Get Off the Roads and Into Maddox Ranch for Hometeam New Year’s Rally!
Have you made your plans for New Year’s Eve yet? Here’s an idea:
Why don’t you PUT IT IN THE DUMPSTA!
Damn skippy. Dumpstaphunk will be in the house for the sixth annual Hometeam New Year’s Rally at Maddox Ranch in Lakeland FL December 28-31. The Crescent City’s Dumpstaphunk and a bunch of their friends, actually. And it’s a ranch, not a house, but still…
By way of explanation from The Viking Guy and team:
What’s the Hometeam New Year’s Rally, you ask? Why, it’s not just a festival; it’s a union and a reunion for family and friends who share a love for music, art and community. It’s the type of gathering where you’ll see the same musician you cheered for on stage pull up a chair next to you and join the campfire jam. It’s home, and we can’t wait for you join the team!
So let’s talk about phunk, er, funk, first. Because the variety is (almost) endless. South Florida’s funk ambassadors The Heavy Pets will also be there with their insane mix of funk, rock, reggae, jam, and psychedelia. Then you’ve got Roosevelt Collier and his incredible trio with funk of all sorts and a heavy dose of Hendrix.
Augusta GA is sending Funk You, while Toronto is importing After Funk. Looking for the big band experience? Two ten-member collectives will be on hand — Holey Miss Moley from Everywhere, Florida, and Dynamo, Nashville denizens; both play R&B, funk, jazz, soul, and [fill in the blank]. And you’ll be “Knockin’ Boots” with the Juanjamon Band.
Funk you indeed!
Rock and rollers Come Back Alice play brilliant originals and stunning covers of Led Zeppelin, the Allman Brothers Band, and much more. Likewise Ajeva twists and turns their rock in myriad directions. And The Groove Orient belong in the same conversation with their genre-bending shows.
The Melody Trucks Band makes a triumphant return to Maddox Ranch. Their debut performance at the recent Great Outdoors Jam was a jaw-dropping delight, performing the music of Trucks’s father Butch and much more. Uncle John’s Band, approaching their one thousandth show as a Grateful Dead tribute group, will join in the fun.
Guitar slinger Damon Fowler and band will sling the blues far and wide, and it will be great to see The Corbitt Brothers back together again. Ralph Roddenbery brings his thoughtful Americana and folk rock down I-75 from Atlanta, and Gareth Asher is making the same trip to play Southern soul. The Applebutter Express will once again deliver their thoroughly twisted version of uncut ukulele funk.
There is no way to harness the fusion emanating from JOOSE, who have been perfecting their five-part suite about life and once again killed it at Great Outdoors. Row Jomah is riding high after their awesome album release party for new album Gods & Guns & Gold (JOOSE was part of those festivities). The Cat McWilliams Band plans to make their first Maddox Ranch appearance memorable.
For pure unadulterated fun, look no further than The Reality from Tampa and Hail Cassius Neptune from Asheville. The Reality play funky manic rock with brushstrokes of jazz, reggae, and jam, while HCN plays a delightful mix of R&B and art rock.
There are deluxe late-night options as well, with jamtronic masters Future Vintage, Harmonica And and the Sawgrass Band playing psychedelic Americana blues-grass, plus two entries from Atlanta. The Dot Line Projekt scrambles power groove rock and roll improv jam, and Mikhail Peterson of Copious Jones has put together Genetically Modified Orchestra, which will be awesome.
And there are four sleepers, four sets you might possibly have overlooked — but we are suggesting you don’t.
shoeless soul was on hiatus for a while this summer, but they are back and better than ever. They pretend that they play “Prozac pop,” but their superb GOJ set was anything but. Also from the Clearwater/Dunedin area and returning from an even longer hiatus are Between Bluffs. Their GOJ set was nothing short of brilliant, and we should expect the same at Hometeam.
And that leaves two. For my money, these two set the bar at Great Outdoors Jam — and virtually every time they hit the stage.
Boxcar Hollow is led by Matt Weis, who also fronts the Phish tribute band Antelope and Russ Bowers Isn’t Dead Yet on lead guitar. He is joined by The Rev. Funky D on keyboards, Jack Pieroth on bass, and drummer Jeff Baker. The magic dust comes in the form of viola master Chris Barbosa, so impressive at GOJ. They played a late-night set at the end of a superb day — and owned it.
Last on the list — and first in our hearts — will be Este Loves and The Church of Loves. Many recall her wonderful set at Orange Blossom Jamboree. They opened a show this summer for the Hometeam All-Stars and more than matched them. She did the same with another world-class set opening for Sonic Stew and Damon Fowler, and her Sunday set at Great Outdoors was spectacularly magnificent. You can add your own superlatives. She and the band deserve them all.
So that’s the initial lineup for Hometeam New Year’s Rally. You can drive around and dodge drunk drivers if you want to, or you can set up camp at Maddox Ranch in safety and hear four days of music that is simply as good as it gets.
Any questions?
HTNYR
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