A Quick Nap and All Day Jam!

Well, we jammed at the camp until sunrise, slept till about 9, grabbed some breakfast and a basic hygene break, had another little jam session, and set out to catch some cool tunes and food for the day. Oh, what a day! Mavis Staples, G Love and Special Sauce, and Amos Lee gave rousing performances, and got the whole scene (there is  a rumor that it was 140,000 people this year) in the mood for a righteous day of music!

I just love Daniel Lanois’ production work, and was thrilled to see his group, Black Dub! We all danced in joy to Bruce Hornsby, and Galactic got us jumpin’! I do love a tight horn section, and that barried sax, yum!

We spent a little while over at the Drum Circle tent while enjoying some of Ben and Jerry’s signature Bonnaroo Buzz Ice Cream. The Drum tent is neat! They do several sessions each day teaching novice and experienced hand-drummers and percussionists, basic and complex traditional rhythms and techniques. It is a magical thing when 100 or so drummers lock into the music together, and an extra special treat when a large portion of them have never touched a drum before!

I had an enlightening weekend chatting with folks from around the globe; music lovers, artists, cooks,

jewelers, authors, painters, dancers and fascinating people from all walks. A few folks I’ve met before were there, and it was really great to see them again! Scott Ernest of Mountain Metal Arts was there. He does some beautiful work and I have wanted one of his pieces for  a few years, now.

 

When I finished a visit there, I caught up with my wife at the Liquid Circle tent. She had fallen in love with a set of amethyst jewelry. Nice stuff, great folks!

 

I also got to see Kevin Odenedo‘s latest paintings.

 

His specialty is live performance painting. For example, he may attend a concert, and his strict rule is to begin painting w

hen the concert begins, and stop when it ends. So, by nature, there are some works which he calls “unfinished” but, I can’t tell it!

I had the pleasure of a great conversation with a wonderful couple from Gathering of Nations, which is the largest Indian PowWow  annually. They were having a blast while looking at ideas for improving their (already) stellar organization. Later, at the Robert Plant show, I got to trade photos with them.

 

Plant and his band were on Fire! I can’t believe I had never seen him before and can only imagine what I have missed. Widespread Panic  capped off the weekend with an extraordinary show! They were tighter than ever, and it was one of the very best Widespread shows I’ve ever seen. Of course There were fireworks at the end of the evening and the beautiful lanterns that rise and float out over Coffee County as if a sign of peace and tranquility.

 

 

 

Hoofing it back to camp one more time around midnight, Ijammed with some folks from Czech Republic, Argentina, Georgia, and Tennessee until 3 or so. Wow what a weekend! I plan to write one more post on the subject of the Red Raider Band’s involvement. And, you can look forward to more Pie in the Sky reports coming soon from the Foghat Show in July and a very special event on Labor Day weekend!

I hope you’ve enjoyed trippin’ through the Roo with me. Peace.