NYS Music 20​16

Author: ben landsman

  • Acting a Fool at the First Fool’s Paradise

    The inaugural Fool’s Paradise two day concert was a fantastic weekend for visitors to the oldest city in the country, St. Augustine. The music flooded the St. Augustine Amphitheatre and featured Lettuce, Griz, Chris Robinson, and many more incredible artists. There were occasional showers in the forecast but nothing serious enough to deter the music lovers from dancing and enjoying the music. This event had a wonderful first year and offered some unique activities reminiscent to jam cruise.

    On Friday at six the power duo Goldfish took the stage. The two multi-instrumentalists are currently touring South America, The United States, and Europe, sharing their latest release Games Continued.  After watching a few minutes of Goldfish their talent is impossible to deny. Both musicians hail from the most southern tip of Africa and have been called, “the duo to see this year.” The duo play upright bass, flute, saxophone, and synthesizers.

    Up next was Lettuce who played a powerful set that got everyone dancing and set the tone for the rest of the evening. Following was fellow headliner Griz. The set was powerful, dynamic and was the perfect mix of funk, and electronic jams. Mid set Lettuce joined Griz for a perpetual groove that radiated from everyone’s feet up through their fingertips. The energy was high and the audience absorbed the music and recycled its energy into non-stop dancing.

    The music ended at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre at 10:30 due to the venue’s proximity to local residents. This was by no means the end of the party. Many attendees had previously purchased late night show tickets for sets that would be held in the Elk’s Lodge which was practically on the premises. Friday night’s late night featured both Vulfpeck and Lettuce side project Break Science.

    It was previously mentioned that Fool’s Paradise is reminiscent of Jam Cruise because of the fun and exciting excursions that could be taken with the artists. The excursion tickets were sold separately and included mini golf with Jesus Coomes, and Adam Deitch of Lettuce, sailing with Shady Horns and a zip-line adventure Borham Lee at The Alligator Farm   The greatest part of these excursions was being up close and intimate with the artist doing something you both like.

    The amphitheater also had a healthy array of eats and crafts vendors to explore.  

    The Shipwreck Stage, located near vendor row in the parking lot of the amphitheater started the party rocking each day before the amphitheater stage opened.

    Saturday began with the Groove Orient, and Herd of Watts on the Shipwreck Stage. After the stage closed for the weekend, Brasstracks started the amphitheater grooving. Nikki Glaspie and the Nth Power followed and brought the funk.  Vulfpeck took the stage at five-thirty and also provided some background music for a spontaneous wedding which happened right on the amphitheater stage.  The crowd cheered for the happy couple as they eagerly read their unique self-penned vows.

    Vulfpeck was quite engaging with the audience and lead everyone in singing three part harmonies while dancing to their funky beats. One thing is undeniable, each member of the band is extremely versatile. Every few songs the guys would switch instruments with each other,  transforming their whole sound. The lead singer was especially energized because it was his 30th birthday. He took a picture and sent it to his mom for all the people at the festival.

    Chris Robinson’s Soul Revue was a once in a lifetime line up. The band’s all-star cast featured George Porter Jr. of The Meters, Ivan Neville, Nikki Glaspie, Eric Krasnoyarsk and Neal Casal featuring the Shady Horns. The bass was thumping and the horns wailing. Their set was definitely one of the high points of the weekend.

    The artist at large was Cory Henry of Snarky Puppy. Henry effortlessly alternated from keys to drums numerous times and was a great addition to every band that he sat in with.

    Lettuce’s final set also featured Nigel Hall, and Cory Henry. Late night sets followed at the Elk’s Lodge with Goldfish and Fools of Funk which was a collaboration between some of the members of Lettuce, Nigel Hall, Weedie Braimah, Eric “Benny” Bloom, Ryan Zoidis, and Cory Henry.

    Fool’s Paradise was an intense, fun, and funky weekend in an amazing venue. The St. Augustine Amphitheater has excellent amenities and terrific staff. Purple Hat Productions did a bang up job in creating such an incredible concert. The talent was limitless, the production quality was seamless. The crowd was harmonious. See you next year in Fool’s Paradise  After year one you can expect anything to happen in paradise.

  • Lets Fool Around in Saint Augustine

    Hurry! Lettuce and Griz will be headlining the inaugural Fool’s Paradise April 1st and 2nd! The festival will be celebrated at The St. Augustine Amphitheatre which is located in the oldest city in the United States  and is famous for its Spanish style architecture. Located just an hour from Jacksonville and Gainesville and just two hours from Orlando, Fool’s Paradise could not be in a more picturesque and ideal location. The festival is hosted by Purple Hat Productions and Live For Live Music and is sure to be an amazing two day  funk filled event.  So pack your dancing shoes and come be part of the beginning of something spectacular!  The music begins Friday at two’olock on the Shipwreck Stage.

    There will be two stages, one of which is the Amphitheatre and the other is The Shipwreck Stage. There will also be late night sets by Vulfpeck and Break Science at the nearby Elk’s Lodge on Friday then Goldfish and a Fools of Funk Superjam on Saturday. Tickets to the late night sets are sold in a limited quantity and as a separate from the main event. There is also more late night music just two miles away at “Fool Moon” which is a staple in the St. Augustine music scene. Featured late night artists are Jacksonville’s own Herd of Watts, on Friday and Saturday,  Gainesville’s Morning Fatty and Manyfest will play Saturday and Orlando’s Groove Orient will close out the night.  Camping is available in an offsite location but all passes are limited.  There are also a select amount of  vip hotel packages. Which are available on the “Fool’s Paradise” website.

    This festival is reminiscent of Jam Cruise  because it offers fun excursions with the performing artists. There will be mini golf with Lettuce’s Adam Deitch and Jesus Coomes on Saturday at one o’clock, Sailing with The Shady Horns and Shmeemans at noon and also a zipline adventure with Break Science’s Borhahm Lee at twelve-thirty. All excursions are sold separately from the main event and the tickets are going fast!!  There will be limited parking but fortunately there are many cab companies and Uber available.

    Now that the basics have been covered, let’s get to the fun part, the music! Yes! finally Lettuce and GRIZ will be collaborating during the second half of GRIZ’s Friday night set in the ampitheatre. The remaining line-up also promises exciting funky fun times for everyone. There’s Chris Robinson’s Soul Revue  featuring featuring George Porter Jr of The Meters, with Ivan Neville, The Nth Power, Goldfish, Corey Henry of Snarky Puppy, Marvel Years, Brasstracks, Herd of Watts. The Groove Orient, Morning Fatty and Love Chunk.

    So pack your gear and prepare yourself for an awesome two days of music, and good times! Tickets are available on the website, and The St. Augustine box office.

  • Okeechobee Makes Great First Impression

    Aquachobee, Coronachobee, okeechobeings, yogachobee, are just a few of the new words  learned while attending the sold-out inaugural Okeechobee Music Festival. From March 3-7 thousands of music fans “entered the portal” to spread their Okeechobee love and good vibes in south Florida paradise. The news of the festival hit the town of Okeechobee about three years ago and could not have been more of a success.  The festival is the brain child of Paul Peck, a graduate of Tulane University who had years earlier sowed the seeds for Bonnaroo with Rick Farman.  Years later Peck took his knowledge from the Bonnaroo experience to create a musical and art themed wonderland.  Held on hundreds of acres of wide open spaces, the Okeechobee Festival was massive yet elegant.

    Okeechobee was hosted on a former equestrian area that was expected to be turned into a housing development but after the project failed, festival promoters soon discovered it would be the perfectly ideal place for a large outdoor four day festival.  With concrete walking paths through most of the festival ground getting around Okeechobee was a breeze. However, an increase of signs next year would make for a great improvement.  The festival consisted of The Chobeewobee Village, Yogachobee,  Jungle 51, Aquachobee, and the Grove which housed the three main stages “Be”, “Here” and “Now”  Each festival area had its own theme and different stages. The Aquachobee stood out as being a favorite during the day. Many happy festival goers made their way to the manmade beach to sun bathe and swim while taking pics and making custom bags courtesy of Corona. One of the greatest things about Okeechobee was the many special places to take unwind and relax while within listening distance of the music.  There were a few groves of trees which were decorated with vintage furniture and warm mood lighting. There was also nice lounge chairs throughout Aquachobee.

    Most of the festival’s audience was college aged students from nearby cities like Miami, Tampa and Orlando. This was a first time camping festival for many that had learned about the fest on their cities’ local radio stations.  Although there were many first time festival goers presented an overall positive vibe which was upbeat and respectful. Everyone united and thrived in peace over the course of the four days and many new festival families were formed. Each camping area was named after texting acronyms for example NSFW, LOL, ROFL, etc but there were no signs anywhere indicating the different camping areas. Hopefully, signs will be in place next year.  There were showers available for $7 but tickets had to be purchased prior at a general store that was a significantly large distance from the shower facilities. The food vendors truly represented a plethora of culinary diversity with decent prices.

    The Festival kicked off Thursday afternoon with an opening ceremony in The Yogachobee Village. Which led to a night of enjoyment featuring the Okeechobee Allstars led by The Lee Boys Rosevelt Collier, Big Gigantic’s Jeremy Salken, Lettuce’s Nigel Hall and many more great musicians  For late that night Jungle 51 was opened and many danced well into the early morning dancing to great Dj’s like Big Wild. On Friday the grove was finally opened. The stages were placed perfectly. Although the stages were evenly distanced from each other and there was no sound bleeding over.  Moon Hooch got the party started on the “Be” stage and made way for an incredible set by the great Grace Potter later in the afternoon. Other bands that played on the stages were Twiddle, X Ambassadors, and Lil Dicky and the legendary Robert Plant. That evening Hall and Oats took the “Be” stage and rocked the place with all their greatest hits. It was obvious most of the fans rushing the stage that night were there for Bassnectar. Thousands packed in tightly to be as close to the DJ as possible and absorb the beats and bass rising up from the ground.

    Saturday afternoon crowds were treated to sets by Dr. Dog, Lotus, Booker T. Jones, Lotus, and Mac Miller. As the sun went down the temperature dropped to the high fifties and the stars finally came out. Crowds danced to the beats of Kendrick Lamar, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Big Gigantic.  Then came the moment everyone was waiting for: Skrillex. The set was intense and dynamic; the bass and electronic melodies flooded the concert area as thousands moved in a trance-like state.  Toward the end of the Skrillex set many migrated back to the “Now “stage to claim a space to dance during the all star jam known as the Pow-Wow. This super jam included R&B Heartthrob Miguel, Win, Butler, John Oates, Skrillex, Mac Miller, Eric Krasno of Lettuce, three members of Mumford and Sons, the horn section of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band kamasai Washington and the legendary George Porter Jr.

    Sunday was another perfect day of music to end this very high energy musical weekend. Starting off with the rap rock band Bangarang who were Destination Okeechobee winners from Tampa started the Grove right on the now stage. Later on the now stage was one of the anticipated acts of Big Grams featuring Big Boi of Outkast and the duo of Phantogram.  The “Be” stage took a modern Americana theme and welcomed award winning songwriter Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit which featured his very talented wife Amanda Shires on the fiddle. Next was the long time running band Ween which earned many new fans.  The evening followed with Odeza, The Heavy, and The Avett Brothers overlapping on each of the three main stages. Which led to the grand finale of Mumford and Sons on the “Be” stage?  Mumford and sons did there amazing set for the first half and then there set morphed into one great super jam joined by The Avett Brothers, Tom Morello and many more musicians  By early Monday morning  the music on the main stages ended but there was plenty of room to party near the art installations and Ferris wheel near Aquachobee.

    Okeechobee has been a labor of love from some very creative people. The event not only sold out at 30,000 but still maintained its intimate vibe. Okeechobee will take its place among the festival giants like its big brother Bonaroo.  The hard work and dreams made for a magical weekend of musical discovery and camaraderie.  See you next year in the portal!