My weekend of adventure started around 9 AM on Friday, I got very little sleep Thursday
night as I was busy packing and preparing the articles for you.
I had the rough draft sketch already laid out all I had to do was fill in the information.
Let me say THIS..and this is an honest statement. I wouldn’t do Muddy Roots without
La Quinta Inn, folks this place is THAT nice. The free breakfast is a real good spread
the staff is nice and friendly and they let me into my room early enough to get to the
Junebug Ranch and get my wristband.
The rates are a little high but for what all you get it’s worth EVERY penny and
I would suggest it to anyone. I just went swimming and re did my cooler although
I am not planning on having any beers unless it’s at the hotel room later.
So far I have no drawbacks about the festival at all. Everything looks to be
running smoothly right now, I had an overlap problem with Urban Pioneers ..I
missed them to cover the set for J.B.Beverley.
Rachel Kate opened Muddy Roots in high
gear and people got more excited by the minute.
I missed most of her music because I was busy getting ready with paperwork and such.
I will cover her set on Tuesday at Live True Vintage with Calamity Cubes string band and the master
of all things with strings James Hunnicutt.
Whiskey Hill Swillers are a punk rooted
bluegrass and country band and they use bluegrass instruments.
They are a damn fine bunch of guys and always full of jokes and music.
They got a washboard player that climbed on the amp stacks and goes through the audience
and they have fun when on stage.
I have covered them many times and I recognized most of their set list
and they opened their set with “Whiskey Calling” and ‘Want To Know”.
Then they started throwing little (I call them airplane bottles) of whiskey
out to the audience. OK So I had one nip for history’s sake.
Third song was called “Girl” and I had to ask about it I don’t recall ever
hearing that one and they also played “Back To The Bottom” and “Loosing Hope’.
They played ‘Hollow Eyes’ which is a cool song in my opinion and they
covered a new age song.
They closed their set with “What Went Wrong” and “Make It Right”
All in All they did a pretty damn fine job on the Ol Wood Stage
and I think they deserve to be on future Muddy Roots lineups for sure!
I like string bands a lot. If you study the history of Country Music
and the Opry you will find that string bands pretty much began it all.
You know it really wasn’t until the early 1940s when Ernest Tubb and Hank
began introducing the steel guitar.
If you look at people like Dr. Humphrey Bates and his Possum Hunters
and Dixie Cloggers and Fruit Jar Drinkers in the 30’s that first
played the Opry…they were all string bands.
I stayed at the Ol Wood Stage to get to see Call Me Bronco who received TWO encores last night.
I was just talking with the guy down the hall about how good their set was
last night. They opened their set with a song they dedicated to a recent friend
that took their life and their second song was ‘Burn The Witch” and that one is
my favorite one they do.
They also played ‘Stopped Drinking For The Dog” and ‘Devil’s Daughter”
All the while this band was on the Tent Stage had The Buzzjumeprs
tearing up the place and I missed most of it to cover Call Me Bronco.
They played “Broken Man” and “Ky Girl” as an encore and a new song.
I had to go eat then before J.B. Beverley and I’m going to say THIS.
J.B. was one of my top 2 sets of the festival so far.
I may not get to finish part 2 of day 1 until later which will start out
with J.B. set. But man oh man I tell you he was SPOT ON and he played
a lot of my favorites.
