Mountain Jam @ Hunter Mountain – 6/6 – 6/9

Photos and Words: Paul Citone

The Ninth Annual Mountain Jam festival took place June 6th – 9th with one the best lineups to date including host Warren Haynes and Gov’t Mule, Primus, Phil & Friends, The Avett Brothers and Widespread Panic to name a few. Set on the base of beautiful Hunter Mountain in the Catskills, you couldn’t ask for a better festival space. With some less than spectacular weather in the forecast it looked like a washout, however, the music must go on.

[All Photos By Paul Citone]

The pre-party to the festival officially kicked off Thursday afternoon with bands on the outside stages (one main stage and a small second stage) and the inside Healey Brothers Hall, a small venue inside the main lodge. The rain was pouring down but the festivarians came prepared with rain gear (including the tapers). I arrived in time to catch the set by Rubblebucket. They brought their “A Game” despite the rain. This band knows how to cross between the lines of psychedelic rock, dance and new wave jazz. Their dynamics and dancing on stage reminded me of being at a more modern George Clinton experience. Inside Healey Brothers Hall was Minnesota-based band The 4onthefloor. This smaller venue was packed. I was told to check these guys out and they are down home rockers with a touch of jam. They are also on the road this summer all across the U.S.A. playing medium-sized venues, so be sure to give them a shot.

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While the festival season is already saturated, that hasn’t stopped organizers of successful festivals from expanding their offerings. Just this week we’ve reported on Newport Folk Festival organizers announcing a West Coast version of the famed fest called Way Over Yonder. Now, this morning comes news of Sasquatch! joining the ranks of the Austin City Limits Music Festival and Coachella by expanding to a second weekend.

Unlike Coachella and ACL, Sasquatch! won’t take place over two consecutive weekends. The 2014 installments of Sasquatch! will go down over both Memorial Day Weekend (May 23 – 25) and July 4th Weekend (July 4 – 6), with two separate lineups. The Gorge in Quincy, Wash. will host both events. This year’s Sasquatch! sold out in just 90 minutes.

Bonnaroo Week rolls on at Hidden Track with a look at one of our first HT faves who will finally be making their Bonnaroo debut late night on Saturday. We’ve been singing the praises of Led Zeppelin tribute band Bustle In Your Hedgerow since the first week of our existence. Watching drummer Joe Russo, keyboardist Marco Benevento, guitarist Scott Metzger and bassist Dave Dreiwitz team up to tackle Led Zep’s beloved classics is always a treat and we can’t think of a better way to end your Saturday at the ‘roo than watching Bustle In Your Hedgerow at This Tent from 2:30 – 4:30AM.

To give a taste of Bustle’s sheer power, watch this exception version of Moby Dick…

In news that took the music world by storm last night, legendary alt-rock band The Replacements will reunite for their first shows in 22 years to headline Riot Fest in Toronto (August 24-25), Chicago (September 13-15) and Denver (September 21-22). The Minneapolis-based band last performed on July 4, 1991 in Chicago and have been on many “reunions we’d like to see” lists ever since.

The Replacements had a gruff sound that paved the way for the alt-rock wave of the late ’80s and early ’90s thanks to the release of much-beloved albums Let It Be, Tim and Pleased To Meet Me. You never knew which version of the band you’d get in concert, which made their live shows all the more exciting. Our first hint that a Replacements Reunion was coming came last year when founding members Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson recorded an EP of cover songs under The Replacements name to benefit former Replacements guitarist Slim Dunlap, who had suffered a stroke. At the moment, it is unclear who will join Westerberg and Stinson at the Riot Fest appearances.

In Umphrey’s McGee’s early days they would often cover moe.’s Rebubula. In the middle of 1999, just about 18 months after forming, UM stopped performing Rebubula and the song remained on the shelf until this past Memorial Day Weekend, when the Chicago-based sextet busted out the moe. classic at the 2013 Summer Camp Music Festival in Chillicothe, IL.

Umphrey’s delivered an impressive, spot-on version of the moe. song and today have shared pro-shot footage of the cover featuring the work of former moe. and current UM LD Jefferson Waful.

Jam stalwarts moe. returned the favor by covering UM’s In The Kitchen a night later.

Among the many things we’re excited about from this weekend’s Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is Saturday night’s Rock n’ Soul Dance Party Superjam featuring Jim James, John Oates, Zigaboo Modeliste (of the Meters) and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Rolling Stone just published an interview with Oates in which the formerly mustache’d member of Hall & Oates revealed a few juicy tidbits about what we can expect from the Superjam, so don’t read on if you want to be surprised.

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The organizers of the famed Newport Folk Festival are bringing elements of the iconic event west this October, when they present Way Over Yonder on the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif. on Oct. 5 and 6. HT faves Conor Oberst, Neko Case, Brett Dennen and The Felice Brothers are among the acts taking part in the new festival, which will feature two stages.

Here’s the list of Main Stage acts:

Oct. 5: Neko Case, Brett Dennen, Justin Townes Earle, Calexico, Shovels & Rope

Oct. 6: Conor Oberst, First Aid Kit, The Felice Brothers, Jonathan Wilson, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down

“We are thrilled to bring Newport Folk Festival to the West Coast, and look forward to meeting new friends and expanding the Newport Folk Family,” said Newport Folk producer Jay Sweet in a statement. ”I am humbled that we are able to partner with people who respect the history of our festival and share the dream of making sure this fabulous music continues to evolve and reach new audiences.”

Newport Folk founder George Wein added in the press release, “While our festival has been filled to capacity over the past few years, this partnership makes it possible for fans to experience some of the same great artists in a similar picture perfect setting. With the Newport Bridge, historic Fort Adams and Narragansett Bay as backdrops, enjoying Newport has been as special as the music. The Santa Monica Pier holds its own unique magic, and no doubt music lovers will also want to come back there year after year.”

Smaller acts “In The Carousel” include Neal Casal, Spirit Family Reunion and Hurray For The Riff Raff. Early-bird tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10AM local time via the event’s website.

This week’s videos feature acts that you should check out at Bonnaroo…

Yes, there’s probably very few people in the world who aren’t familiar with Paul McCartney. The former Beatle has more impressive hits than Lawrence Taylor as arguably one of the greatest songwriters of all-time. Macca will make his Bonnaroo debut this weekend as he’ll play the What Stage on Friday night at 9PM. Whatever the temptation, I urge you not to miss McCartney’s set.

Ever since embarking on his current Out There World Tour earlier this year, Macca and his band of extremely talented young(er) hot shots have been crushing a fan-friendly material of Beatles gems, Wings hits and a few solo classics. This tour has seen the live debut of a handful of Beatles songs that thrive in concert, including the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band track Lovely Rita. Watch Paul and his band perform the tune on Saturday night in Brooklyn…

Even if McCartney doesn’t change it up at all for Bonnaroo, which would surprise me, his set is a must-see for those heading to Manchester.

As we’ve reported, Tenacious D will throw a festival combining comedy and rock on the Santa Monica Pier on October 19th called Festival Supreme. This morning Jack Black and Kyle Gass visited KROQ to announce the initial lineup for their event and it features tons of comedians who rock including Adam Sandler, Will Forte, Reggie Watts and Zach Galifianakis. We’re also excited to see that David Cross and Bob Odenkirk will reunite as The Mr. Show Experience.

Festival Supreme will feature four separate stages, with Tenacious D set to host and perform.

Here’s the lineup:

Tenacious D, Tim & Eric, Bob and David of Mr. Show – The Mr. Show Experience, The Mighty Boosh, Zach Galifianakis, Adam Sandler, Demetri Martin, Tig Notaro, The Gregory Brothers, Hannibal Burress, Eric Idle, Princess feat. Maya Rudolph, Fred Armisen, Will Forte, Reggie Watts, Dynasty Handbag, Craig Robinson, Garfunkel and Oates, Neil Hamburger, Sarah Silverman, Beardyman, Nancy & Beth

Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 14, at 10AM PT via Ticketmaster.

There’s big festival news from Warren Haynes this week as a few days ago it was revealed that Warren will play the new Interlocken Festival in Arrington, Virginia this September with not only Gov’t Mule, but with his Warren Haynes Band ensemble. Also, news came down minutes ago that Gov’t Mule will return to Gathering Of The Vibes this summer.

“I love playing the Vibes. Aside from the obvious opportunity to hang out with and possibly be on stage with a lot of old friends, we also have a history with this festival that goes back to the beginning,” Haynes said about returning to the Vibes. Gov’t Mule will perform at GOTV home Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Conn. on Saturday, July 27.

As far as Interlocken, Mule and the Warren Haynes Band are set to play the inaugural fest on the same day, marking the first time Haynes has played with both bands on the same day.

On the Friday of this year’s Summer Camp Music Festival in Chillicothe, IL; Keller Williams performed on the Sunshine Stage with his new band More Than A Little. During their set, the group covered the Grateful Dead classic West L.A. Fadeaway with the help of two very special guests – Flecktones bassist Victor Wooten and Umphrey’s McGee guitarist Jake Cinninger.

The resulting version is funky as hell and has been shared by AxVault:

[via Umphreaks Anonymous]

In talking to a few folks who attended the Summer Camp Music Festival in Chillicothe, Illinois over Memorial Day Weekend, they raved about Allie Kral’s sit-in on Plane Crash (or “that too fucking high song” as it’s known by more casual fans) with moe. on Saturday night of the festival. Kral, who played her last show with Cornmeal at Summer Camp, has guested on Plane Crash in the past and her familiarity with the tune helped propel the Summer Camp version to heady heights.

Exceptional pro-shot video of Allie performing Plane Crash with moe. has just surfaced on the Summer Camp YouTube Channel which shows of not only the extremely impressive performance by Kral and the jam stalwarts, but also the killer light design of Jason Huffer. Check it out…

Back in January we posted about Tenacious D’s plan to throw a comedy rock festival on Santa Monica Pier called “Festival Supreme.” More details have finally emerged about Festival Supreme as we now know that the event will take place on Saturday, October 19, on Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California. Festival Supreme has a website and a Facebook Page, but for now the lineup hasn’t been revealed. When Jack Black originally talked about Festival Supreme with Rolling Stone, he mentioned a wishlist of “your Flight of the Conchords, your Lonely Island, your Tenacious D, your Zach Galifianakis, your Spinal Tap, your Eric Idle,” and Weird Al. We’ll see who they actually get.

If you’re not into a night with Tenacious D and comedy rock acts, then maybe you’ll be interested in hitting one of these recently announced tours…

• Sammy Hagar: Summer North American Tour (7/26 – 9/7)
• Moody Blues: Fall U.S. Tour (9/26 – 11/2)
• Leonard Cohen: Late Summer U.K. Tour (8/26 – 9/14)
• Cold War Kids: Fall U.S. Tour (9/19 – 11/1)
• Lyle Lovett: North American Tour (7/2 – 8/29)
• Olafur Arnolds: World Tour (6/4 – 9/27)
• Ten Years After, Edgar Winter Band, Canned Heat, Rick Derringer: Rock N’ Blues Fest (7/27 – 8/24)

The annual Michael Arnone’s Crawfish Fest took place this past weekend at Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, New Jersey. Aaron Neville, The Voice of Wetlands All-Stars, The Royal Southern Brotherhood and Anders Osborne were just a few of the bands performing at the legendary event.

[All Photos by Dino Perrucci]

• Dino Perrucci @ Crawfish Fest: Saturday Photos

Photographer Dino Perrucci has been on hand at the fest all weekend and has filed this exceptional shots of Papa Grows Funk, Anders Osborne, Aaron Neville, Cowboy Mouth and more from Sunday…

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The annual Michael Arnone’s Crawfish Fest is taking place this weekend at Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, New Jersey. Aaron Neville, The Voice of Wetlands All-Stars, The Royal Southern Brotherhood and Anders Osborne are just a few of the bands performing at the legendary event.

[All Photos by Dino Perrucci]

Photographer Dino Perrucci has been on hand at the fest all weekend and has filed this exceptional shots of The Voice of Wetlands All-Stars, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Soul Rebels, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Tab Benoit and Johnny Vidacovich and more from Saturday at the Crawfish Fest…

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