First time for me at the GRF new location after years at the sprawling expanse of the Community College in town. The setup was similar with two stages and many familiar food and vendor booths. The presence of many outbuildings and blacktop added a few degrees to the 90 degree day. Main stage started with Steve Poltz, a goofy man with an acoustic. He did one tune with many baseball references that I’m sure sailed over the head of many listeners. Matthew Fowler on stage 2, was a soft folkie that had the added benefit of two female clarinetist. Parsonfield I believe is a local outfit with more soft folk vibes. Next up was The Dip, a Seattle 7 piece, had a good R and B vibe like a bar band from back in the day. It was good to see a bunch of young white guys carrying the torch. Rayland Baxter was next. A hard touring troubadour with nice guitar chops, I notice his prominence among the young record buying public. Check Baxter on the Spotify “sounds like” section and you get Blitzentrapper and Langhorne Slim who have been positively reviewed in this blog. Baxter’s guitar work and signature trucker hat and high top Converse jammed for a good set. Brooklyn afrobeat collective Kaleta and the Super Yamba was next. Like Antibalas, KSY has an African frontman surrounded by hipster afrobeat acolytes. These guys can play and the pale bean pole percussionist had an excellent solo. Main stage had Ripe, a jammy outfit that appears on many festival lists. Not sure why young people take the musical detritus from the 80s and 90s and incorporate it in their sound, but Ripe had the bright idea to cover Phil Collins “Sussudio”. I’m embarrassed to have had to look up the spelling on that one, maybe their parents put them in “time out” and forced them to listen to Phil (Collins not Lesh). Festival highlight was up next, Cha Wa. This multicultural group was from Nawlins and had the benefit of two Big Chief frontmen. A purple one and a teal one complete with full garb and head dress. They strutted and cowbelled their way through a rolling set with some originals and a nice All on a Mardi Gras Day. They stated that Cha Wa means “here they come”, which was apt and the horns and band put out a full danceable sound. Closing the day was regional group Lake Street Dive. I’ve seen this group perform many times at the Vibes festivals of yore, and they haven’t seemed to have evolved much. Frontwoman singer is capable and the band is solid, but they seem more suited for filler than closer. Nice cover of the Jackson’s I Want You Back and Bonnie Raitt’s Nick Of Time rounded out the evening.
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