Photos by Grace Beehler
It was a family affair this past weekend at Wanee Music Festival in Live Oak, Florida, which is to be expected with the Allman Brothers Band headlining the festival. Whether it was musicians walking around the festival grounds and checking out the music, performers teasing songs by fellow acts or audience members listening to music beneath the Spanish moss and the clear blue skies, everyone felt as if they were a part of the family.
We rolled into the Spirit of Suwanee Music Park after dark on Wednesday, I was immediately impressed. Hundreds of RVs and tents already filled the site, set up with tapestries and tiki torches. Come daylight, everything seemed to be perfectly planned: plenty of shade, lots of port-o-potties, running water – even a breakfast buffet! The park hosts many festivals each year, including Bear Creek and Blackwater, so they have definitely figured out how to run a festival well.
Music officially kicked off on Wednesday (with a pre-party on Tuesday) with a slew of musicians, including the Radiators and Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk on the Mushroom Stage. We missed the Radiators and caught some of Dumpstaphunk, but after a long day of driving I had to call it a night.
On Thursday, more and more cars and RVs rolled into the music park. Another impressive aspect to Wanee: everyone seemed to know how to do a festival well. Maybe it was because Wanee attracts an older, experienced crowd, but everyone was prepared and had amazing set-ups. I have never seen so many RVs before at a festival. Husbands and wives brought their kids – from infants to teens – which was a surprisingly heartwarming sight. Unlike at other festivals when I see kids exposed to the negative side of the scene, at Wanee that was never a worry. My friends were even offered burritos (and they weren’t heady veggie burritos you’d buy on lot) by a mother who wanted to feed people one morning. That was the vibe of the weekend: everyone was treated like they were a part of the family.
Danger Muffin opened up the Mushroom Stage with its country-rock sound, reminiscent of Baltimore’s The Bridge. DJ Logic’s mix of Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke” got me bright eyed and bushy tailed before noon – a rare feat. Devon Allman’s Honeytribe covered Prince’s “Purple Rain” (anyone who covers Prince is golden in my book) and welcomed John Popper to the stage for “Could Get Dangerous.”
I moved on to the main stage to see the North Mississippi Allstars Duo (Luther and Cody Dickinson) giving out a good dose of Southern swampy rock, covering “Sittin’ on Top of the World.” When I realized I needed to get out of the sun, I moved back to the Mushroom Stage for some much needed shade and lounged in one of the many colorful hammocks strung between the trees and listened to an acoustic-sounding electric set by Hot Tuna. I don’t know much Hot Tuna material but when they teased “Jessica” I couldn’t get enough.
Widespread Panic headlined Thursday night and their set was full of energy. Jimmy Herring was on fire, dropping bombs as usual, especially when Luther Dickinson came out during “Stop Breakin’ Down Blues.” Bell’s voice was on point, and since it was his birthday that day, everyone was celebrating. The late night set featured Lotus on the Mushroom Stage, drawing a massive crowd for their always-stellar performances. They closed their set with a cover of Underworld’s “Born Slippy.”
I woke up Friday morning feeling giddy for all the incredible music I would be seeing, mainly the Allman Brothers Band that night. The Honey Island Swamp Band started the day off right, clearly believeing that it’s never too early for funk. The Soul Rebels joined in for the end of their set, adding lots of brass to the sound. Keller Williams’ set was unusual in that he was playing the bass the whole time. His quirky sound on acoustic guitar was missed but it was a definite highlight when Roosevelt Collier joined Keller and his band. Collier seemed to be everywhere this weekend, also joining Toubab Krewe a couple hours later.
Wanee marked the debut of the Warren Haynes Band, featuring the guitar virtuoso and a slew of New Orleans musicians, including Nigel Hall, Alfreda Gerald, Terence Higgins, Ron Johnson,
and Ron Holloway. WHB definitely has a different sound than Mule, leaning heavily toward soul and R&B with more focus on the lyrics, but it impressed the large crowd nonetheless.
Robert Plant and the Band of Joy drew a massive crowd of fans eager to see the former Led Zeppelin frontman. Simply put: it was stunning. Full of steely guitar and harmonica, Plant, Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller shared vocals, giving new takes to Zeppelin classics, as well as to their incredible cover of Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall.”
As the Allman Brothers Band took the stage Friday night to a field packed with festival-goers, I got the chills. Maybe it’s because of the band’s long and tragic history or the fact that Gregg has been recovering from a recent liver transplant. But the Allmans were the catalyst in my relationship with music. They were the first band that I loved wholeheartedly: I read and downloaded and researched everything I could get my hands on until I became the biggest Allman Brothers nerd. I know that the band isn’t the same now with Warren and Derek, but just as I haven’t seen the Dead with Jerry, I haven’t seen the Allmans with Duane or Dickey (I’m not going to apologize for being young). So to all you jaded veterans: you can grumble as much as you want, but these are the Brothers I know and love.
As family members watched from the side stage, the Brothers opened up with “Hot ‘Lanta,” and played many well-known hits, including “Midnight Rider” and “Come and Go Blues.” But listening to Derek and Warren trade off on soloing during a “Norwegian Wood” tease was phenomenal and unexpected. A blisteringly long “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” with Ron Holloway on sax closed the set, only to be extinguished by the slow and sweet “Melissa,” with Gregg on acoustic guitar. Kofi Burbridge, Luther and Cody Dickinson and Roosevelt Collier all made appearances during the set.
Saturday morning showers brought down the heat and settled the dust. And when the skies cleared, people were amped for the most stacked lineup all weekend. I started my day off with the Yeti Trio, an improvisational jazz-rock band reminiscent of early Zappa. While the band drew only a small crowd to the Mushroom stage, everyone in attendance cheered for an encore. Butch Trucks was watching his son, Vaylor Trucks, the guitarist of the Yeti Trio, from side stage with his young, blonde-haired granddaughter in his arms.
Ween was…Ween. It was my first Ween show, so I didn’t know what to expect. But they threw down with their catchy songs about drugs and dicks, sending my friends and me into fits of laughter, questioning if this was for real. As much as they joke around, lead guitarist Dean Ween’s guitar tone sounds much like Clapton’s and all of the musicianship impressed. Mike Gordon was ironically spotted walking through the crowd during the set closer, “Roses Are Free.”
Tedeschi Trucks Band – featuring Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi with a new lineup of musicians – may have been my favorite set of the weekend. Susan’s voice coupled with Derek’s slide, with an all-star backup band, garnered one of the largest crowds at Wanee. The power couple played many new tunes from their upcoming album, including the smooth and soulful “Midnight in Harlem,” as well as a rousing cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Uptight.”
The Steve Miller Band’s set was, for the most part, a greatest hits run-through. The crowd loved it, too, especially the bluegrassy “Dance Dance Dance.” Mike Gordon brought out Oteil Burbridge for several songs and finally let him leave to prepare for his set with the Allmans in a couple hours, saying that “the only way to keep him on stage is to never end the song.” Gordon teased Steve Miller and closed with “Sugar Shack.”
The second night of the Allman Brothers was more emotional than the first. Songs like “Dreams” and “No One to Run With” felt more meaningful than ever before, with Gregg singing the lyrics, “I’m hung up on dreams I’ll never see,” and “Nobody left to run with anymore, nobody left to do the crazy things we used to do before.” But everyone seemed to be in fine form, with Gregg’s organ shining through. Derek would walk between Gregg, Jaimoe and Warren, seeming to channel or communicate everyone’s sound through his own guitar playing. Butch Trucks’ granddaughter couldn’t take her eyes off her grandfather from where she was sitting on the stage until she fell asleep halfway through the set.
The band excitedly welcomed Taj Mahal to the stage for “Leavin’ Trunk” and “Statesboro Blues,” a highlight for both the audience and the band. A rocking “Mountain Jam” featuring Kebi Williams (from Tedeschi Trucks Band) on sax and Scott Murawski (from Mike Gordon Band) on guitar closed the set. In between the set and the encore, there was a tribute to Lawrence Joseph “Red Dog” Campbell, one of the Brothers’ original roadies who passed away in February, as well as a memorial of the other lost Brothers, which proved to be a heartbreaking moment in the night. The band closed with a “Whipping Post” encore that had the entire audience singing along. As we left the Peach stage and headed to see Galactic, “Little Martha” played on the loudspeakers and we couldn’t help but look forward to next year’s family reunion.
