The band includes James Hyland (guitar and vocals), Warren Hood (fiddle and vocals), Will Dupuy (bass and vocals), Matt Slusher (mandolin and vocals), and Willie Pipkin (guitar). The band plays a creative blend of bluegrass, country, folk, and jam music. At this show, they played a number of their original songs, many of which were sung by James Hyland. The songs were quite fun, and for some reason, several dealt with the topics of meth and mullets. They also played some nice covers, including bluegrass classic "Nine Pound Hammer", Guy Clark's "Rita Ballou" and "Texas Cooking", and Bob Will's (better known as Willie Nelson's) "Stay All Night". My favorite song of the evening was a version of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing". All of the members of the band are excellent instrumentalists, but Warren and and Willie really blew me away on fiddle and acoustic guitar on this one. In fact, I rarely capture and post videos of live music, but this was so good, I'll include a short clip of the end of this performance with my usual photos. Will Dupuy played some mean bass, told some funny stories, and sang several songs. Matt Slusher also had some hot mandolin solos. The band closed with the Dead's "Ripple", which was a perfect ending to a great night of music.

I arrived a bit late because I had just flown in from vacation, so I missed an opening set by Gators. I did make it time to see the majority of the set by Zack's most recent band, Midnight Snack, which featured dual vocalists Tje Austin and Miggy Milla. They played some smooth, jazzy funk that included soulful vocals by Tje and Miggy, and some nice keyboards by Zack.

Next up was Outlaws of Funk, a band that includes guitarists Eddie Robbins, Austin Roach,and Travis Deardorff, bassist Grady Ray, and drummer Jose Gutierrez along with Zack. They started with a number of hard-rocking funky originals with Eddie on lead vocals, and then a few songs were sung by Grady, including ZZ Top's "Tush".

Next, Zack was joined by members of Mamafesta, which included lead vocalist/guitarist Lowell Carrico, guitarist Vince Seidl (Vincent Antone), and bassist Logan Dance. They sounded great, and their original melodic, funky tunes reminded me of why they were one of my favorite Austin bands in the late 2010's (I wish the band would get back together, but they are all involved in different things now).

The second band was Go Machine, a four-piece funk band made up of a guitarist/vocalist, keys, bass, and drums. They were all really skilled musicians who played a mellower style of jazzy funk that at time reminded me of The New Mastersounds (a British jazz funk band that I really like).

The show began with a performance by Justin Trevino, a blind country singer originally from Brownwood, He has a voice that is reminiscent of George Jones, and he sang a number of original honky-tonk songs that were most appropriate at Sam's. Next up was Amy Annelle, an American folk-artist from Austin. She sang some very personal original story-telling folks songs. The third artist was Sam Baker, a folk singer from Austin with a very distinctive style. He played guitar and harmonica and was backed by Ashley Wallace on vocals and Chip Dolan on keyboards. His songs are very poetic and his songs and vocal style reminded me at times of Leonard Cohen and John Prine.

Then came Kevin Russell, who played solo, accompanying himself on ukulele. Kevin is a great entertainer, and although his shows with his large Shinyribs band are always great, it is fun to see him perform solo once in a while. He told some funny stories about Jenni, and then played a number of early rock and R&B covers such as "Save the Last Dance for Me", "A Change is Gonna Come", and "Drift Away". My highlight was when he played The Grateful Dead's "Brokedown Palace", and followed it by his own, "Donut Taco Palace", in my mind two of the greatest "palace" songs ever written. He closed with a song that he wrote for Jenni Finlay sung to the tune of "Hey, Baby" that included some of the personal stories he had told about her earlier in his set.

The next band was The Frank Mustard Project. They were also a guitar, bass, and drums trio, and they had a very unique sound. They played a mix of styles that included elements of psychedelic surf, 60's pop rock, 70's New Wave (Devo/Talking Heads-ish), and some twangy country. Frank Mustard was an excellent guitar player, and their bassist wore a cool gold lame suit. I found them to be creatively cool, and I'd like to see them again in the future.

Saturday's performance began with Spud Boy All-Stars performing the music of The Jerry Garcia Band. In addition to their normal line-up, Kelley Mickwee joined Jenna Watters on harmony vocals, and they sounded great together. The band got the overflow crowd going by performing a number of JGB classics including "Cats Under the Stars","They Love Each Other", "Run for the Roses", "Sisters and Brothers", and "Tangled Up in Blue".

A fantastic concert by Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Dave Alvin and The Guilty Ones at the 04 Center. Dave Alvin is guitarist/singer/songwriter from Downey, California, who is best known as a member of The Blasters, while Jimmie Dale Gilmore is a singer/songwriter from Lubbock best known for his days with The Flatlanders. Both have had outstanding solo careers, and the two are touring behind their recently released second joint album, "Texicali". During Friday's show, they played the majority of their songs from the new album, with Alvin & Gilmore trading off on lead vocals. They also mixed in a number of their best know individual songs, including Gilmore's "Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown" and "Dallas", and Alvin's "Johnny Ace is Dead" and "4th of July".

Throughout the show, Alvin showed off his hard rocking lead guitar skills, while Gilmore played acoustic guitar and harmonica. Alvin's Guilty Ones band, which includes husband & wife Austinites Brad Fordham on bass and Lisa Pankratz on drums, plus Chris Miller on guitar, are all outstanding players. Pankratz, who is one of my favorite drummers, played a killer drum solo that brought the crowd to its feet, while Miller demonstrated some nice slide guitar skills. The show was high energy from start to finish, and they finished the fun night out with Alvin's most well-known song, "Marie, Marie", and the title track from the duo's first album, "Downey to Lubbock".

At Friday's show, the music was led by Jimmy D. Lane, who happens to be Jimmy Roger's son. Lane plays guitar in a style very similar to his father's, and he has a strong classic blues voice. The backing band included drummer Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith, who is the son of Blues Hall of Fame honoree, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, a long time drummer in Muddy Water's band. Kenny Smith is an outstanding drummer, and he recently was awarded Best Blues Drummer by both the Blues Foundation and Blues Blast Magazine. The rest of the backing band was made up of a who's who of Austin blues musicians, which included Derek O'Brien on guitar, Nick Connolly on piano, John Bradley on bass, and Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff (whose group the Texas Horns were recently named best Blues Horns by Blues Blast Magazine) on sax and harmonica.

Next up was John Primer, who brought up members of his Real Deal Blues Band, which included harmonica player Steve Bell (son of Blues Hall of Fame honored harmonica player Carey Bell), Melvin Smith on bass, and Lenny Media on drums. 80 year-old John Primer is another Chicago blues veteran, who began playing blues guitar in Chicago in the early 1960's, and was a member of Muddy Waters' band in the early 1980's. Primer is another classic blues player, and is a dynamic entertainer who came out into the audience while playing his guitar during his set.

The final big star of the evening was blues legend "Steady Rollin' " Bob Margolin. Margolin is a veteran blues guitarist who was also in Muddy Waters band, in his case in the 1970's. He was notably in Muddy's band during the filming of The Band's epic concert movie, "The Last Waltz". Margolin is a great slide guitarist, and his was probably my favorite set of the night.

The evening also included appearances by two of Austin's best female blues guitarists, Eve Monsees and Lindsey Beaver, who each showed off their guitar and vocal skills on a couple of songs with Jimmy Lane and the backing band.

The band started their performance with some slower numbers with all of the band members seated. After a few songs, the band members stood up, and the party got going. Their front man Muzaza is a dynamic singer with plenty of stage presence. He did some amazing things with his voice including making it sound like he was singing two notes at once. He was backed by outstanding soukous (an African-style) lead guitar playing from Samende, nice keyboards by Moyo, and a poly-rhythmic percussion section. All of the band's members provided vocals at times, notably when all six members sang an a cappella song reminiscent of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The latter part of the set was filled with upbeat, funky, Afobeat music, which inspired enthusiastic dancing by many members of the audience. I was not familiar with this band before this night, but if I had known what a great show it was going to be, I would have encouraged more of my friends to attend.

Next up was The Mellows, a band originally from Southern California. The band includes brothers Colton Turner (vocals and guitar), his brother Zane (lead guitar), along with a keyboard player, drummer, and Jack Montesinos from The Point sitting in on bass. When I saw them about a month ago at the Sagebrush for a country music showcase, they did a nice job playing mainly two-stepping country music. For this show, their sound was completely different. Their set include garage and roots rock, rockabilly, and even some jazzy surf rock. After playing a number or originals, they brought up a couple of guest vocalists who fronted them for some fun covers including The Doors' "Roadhouse Blue", Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs' "Wooly Bully", and Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away".

Madam Radar is a rock band from Austin that is made up of two married couples, Kelly Green (lead guitar) and her husband Jace Cadle (acoustic guitar), and Violet Lea (bass) and her husband (and also Kelly's brother) Kody Lee (drums). All of the band members sing, with Kelly and Violet taking the lead on more rock-oriented songs, and Jace taking the lead on more country-rock songs. They are all fine musicians, with Kelly standing out with a number of impressive guitar solos. They played a wide range of original songs, and closed with their only cover of the evening, Golden Earring's appropriately titled "Radar Love".

There were two opening acts for the show. First up was native-Austinite Grace Sorensen, a Latina R&B singer. She has a soulful voice and is backed by a good young band. They performed some smooth ballads with a bit of hip-hop mixed in. She is a talented singer, and it was a nice but somewhat mellow start to the evening.

Since I had seen them last, Darin Murphy on lead vocals and rhythm guitar (who has been with the band for only a couple of years) seems to have gotten more comfortable both as a David Byrne vocalist and in the band's leadership role. As always, Josh Pearson on guitar and Dustin Bozarth on keyboards played many fantastic instrumental leads and solos throughout the show. Erin Thunder Heart Stein was outstanding on backing vocals, and she always provides lots of high-energy stage presence to the band's performance. The three members of the rhythm section, Evan Bozarth on bass, Casey Byars (who celebrated a birthday the day of the show) on drums, and Grego Loboz on percussion were all excellent as well.

At this show, over two long sets, HeartByrne played many of Talking Heads' best known songs, some deep cuts, and even a song that Darin said they were performing for the first time in his two years with the band. Based on my feelings, and the large Radio/East crowd's reaction, there was not a weak song in the bunch. And as always, the band played the songs in a way that was true to their original spirit, while at the same time stretching out on many songs with extended jams that were creative and original, giving them a feel that is entirely unique to this HeartByrne.

This event was an album release party for their brand new album "Archetypes". Each of the songs was written by Alice Blue and revolves around a particular "archetype". The songs all had interesting lyrics and the melodies ranged from mellow and trippy to dynamic and jammy. The band had nice harmony vocals and some cool instrumentals by Eddie Robbins on acoustic guitar and Alice Blue on mandolin and fiddle.

Their touring band for this show included Rob Garza (keyboards, electronic effects, and guitar), Rob Myers (sitar, guitar), Jeff Franca (drums), Dan Africano (bass), and Austin-based percussionist John Speice IV (thanks to Richard Gober for the ID). Founder Eric Hilton still works on recording projects but rarely tours with the band these days.

What makes Thievery really stand out for me are their multiple vocalists, each with a unique personality and musical style. The vocalists for this show included Austinite Loulou Ghelichkhani (of Night Glitter), Laura Vall, Racquel Jones, Mr. Lif, and Puma Ptah. As each singer came out, the music would shift from one interesting genre to another. And for the first time that I have seen, they included an acoustic segment in the show. The energy, creativity, and versatility of this band make their shows ones that I would not want to miss, and this night was no exception.

Bill and the band tore it up on many of Commander Cody's most well known songs, which included "Seeds and Stems Again Blues", "Riot in Cell Block #9", "Too Much Fun", "Semi Truck", and "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke!" (which featured Floyd Domino chomping on a big cigar). The band was joined by Bill's wife Louise and daughter Julia on backup vocals on several songs, and Austin's Billy Buck (daughter of Austin drummer Mike Buck) came on to sing lead "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" (Billy Buck also happened to be the artist who provided the very cool artwork for the event). And as usual, Kirchin closed his set with his version of "Hot Rod Lincoln", in which he mimics the style of every guitar player under the sun. I've seen Kirchin play most of these songs with his bass and drum trio a fair number of times recently, but seeing his killer guitar solos backed by equally fine playing on piano, fiddle, sax, and pedal steel made this a really special event.

At this show, she and her band performed a number of wide-ranging covers, including "She's a Rainbow" (Rolling Stones), "Up on the Hill Where They Do the Boogie" (John Hartford), "Olympia WA." (Rancid), "Texas Hold 'Em" (Beyonce), and my personal favorite, Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit". She also played a number of songs from her recent Grammy winning albums, including "Down Home Dispensary", "Stranger Things", "The First Time I Fell in Love", "Big Backyard", and "Dooley's Farm". As she has been doing at recent concerts, Molly took off her wig to reveal her alopecia during her introduction to her highly personal song, "Crooked Tree". The band closed an impressive night with three songs sung around a single microphone, finishing with a sing-along of "Will the Circle be Unbroken".

Los Super Seven is a supergroup that was established in 1998, who created a series of albums of Mexican-influenced American music. Los Super Seven put out three albums between 1998 and 2005, with a variety of members. The only performers on all three albums were country singer Ricky Trevino and Tejano vocal legend Reuben Ramos. Los Lobos guitarists/vocalists David Hidalgo and Cesar Rojas, and baritone sax player Steve Berlin were also on the several of the albums. Max Baca of Los Texmaniacs also played on some of the albums. All of these former members reunited for this performance. They were backed by Los Texmaniacs, which include Max's son Josh Baca on accordion. Los Super Seven has not reunited very often since the early 2000's to play live, so I knew that we were in for a special night.

The show began with a performance by The Tiarras. The Tiarras are an Austin-based trio of sisters: Tori Baltierra on guitar and vocals, Sophia on drums, and Tiffany on bass. They are all talented musicians who played a mix of Latin and rock, and at times reminded me of a female version of Los Lonely Boys.

Next up was rocker Rosie Flores, who played several songs on acoustic guitar, accompanied by another acoustic guitar player/singer. They were then joined by David Hidalgo of Los Lobos for several songs, which was our first taste of Los Super Seven members taking the stage.

Next came Money Chicha, They are an Austin-based latin-psych and cumbia band which includes members of Grupo Fantasma and Brownout. They always put on a great performance that gets the crowd dancing, and this night was no exception.

The next performer was Carrie Rodriquez, who played fiddle and sang, backed by her husband Luke Jacobs. She has a beautiful voice and is an impressive fiddle player too. Then came John Doe, the former LA punk rocker who is now based in Austin. He is now more of a singer songwriter, and after a few of his solo acoustic numbers, was joined first by Carrie on fiddle, and then Josh Baca on accordion.

I had not seen or heard of this band before, but I think they deserve wider recognition. Danielle has a strong voice that at times reminded me of Etta James and Janis Joplin. She is also an excellent bass player who played off the other band members well. Miller played some awesome blues guitar, and drummer Ray was a fine musician as well. The band was joined on a couple of songs by a young trumpet player, which added to the fun. The show rocked hard at times and at others was pure blues and soul. I'd definitely like to see this band again.

First up was Eminence Ensemble. The band is made up of Tanner Bardin (drums), Nick Baum (vocals, percussion), Wil Snyder (keyboard, synth), Zac Flynn (bass, synth, vocals), Dylan Gleit (guitar, vocals) & Justin Neely (guitar, vocals). The band plays very creative original music, and are equally adept at covering material by other bands. At this show, they performed one impressive cover song, Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar". The rest of their set was made up of original music, which included elements of rock, funk, electronic, and soul. Percussionist Baum provided most of the vocals, and guitarists Gleit and Neely traded jammy guitar licks. Keyboard player Snyder provided some cool sounds too, and the rhythm section of Bardin and Flynn provided a solid back beat. I wish they could have played longer than their scheduled one hour set, but I really enjoyed what they played.

Grateful Shred is a Grateful Dead cover band that was formed in LA in 2016. Their members include Austin McCutchen (guitar, vocals), Austine Beede (drums), and Alex Koford (drums, vocals), as well as Circles Around the Sun members Dan Horne (bass), Adam MacDougall (keyboards), and John Lee Shannon (guitar).

Circles Around the Sun was formed in 2015 with the purpose of creating instrumental music that was played at the "Fare Thee Well" reunion concerts celebrating 50 years of the Grateful Dead. Since then, the band has toured and recorded several original albums. John Lee Shannon replaced founding guitarist Neal Casal after his death in 2019. The other founding members of the quartet, Dan Horne, Adam MacDougall, and Mark Levy (drums) have continued to play with the band.

The concert began with Grateful Shred playing a number of Dead songs, including "Don't Ease Me In", "Me and My Uncle", and "Playing in the Band". Then vocalist McCutchen left the stage, as did the two drummers. Drummer Mark Levy then came on, and with the remaining three musicians played a series of jammy instrumental Circle Around the Sun songs. After over an hour of amazing instrumental jams, they switched back to the Grateful Shred configuration. Their second portion of the show began with a resumption of "Playing in the Band", and they then played another set of Dead songs, including "Help on the Way/Slipknot/Franklins Tower", "Shakedown Street", and "China Cat/I Know You Rider". They also threw in a couple of non-Dead songs, Marty Robbins' "Big Iron", and a closing tribute to Austin with Doug Sahm's "Groover's Paradise"

As it turned out, the show was equally good this time. Hinds has plenty of stage presence, and his classic reggae voice sounded as strong as ever. The band has solid players on drums and bass, a talented two-man horn section. Lead guitarist David Ellecirri Jr. provided some nice guitar solos and backing vocals. Bass player Amlak Tafari was once again the focal point for crowd interaction. He had an audience member come on stage to strum his bass on a song, and he made his way through the packed, sold-out crowd while playing on another. The only minor disappointment at this show was that original keyboard player and back-up vocalist Selwyn Brown was not present, and his place was taken by a younger keyboardist. Otherwise, the show was quite similar to the one I saw on Jam cruise. At both shows, they played many of their roots reggae classics, a fun reggae version of the1958 rock hit "Don't Let Go", and closed with the Grateful Dead's "Franklin's Tower".

The band started off the show in appropriate style with "Instant Armadillo Blues" which talks about "going down to Austin", and then went into John Hartford's "Steam Powered Aereo Plane". Other highlights include the Grateful Dead's "Black Peter" and Old and In the Way's "The Hobo Song". Other tunes showed off their bluegrass and Cajun influences. They closed the fine show with a crowd-pleasing encore of the Dead's "New Speedway Boogie".

As always, Herman provided the personality of the band while handling most of the lead vocals. Emmitt on mandolin and fiddle and Thorn delivered jamming solos on their instruments. I was particularly impressed by the band's newest member, Starling, who joined in 2022, who demonstrated outstanding instrumental skills on keyboard, dobro, and steel guitar.

The opening act was Sour Bridges, a four-piece band from Austin, who describe their music as "browngrass", a blend of country, rock and bluegrass. They played a country-flavored version of jam music that I really enjoyed. They are led by brothers Bill and Matt Pucci. Fiddle player Camille Schiess provided plenty of energy with her dynamic fiddle solos.

First up was Louisiana Zydeco band Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas. The band is led by accordion player and vocalist Nathan Williams, and it is made up entirely of family members. The Zydeco Cha-Chas included the traditional rub-board, guitar, bass, and drums. I have always loved zydeco, and Nathan and band are among the best, so it was a great way to start off the day.

Next came The Blind Boys of Alabama, with guest Bobby Rush. The Blind Boys were founded in 1939 and originally performed strictly gospel music, but over time they have ventured into more secular music. Over the years they've gone through many members, but they still have soulful individual singers and incredible harmony vocals. They were joined by 90 year-old bluesman Bobby Rush, who added some bluesy harmonica on many of their songs. Their set included stirring versions of "People Get Ready", "Amazing Grace" (sung to the melody of "House of the Rising Sun"), and Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground".

Dumpstaphunk is a New Orleans funk band that I love and have seen many time. Sadly, one of their long-time member, Nick Daniels III, had passed away the day before this show after an extended illness. The band, which features keyboard player/vocalist Ivan Neville, bassist/vocalist Tony Hall, and guitar player Ian Neville, still put on a fine show, although it did seem that they were a bit distracted. They didn't mention their friend's passing directly, but it seemed like their set list, which included "The World Is a Little Bit Under the Weather" and "Right Place Wrong Time" may have alluded to it. Still, Alex Wasily on trombone and Ashlin Parker on trumpet tore it up on many impressive solos, and their set had the crowd in front of the stage dancing to the funky New Orleans tunes throughout.

Next came the Original Pinettes Brass Band, a brass band from New Orleans, who bill themselves as "the premier and only female brass band in the universe". They played while marching around the entire venue before arriving in front of the stage,where they played a number of classic New Orleans songs.

The Altons and Thee Sinseers are two young bands from L.A. on the Daptone Records label. They are soul / R&B bands with a number of shared members, but with different lead singers. All of their lead singers had impressive voices, but I found that both bands somewhat lacking in energy. They do have talent, so I expect that they will improve with experience.

The next to last act was Austin blues guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, with special guests Sue Foley and Soul Man Sam. Jimmie has been a major figure in the Austin blues scene since the 1970's, and I've seen him countless times over the years. He was backed by his Tilt-A-Whirl band which included guitar, bass, drums, and the three-member Texas Horns. Jimmie played a number of classic blues songs, including one made famous by his brother Stevie, "Texas Flood". He was then joined by Sue Foley, an Austin-based guitar player, originally from Canada. She sang a couple of blues songs, during which she and Jimmie traded off tasty guitar licks.. Another Austinite, vocalist Soul Man Sam then came on, and the energy picked up quite a bit. Soul Man Sam lived up to his name, and I really enjoyed his strong vocals on Muddy Waters' "The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll", and classics "St. James Infirmary Blues" and "Let the Good Times Roll". Jimmie's final song was one that he had performed during his days with The Fabulous Thunderbirds, "The Crawl".

First up was Cazayoux, a jazzy world-music band led by drummer Forrest Cazayoux. The band features West African percussionist and vocalist Aboubacar Sylla, and also has an outstanding horn section. Unfortunately I arrived a bit late and only saw their last few songs, but they did get the evening off to a nice start.

Next up was The Point, a band that I had only seen once before, but who have been generating quite a buzz lately. The band includes two young musicians, guitarist Jack Montesinos and keyboard player Joe Roddy, along with drummer Nico Leophonte. Apparently, Keith Richards saw a video of The Point, and was impressed enough to make them one of the openers, along with Gary Clark Jr., at the Rolling Stones' recent concert in Houston. On Thursday, the band demonstrated their impressive musicianship and eclectic style, with songs ranging from Afro-beat to middle-eastern to jazz-funk.

The next band was Carmelo Haze, another band that I had seen once before. The band includes Beto Martinez & John Speice (Grupo Fantasma), Alex Chavez (Dos Santos) & Victor "El Guambito" Cruz (Nemegata). They describe their music as a "cross pollination of Texas soul, Afro-Colombian folk, psychedelic Americana, and much more." Their set started off a bit mellow, but by the end they had some nice dance grooves going that the crowd really enjoyed.

The fourth act was JaRon Marshall, whom I've seen a couple of times before. JaRon is best known as the keyboardist for the Black Pumas. His band is a trio that includes a trumpet player and drummer. They played a blend of funk, jazz, and hip-hop that was quite interesting to listen to.

SCOTS is primarily a three-piece band made up of Rick Miller on guitar and vocals, Mary Huff on bass and vocals, and Dave Hartman on percussion. They were joined on this night by another percussionist who play maracas, tambourine, and the top of a broiling pan as a rub-board. SCOTS's style has been described as including elements of rockabilly, surf, swamp pop, country and R&B, but I like to think of it as psycho-hillbilly.

As always, Miller sang and played lots of twangy solos on his Danelectro guitar, Huff played some fine bass and sang lead on a number of campy songs, and Hartman played his minimal drum kit and wore his trademark pork pie hat. They played several of their standards including "Voodoo Cadillac", "House of Bamboo", "Camel Walk" (including a hilarious story on the song's origin that I hadn't heard), "Nitty Gritty", "Soul City", and "Dirt Track Date". They also threw in a straight-up blues song, a country 2-step, and most surprisingly, a cool version of Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy".

I've been meaning to see this group for a while, but it just hadn't worked out until this night. I am glad that I was finally able to see them. They played ethereal acoustic tunes, with nice lead and harmony vocals by Alice and Vanessa. Their songs were mainly originals and had pleasant melodies and uplifting lyrics. Alice's fiddle playing was really impressive, too. The band was joined by Eddie Robbins, who added some tasty acoustic guitar picking during the latter part of the evening.

Unfortunately, this Vulfpeck show was a disappointment, because it was pretty much all pop, with little to no real funk. Vulfpeck includes founding members Jack Stratton on keyboards, drums and guitar, Theo Katzman on guitar, drums and vocals, Woody Goss on keyboards, and Joe Dart on bass. Along with Cory Wong who often sits in with them, the band also included Joey Dosik on alto sax, keyboards, and vocals. They could all play their instruments well, but I just didn't find the music to be very interesting. The band made a big deal of people switching around between guitars, keyboards, and drums on almost every song, which seemed more for show than musical value. The band also brought out two guest vocalists, Jacob Jeffries and Antuan Stanley, on a number of songs, They were both good singers, but again it seemed more for show than content.

The band is made up of bandleader Aaron Wilkinson (guitar harmonica, lead vocals), Lee Yankee (lead guitar), Sam Price (bass), Chris Spies (keyboards), and Garland Paul (drums). For this show, the opening set was made up of original tunes, including several songs from their new album "Custom Deluxe". It was a fun set that had the crowd dancing throughout. All of the band members are good, but I particularly enjoyed Spies keyboard playing and Yankee's slide guitar.

But Saturday was the lucky day for Diane and me, because the weather was perfect, and Sierra Nevada has a beautiful facility with a nice tiered lawn area that allowed everyone to spread out and see the show in comfort. The audience included people of all ages, including many kids and dogs who were having a great time.

Peggy and her band played two long sets over 3 hours, and covered both well know songs and a few more obscure ones by rock, blues, soul, and R&B artists. The band also played some original tunes that were really good as well.

My final day at SxSW 2024 on Saturday, March 16th was spent at Mojo's Mayhem at the Continental Club. Since Mojo had passed away just six weeks earlier on the Outlaw Country Cruise, this was a memorial event, officially titled "Mojo's Final Mayhem - F*ck You and Your Feelings". As it turned out, Mojo had already decided that this year's Mojo's Mayhem, which he had hosted for the previous 20 years at SxSW, would be the last. He had even personally selected all of the acts, including several that had not performed in years and one that he brought out of retirement.

I have been a fan of Mojo's since the mid-1980's, and I even had purchased the gas station shirt I wore to this event at a performance by Mojo and Skid Roper at the Continental Club in 1986. I know that the year was 1986, because I showed it to Mojo at last year's event, and he told me that 1986 was the only year that they sold the shirts with a "Mushroom Mania" patch.

Being a long time fan, I really wanted to attend the final version of the event. I arrived at the club around 30 minutes before the doors were opened, and was surprised to see several hundred people waiting in line to get in. I was afraid that I would not get inside very soon, but I was fortunate and was one of the last to be let in just after the first act had begun playing. As it turned out people did continue to get in throughout the day on a one out / one in basis, but had to wait in a line of thirty to fifty people throughout the day. Once inside, I even was able to sample one of their famous jalapeno pancakes for the first time.

The acts throughout the day were:
- Allen Oldies Band, who kicked things off with great versions of rock hits from the fifties and sixties.
- John Dee Graham, who sang his gritty original tunes.
- The Waco Brothers, who once again tore it up with their "Cash meets the Clash" country-punk, and who were joined by Rosie Flores for a finale of "Folsom Prison Blues".
- Folk Uke, who were not listed on the schedule, but who were invited up to perform their song that Mojo loved, "I Gave a BJ to a DJ".
- James McMurtry, who performed many of his best known songs, and who was joined by a bunch of go-go dancers for his big rave-up song, "Choctaw Bingo".
- The Beat Farmers, a country punk band from San Diego who gave Mojo some of his first opportunities as a performer, rocked hard. They were also joined by Rosie Flores for a song.
- Dan Baird & Homemade Sin, led by former lead singer of the Georgia Satellites. Baird, who had been retired since 2019 due to some health issues. also performed a hard rocking set. He and his band were joined by Steve Earle for a fun version of the Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers".
- The Knitters, a country offshoot of the California punk band X, that included X members John Doe (acoustic guitar and vocals), Exene Cervenka (vocals), and D.J. Bonebreak (percussion), along with electric guitarist Dave Alvin. They had not performed in this configuration in around 10 years, and this rare performance of cool country punk may have been my favorite set of the day.
- A closing set by Nixon's band, The Toad Liquors with special guests. They were officially billed as "The Toad Liquors, Your Mom and Some Other Whore". The band included crazy piano player Pete "Wetdawg" Gordon, bass player Matt "Earl B. Freedom" Esky , and drummer Mike "Wid" Middleton, along with Dash Rip Rock's Bill Davis and Eric "Roscoe" Ambel on guitars. Their set was pretty crazy, as they were joined by one performer after another, including Dead Kennedys founder Jello Biafra who sang, "Are You Drinkin' with Me Jesus?" and Outlaw Country head honch Jeremy Tepper, who sang "UFOs, Big Rigs & BBQ". At that point practically everyone who had performed came on stage for a rowdy version of "Tie My Pecker to My Leg". The proceedings ended with a tear-rendering version of Nixon's "You Can't Kill Me", with everyone on stage and in the crowd joining in on the lyrics, "You can't kill me, I will not die, not now, not ever, no never. I'm gonna live a long, long time, my soul raves on forever."

Throughout the day, every performer gave some hilarious, profane and touching remembrances of Mojo, and some special words were said by Mojo's manager Bullethead, and Continental Club owner Steve Wertheimer. It was just the kind of going away party that Mojo would have wanted, and I feel lucky to have been in attendance.

The opener for the show was Alabama singer-songwriter Kristy Lee, who sang some nice personal songs, accompanied by a percussionist on drums and rub-board. She also joined the Indigo Girls on a couple of songs towards the end of their main set.

In addition to guitarist Alvin, the touring band included Mark Karan (Bob Weir's Ratdog & Phil Lesh), bassist Victor Krummenacher (Camper Van Beethoven), drummer Michael Jerome (Richard Thompson, Better Than Ezra, John Cale) and vocalist Jesse Sykes (Jesse Sykes and The Sweeter Hereafter). Alvin and Karan's guitar styles played off one another beautifully, with Alvin's twangy style contrasting with Karan's more Garcia-esque approach. Vocalist Jesse Sykes has a unique and captivating voice that worked perfectly with the dreamy, psychedelic instrumentals, and the rhythm section of Krummenmacher and Jerome laid down a solid backdrop for the music.

Their show in Austin included songs from their two albums including two Paul Butterfield Blues Band songs ("In My Own Dream" and "East West"), two Fred Neal songs ("Little Bit of Rain" and "The Dolphins"), and an awesome version Bonnie Dobson's "Morning Dew" (made famous by the Grateful Dead), They closed with a rocking version of Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited". Many of the songs included long and innovative instrumental jams, and the show was everything that I had hoped it wold be.

The opener for the show was J. Isaiah Evans & The Boss Tweed, a blues band from Dallas. J. Isaiah Evans had a nice voice and a good songwriter, and played what was mainly rhythm guitar, He was backed by a keyboard player and drummer. I did enjoy his music, but I did feel that his band could benefit from a lead guitar player and a bass player.

Day 2: A longer day of music, beginning at 12:30 PM (just after breakfast for us) with the HillBenders on the Pool Deck Stage. I loved their bluegrassy (WhoGrass) interpretations of The Who's "Pinball Wizard", "Baba O'Riley" and " Love, Reign O'er Me". I caught a bit of moe's Al Schnier's solo acoustic set at the Garden Pool, and then saw an energetic set of R&B by J & the Causeways with special guest Jelly Joseph on the Pool Deck Stage. I then caught an interview session with Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew in the Atrium, where they answered questions about their careers and their upcoming "Remain in Light Show" later in the evening. Since I am a huge Talking Heads fan, the Remain In Light show at the Pantheon, which featured members of Cool Cool Cool, was another highlight of my week. I had seen that show on tour last June, and it seemed to me that their Jam Cruise performance was significantly better (I'm not sure why, although Harrison mentioned in the interview that their sound changed when they brought in a new bass player, but I am not sure of the timing of that change). Other fine performers included Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country, Cimafunk, Jimi's Dead, Lotus, Proxima Parida, and Franc Moody, along with second appearances by Medeski, Martin, and Porter with Aba Diop and DJ Logic and Lettuce. Wow, so much incredible music in one day! Here are Day 2 photos.

Day 3: The day started off with some sterling reggae from Steel Pulse at the Pool Deck stage. We had been told that their lead singer David Hinds could only make this show while we were docked at Montego Bay, Jamaica, so this was a must see for me. Hinds sounded great, and other members of the band, including keyboard player Selwyn Brown and guitar player David Ellecirri Jr. also provided some nice vocals. Their bass player Amlak Tafari must have also held a title of Director of Audience relations, as he made his way through the crowd both upstairs and downstairs interacting with the audience. They put on a great show featuring many of their reggae classics, and also played reggae versions of "Don't Let Go", and a closing "Franklin's Tower". I then headed for the Krasno Moore Project in the Black and White Lounge where I found Duane Betts on stage with Eric Krasno and Stanton Moore. Before long they launched into an awesome version of "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed," When they finished, they let is know that that was only the sound check! When Krasno and Moore came back, it was without Betts, and I could only stay for a few more songs, so I was glad to have heard them play the Allman Brother classic when I did. Before I left, they performed a nice version of "Elinor Rigby", but I had to move on to see the week's second performance by moe.. I enjoyed moe.'s Day 3 set in the Pantheon Theater even more than the first day's. It was great to see Chuck Garvey sing lead on a couple of songs, and he sounded great, showing that he has made an excellent comeback from the stroke that he had suffered not too long ago. It was also cool that they were joined by Mike Dillon on several songs including an encore of Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla". The great music kept on coming after that with the Magic Beans, dressed in referee uniforms in support of the day's Zebra theme. They were joined by guitarist Brock Butler from Perpetual Groove on several songs, and I was impressed that many members of he crowd seemed to know the words to most of their songs. Next up for me in the Pantheon was a New Orleans favorite of mine, Dumpstaphunk, who were joined by fellow New Orleans greats, George Porter, Jr., Kanika Moore and "Jelly" Joseph on a number of songs. I then managed to make it to a bit of the jam session with Elise Testone and Adryon de Leon before calling it a night after another fantastic day of music. Here are Day 3 photos.

Day 4: My personal highlight on Day 4 was Everyone Orchestra in the Pantheon Theater. Everyone Orchestra is an improvisational project led by Matt Butler in which brand new music is created live and on-the-fly. Butler led an all-star band that included, among others, Ivan Neville, Duane Betts, Adryon de Leon, Kanika Moore, Nikki Glaspie, Mike Dillon, Jim Loughlin (moe. percussionist), and members of Cool Cool Cool. It was amazing what finished-sounding music was created as Butler emphatically pointed to various band members and held up signs with simple instructions. He even got the crowd involved in several instances, including one song in which we all enthusiastically sang "How Lucky Are We!". My other highlight of the day was Keller Williams' Grateful Grass, which included Keller and members of The Hillbenders, on the Pool Deck stage. Although many on the ship chose to attend the Prince-themed "Purple Party" (which I'm sure was also really good) in that time slot, I am more of a Deadhead, so this was an easy choice for me. Keller and friends delivered jammy blue-grassy versions of Grateful Dead favorites including "Mexicali Blues", "Sugaree", "Feel Like a Stranger", "Bird Song", and "Cassidy". To change things up a bit, they also threw in Tom Petty's "Yer So Bad". Other excellent shows that day included The New Mastersounds who played Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" and Bonnie Sims of "Big Richard" leading a jam session in the Atrium that included "One Hand in My Pocket", "House of Rising Sun", and "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay". And, oh yes, there was Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country with a sit in by Cory Wong playing "Mystery Train" and "Workin' Man Blues", and a fantastic set by Galactic with "Jelly" Joseph and guest Eddie Roberts (New Mastersounds guitarist) . Songs played during Galactic's set included The Police's "Walking on the Moon", Allan Toussaint's "Yes We Can", and an encore of AC/DC's "Highway to Hell". I also saw parts of sets by Proxima Parada, J & the Causeways with "Jelly" Joseph, and a late night Jam session led by Duane Betts and Chris Jacobs that included Ivan Neville and Tony Hall helping out with "Midnight Rider", and Kanika Moore as well. Phew, no wonder I was tired at the end of the night (early morning actually) after trying to catch all of this fantastic music. Here are Day 4 photos.

There were two opening bands that were quite entertaining as well. First up was Jake Vaadeland & the Sturgeon River Boys. They are a four-piece bluegrass/old-time country band who are also from Saskatchewan, Canada. Vaadeland provides lead vocals and plays acoustic guitar, and his band includes a lead guitar player, banjo and bass. They music featured nice harmony vocals, and Vaadeland was quite humorous between songs.

The next band was The Hooten Hallers, a three-piece roots-rock band from Missouri. Their members are John Randall (guitar and lap steel guitar), Andy Rehm (drums), and Kellie Everett (baritone and bass saxophone). Watching Everett play her huge bass saxophone was quite impressive, and the other two band members played with rocking intensity. They played bluesy roots rock with an aggressive, almost punkish approach, and it was clear that they were having a good time while doing it.

Cazayoux is one of my favorite local bands. They play funky Afrobeat music and are led by drummer Forrest Cazayoux in 2020. Their large band includes four horns, keyboards, guitar, bass, and congas. The band features their percussionist and vocalist Aboubacar Sylla, from Guinea, West Africa, who plays Djembe (African drums) and Balafon (an African a gourd-resonated xylophone). They are a tight band with many talented soloists, and their original rhythmic Afrobeat songs kept the dance floor full throughout their set.

The Sahara Allstars included four members of Cazayoux: Forrest Cazayoux, Aboubacar Sylla, and their sax and guitar players. The Allstars had different players on keyboard, trombone, bass, and congas, and also added a female vocalist. Like Caxayoux, they played fun Afrobeat music that was great to dance to.

The three shows they performed on this run were each quite different, and they were all were excellent in different ways. The first evening was made up of individual songs demonstrating their many musical styles, including bluegrass, funk, reggae, Irish fiddle music, Afrobeat, r&b, and more. The second night was more focused on long, grooving jams. The final night featured a little bit of everything, and included many fan favorites. I always enjoy the wide variety of covers that SCI performs, which in these shows included Waylon Jennings' "Good Hearted Woman", Hank Ballard's "Tore Up Over You", Jean-Luc Ponty's "Mouna Bowa", Bob Marley & The Wailers' "Lively Up Yourself", Allen Toussaint's "Working in a Coal Mine", Rusty Weir's "Don't it Make You Want to Dance", Paul Simon's "Under African Skies", and Billy Joe Shaver's "Honky Tonk Heroes". Some of my favorite originals they performed included "Rivertrance", "Texas", "Sometimes a River", "Let's Go Out Side", and "Colorado Bluebird Sky". Another highlight was on night 3 when Tony Hall of the Neville Brothers and Dumpstaphunk joined them on guitar and vocals for a high-energy version of "Get To You".

Every year on Halloween, the band picks some different bands to cover, and this year they chose Talking Heads and Radiohead, or as they called the night's show, "Talking Radio Heads". They alternated between original PPPP songs and the songs of the other two bands. Their original songs were well received, and the crowd went crazy for the Talking Heads songs ("This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)", "Psycho Killer", "(Nothing But) Flowers", and "Making Flippy Floppy"). The Radiohead songs were well done, but for me didn't have quite the energy as the others. Brian Murry and Jeremy Kaplan from the opening band Dogs In A Pile joined PPPP on a few of the cover songs, which was extra fun.

The opening act was Dogs In A Pile, a 5-piece jamband from Asbury Park, NJ. The band's members are Jeremy Kaplan (vocals, keyboards), Brian Murray (vocals, guitar), Jimmy Law (vocals, guitar), Sam Lucid (vocals, bass), and Joey Babick (drums). It was my first time to see them, and I had heard good things about them. It turned out that I was very impressed by their multiple lead vocalists, shared lead guitar roles, and interesting keyboard playing. They demonstrated the ability to play in many musical styles, and they mixed in their original tunes with interesting covers, which included The Beatles' "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite", the cowboy tune "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky" and the theme song from the movie "Halloween".

Mother Neff consists of Toby Scroggins on vocals and rhythm guitar, Pete Stiles on lead guitar, Grae Baker on bass, and Zack LeBlanc on drums. I was once again impressed by their songs and their performance, which included several songs off of their recent excellent album "Make Space", as well as some songs they were performing for the first time. Unfortunately, their set was cut short, and there was only a small crowd there to see them. I'll look forward to seeing them again soon, and I hope they are discovered by many other members of Austin's jam-band-appreciating audience, because they really deserve to be heard.

I also really enjoyed the night's closing band, rrunnerrss. They are led by a charismatic singer/electric guitar player, Michael Zapruder. The band also includes Lauren Gurgiolo, formally of Okkerville River on second guitar, and Sevylla del Mazo, whom I know from Hard Proof, on percussion and keyboards, along with solid musicians on bass and drums. They played some interesting original music that was eclectic, funky, and at times had a reggae-vibe, and I'll look forward to seeing them in the future.

The opener on Friday was TAUK Moore. TAUK is a four-piece jam band from Long Island. They have a unique style that incorporates blues, funk, and hip-hop into an instrumental jam band format. A few years ago Kanika Moore joined them as a vocalist, and their joint TAUK Moore project has been ongoing for a while. It is the second time that I have seen them together, and I feel like the soul and R&B flavors that Moore brings to the band have been more thoroughly integrated into TAUK's style, and I really enjoyed their set on Friday.

The first opening band was Hoax Planet, a duo with Rex Simmons on modular synth Chris Hausler on analog and digital percussion. They performed interesting electronic jams that were both spacy and dance-able.

The second band was the event's hosts, Waterflyy, an Austin synth duo consisting of keyboard artists Meg Sita and Rex Simmons. Like Hoax Planet, they created some interesting jamtronica sounds with their synths. They also added some nice vocals on a number of songs, which included one of my favorite 80's numbers, Devo's "Whip It".

The main act that I came to see was Bayou City Funk. They are regarded to be Houston's premier funk band, and they played to a full house. The band included three horn players, a guitarist/lead vocalist, and keyboards, bass and drums. They played mostly originals and a few covers that had an enthusiastic crowd dancing all night.

This tour was in part intended to promote Son Volt's recent Doug Sahm tribute album, "Day of the Doug", and also to revisit the band's first Album, "Trace". They started off the show with seven Doug Sahm songs, including "Beautiful Texas Sunshine", "What About Tomorrow" "Yesterday Got In the Way," and "Mendocino." It was a nice tribute, but I wish it would have been a bit longer. It would have been even better if they had invited Shawn Sahm or Augie Meyers to join in the tribute, or at least talked about what Doug Sahm meant to them, but that was not to be.

The next portion of the concert was dedicated to playing the songs from the album "Trace" in order and in its entirety. The album included many of Sun Volt's best know songs, including "Windfall", "Tear Stained Eye", "Route", and "Drown". After completing the 11 songs on the album, they performed a few more well know songs from the Son Volt catalog. The highlight for me was their encore of The Band's, "The Weight", on which they were joined on vocals by Austin's Kelly Willis. They finished with a rocking Uncle Tupelo cover, "Chickamauga".

Farrar, as is usual, didn't say much between songs, or smile at all during the show, but he and the band still put on a strong performance that made it a memorable evening.

The second band was The Peterson Brothers. The Peterson Brothers are talented young musicians originally from Bastrop, with Glenn, Jr. on vocals and guitar and Alex on vocals and bass. Earlier in their career they played mostly blues music, but have expanded their sound to include more soul and funk. Glenn, Jr. and Alex showed off their musicianship with impressive solos on their instruments, and they have outstanding players on drums and keyboards too. In addition to many original tunes, they played some fun covers including "Taker Me to the River" and "I'll Be There".

The final act was Ms. Mack & the Daddies. They are a soul/funk band from Austin, highlighted by Ms. Mack's powerful vocals. She is one of the most dynamic singers in Austin, and is an excellent entertainer as well as well. Between songs she was quite funny, with the topic of her comments and many of her songs being women's empowerment. She also has an excellent band with strong players on guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums. It was a fun set, and a great way to conclude a fine evening of music.

Hard Proof, founded in 2008, is an Austin super-group featuring members of Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, The Calm Blue Sea, Cougar, Ocote Soul Sounds, the Echocentrics, and several other notable Austin acts.

Cazayoux was founded by drummer Forrest Cazayoux in 2020. Some of the highlights of the band's performance last night were by their charismatic percussionist Aboubacar Sylla, who is from Guinea, West Africa, on Djembe (African drums) and Balafon (an African a gourd-resonated xylophone).

CC Adcock kicked off the night with his Lafayette Marquis band, which included bass, drums, and a multi-instrumentalist on accordion, rubboard, and drums. I've seen CC a number of times over the years, but it's been quite a while since I've seen him with his full band. They tore it up with their swampy original Louisiana rock-and roll. They were joined on one song by Austin guitar player Jesse Dayton. Later in the set, Austinite Charlie Sexton came on, but because they supposedly could not find a guitar for him to play, he took the second drum seat. I've never seen Charlie play drums before, but he looked like he knew what he was doing, and the band had a really good time with it.

Headliner Sonny Landreth came on with his band that consisted of veteran Louisiana bassist Dave Ranson and drummer Mike Burch. Landreth is known as the "King of Slydeco", having started off in Clifton Chenier's band in 1981. He is recognized as one of the world's best slide guitar players, and has appeared on recordings and on stage with many well-known artists including John Mayall, Jimmy Buffet, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, and John Hiatt. For the first part of his set last night, Sonny played slide on dobro while seated, with his drummer playing a Louisiana cajon drum box, and his bass player playing a ukulele bass. For the latter part of his set, Sonny stood up and played a Fender Stratocaster while his bandmates played a traditional drum set and electric bass. Sonny demonstrated a wide range of slide techniques and put on a highly entertaining show of blues and zydeco-based tunes. He finishing with a rocking encore of "Congo Square", a song that he wrote that his been covered by many others.

The opening bands killed it each night, with Fennario Flats opening on Friday with acoustic Grateful Dead and Old and in the Way tunes. During DeadEye's Friday night set, Fennario Flat's Noah Jeffries sat in with them on fiddle on a couple of songs, as did Trevor Smith on banjo. Saturday's opener was Spud Boy Allstars, who played the songs of the Jerry Garcia Band. Keith Laudieri from Spud Boy sat in with DeadEye on drums on Saturday night for some double drum action.

Both shows were a joy from start to finish, and they played many of my favorite Garcia tunes, without a single repeated song. It was great to spend time with so many Austin Jamily friends enjoying this music, and I can't wait to do it again next year.

C.J. Chenier and his Red Hot Louisiana Band opened the show with some fun zydeco. His set included a journey into the crowd with his rub-board player and bass player, but unfortunately his set was limited to only 30 minutes due to time limitations that evening.

The opener was James Intveld, a rockabilly singer and guitar player. He is based in L.A., but was born in the Netherlands. He played some high-energy rockabilly and country songs, backed by an excellent band. Katie Shore, an Austin-based fiddle player who plays with Asleep at the Wheel, joined for a few songs, and then John Doe came up and sang on a couple of songs as well.

The opener was Eric Johanson, a blues rock singer and guitar player, originally from Louisiana. He played much in the same rocking style as Fish and Dayton, and joined them for their encore.

Marcia started off the night with her fine band. She was in good voice, and she still tears it up with her Louisiana boogie-woogie style piano playing. She played a number of her old favorites such as "That's Enough of that Stuff" and "Shine Bright", brought out a few tears with her version of Randy Newman's "Louisiana 1927", and closed with a rollicking "Let Me Play with Your Poodle".

Irma Thomas is known has the "Soul Queen of New Orleans", and she still has a great voice at the age of 82. I've been a fan of hers since the 1980's. My friend Betsy, who may have introduced me to Irma, was up front with me at the show, and got a shout out from Irma for her autographed 1989 vintage "Everybody Loves Irma Thomas" tee-shirt. Irma mentioned that the last time she played in Austin was at a previous Antone's location the night before Katrina hit New Orleans on August 27, 2005. She said that Marcia Ball took care of her and her band, The Professionals, for the next two weeks, so there is a long time special relationship between the two. Last night, Irma and her band played many of her well known songs, including "You Can Have My Husband", "Hip Shakin' Momma", "Time is On My Side" (which she recorded before the Rolling Stones), "Ruler of My Heart", and "It's Raining". Marcia joined her for for "Sing It", from their album of the same name they recorded with Tracy Nelson in 1998. Irma dedicated her version of "Simply the Best" (for which she won a Grammy) to the late Tina Turner, and closed with a beautiful version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young".

The show was made up entirely of Beach Boys and Brian's solo material, and for the most part the songs were performed in the order they were released. Not only did they perform the songs well, but Ben and Andrea also described what was going on with Brian and the band when each song was created, along with some of their experiences while touring with Brian. Ben and Andrea were backed for much of the show by Dave Sher on guitar, Michael Gonzales on drums, and Kris Wade on bass, who also provided harmony vocals. They wore Beach Boys' themed outfits, the stage was decorated with beach themed objects, and Beach Boys' photos and album covers were projected on the rear wall, so it was a fully immersive experience. Guests Natalie Price and Pat Byrne each sang lead on a song, and they also rejoined the band for the encore. Both Ben and Andrea are great singers, and Ben was particularly impressive singing the Beach Boy's high falsetto parts. They really reproduced the sounds of the Beach Boys well and created a great atmosphere, so overall it was a memorable evening.

Also, this was a benefit for a non-profit, Music Helps, that Andrea is involved with. Music Helps provides music therapy for children who are suffering from the effects of severe trauma. If you are interested, you can learn more about the organization and donate at https://musichelpsatx.com/

First up was Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew's "Remain In Light". Jerry Harrison was an original member of the Talking Heads, in which he played keyboards and guitar. Adrien Belew is a noted guitar player who has played with King Crimson, Frank Zappa, David Bowie, and many others. Belew played guitar on the Talking Heads' "Remain In Light", and played with the expanded 9-piece Talking Heads band during their 1980 and 1981 tours. On Wednesday, the band included former members of the band Turquaz, who broke with their former band leader and now tour as Cool Cool Cool. This includes Shira Elias (vocals), Sammi Garett (vocals), Chris Brouwers (trumpet), Josh Schwartz (tenor sax), Greg Sanderson (alto sax), Michelangelo Carubba (drums), and Craig Brodhead (guitar and keyboard). The "Remain in Light" band also included Julie Slick on bass, and Yahuba Garcia-Torres on percussion. The band played 'Remain in Light' in its entirety, which included Talking Heads favorites such as "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)", "Crosseyed and Painless", "The Great Curve", "Once in a Lifetime", and "Houses in Motion". Plus, they played other Talking Heads classics "Psycho Killer", "Life During Wartime", and "Take Me to the River." Belew played some killer guitar solos, Harrison showed off his unique sounds on synthesized keyboards, and the entire band did a great job in performing the music of the Talking Heads.

The show's headliner was Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, which included Les Claypool on bass & vocals, Sean Lennon (son of John & Yoko) on guitar, Harry Waters (son of Pink Floyd's Roger Waters) on keyboards, Mike Dillon (former Austinite) on vibraphone and percussion, Paulo Baldi on drums, and Skerik on saxophone. Les Claypool is know as the founder of the band Primus, and is regarded as one of rock's greatest bass players. His Fearless Flying Frog Brigade is a side project that first played together between 2000 and 2004. Claypool reformed the band with different members (other than Skerik) for this 2023 tour. The band started off the show with some of Claypool's original songs, and then played Pink Floyd's "Animals" in its entirety. The band then played more of Claypool's songs, including one in which he played the Whamola, a single string stand-up bass with a whammy bar-like handle at the top. Sean Lennon played some excellent guitar licks, and Mike Dillon did some nice solos on the vibraphone. Overall it was an enjoyable and rocking performance.

Tony Kamel performed first, accompanied by former member of The Greencards, Kym Warner. Kamel was formerly lead singer for the Austin bluegrass band Wood & Wire, but he has been performing as a solo artist for a while. He has an excellent voice and is a talented acoustic guitar player. He also played banjo on a couple of songs. Warner played mandolin and electric guitar, as well as providing some backing and lead vocals. Kamel played many of his well-written original songs, and I always enjoy his performances.

The headliner was Melissa Carper, a standup bass player and singer originally from Nebraska. She was accompanied by a talented three piece band which included a fiddle player, acoustic guitarist, and Emily Gimble (granddaughter of Texas fiddle legend Johnny Gimble) on electric piano. All of whom provided background vocals, along with some goat noises on one song. Carper plays a style of country music that has been described as retro, and I enjoyed her mix of Americana, jazzy country, and western swing songs.

Billy as usual wowed on acoustic guitar, and surprised me by playing some banjo as well. His touring band includes Billy Failing (banjo), Royal Masat (bass), Jarrod Walker (mandolin), and Alex Hargreaves (fiddle), and all are excellent players.The band played for around three hours and 20 minutes, with Billy only coming off stage for a few minutes. Their setlist consisted of Billy originals, a wide range of bluegrass covers, and a nice solo set that included covers of songs by Townes Van Zandt and Blaze Foley. I do enjoy the band's bluegrass material, but what I really love are the long psychedelic jams that seem to get better and more adventurous every time I see them. For next time, a smaller venue would be nice, but so many people have caught on to this band, I expect to be seeing them at large venues for the foreseeable future.

The opener was Goldie Pipes, a blues and R&B singer from Houston, who also had an excellent band. He demonstrated his excellent voice on cover songs by Prince, Howling Wolf and others, as well as some fun original songs.

There were musical performances by Gina Chavez and the Peterson Brothers. Unfortunately, Gina's set ended earlier than they said she would, so we only saw her final song. The Peterson Brothers are talented young musicians originally from Bastrop, with Glenn, Jr. on vocals and guitar and Alex on vocals and bass. Earlier in their career they played primarily blues music, but have expanded their sound to include more soul and funk. The Peterson Brothers get better every time I see them, and this show was no exception.

I had a fun time seeing Papadosio, and three other performers at The Concourse Project. It was my first time at the venue, which is located near Austin Bergstrom Airport. The venue seems to have been designed to host EDM (electric dance music) shows, with a large open dance floor, directional ceiling lights, and a disco ball.

Papadosio is not a traditional EDM band because they actually play live instruments, including guitar, bass, and drums, along with several synthesized keyboards and MPCs ( (musical production computer). But their musical sound does cross over into electronica, along with heavily danceable prog-rock and jam music. They are also known for their elaborate light shows, and on this tour, called "Night Colors", they were backed by constantly shifting psychedelic visual images. Most of their songs are instrumental, but their guitar player also sang on a number of songs. For me, it was an impressive and enjoyable performance, both musically and visually.

I saw three opening acts before Papadosio (I actually arrived too late to see a fourth, Soohan). First up was Lusine, who played danceable electronica through an MPC setup. Next was Flamingosis, a New Jersey-based electronic music producer, beatboxer and DJ, who performed with a vocalist, Ehiorobo. The two perform together as "Bliss Station".

First up was C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band. C.J. is the son of zydeco legend Clifton Chenier, and is known as the Crown Prince of Zydeco. C.J. is an excellent zydeco accordion player, and is backed by a strong band that included the required zydeco washboard player, and an excellent lead guitarist.

Next up was The Glorifying Vine Sisters, a pair of gospel singers from Eastern North Carolina. Their website shows four sisters, but only two performed on Saturday. Their music reminded me of what I might hear at the Gospel Tent at the New Orleans Jazz Fest, as they sang traditional gospel songs such as "Down By the Riverside", backed by electric rock instruments.

The next performer was Austin's BLK Odyssy, an R&B band led by singer Sam Houston. His music reflects his life experiences in New Jersey and Houston, and includes elements of soul, funk, and R&B. He is a powerful singer, and was backed by an excellent lead guitar player, along with bass, drums, sax, and a female backup singer.

Then came Adrian Quesada's Jaguar Sound. Adrian Quesada is a well know Austin guitar player and producer who has been a member of Grupo Fantasma, Brownout, Ocote Soul Sound, and is a co-founder of the Black Pumas. His latest project creates instrumental soundscapes with elements of soul, psychedelic rock, and hip-hop beats. His large band included guitar, two keyboards, xylophone, bass, two percussionists, and two horn players. For a couple of songs, two additional horn players from Grupo Fantasma, plus Los Lobos' Steve Berlin joined the horn section.

The next act was the Robert Randolph Band, with guest Jackie Venson. Robert Randolph plays peddle steel guitar, in the dynamic Sacred Steel style that originated in Pentecostal Churches in the 1930's. Randolph was the first Sacred Steel player to venture into secular music, and has been known as one of the world's best guitar players since the early 2000's. His high-energy sound borrows from funk bands such as Sly and the Family Stone. Austin's Jackie Venson joined near the end of his set, and played on versions of "Foxy Lady" and "Jesus is Just Alright With Me", which had everyone on stage grinning from ear-to-ear throughout.

The next performance, by Booker T's Stax Revue, with guest Jimmie Vaughan, was one of my highlights of the day. Booker T. Jones became known as a performer at the age of 18 when his band Booker T and the MGs had a hit with the song "Green Onions". He also played on and produced many hits by Stax Records during the 1960's. On Saturday, he played piano, organ and guitar, and sang on a number of songs. He was assisted by three talented vocalists (two men and one woman), who performed many Stax Records hits, including "Knock on Wood", "In the Midnight Hour", "Soul Man", and "Respect". Austin guitarist Jimmie Vaughan joined for two songs, which were two of the only traditional Blues songs of the day, Albert King's "Born Under a Bad Sign" (with music originally written by Booker T), and B.B. King's "The Thrill is Gone". The set was closed, as would be expected, with a lively version of "Green Onions".

The final act is one of my favorite bands of all time, Los Lobos, from East LA. The band first became known from their 1984 Album, "How Will the Wolf Survive?", and the band still includes its five original core members: David Hidalgo (vocals, guitar, accordion), Cesar Rosas (vocals, guitar), Louie Perez (guitar, jarana huasteca, drums, vocals), Conrad Lozano (bass, vocals), and Steve Berlin (keyboards, saxophone). The band still sound great, with strong vocals and excellent instrumental performances. They sang in both Spanish and English, and performed a number of their well known songs, including "Down on the Riverbed", "Evangeline", "Come On Let's Go", "The Neighborhood", "Kiko and the Lavender Moon", and "Mas y Mas". Josh Baca of Los Texmaniacs joined the band on accordion for a rousing encore of "La Bamba", which was a great way to end the festival.

The opener was Austin's JaRon Marshall, who is best known as the keyboard player for the Black Pumas. He only recently formed a band and began playing solo. His band included sax, bass, and drums. They played original compositions in a funky jazz fusion style.

I had a great time hanging with friends and enjoying saw some fine music at this year's Old Settlers Music Festival in Tillman, TX. Old Settlers changed the format this year so that they had only one active stage at a time, while in previous years they ran parallel stages. The result was that I only saw six acts each day this year, while in the past, I often saw from eight to ten. The good news is that the quality of the bands was excellent throughout. The weather was nice, and as always the crowd was made up of super-friendly, music-loving folks.

My personal highlights on Friday were Elephant Revival, Shinyribs, and the Wood Brothers, and on Saturday were Tommy Emmanuel, Shovels & Rope, and Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway.

Here are comments on each of the artists I saw in order.

First up on Friday on the smaller Campground Stage was Sunny War. She sang and played acoustic guitar, and was backed by a bass player and drummer. She has been in punk bands in the past, and although her style is folky blues, her performance had a nice edginess to it that made it interesting to listen to.

Next up was Twisted Pine, a bluegrass-ish band with members from New York and Toronto. Three of them played typical bluegrass instruments of violin, mandolin and stand-up bass. But interestingly, they also had a flute player, which allowed them to stretch their sounds beyond that of the typical bluegrass band into more jazzy and indie pop arenas. Memorably, they wowed us with a psychedelic "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds".

The bands and crowd then moved to the main stage. The first band there was The Brothers Comatose, a bluegrass five-some from California. They played high-energy bluegrass, approaching the jamgrass styles of bands like Yonder Mountain String Band. A highlight was when a guest fiddle player joined the band, although it appeared that some of the band members didn't know who the guest was.

Next was Elephant Revival, a band from Colorado who describe their sound as "transcendental folk". They have a unique sound that blends elements of Scottish/Celtic fiddle tunes, folk, bluegrass and rock. Their primary lead singer Bonnie Payne, played washboard, djembe (an African drum), and electric cello. Other band members played banjo, peddle steel, fiddle, electric stand-up bass, electric guitar and drums. Towards the end of the show, three members of Austin's Ley Line joined them, along with Payne's sister, who all provided nice backup vocals on a number of songs. One of the surprise highlights was an amazing version of Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar".

The next performer was Austin's Shinyribs. He had his usual large band that includes two women vocalists (the Shiny Singers), two horn players (the Trainwreck Horns), keyboards, peddle steel, bass and drums. Band Leader Kevin Russell was entertaining as always with his unique dance moves and his electric guitar and ukulele playing. He describes his music as"country-soul" and "swamp-funk", and on this night he played a mix of original songs such as "Red Quasar" and "Take Me to Lake Charles", as well as a number of cover songs.

The final act on Saturday was The Wood Brothers, an American roots band that includes brothers Chris (upright bass) and Oliver Wood (acoustic and electric guitars), and multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix (who played percussion and keyboards). They are all good vocalists and instrumentalists, so they sounded good on a set of mostly original tunes, and the crowd gave them an enthusiastic response.

On Saturday, the first performer was John R. Miller, a country-rock singer/songwriter from West Virginia. His band included lead guitar, fiddle, bass, and drums. I enjoyed his bluesy country original compositions.

Next up was one of my highlights of the weekend, guitar wizard Tommy Emmanuel, CGP. Emmanuel was born in Australia and now lives in Nashville. He is recognized as one other world's greatest acoustic guitarists, and is one of five people named "Certified Guitar Player (CGP)" by his idol, Chet Atkins. His performance at Old Settlers included some slow folk blues such as "House of the Rising Sun", some mellow original songs, some highly percussive songs in which he beat his guitar with his hands and a drum brush, plus a nice medley of Beatles tunes. But most impressive was his super high-speed picking that he did on many songs. He was also joined by harmonica player Michael Samuels on a couple of songs.

We then moved to the main stage for Big Richard, a Colorado-based quartet of all-star women musicians. Their instruments includes fiddle, mandolin, cello, and bass, and all are accomplished singers. I enjoyed their original bluegrass influenced songs.

Next came South Carolina based husband and wife folk rock duo Shovels & Ropes (Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst). They both sing and alternate playing guitar and drums/keyboards. Their voices blend together beautifully, and their songs often include heavily vibrating bass and intense drumming, which gives their songs a hard rocking energy. This was particularly evident on one of their closing numbers, a version of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter".

One of the acts that I had looked forward to most was Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway. 30 year-old Molly Tuttle is a fast rising star in bluegrass, having won the Best Bluegrass Album Grammy for her recent album "Crooked Tree", plus a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. She is also the first woman in the 27 year history of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Awards to win Guitar Player of the Year. Her band is also made up of young bluegrass stars: mandolinist Dominick Leslie, banjoist Kyle Tuttle, fiddle player Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, and bassist Shelby Means. It was announced at the show, I think for the first time, that Kyle and Molly Tuttle, who shared the same last name but are unrelated, had recently gotten married (unless they were kidding). The show was everything I had hoped for, with great instrumental performances by each band member. They played many songs off of "Crooked Tree", and also played some fun covers including Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and Townes Van Zandt's "White Freightliner Blues".

The final act for me was someone I was not familiar with. Yola is a British born singer/songwriter, who in the last few years has been nominated for six Grammy's in Americana, American Roots, and Best New Artist. Her musical style includes a mix of sounds, "including R&B, country, soul, and rock, that she calls genre-fluid." She played guitar on a number of songs, and was accompanied by a band that included lead guitar, keyboards, bass and drums. She has an absolutely beautiful voice that the audience really appreciated. Although the style of her music at first seemed a bit out of place at a blue-grass and roots music festival, by the end I was convinced that she was a deserving headliner.

Tracy Picox, a country music DJ who has hosted "Hillbilly Hits" on KNEL in Brady, Texas since 1989, was the emcee. The pies were created by the performers, and were auctioned off by Kevin Russell (Shinyribs) as a benefit for the SIMS Foundation. And yes, I did win a pie in the auction. It was a Banoffee Pie (banana, toffee, chocolate, and whipped cream), baked by Caroline Casey. But I didn't bring it home. I had a slice, which was delicious, and left the pie in the back room for the musicians to enjoy.

On Sunday night, none of the hoped for special guests from Widespread Panic showed up. Still, Porter, Marcinek, and band put on another excellent show that include the Meters' "Just Kissed My Baby", and the Dead's "Franklin's Tower", "Scarlet Begonias", and "They Loved Each Other".

The Grateful Dead and the Meters are two of my all-time favorite bands, so seeing their music played together by these amazing musicians over two nights was a real treat for me, and being able to spend it with so many music friends made it even better.

The opening act was another married couple, folk duo Pete and Crystal Damore, who perform under the name Ordinary Elephant. Crystal writes most of their songs, which are emotional and poetic. She is the primary singer while playing acoustic guitar, while Pete (originally from Austin) played banjo and provided harmony vocals.

Then came the live performance by the band, which consists of a lead singer, guitarist, keyboard player, and drummer. They were all dressed in head to toe suits decorated by eyeballs. The singer used electronic effects to alter his voice and danced around awkwardly during the songs. Their music has been described as containing elements of industrial, electronic, post-punk, and ambient rock. Weird videos played on the screen behind them throughout the performance.

Overall, it was a creative and interesting evening. It might have been too weird for some people, but as a long-time fan of weirdness, it was an enjoyable experience for me.

The first act that I saw was a pleasant surprise They are a band from here in Austin called Mother Neff that I hadn't heard before. They are a four piece band with two guitarists/vocalists, a bassist, and drummer. They played what I considered to be jam band music, with nice melodies and vocal harmonies, and long instrumental jams with nice interplay between the two guitarists. Some of their songs reminded me of moe. and String Cheese Incident, two of my favorite bands. I picked up a copy of their new EP, "Make Space". I'll definitely be trying to catch some of their future shows in Austin when I can.

Next up was Sir Woman. Sir Woman is an Austin band led by soul-singer Kelsey Wilson of Wild Child. Her band included two talented backup vocalists, keyboards, guitar, and a horn player. Their music had a mix of mellow soul songs and some uptempo danceable tunes.

Back inside, the next band was The Pinks Stones.a country-rock band from Athens, GA. They weren't bad, but I left after a couple of songs to get up close to see the next band.

Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas are one of Zydeco's biggest current acts. They were formed over 35 years ago by accordionist and lead singer Nathan Williams. Like all traditional zydeco bands, their syncopated rhythms are provided by a rubboard player, assisted by solid instrumentalists on guitar, bass, and drums. The band played Williams' original zydeco tunes, as well as some covers by the original king of zydeco, Clifton Chenier. Their high energy set had the crowd dancing and yelling in response to William's frequent request to "let me hear you say yeah!" throughout his performance.

I skipped the next indoor set to stay up front for the next performer, Keith Frank and The Soileau Zydeco Band. Keith Frank an outstanding singer and accordion player, and is another of zydeco's biggest acts. He said that his family has been playing music since the 1830's, and he has been playing with his own band since 1990. His band is made up entirely of family members, including his sister Jennifer on bass and brother Brad on drums, plus other relatives on guitar and rubboard. Frank plays some traditional zydeco songs, but also likes to take songs from other genres and perform them in a zydeco style. During this performance, he played "Casanova", "Sexual Healing", and his biggest hit, a cover of the theme from the Jeffersons TV show, "Movin' on Up". Once again, the crowd danced and had a great time throughout the set.

My final act of the day was Tommy McLain and CC Adcock. Tommy McLain is an 83 year-old swamp pop legend, who had his first hits in Louisiana in the 1950's and '60's. Over the past few years, he has teamed with a much younger guitar player from Louisiana, C.C. Adcock. McLain has a mesmerizing voice that is still strong, but that carries the weight of his many years. He is also still a good keyboard player, and Adcock does a nice job accompanying him on guitar and backup vocals, They played many of McLain's earlier hits, as well as songs from their recent "I Ran Down Every Dream" album. It was a really great set of music, and it was fun watching the interaction between McLain and Adcock, who clearly enjoy playing together. It was the perfect ending to my busy SxSW week.

The first band that we saw on the indoor stage was Say ZuZu, a six-piece hard rocking band from New Hampshire.

Next up on the outdoor stage was Robert Ellis. I had seen him the day before when he was dressed in a white suit with a white top hat playing a white piano as part of the Leon Russell Tribute at the Luck Reunion. His set could not have been more different on this night, since he played mellow original songs on acoustic guitar, while dressed in a softball uniform (from the day's earlier SxSW Closing BBQ and Softball Tournament).

Next up inside was the band that brought us to this event, Chickasaw Mudd Puppies. A friend of mine had met one of the members the previous day at Willie's Luck Reunion, where he was invited to this show. They are a band from Athens, Ga., who began playing in the late '80's. After breaking up and not playing together for over 20 years, the band recently reunited. The play a blend of swamp pop and hillbilly blues, led by lead singer and harmonica player Brant Slay and guitar player and vocalist Ben Reynolds. Slay started out playing harmonica and singing in a large rocking chair on a miked stomp board. The set was a lot of fun, and I was glad that my friend had discovered them.

The next band who played outside was led by Emily Nenni, a singer/songrriter from the Bay Area. They played traditional honky-tonk style country music.

Back inside, the next band was a great discovery for me, which made my visit to the Mohawk on this night worthwhile. The band was Sean Thompson's Weird Ears. Sean Thompson is a guitar player who had preciously played as a sideman for a number of others, and only recently formed his own band. While listening to the band, I first heard some traditional country rock, which quickly evolved into some tasteful spacey jams. His guitar playing and singing style reminded me of the Grateful Dead and String Cheese Incident, but the licks and melodies were original enough that they didn't seem like copies. He also had an excellent keyboard/synth player, and their back-and-forth interplay was fun to listen to. I picked up a copy of his new "Weird Ears" album after his set, and I'll be definitely be looking out for him in the future.

The final act I saw Nashville-based singer-songwriter Sunny War. She sang and played acoustic guitar, along with a second male acoustic guitar player. Both were excellent musicians. Apparently she has been in punk bands in the past, and although her style on this night was acoustic country blues, her performance had a nice edginess to it that made it interesting to listen to

The first band I saw, for the second time this week, was Folk Uke. Once again, Cathy Guthrie and Amy Nelson (daughters of Arlo and Willie) put on an off-color, hilarious set. Mojo even came on and joined them for their final song.

Next up was long-time Austin musical icon Jon Dee Graham and his band, which included his son William Harries Graham on lead guitar. Jon Dee has had some health issues lately, and wobbled up to the stage using a cane. But once in place in front of the microphone, he tore it up with his usual emotional hard-rocking songs. William Harries has developed in to quite a guitar player and showman, and even sang a couple of his own songs.

Then came the Waco Brothers, always one of the highlights of my SxSW week. The Waco Brothers are a rocking country-punk band from Chicago, who are often described as The Clash meet (Johnny) Cash. Sadly, the band's usual leader, Jon Langford, had a minor accident a few days before, and was unable to participate in this year's SxSW shows. Fortunately, the band has two other singers, Dean Schlabowske (guitar) and Tracey Dear (mandolin), who could ably provide the lead vocals. With the addition of a guest guitar player, John Szymanski, plus violin player Jean Cook and bassist Alan Doughty, they tore it up with a wild, high energy performance. Their set included their signature cover of "I Fought the Law", as well as some rocking songs off of their new album, "The Men that God Forgot."

The next band, The Binky Griptite Orchestra, was a new one for me. Binky Griptite is the stage name of Franklin Stribling, who is best known as a founding member, guitarist, and emcee of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. The band played songs in the style of '40s rhythm and blues, ala Louis Jordan and Big Joe Turner. Binky turned out to be an excellent guitar player, and a charismatic band leader. His band included two horn players, and he brought up a young woman guitar player who played some impressive licks on his last few songs.

The final act was the day's host, Mojo Nixon, with his band The Toadliquors. As always, Mojo and his band rocked hard and was hilarious (assuming you have a juvenile sense of humor, which I do). Mojo is actually an underrated guitar player, and his boogie-woogie piano player, Pete Gordon, was a wild man who played his piano behind his back, under his leg, and even on the ground after he knocked it off of its stand. Mojo played many of the songs that he has played for years, including "Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two Headed Love Child", "Tie My Pecker to My Leg", "I Hate Banks", and closed with his best known song, "Elvis is Everywhere". It was a fun ending to a great afternoon of music.

Jason Scott and the High Heat is a country rock band from Oklahoma. Their sound was more alt-rock than country, and I enjoyed their performance quite a bit. My only complaint is that the '70's looking bright blue track suit worn by lead singer Jason Scott was mighty tacky.

Bob Schneider is someone I've seen many times over the years, and his performance here was fun as always. And his stories between songs were as good as his songs.

Devon Gilfillian and his band put on a fun set of rocking soul and R&B. It was one of the most danceable sets of the day.

Shawn Sahm's tribute to his father Doug Sahm and the Texas Tornados was excellent. I've always been a big fan of this music, and they did a nice job on performing many of their well known hits. Shawn sang his dad's parts, Austin's Matt Hubbard played Augie Meyer's parts on keyboards, and a talented accordion player whose name I didn't catch played Flaco Jimenez's accordion parts and sang Freddy Fender's "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights".

The Heavy Heavy is a rock band from Brighton, England who play with sort of a sixties rock vibe. They feature two lead singers, Will Turner and Georgie Fuller, and played a fun set that the crowd in the packed Barn Stage Tent really enjoyed.

Terry Allen and the Pan Handle Mystery Band has been one of my favorites for a number of years. The band is made up of all-stars including guitarist Charlie Sexton, fiddler Richard Bowden, accordionist/keyboardist Bukka Allen, bassist Glen Fukunaga, drummer Davis McLarty, and singer Shannon McNally (although no Lloyd Maines on steel guitar for this show). They played a number of Allen's classic West Texas songs that are heartfelt and often funny.

Michael Martin Murphey played many of his "cosmic cowboy" songs that helped to initiate the progressive country movement in Austin in the early '80's. His band included his son Ryan on lead guitar.

Sierra Ferrell, a young singer/songwriter from West Virginia, played an excellent set that leaned towards bluegrass. Her quartet included fiddle, mandolin, stand up bass, and her acoustic guitar.

Margo Price was a last-minute addition to the schedule. She was in Austin for SxSW, and since her normal band was not with her, she joined up with Austin's Band of Heathens. They did some nice country rock songs, and she closed with an a capella version of Janis Joplin's "Mercedes Benz".

The Leon Russell Tribute was one of my highlights of the day. Keyboardists Beau Bedford and Robert Ellis led the proceedings, and a large number of individuals came up to provide the the vocals on Leon Russell's best known songs. My only complaint about the set was that the bass was so loud that it was difficult to hear the keyboards, which is rather an issue for a Leon Russell tribute. But you could hear the vocals, and my favorite performances were by women vocalists, including Shannon McNally, Zella Day, Kelsey Wilson (of Sir Woman), Margo Price, and Sierra Ferrell. Especially cool was a performance by 75 year-old Mark Benno of Dallas, who had teamed up with Leon Russell on two Asylum Choir albums in 1968 and 1971, which were among Leon's first recordings as a lead artist.

The War & Treaty are the husband and wife duo of Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter. Their musical influences include soul, blues, gospel, and rock. They put on a powerful, joy-filled performance with extremely high energy. The crowd reacted accordingly and gave them the loudest reception that I heard in the Barn Tent all day. I would highly recommend that you see this band if you get the chance.

Spoon, originally from Austin put on a solid set of their original rock-and-roll songs. I know that their fans felt like they put on a great performance, but for whatever reason, they don't do a whole lot for me.

Willie Nelson & Friends were of course the closing act. Willie's voice started out a bit rough, but once he got warmed up, he sounded great. He had a smaller band than normal, with guest Ray Benson on guitar, along with his son Micah (aka Particle Kid) on acoustic guitar and vocals, plus a bass player and drummer. For some reason, his long time harmonica player Mickey Raphael was not there. In any case. Willie put on a longer than expected set, and closed by bringing up a host of the day's performers for a group sing-along of "I'll Fly Away". It was a great way to close out a long but fun day of music.