Suwannee Amp Jams #2 Undercard: Smaller Acts That Pack A Big Punch
With Amp Jams #2 just around the corner, anticipation is building for the big name acts such as Grahame Lesh, Warren Haynes Band, and Umphrey’s McGee getting ready to throw down the one-of-kind collaborations birthed by the event’s communal spirit. But don’t sleep on the lesser-known undercard acts who spice up the fest’s diverse mix of artists with unrivaled passion and panache.
Set to take place February 26–28 at Spirit of Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, FL, the second iteration of Amp Jams features openers The Roosevelt Collier Band and Brock Butler Band, both SOSMP veterans, along with new comers New Dawn Starkestra, Gullah Collective and Family Company who will play across both nights. This select group of rising stars will warm up the Amphitheater Stage for park alumni Lettuce, Dumpstaphunk, The Nth Power, and the supergroup The Heavyweights made up of Eric Krasno, Cory Henry and Robert “Sput” Searight.
Headliners Grahame Lesh will bring together his late father’s (Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh) longtime “Friends” Rob Barraco and John Molo along with Wilco’s Nels Kline for two sets celebrating Phil’s music and the legacy of the Grateful Dead. Umphrey’s McGee and Warren Haynes Band will also be playing two sets with guest appearances by sensational vocalist and trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick, saxophonic pioneer Skerik, and sacred steel guitarist Roosevelt Collier among others.
Opening for this list of jam world heavyweights is no easy feat, but each of the five bands making up the undercard bring unique thrills to Amp Jams’ dynamic tableau. Some are old friends while others are new to the Amp Jam and SOSMP family.
On Thursday, Brock Butler Band will set the table for Amp Jams on day one. Best known as the frontman and guitarist for Southern Jam juggernauts Perpetual Groove, Brock Butler launched The Brock Butler Band last year as a side project along with the release of the unit’s self-titled debut album. The band and album showcase Butler’s softer musicality, setting the efforts apart from the hard-driving sounds of Perpetual Groove that fans are used to consuming. Appearing at SOSMP many times over the years with Perpetual Groove, Butler will bring together a stellar cast of collaborators including Bill Stevens, Bailey Horsley, Perpetual Groove bandmate Adam Perry, Darren Stanley, Joe Marcinek, and Isaac Lee Hadden. This iteration of Brock Butler Band promises to bring the bluesy side of Butler’s Southern roots and music to life during the band’s second live appearance of anywhere to date.
Pedal steel progenitor Roosevelt Collier and his band have been fixtures at The Spirit of Suwannee Music Park for well over a decade gracing the stages of Amp Jam archetypes Bear Creek and Wanee music festivals among others. Dubbed “The Dr.” for his expert proficiency with Sacred Steel, Collier is a master of the sit-in, having played with world-class musicians including Buddy Guy, The Allman Brothers Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Del McCoury Band, Los Lobos, and countless others. The four-time Grammy-nominated artist, South Florida native, and current music director for country star and Grammy winner Jelly Roll tours with his own project The Roosevelt Collier Band (bassist Harry Ong, drummer Bucky Buckingham and keyboardist Tommy Shugart), bringing the healing power of music to audiences across the nation. Check out the video below of The Roosevelt Collier Band by FunkCity.net.
Led by Collier’s fearless improvisation and lightening fast slide work, the band refines blues, gospel, rock, and steamy funk into something akin to a joyous spiritual awakening.
Suwannee Amp Jams #2 will be the first festival to host Los Angeles-based Family Company, a collection of artists and musicians dedicated to honoring and advancing the traditions of soul, R&B and funk. Family Company’s core members number just three – Alex Kyhn (bass), Josh Teitelbaum (drums), and Jason Goldstein (keys) – who have been quietly creating a buzz and building a following via word of mouth and social media. Their transcendent musicianship, passionate devotion to classic soul, and inspired reimagining of the art form has attracted a constellation of well-known artists who lend their talents to memorable live shows honoring music’s heroes past and present. Noteworthy shows include last year’s tribute to Aretha Franklin at L.A.’s Troubadour featuring Jennifer Hudson and Antwaun Stanley and a 2018 performance celebrating Bill Withers where Bill Withers actually showed up. Watch Family Company with Jennifer Hudson below.
While Family Company’s tribute shows are legendary, their cannon of original music cements generations of soul and R&B in their own voice. Pieces of Us, their latest full-length, studio work features Grammy-winning soul singer and producer Sam Pounds who will join the band for two sets on Thursday and Friday along with Family Company collaborator and songstress Shea Given and the Suwannee Horn Slayers (Jennifer Hartswick, Skerik, and Alex Wasily.
Also making their SOSMP debut is New Dawn Starkestra. Hailing from Asheville, NC, the band inhabits the jam space with gritty poise and firepower reserved for much more seasoned outfits. Made up of park regular and current Dumpstaphunk vocalist Rebekah Todd, young guitar phenom Isaac Hadden, bassist Quinn Sternberg, and drummer Jeff Sipe (Apt. Q258), a veteran of the jam and jazz worlds known for his work with Aquarium Rescue Unit, Jazz is Dead, Jimmy Herring’s Whip, and numerous other projects. Self-described as psychedelic adventure rockers, the quartet blends extended improv into a stew of rock, R&B, soul, and jazz. Fans should be advised to prepare for anything as New Dawn Starkestra takes them on ride with plenty of detours. Southern soul may be the order the moment before the band veers off into jazz fusion. No matter the case, the journey is the point, not the destination.
Saturday’s festivities get underway with the Gullah Collective, South Carolina’s guardian of the sounds of the Low Country’s Gullah Geechee community, melding centuries of West African traditions with African American cultural traditions. Attendees will be watching living history fittingly on the last day of Black History Month. Founded by percussionist, songwriter, and producer CL Baxter, the nine-piece outfit brings together accomplished musicians from greater Charleston including bassist LaVonta Green, percussionists Javan Campbell and Donald Graham, guitarist Thomas Kenny, trumpeter Steve Morely, trombonist Gavin Smith, and keyboard players Demettrius Doctor and Jonathan Lovett. Gullah Collective blends jazz, roots, R&B, and gospel playing original music while honoring the deep historical connections to West African rhythms and storytelling that define the Gullah Geechee who are the descendants of enslaved people from West and Central Africa. Joyous, celebratory and danceable, Gullah Collective’s music invites fans to walk with them into history with an eye on the future.
All five bands making up the undercard as well as the rest of the festival’s lineup were carefully curated by Amp Jams festival organizer Paul Levine and his team from Funky Decisions. The second Amp Jams promises to recreate the communal vibe which permeated Amp Jams #1 thanks, in no small part, to the inaugural fest’s indelible performances and collaborations which successfully summoned the spirit and funky tenor of beloved SOSMP extravaganzas Bear Creek Music and Arts Festival and Wanee Festival.
“The first Amp Jams was very intentional and continues to be very intentional,” said Levine. “It’s a gathering of a community. It’s really several communities coming back together at the park – part of the spirit of the greater Wanee community, the Bear Creak community. This type of music calls out to people who have been coming to the park for decades.
I think it’s very clear that the show feels a little bit like some of the famous shows and the most beloved shows that the park has hosted over the years including the Wanee Festival and. Bear Creek. I felt like last year helped people to have a feeling that they had been longing to have again and had been missing in their life for some time. And part of doing what I do and curating these types of lineups is to hopefully bring new music to this community that they love.”
Weekend passes are still available via The Amp Jams official website with single-day passes available for purchase at the gate at the start of the festival. For more information, click on the links below.
Suwannee Amp Jams #2
Website
Tickets
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