{"id":825,"date":"2014-08-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2014\/2014\/08\/29\/peach-music-festival-delivers-on-a-much-anticipated-weekend\/"},"modified":"2014-08-29T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-08-29T00:00:00","slug":"peach-music-festival-delivers-on-a-much-anticipated-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2014\/2014\/08\/29\/peach-music-festival-delivers-on-a-much-anticipated-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Peach Music Festival 2014 Delivers on a Much Anticipated Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Peach Music Festival<\/a> of 2014 may have hit a few bumps in the road in the last week before the festival got under way, however it did not stop them from having one very successful event. When the news came out that Bob Weir<\/a> and Ratdog <\/a>would be cancelling the remainder of their touring schedule, including the Peach, there were some very unhappy fans who expressed their opinions\u00a0all over social media. The Peach on the other hand took a deep breath and managed the situation like any good executive would and came through in a big way. They were able to fill Weir’s void with a second\u00a0night of \u00a0Trey Anastasio Band<\/a>. The festival also added a special\u00a0set of Grateful Dead<\/a> music by a super-group of very talented musicians.<\/p>\n

\"\"Thursday night brought the majority of the crowd to the mountains of Pennsylvania and the music started at 6PM with Citizens Band Radio<\/a> followed by local northeast bluegrass standouts Cabinet<\/a>. Cabinet was asked back with good reason, they were one of the most talked about groups from last year’s festival. George Clinton and Parliament Funk <\/a>followed Cabinet and brought the funk. George Clinton and the P Funk have been playing for over 40 years and have been\u00a0part of some big time stages; it was great seeing them at The Peach. Late night is always a great time when it comes to music festivals. Dopapod<\/a>,<\/span>who also returned to The Peach again this year, played an incredible set combined with great lighting and jams that lit up the sky. There were\u00a0plenty of people talking about what a great show it had been closing out night one. This was only the beginning as Friday would bring\u00a0some heavy hitters and with the newly added acts for Friday night, the anticipation was at an all time high.<\/p>\n

Friday started off the day with,\u00a0From Good Homes<\/a> on the main stage and Trigger Hippy<\/a> on the Mushroom Stage.\u00a0 Blackberry Smoke<\/a>\u00a0got a lot\u00a0of people moving at\u00a0the Peach Stage and by the time JJ Grey and Mofro<\/a> began their set the majority spent their time there. JJ Grey doesn’t travel much up north and being at the Peach this year was something I was excited for. JJ Grey’s voice and southern soul reminded me of Joe Cocker<\/a>. Grey’s voice delivers as much as his music does with flashes of excitement on stage. He brought a lot of smiles and he was perfect in the placement of the festival. Playing several of his notable songs and bantering back and forth with the crowd, he was a shining spot in not just the Friday lineup but in the entire weekend. I hope that JJ Grey and Mofro can make some time to come up north more often, he is definitely more than welcome.<\/p>\n

One thing about the Peach, you sure do get your exercise bouncing from stage to stage. As soon as JJ Grey was finishing up The Revivalists<\/a> were getting going over on the Mushroom stage and by the time you made it over there, The Revivalists crowd was packed right up to the stage. Out of the middle of the crowd one could\u00a0see David Shaw’s \u00a0head and noticeable hair bobbing to the beat, shaking everyone’s hands as he made his way to and from the stage. He loves every minute on and off the stage, smiling from ear to ear. \u00a0The Revivalists give the fan the ultimate experience every time they perform with great energy, music and showmanship.<\/p>\n

The Peach stage was just ramping up as soon as the dinner hour was looming with a Dead set featuring a cast of excellent musicians. The lineup was put together in the last week with the departure of Bob Weir and Ratdog from the festival lineup. The festival had brought a lot of the Grateful Dead crowd in past years and with the remaining fan base that didn’t bail with the Weir announcement, were treated to a great set by Joe Russo (drums), Jackie Greene (guitar), Jeff Chimenti (keys), Reed Mathis (bass), Scott Metzger (guitar), Tom Hamilton (guitar) and Joan Osbourne (vocals).Tedeschi Trucks band <\/a>carried on after a great set and opened with Traffic’s ” Who Knows What Tomorrow Brings”. Playing their staples with “Midnight in Harlem” and “Bound for Glory”. TTB also played Willie Johnson’s ” Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burned” \u00a0which saw a seated Trucks with an acoustic guitar. Trucks normally can be seen playing his Gibson SG, so it was nice to see him donning a different look and playing some old Delta blues taking the listener back to a simpler time. \u00a0Trey Anastasio Band was headlining the evening and I couldn’t have been more excited, shamelessly I haven’t seen TAB yet and was looking forward to it; seeing Phish many times I had an appreciation for Trey’s guitar work interlaced with his normal band but it was the mix with horns and backup singers I was looking forward to checking out the most. Opening with the upbeat ” Sometimes after Sunset” and playing a set filled with songs like “Shine”\u00a0Phish’s<\/a> ” Sand” and closing out with “Push on Til the Day”. Trey’s guitar solos grab your attention and he loves to feed off the energy of the crowd producing a different solo on any given night.<\/p>\n

Anastasio is truly a master with being able to take the crowds feelings and let it be broadcast with his solid guitar playing. The encore brought a familiar song to the masses with Led Zepplin’s<\/a> ” Black Dog”. When it was first announced that TAB would be playing two nights, it was a bittersweet feeling, I felt that maybe another band would have been added but I was soon glad that TAB would be playing two nights because one set just wasn’t enough for me and I couldn’t wait come Saturday evening on the main stage. \u00a0Friday’s late night sets included Scranton’s own Cabinet on the Grove stage and Big Gigantic on the Mushroom stage. Big Gigantic<\/a> has played countless festivals throughout the entire country and their Livetronica and lighting kept the late night crowd entertained into the night.<\/p>\n

What started out as an overcast type day soon turned into a day filled with sunshine and music. Everyone \u00a0dusted themselves off \u00a0from the night before, got a breakfast burrito and a morning beverage\u00a0and dove right back into the music filled Saturday. The Mushroom stage started the day off with The London Souls<\/a> and Rich Robinson Band<\/a>, while The Peach stage brought out The \u00a0Tribal Seeds<\/a> and The Infamous Stringdusters<\/a>. The Grove stage hosted Tom Graham<\/a> and Jamestown’s Big Leg Emma<\/a>. Big Leg Emma had a sizable crowd brewing, representing the western New York scene rather nicely. Gov’t Mule <\/a>took the Peach Stage as they did many times before at this festival and the many festivals around the country. Warren Haynes<\/a>, an extremely talented guitarist, with his crunchy guitar and southern twang, always seems to impress the crowd. Haynes is not only a great guitarist but he is one of the most humble and respected people throughout the industry, he is as real as someone gets in the spotlight and it shines through in his playing. One of the greatest things about Warren was his guitar technique. Brian Farmer, who by the time you’ll have read this \u00a0had unfortunately passed away; Farmer may have been one of the most well liked persons who seemed to have loved life every time you saw him. It’s with a heavy heart that I type this and know that this gentle giant will be missed by so many, Thank you Mr. Farmer for making sure that Warren’s guitars always sounded top-notch.<\/p>\n

Another bright spot for western New York State was Aqueous<\/a>, who played the Grove stage and had the largest gathering of people on that stage, their constant touring throughout New York and Pennsylvania has really paid off, as well as the many followers coming from Buffalo, NY that made the trip. The band started off their set with “King for a Day”. Kicking it into high gear with a rousing segue series with “Skyway>Staring into the Sun>Heart Shaped Box> Warren in the Window”. \u00a0Closing the set with ” Strange Times” \u00a0and using every bit of their allotted time with one incredible set from start to finish. The set was perfectly placed at a time when the crowd was filtering into the main stage area for Trey Anastasio Band’s second night set. If there were any non believers watching Aqueous perform their set, I would bet that there wearing an Aqueous shirt today. As everyone shuffled off from Aqueous, the main stage filled in with many people for night two of Trey Anastasio Band. The talk around the campgrounds was on how everyone loved TAB the night before. Night two included three Phish songs to keep all the phans pretty content with “Alaska”, “Gotta Jibboo” and “First Tube”. Trey played to the crowd again on the second night and at one point dodging a few giant-sized balloons that found their way on stage, without missing a beat and smiling in true Trey form.<\/p>\n

As good as TAB was, the night belonged to The Allman Brothers Band. The amphitheater was packed to the gills both in the pavilion and on the lawn. There were not\u00a0many people at the venue that weren’t\u00a0down to hear the band. As the Allmans came on stage the crowd erupted, Butch Trucks came up to his elevated drum kit with fists clenched high and got the fired up crown even more excited. Ever since the Allmans\u00a0announced this would be their final tour the anticipation for this show was at an all time high. The band was also going to play their 1972 album, Eat a Peach in its entirety. As soon as the group hit the first few notes of \u00a0“Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” they new this night was going to be something special. Following along to the album, the boys played “Les Brers in A Minor” and “Melissa”. “Mountain Jam” was incredible, with Oteil Burbridge’s thumping bass, Butch Trucks’ \u00a0rolling drums matched with being on an actual mountain and at The Allman’s festival it was a once in a lifetime experience. Rolling right through with ” One Way Out”, ” Trouble No More”, “Stand Back” \u00a0and closing the set with a rousing ” Blue Sky”. The Allmans\u00a0stepped off stage for what seemed like seconds, returning with just Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes who came out and played ” Little Matha” while images of the late Duane Allman with old footage of the Allman Brothers band were displayed on the screens. It was a great moment with two of the newest members of the band paying a tribute to the originals. Danny Louis once again joined the group onstage; Louis who plays in Govt Mule, played on the opening song and on “That’s What Love Will Make You Do”. Closing the night out with “Black Hearted Woman” the band finished up their first night and it was one of the best I have ever seen from them. The band was on point, and they showed it all night long. The Allmans\u00a0are true pioneers in the music scene, if there wasn’t groups like this, we wouldn’t have a lot of the music we love to listen to from so many others. It was amazing to catch them before they decided to hang it up and if you weren’t able to make the festival you may want to make some plans to catch them with their Beacon Theatre run.<\/p>\n

Setlist:<\/strong> *Ain’t Waistin’ Time No More, Les Brers in A Minor, Melissa, Mountain Jam, One Way Out, Trouble No More, Stand Back, Blue Sky Encore: Little Martha, That’s What Love Will Make You Do, Black Hearted Woman *Eat A Peach<\/em> in its Entirety<\/p>\n

\"\"Late night featured two great bands with Lotus<\/a> and The Ron Hollaway Band <\/a>playing on opposite sides, NYS Music’s own Garrett Montgomery reflects on the latter which we both had the\u00a0pleasure of attending. As a mass exodus of <\/span>\u00a0fans headed to watch Lotus<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/a>from the poolside Mushroom Stage, Ron Holloway started spraying melodic runs with his tenor saxophone at the smaller Grove Stage. \u00a0A highly revered veteran of the festival circuit, this was only the second ever show Holloway has played with his new project, The Ron Hollaway Band.\u00a0<\/span>After singers Amanda Lynne and Jenny Poppen pleaded \u201cGod make me funky!\u201d and bassist Chris Brown’s quickly flicking fingers demonstrated he was blessed with that gift, the late night crowd was provided a special surprise. Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks and Danny Louis\u00a0\u00a0joined The Ron Holloway Band on stage for unforgettable renditions of \u201cThe Weight\u201d and “The Letter.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were fortunate enough to slide into that midnight spot,\u201d lead singer Jenny Poppen said. \u201cIt couldn’t have been a more perfect place. People were leaving the Allman Brothers, heard us, and had to stop. \u00a0We were hoping Warren and Derek would join us, but it was a last-minute surprise even for us!\u201d<\/p>\n

Solos flew like hotcakes for the star-studded The Band cover, while Rod Gross kept everyone in line on the drums. \u00a0The crowd sang the well-known lyrics in unison, and then the heavy hitters stepped up. \u00a0Holloway soloed first, laying out\u00a0a\u00a0template for the others to build on. \u00a0Warren retorted in soul-wrenching style. \u00a0Trucks, who seemed to be hiding near the back of the small stage, slid in and added his share to the monster jam. \u00a0Holloway’s guitarist Joe Poppen, however, would not be outdone during his set. \u00a0He shredded to pieces what the other rock stars built up, showcasing his own clout as a highly talented guitarist.<\/p>\n