Five Bands (and a DJ) You Need to See at AURA
The AURA Music and Arts Festival is less than two weeks away! Are you totally pumped? We at MusicFestNews certainly are. We’ve talked about the schedule, the headliners, and seven bands you may know and need to check out.
Now let’s talk about five bands (and one DJ) who probably don’t know but don’t want to miss, either. (There are, of course, some conflicts you may need to work out!). They come from Boulder, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Nashville, New Orleans and Tampa, all heading to the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak FL.
DJ Craig Heneveld is from Boulder CO, but he defined his craft in Tampa. He is a regular at SoSMP at events such as Bear Creek, Purple Hatter’s Ball and AURA. His mix of deep house and acid jazz and more have delighted fans everywhere he goes. He has a 4 PM slot in the Eno Lotus Lounge on Friday. Heneveld’s official website.
Before we even got to The Big WHAT? last year, we were pumped about seeing Broccoli Samurai. This Cleveland jamtronic quartet had the late-night slot on Thursday. Massive rains messed with the schedule that day, but they did make it — at 3 AM — for a glorious set. Broccoli Samurai are: Ryan Hodson – Keyboards, Chris Walker – Drums, Zachary Wolfe Nagi-Schehl -Bass, and Michael Vincent – Guitar. Broccoli Samurai’s official website. Check them out Saturday at 4 PM in the Vibe Tent.
Lucky Costello is one exponent of a burgeoning Jacksonville music scene. They have played at the park often, at AURA, Purple Hatter’s and Reunion: Campout Concert Series, among others. This quartet delivers “Organic-Electro Fusion,” and you’ll love their go-go dancer! These guys rock! Lucky Costello are: Guitar: Gerry Raimondo, Keyboards: Billy Begley, Bass: Jeff Raimondo, and Drums: Jeremiah Bacolor. They have the opening slot Thursday at 3:45 on the Amphitheater Stage. Lucky Costello’s official website.
We had never heard of Backup Planet when they appeared at Hometeam New Year’s Rally in Lakeland. We certainly know them now. Their early afternoon set grabbed everyone’s attention with sounds ranging from funk to prog and everything in between; they call it experimental funk-rock. Backup Planet (Nashville) are: Ben Cooper – Keys,Vocals; Carson Brown – Drums, Vocals; Gavin Donati – Guitar, Vocals; and Blake Gallant – Bass, Vocals. Very excited for a second helping. Backup Planet’s official website. They will play the Vibe Tent Friday afternoon at 5:15.
Roar! might not be familiar by name, but chances are you’ve seen Yojimbo, their former name, or seen New Orleans denizens Carly Meyers and Adam Gertner formerly with The Mike Dillon Band. Carly Meyers plays Trombone and Moog Taurus Bass Pedals and sings; Adam Gertner plays Drums, Sampler, SPDS, and OP-1. Also, Meyers dances like Ms. Tasmanian Devil. There is more energy radiating from this duo than you can possibly imagine. They have been SoSMP regulars. It’ll be time to Roar! Friday at 2:30 in the Vibe Tent. Roar!’s official website.
Displace represents the Tampa Bay area with their superb funky jams. They have grown in stature and have played often at the park. MusicFestNews featured them when they released Eureka! last year. Displace are: Chris Sgammato, alto sax, guitar, keyboards, vocals; Sam Dobkin, guitar, vocals; Vinny Svoboda, bass; and Tucker Sody, drums. They have the 1:15 slot Saturday on the Porch Stage. Displace’s official website.
There is also one titanic conflict to consider. It occurs Friday night at 2 AM at Silent Disco. There is already a battle on channel one: Vlad the Inhaler vs. Matthew Connor. These two Jacksonville DJs have played often at the park; more importantly, they help organize events such as Reunion: Campout Concert Series and Roosevelt Collier’s Suwannee Getdowns. That’s just channel one. Over one channel two, there is really no way to describe Telekinetic Walrus. Except that they are aliens. ET-style aliens. And seeing still might not be believing.
This is shaping up to be the greatest AURA Fest ever! You don’t want to miss any of it. See you at Suwannee!