Thursday
April 15th 2010
Spirit of the SuwanneeMusic Park
has become one of the premier music spots in the southeast; snuggled on the
shady banks of the historic Suwannee
River, this park includes
800 acres of exquisite land. Its unbelievable how much there is to do at the
park like hiking, canoeing, putt-putt, disc golf, a honey bee observation
exhibit, the world's largest bat house, and a great arts and crafts village. It
would be a great place to visit when there wasn't so much great music to be
seen. Arriving and checking in the park
was a breeze, I could already see the overwhelming amount of people that had
arrived early, with campers and RV's lined up at least a mile away from the
venue and it was only Thursday. I have been to Suwannee
many times before and never have I seen people camping so far away. Pulling in
I decided to camp near some stables with lots of unique live stock. I was in
the company of a breathtaking peacock, a very hungry emu, a couple of goats and
one of the loudest birds that screeched all weekend long uggh. Getting there on
Thursday I was bummed that I missed my good friends Crazy Fingers who played the pre-party on Wednesday night. Crazy
Fingers are one of the best Grateful Dead cover bands in the south, with over
20 years under their belt; Crazy Fingers immortalize the essence of the Dead.
After setting up camp I was ready to take on The Spirit of the Suwannee. Walking
to the stages, grey dreary moss 
was all over the place hanging from every tree
around. My first stop was the Mushroom Stage Amphitheatre and wow was it packed. I am so used to being able to chill and
listen to the music in one of the many hammocks throughout, but not this
weekend! Col. Bruce Hampton & The
Quark Alliance was on when I got there ripping out some soulful southern
lyrics accompanied by some hardcore shredding.
He might be a little old but he lives so young through his timeless
music which is intertwined with some great memorable riffs. Soon after Col.
Bruce was one of the black sheep of the festival, Particle. Being a mostly
southern rock festival, Particle seemed a little out of place especially not
playing a late night set, none the less they killed it. {Launchpad > Young Lust (Pink Floyd) > Simulator > Golden Gator
> National Anthem (Radio Head) > Ed and Molly > Other Cities > Sun
Mar 11.} The start was out of this
world with Launchpad into Pink Floyd's Young Lust and the set just got more
intense with some great improvisations which stretched
and warped many different genres into fresh progressive funktronic jams. After
such a high energy set it was time for the legendary king of 
funk George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic. Starting off the set was Garry Shider best
known as diaper-man who graced the stage in (you guessed it) some really huge
diapers dancing and frolicking on stage like nobody's business. With him were
about 15 others who make up the rest of Parliament Funkadelic. I actually tried
to figure out who was doing what which was very comical. There were 4-5
singers, 3-4 guitarists, 2-3 keyboard players, a couple of bass players, some
horns to boot, and a slew of dancers. Along with all this diapers, dancers, and
drugs on stage another guy in a very interesting getup came on and started
rapping wearing some crazy white fur-like pants, a white mink-like coat and one
hell of a hat. If that isn't enough entertainment I don't know what is. After a
couple of songs Dr. Funkenstein George Clinton finally came on and started
conducting and singing some of his timeless favorites like Maggot Brain, One
Nation Under Funk and Atomic Dog as an encore. The set seemed a bit much with a
little more screeching guitar than I thought was necessary, but it was
definitely a funk party.
Friday April 16th 2010
The Day started out to be a beautiful spring day
in Northern Florida; I missed out on Bobby Lee
Rodgers set because I knew he was playing again on Saturday morning. The first act I witnessed was the 7 Walkers featuring Bill Kreutzmann and Papa Mali on the main stage better known as the Peach Stage. The set list was an
awesome mix of great dead tunes and some downright nasty blues tunes {Jam-Sugaree > Bottle Up and Go > 7
Walkers > Junco Partner > Sue From Bogaloosa > Wharf Rat > Deal
> Bertha}Starting off with Sugaree, Papa Mali added 
some nice bluesy
tones to the song as well as adding some soulful vocals to Wharf Rat and Deal,
the closer was icing on the cake with Bertha.
Listening to Bill whale on those drums was conformation that he still
has it going on after all these years. Next up were the ever popular The Wailers.
Continuing on with the spirit of Bob Marley, The Wailers did not disappoint playing some fantastic reggae favorites like No
Woman, No Cry and One Love. Before the set was over I had to run over to the
Mushroom Stage to see The Lee Boys with Oteil and Kofi Burbridge. The Burbridge brothers put on a stellar performance
that maintained a steady gospel feel. Roosevelt Collier added that perfect
slide giving the set super high energy. Having the sets overlap was tough
because I really wanted to see all of each show but I knew I couldn't. In midday
I had the pleasure of seeing some of the Stephen Stills set who is best known for his role in Crosby,
Stills & Nash and was ranked 28th out of the top 100 guitarist
of all time. His set was filled with
timeless classics like Southern Cross, Dear Mr. Fantasy, and Bluebird. This 65
year old veteran hasn't skipped a beat.
After a short glimpse of Stephen I was off to see The North Mississippi Allstars. Now it was
time to get your southern rock dancing shoes on because they brought down the
house. Luther Dickinson laid it on the line with his soulful southern rock'n
blues playing, the lead singer of Hill Country Revue and Roosevelt Collier came
out for a few as well. Soon after it was time for Bob Weir, Rob Wasserman, & Jay
Lane Are Scaring the Children.
{Maggie's
Farm > Me and my Uncle > Friend of the Devil > A Hard Rain's a Gonna
Fall > Loose Lucy > Days Between > When I Paint My Masterpiece >
Tomorrow Never Knows > Even So > October Queen > Not Fade Away}
Classic Dead is all I can say with Bob Weir's vocals and the versatile playing
of Wasserman messing together harmoniously. On the other stage playing 
at the
same time was JJ Grey & Mofro who was throwing down some
dirty southern roots. Luckily the stages were not so far apart where I would
miss much of either band playing. {Ybor
City, Air, Hoochie Coochie Man, A Woman, Dirt Floor Cracker, Ho Cake, Lochloosa
WYLF, Sweetest Thing, Fireflies, Orange Blossoms, On Fire, Brighter Days} I
think JJ Grey said it best when he said "Every act was a headliner, like a kid
in a candy store." And he was right. The highlight for me was Lochloosa when JJ
pulled out his harmonica and acoustic, it was so heartfelt it sent chills down
my spine. Before I knew it, Panic time
had arrived. Widespread Panic brought the heat with Jimmy Herring's
blistering guitar shredding. {Give
>Tall Boy >Chilly Water > 
Pleas > Chilly Water > Blue Indian,
Party at Your Mama's House > Ribs and Whiskey > Bowlegged Woman > Holden
Oversoul > Stop-Go > Diner > You Should Be Glad > Protein
Drink/Sewing Machine.} After a stunning "Give", JB Summoned the Holy Ghost
from the battlefield in a stellar "Tall Boy" into getting soaked by some
"Chilly Water" which felt really good after such a hot day. Jo Jo really opened
up the pipes after that. Other highlights were "Diner" and "You Should Be Glad"
into a good Vic Chestnutt Closer. There were so many people around it was
really hard to go see Hot Tuna so I decided to stay put for The Allman
Brothers. {Mountain Jam > 
Don't Keep Me
Wonderin' > Trouble No More > Rockin' Horse > Blind Willie McTell >
You Don't Love Me > Every Hungry Woman > All My Friends > I Walk On
Gilded Splinters > Same Thing > Statesboro Blues > That's What Love
Will Make You Do > Black Hearted Woman > Other One Jam >Melissa >
One Way Out} 2 1/2 hours of pure southern soul. The star-studded cast kept me
up even when I was about to fall over from exhaustion. JB and Sonny came out
during "I Walk On Gilded Splinters" Then Luther Dickinson / Danny Louis came
out and full on raged it during "Same 
Thing" and "Statesboro Blues." The night
was on fire when Jimmy Herring graced the stage for "That's What Love Can Do"
The staple was definitely the encore "Melissa."
Whew! After that I ready to call it a night after running from stage to
stage all day. I really wanted to check
out the set from Gov't Mule but I couldn't hang, I did however get to
listen to it from my camp. {One Of These
Days > Fearless > Ain't No Sunshine > Blind Man In The Dark >
Steppin' Lightly > Any Open Window
> Inside Outside Woman Blues > Feel Like Breakin' Up Somebody's Home >
Trane > Eternity Breath > St. Stephen Jam > Sad and Deep As You>
Broke Down On The Brazos > Mule > Whole Lotta Love > Les Brers In A
Minor Jam > Whole Lotta Love > Mule > Soulshine} It started off
with 2 really sick Pink Floyd covers "One Of These Days" into "Fearless" I
thought for a min that they were going to pull an all Pink Floyd set but then "Ain't
No Sunshine" broke that dream and it was back to full throttle Mule. I just
love when Mule does covers, so I was thrilled to hear the "St.
Stephen Jam" and "Whole Lotta Love" and of course what's a Mule show without
the infamous "Soulshine" to end the night.
Saturday April 17th 2010
I woke up early this morning so I
could one check out all the great vendors around and two see Bobby Lee Rodgers
whom I had missed yesterday. The vendors
were of plenty, there must have been at least 50+ vendors between the two
stages and lining the road into the camping area. There was everything you wanted as far as
food goes and of course Home Grown Music Network was there with the full spread
band CD's, DVDs, stickers and shirts. The arts and
crafts vendors were out in full force as well. 10:30am quickly approached and
it was time to start the last day of music with Bobby Lee Rodgers Trio on the Peach Stage. The trio ended up being a quartet because Kofi
Burbridge sat in with his flute and organ.
This was a nice way to start off the day. The acoustics of 
Bobby filled
the air with songs like "Going Back to Lima" and
"California." Hill
Country Revue and Bonobos Convergence
came on next; I ended up staying for the Hill
Country Revue show and seeing a filthy
performance! They played the best stuff off their "Make A Move"
album, as well as songs from an upcoming album, and a cover, "Goin'
Down". Luther Dickinson and Chris Chew joined the band halfway through the
set. Cody was ripping it on the washboard which was what did it for me. {Hill Country Revue > Alice Mae > Stand
Up and Raise Your Right Hand > You Took My Woman > Ramblin' > Georgia
Woman > You Can Make It > Dirty Shirt > Won't Give Up > Goin' Down.}
The legendary Dr John was next on
the Peach Stage and The Saturday funk party was on the Mushroom with Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk "A Family
Affair." Now I've seen Dumpstaphunk
a few times and they blew it up but I was unaware of what A Family Affair was
going to be. It was a tribute to Sly and
the Family Stone which I thought was amazing. {I Cannot Make It > Dance To The Music > Stand > Everybody Is A
Star > Sly Rant > If You Want Me To Stay > Back On The Right Track
> Everyday People > In Time > Family Affair > Let Me Have It All
> Que Sera Sera > Sing A Simple Song > Thank You > I Want To Take
You Higher}Ivan Neville added new life and a modern day funk to these
classic from1965. On the Peach Stage was an amazing line up of Allstars, The Word who brightened the day for
everyone there. Those of you not familiar with The Word it consist of Robert
Randolph - steel pedal guitar, John
Medeski - Organ, Luther Dickinson - Guitar, Cody Dickinson- Drums, and Chris Chew - Bass.
I give a great deal of respect to this super group who rarely play
together but make it seem so effortless. Having such great musicians you can
just imagine the amount of energy that over took the audience. After that I had
heard that Sharron Jones and The Dap-Kings
were not able to make it due to the volcano eruption in Iceland. Boo! I
had heard at the Dumpstaphunk set that they were going to do a Super Jam 
New
Orleans style in her place but I had to take a breather until the Black Keys stormed
the Peach Stage. I really wish now that I had gone to see it because I heard
that everyone got up and jammed like Jo Jo, George Porter, Ivan and Ian
Neville, The Dickinson Brothers, The Burbridge Brothers and Matt Grondin all
graced the stage. The Black Keys were amazing; this drum and guitar duo has so
much depth with their brutal, primal rock. After their set I was able to catch
the tail end of The Funky Meters,
lead by none other than the man himself George Porter Jr., the set was full of
some downright dirty southern funk. The time had finally come for the second
night of Widespread Panic. They
saved the best for last, this set was epic {Ain't
Life Grand > Pigeons > All Time Low > City of Dreams > Fishwater
> Angels On High > Papa's Home > Drums > Papa's Home > Jack >
Bust It Big > Driving Song > Love Tractor > Driving Song > Slippin'
Into Darkness > North.}Busting right out of the gate with "Ain't Life
Grand" Started a frenzy of craziness, with a sea of people as far as the eye
could see everyone was up and pushing their way closer to the stage. Hearing "Driving Song" into "Love Tractor"
back into "Driving Song" was the biggest treat. Luther Dickinson came out for a
dirty "Slippin' into Darkness" and Warren Haynes hopped up for the Encore of
"North." After the set in was impossible to move anywhere being close to the
front so I decided against going to see Johnny
Winter. Staying put for the Allman
Brothers I believe was the right thing to do because there was no way that I
was ever going to get back to where I was with so 
many chairs and people on the
lawn. The Allman Brothers last set was just as fiery as the Panic set. {Don't Want You No More > It's Not My
Cross To Bear > Ain't Wastin' Time No More > Leave My Blues At Home >
Hot Lanta > The Sky Is Crying > Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
> No One To Run With > And It Stoned Me > Good Morning Little School
Girl > Dreams > In Memory of Elizabeth Reed > JaMaBuBu > Whipping
Post > Midnight Rider > Mountain Jam > Dazed and Confused >
Mountain Jam.}I did get to see Johnny Winter come up and whale during The
Sky Is Crying which was good to see that he still has it going on, JB also come
up 
and soulfully sang and great Van Morrison song And It Stoned Me. Dave
Schools also got up there
and showed up Oteil (not really, hehe) during Dreams. The Encore was fire with
a very long jam. The closer was The Derek Trucks & Susan
Tedeschi Band who gave everyone a treat with Susan's soulful bluesy vocals and Derek's
lead. Also in the band were Kofi and
Oteil Burbridge adding an uplifting joyful sound that I wish could have gone on
all night. {Love Has Something Else To
Say > Hate To See You Go > Midnight In Harlem > Give It Up or Let Me
Go > Time Machine > Come And See About Me > Corinna > Nobody's Free
> Don't Drift Away > Comin' Home > Look Around > Too Late > Vusi
Mahlasela > Serve It Up > I've Got A Feeling > Woman's Gotta Have It
> I Believe In Music > Space Captain.} What an incredible way to end
such a night.
Wanee 2010 had some of the most talented artist on the scene today, my hats off to the promoters and Live Nation for putting together such a great festival that would rival any out there today. Perfect weather, people and music made this one for the history books.
- by Brad Winecoff
- photos by Shea Jarman-Cravens
