their acoustic side. Given the nature of Garulli and Lloyd's main act, though, there was a distinctly hippy vibe to this undoubtedly string-band night. And why not? The newgrass revivalists like Yonder Mountain String Band have always drawn from the jam-band crowd, and folk influences informed even the granddaddy of the genre, the Grateful Dead.

Here, the dreadlocked masses mixed with a crowd about evenly split between older Boca-ites and college-aged types, probably out on the town after a week spent at FAU summer sessions. After Fat Mannequin's set, Lloyd talked over drinks for a while, proclaiming the Biscuit among his favorite new venues in South Florida, mainly for the sound quality of the space.

Still only in its second year, the Funky Biscuit has already become one of the premier concert venues in South Palm Beach County, and owner Al Poliak has plans to expand the space as soon as possible, hopefully giving Boca Raton the mid-sized concert venue it has long needed. But the current space was good enough for Saturday night, though the crowd got thick as the second band, Uproot Hootenanny, took the stage.

Despite this being the Short Straw Pickers' show, Uproot Hootenanny appeared to be the band most folks came out to see. After their high-energy set, the crowd thinned out noticeably before the Pickers took the stage. The group performed ably, but the Pickers' brand of string music is slower, more lyrical than the rave-up stuff of Uproot Hootenanny, and so the room lost some energy that the smaller crowd did nothing to ameliorate. Still, this band drew a sizeable crowd for a show that celebrated only its first album, which says as much about the South Florida scene as it does the band itself. Even leaving aside the full bloom of the weird folk-punk scene in Lake Worth, South Florida has seen a number of folksy acts come up in the last few years, mirroring a national trend set by bands as diverse as the Lumineers, Fleet Foxes, the Avett Brothers, and Mumford and Sons, a trend now so mainstream it's even been co-opted by an American Idol winner (see: Phillip Phillips). Here, the folk resurgence has taken on a more Southern sound than in many other areas of the country. Granted, the music of the Avett Brothers could really have been created nowhere else but the American South, but in South Florida, the Southern tinge of the folk-rock sound has been put in overdrive. This is perhaps an overcompensation for the area being seen throughout the region as a sort of Yankee colony/third-world country -- anything but a true part of the old South that gave rise to this genre's antecedents.

As a result, we have bands like the Short Straw Pickers and Uproot Hootenanny, true throwbacks to the string bands of old, groups that make folks like Mumford and Sons seem quite 21st century by comparison. Although both bands could draw national comparisons to the aforementioned newgrass revivalists, the Pickers' arrival at the same time as the current crop of folk-rock bands seems to make comparisons to them more apt. Whichever the forebears, even if the Pickers' had a hard time maintaining the energy that filled the room after Uproot Hootenanny's set, the group -- guitarist/vocalist Jack Schueler, upright bassist Jeff Adkins, fiddler Brian Purwin, and multi-instrumentalist Billy Gilmore -- showed off technical prowess and gorgeous vocals that translated beautifully to the new album.

Upon That Hill is a filler-free, 14-song set that starts out strong with "Open Road" and "Jailhouse" finishing with a joke on the insistent irony of many folk songs with "Troubadour" a guitar-picking, fiddle-sawing tour de force on "Lemonade JG" and, finally, the closer "Free Horse" a ballad that cribs from the tried-and-true outlaw-on-the-run-comes-to-a-bad-end theme that has informed modern country music since Marty Robbins set down the lyrics to "El Paso" half a century ago.

All too often, fans of any given band will put on an album and, when met with disapproval, will remark that the band in question must - New Times Broward Palm Beach

South Florida's own Uproot Hootenanny brings their rootsy mix of influences to Guanabanas restaurant and tiki bar Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 9 p.m.

The band's trademark is an entertaining, unique brand of folk, rock, Celtic, bluegrass and country that's "good for ages 3 to 103!"

Uproot Hootenanny is an eclectic collection of talented musicians from North Carolina to Oklahoma; Maine to England. Despite their varied backgrounds, the common thread that keeps it all together for the Hootenanny is a huge love for music, and an even greater love of sharing it with fans, friends and strangers!

Terry Turner of 92.7 FM The Beach called their music “a sound you could work up a sweat just listening to.”

The band is: David Welch on banjo and vocals; Brian Bolen on guitar, stand-up bass and vocals; Brian Trew on fiddle and vocals; Rolando Willimann on stand-up bass, mandolin and vocals; and Billy Gilmore on mandolin, banjo, dobro, fiddle and anything else with strings.

"Two things excite the Hootenanny: Jameson Whiskey, and tearing it up at Guanabanas", Welch said. We're really stoked about bringing out some new tunes this time around" - TC Palm

Get ready for an ol’ fashioned Hoedown, right here in Boca! On Friday, November 15, The Sonoma House will transform its serene east Boca environs into an “Urban Fairgrounds,” with the inaugural launch of The Whiskey Bent Hootenanny.

The Max Group (Max’s Harvest and Max’s Grille) will serve up a heapin’ helpin’ of its specialty smoked, braised, and barbequed creations. To accompany this fine fare, enjoy hand-crafted whiskey cocktails featuring popular American whiskeys such as Templeton Rye, Breaking Entering Bourbon, Balcones Blue Whiskey, and Dry Fly Wheat Whiskey, along with select craft beers (Thank you, Republic National Distributing Company!). This one-of-a-kind event will also feature live music by Uproot Hootenanny, along with barnyard-style games, art displays, themed attire competitions, cigar rollers, plenty of dancing, and a general good ol’ time. Also check out Farmer Jay Pure Organics, a local leader in sustainable farming and South Florida’s growing farm-to-table movement.

Providing the musical fun is Uproot Hootenanny (uproothootenanny.com), a Boca-born popular string band specializing in Roots, Folk, Celtic, Bluegrass, and Whiskey-Fueled Fun. Culinary partner and legendary restaurateur Dennis Max of The Max Group notes, “What a fun and unique way to showcase this spectacular event venue.” And here’s the best part – it all goes to help the Tri-County Humane Society, who will host a raffle, accept donations, and even have on-site adoptions. With players like The Sonoma House, The Max Group, Farmer Jay, and the Tri-County Humane Society, plus all the craft whiskeys and beers, live music by Uproot Hootenanny, and more, this event will surely shine (or should I say, “Moonshine”?!) as a highlight of the season. - The Examiner

Modern roots music takes many forms, as evidenced by Deerfield Beach-based string quintet Uproot Hootenanny (uproothootenanny.com). With cover songs that range from the Rolling Stones’ You Can’t Always Get What You Want and the Grateful Dead’s Catfish John to Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues and traditional tunes, the 3-year-old roots group is practically equal parts bluegrass, folk, rock, country and Celtic — all genres that are also represented on its all-original 2009 CD Broward County Line. The versatility doesn’t stop there. All five members (guitarist Brian Bolen, banjo player David Welch, violinist Brian Trew, mandolinist Billy Gilmore and bassist Rolando Willimann) not only sing, but can also play at least one other instrument. “Brian Bolen is a spectacular guitarist,” Welch says, “but he decided to order an upright bass around the time the band started. And he has such great ears that he learned every song on our list within about 10 days.” Welch was also a guitarist before taking up the banjo; Trew attended Florida Atlantic University on a viola scholarship, and Willimann can switch to mandolin or guitar when Bolen plays the bass. Until recently a quartet, Uproot Hootenanny has since been fortified with the addition of Gilmore, who plays anything with strings. “Billy’s playing mandolin, fiddle, banjo and dobro,” Welch says. “He and Rolando, who joined about a year ago, have really made us better. We have an Irish CD that should be available within a month, and we’re also recording a live album over a few upcoming shows.” - Palm Beach Post

The inaugural South Florida String Festival hits Hollywood on November 10, to not only highlight the rising bluegrass scene, but showcase how well these bands fit into our local landscape. String-based bands come in all shapes and sizes. At first glance, it might be hard to tell but Everymen's crusty punk-folk and the jamtastic Americana of the Short Straw Pickers have a lot in common.

Other bands taking part in the 12 hour fest include Uproot Hootenanny, Bungled and Botched, and a sprinkling of acts from other genres, ensuring String Fest has a little something for everyone. To a band like Uproot Hootenanny, this event is a long time coming. Banjo player David Welch explained, "We've been playing in this area for a long time. At the beginning, there wasn't a lot of old-time, traditional, bluegrass or Celtic music. All the live music was rock, funk, reggae, etc." But that shift is palpable and Welch can see it clearly. "There are more bands in the area with folk and traditional instrumentation than ever, all of which have a different approach and a unique style. It's exciting to be a part of it." - New Times Broward Palm Beach