It’s been a long wait, but the funk is back at Bonnaroo 2014 with Big Sam’s Funky Nation!

It was 2010 last time I saw Big Sam’s Funky Nation. They kicked off a gorgeous Saturday  just as I was coming in the gate. I nudged Meg with a smile as we rounded the corner and got clear of the generator noise. “Horns! Big New Orleans horns!” I yelled to her as we both fell into step with the beat and struck out across the What Stage lawn.

These cats were throwing it Down! We were hearing some of the coolest funky souls party jazz rock ever and by the time we got to the stage area, I was actually dancing. That’s something I just don’t do much (or well)  and especially not at that time with 3 blown discs in my spine. But there I was bouncing right along and I didn’t even realize it.

From there we headed over to the Sonic stage, where the guys set up again for a gospel set. These guys were really something and getting to see them go from the largest Roo stage doing a party set to one of the smallest stages (room for 250) and apply that New Orleans sound to old-timey gospel, moving both crowds to total festival “release” mode was amazing.

Big Sam’s Funky Nation is a driving force of urban funk. Ryan White, of the Oregonian, says the band is “tight enough (and hot enough) to turn coal into a diamond!” The band is led by trombone powerhouse, Big Sam Williams, formerly the trombonist for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, who the San Francisco Chronicle calls “the top man on the slide trombone in the birthplace of jazz.” Big Sam refuses to let the audience sit still. Between the band’s solos, Big Sam’s signature dance moves and his distinctive trombone riffs, the energy level is high voltage when this band takes the stage! http://www.bigsamsfunkynation.com/#!about/cjg9