Photo Credit: Treehugger.com
Wakarusa. A place of magic. A place of music. Heaven on earth or at least a great place to party. There aren't as many names that I recognized this year, but I've finally gotten through the whole list and it is absolutely solid all the way down to the fine print. So here are my rankings of the bands that will be performing Wakarusa 2015.
It is important to recognize that even the one and two star bands have some good sounds.
The three star bands are good bands, perhaps not quite as exciting, but still worth checking out.
Four star bands are awesome. Absolutely talented and important to catch as many of their shows as possible.
And the Five star bands are amazing. Their music is incredible and guaranteed to put on some mind blowing performances.
So please, tell me who I sold short. My opinions are definitely up for debate.
Photo Credit: Folk Hive
Rock
A broad category that covers everything from tropical beach rock, to punk rock, to psychedelic rock, to funk, etc etc. If they cross genres, I'm a lot more likely to put them here, especially when they're fast and heavy.
Andy Frasco*****
Andy Frasco and the UN put on very energetic shows. They play catchy "party blues" rock music. And while perhaps not the best music in this category, but will absolutely put on the most energetic show. Not to be missed.
Ben Miller Band*****
A southern rock band with a heavy country influence. The fast, energetic music is great to listen to and it is sure to be an energetic show.
The Revivalists *****
Spacey but intense southern rock. I've missed these guys before, and I will do everything I can to finally see them.
Spacey but intense southern rock. I've missed these guys before, and I will do everything I can to finally see them.
Moon Taxi *****
Mellow piercing space rock. Some influence from the pixies, with a singer with a haunting voice to match the slightly psychedelic sound.
Delta Saints****
Louisiana style “Bayou rock” high energy southern rock. A little bit of dirt stomping style, but not nearly so dirty rock as some of these others.
Dirtfoot****
Dirty crunchy southern mud stompin' hillbilly rock.
The Devil Makes Three****
A little rustic, a little country bluegrass, good stuff, they put on a one of the better shows at Harvest Fest.
Ozomatli****
Funk eclectic music with salsa, jazz, and electro beats. Their upbeat music draws from many different national styles.
Thievery Corportation****
Worldly ambient psychedelic rock.
Henry + the Invisibles****
A one man band that loops and layers his music, and sings some funky grooves.
Mellow piercing space rock. Some influence from the pixies, with a singer with a haunting voice to match the slightly psychedelic sound.
Delta Saints****
Louisiana style “Bayou rock” high energy southern rock. A little bit of dirt stomping style, but not nearly so dirty rock as some of these others.
Dirtfoot****
Dirty crunchy southern mud stompin' hillbilly rock.
The Devil Makes Three****
A little rustic, a little country bluegrass, good stuff, they put on a one of the better shows at Harvest Fest.
Ozomatli****
Funk eclectic music with salsa, jazz, and electro beats. Their upbeat music draws from many different national styles.
Thievery Corportation****
Worldly ambient psychedelic rock.
Henry + the Invisibles****
A one man band that loops and layers his music, and sings some funky grooves.
Matthew Curry (and the Fury)***
Classic rock sound with a slight southern tint.
The Growlers***
A folk rock group sorta like a rougher, dirty Edward Sharpe. A good folky sound.
Trigger Hippy***
Mellow rock, a prominent southern rock guitar style with organ keyboarding, mellow happy singing. Features girl singer with a guy backup. She gets into a little country outlaw attitude.
Shawn James and the Shapeshifters***
Funky with lots of horns, a bit of hip hop, hard to pick a category.
Classic rock sound with a slight southern tint.
The Growlers***
A folk rock group sorta like a rougher, dirty Edward Sharpe. A good folky sound.
Trigger Hippy***
Mellow rock, a prominent southern rock guitar style with organ keyboarding, mellow happy singing. Features girl singer with a guy backup. She gets into a little country outlaw attitude.
Shawn James and the Shapeshifters***
Gruff dirty southern rock, sometimes dark themed.
Natural Child***
Very much a classic rock sound, but with a rockabilly/punk rock tint.
Very much a classic rock sound, but with a rockabilly/punk rock tint.
Old Shoe***
An Americana/classic rock band with some blues and some jams.
Hearts of Darkness***An Americana/classic rock band with some blues and some jams.
Funky with lots of horns, a bit of hip hop, hard to pick a category.
Old 97s***
Laid back rustic country rock.
Jakubi**
Mellow, almost tropical rock. Sometimes a bit boring, but a bit funky too.
Donavon Frankenreiter**
A Jack Johnson/Ben Harper wannabe, but at least better than they are.
Koa**
Some subtle beatboxing and a guitar. He’ going for the inspirational tropical rock, like Nahko or Trevor hall, but is pretty boring for my tastes.
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
Lame, bland wannabe rock.
Reggae
From the California blend of punk rock reggae, to the Jamaican roots, the reggae bands aren't as numerous this year, but they include some solid groups, including my number one band to see at Wakarusa 2015...
Slightly Stoopid *****
A group of guys originally discovered by Bradly Nowell of Sublime, they continued that Cali punk reggae sound, and have since evolved into so much more. Their jams flow seamlessly between smooth saxophone funk, hip hop reggae, psychedelic dub, and much more. Best of all, they know how to play their audience. An Omaha show might see some punk rock, but at Wakarusa they’ll probably throw down a psychedelic bluesy jam fest that is NOT to be missed.
The Expendables *****
Squealing guitar reggae. They do soft reggae songs well, but like to rock out with a guitar that switches effortlessly between choppy ska beats and heavy rock riffs.
Stick Figure ****
A mellow and really smooth reggae sound. The main guy has a lot of talent and was mostly a one man band, but has recently started working with a few other musicians.
Rebelution ****
A solid horn section, a smooth singer, and a tropical reggae sound. They are veterans of Wakarusa and always put on a groovy head bobbin show.
Dirty Heads****
Very eclectic and unique. I'd say best described as a third reggae, a third hip hop, a third epic electropop (think Imagine Dragons). The more I listen, the more I like these guys.
Nahko and Medicine for the People***
Sort of a way more mellow version of Michael Franti. Social conscious tropical rock.
Collie Buddz***
Reggae with a slight hip hop, slightly more traditional roots sound.
Nattali Rize & Notis**
Female reggae singer, a bit poppy. Has potential but no much available to preview online.
Matisyahu **
Beat boxing reggae with some hip hop. I find him a bit boring, but others are way into this guy.
Hip Hop
Hip hop isn't my genre, so my opinions on the subject are very much influenced on how it compares to rock music. That said, the Wakarusa hip hop seems to be a much more authentic representation than most of the terrible radio rap that I've been exposed to. I'm assuming most of it is more underground and less flashy. One thing's for sure, I will take these groups a lot more seriously than Snoop Lion.
Chali 2Na ****
Deep and gruff hip hop.
The Roots ***
A hip hop band with a lot of soul. They frequently touch on other genres, like reggae, blues and jazz, made possible by their use of live instruments.
Dilated Peoples***
Slower beat hip hop, with some singing mixed in.
Chance the Rapper**
A smooth rapper with a slower, singing voice and faster rap voice.
ProbCause*
Not sure if this is a rapper or DJ who mixes a lot of hiphop…decent stuff
Jam Band
Electronic jams, rock in roll jams, bluegrass jams, Wakarusa has them all. It just so happens I put a lot of the electronic jams in the electronic category. I tend to think of jam bands as more traditional instruments.
BoomBox *****
Smooth sexy electro jams. Difficult to place under a single category and they only refer to themselves as making rock music. But considering their live shows feature long intricate jams, I'll put them at the top of this genera.
Twiddle *****
Fast paced, funky jams with a quick vocalist. They have enough vocals they could be considered a rock band, but they fit this category a bit better.
Laid back rustic country rock.
Jakubi**
Mellow, almost tropical rock. Sometimes a bit boring, but a bit funky too.
Donavon Frankenreiter**
A Jack Johnson/Ben Harper wannabe, but at least better than they are.
Koa**
Smooth rock, mellow and calming.
The Nth Power *
Soul music with a touch of classic sound, keyboards and a little classic guitar.
Coyote Union*
Only one song online, slightly southern generic rock sound.
Dustin Thomas*Soul music with a touch of classic sound, keyboards and a little classic guitar.
Coyote Union*
Only one song online, slightly southern generic rock sound.
Some subtle beatboxing and a guitar. He’ going for the inspirational tropical rock, like Nahko or Trevor hall, but is pretty boring for my tastes.
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
Lame, bland wannabe rock.
Photo Credit: ReverbNation
Reggae
From the California blend of punk rock reggae, to the Jamaican roots, the reggae bands aren't as numerous this year, but they include some solid groups, including my number one band to see at Wakarusa 2015...
Slightly Stoopid *****
A group of guys originally discovered by Bradly Nowell of Sublime, they continued that Cali punk reggae sound, and have since evolved into so much more. Their jams flow seamlessly between smooth saxophone funk, hip hop reggae, psychedelic dub, and much more. Best of all, they know how to play their audience. An Omaha show might see some punk rock, but at Wakarusa they’ll probably throw down a psychedelic bluesy jam fest that is NOT to be missed.
The Expendables *****
Squealing guitar reggae. They do soft reggae songs well, but like to rock out with a guitar that switches effortlessly between choppy ska beats and heavy rock riffs.
Stick Figure ****
A mellow and really smooth reggae sound. The main guy has a lot of talent and was mostly a one man band, but has recently started working with a few other musicians.
Rebelution ****
A solid horn section, a smooth singer, and a tropical reggae sound. They are veterans of Wakarusa and always put on a groovy head bobbin show.
Dirty Heads****
Very eclectic and unique. I'd say best described as a third reggae, a third hip hop, a third epic electropop (think Imagine Dragons). The more I listen, the more I like these guys.
Nahko and Medicine for the People***
Sort of a way more mellow version of Michael Franti. Social conscious tropical rock.
Collie Buddz***
Reggae with a slight hip hop, slightly more traditional roots sound.
Nattali Rize & Notis**
Female reggae singer, a bit poppy. Has potential but no much available to preview online.
Matisyahu **
Beat boxing reggae with some hip hop. I find him a bit boring, but others are way into this guy.
Photo Credit: Stephen Ironside
Hip Hop
Hip hop isn't my genre, so my opinions on the subject are very much influenced on how it compares to rock music. That said, the Wakarusa hip hop seems to be a much more authentic representation than most of the terrible radio rap that I've been exposed to. I'm assuming most of it is more underground and less flashy. One thing's for sure, I will take these groups a lot more seriously than Snoop Lion.
Chali 2Na ****
Deep and gruff hip hop.
The Roots ***
A hip hop band with a lot of soul. They frequently touch on other genres, like reggae, blues and jazz, made possible by their use of live instruments.
Dilated Peoples***
Slower beat hip hop, with some singing mixed in.
Chance the Rapper**
A smooth rapper with a slower, singing voice and faster rap voice.
ProbCause*
Not sure if this is a rapper or DJ who mixes a lot of hiphop…decent stuff
Photo Credit: Stephen Ironside
Electronic jams, rock in roll jams, bluegrass jams, Wakarusa has them all. It just so happens I put a lot of the electronic jams in the electronic category. I tend to think of jam bands as more traditional instruments.
BoomBox *****
Smooth sexy electro jams. Difficult to place under a single category and they only refer to themselves as making rock music. But considering their live shows feature long intricate jams, I'll put them at the top of this genera.
Twiddle *****
Fast paced, funky jams with a quick vocalist. They have enough vocals they could be considered a rock band, but they fit this category a bit better.
Cure for the Common ****
Lots of smooth funk with a soul influence, and a little bit of jam, sometimes they get a little STS9ish with electric jams.
Umphreys McGee***
Mellow jam rock, heavy hitters in the jam band category, but personally, I don't rate them quite so high.
Galactic***
Funky jam band with a lot of different styles, horns, different singers on every song, etc. They'll be playing a set with Macy Grey, which might be pretty cool.
Dopapod***
Mostly instrumental, heavy on the guitar and keyboard driven jams, a bit electronic.
Lotus***
Lots of different jam styles, heavy on the electronic, but very eclectic.
Mouth***
Sometimes bass driven, sometimes electric guitar driven jams.
Lots of smooth funk with a soul influence, and a little bit of jam, sometimes they get a little STS9ish with electric jams.
Umphreys McGee***
Mellow jam rock, heavy hitters in the jam band category, but personally, I don't rate them quite so high.
Galactic***
Funky jam band with a lot of different styles, horns, different singers on every song, etc. They'll be playing a set with Macy Grey, which might be pretty cool.
Dopapod***
Mostly instrumental, heavy on the guitar and keyboard driven jams, a bit electronic.
Lotus***
Lots of different jam styles, heavy on the electronic, but very eclectic.
Mouth***
Sometimes bass driven, sometimes electric guitar driven jams.
The Fritz***
Sort of a classic funk rock jam, heavy on the keyboards, vocals about half the time. This should probably go under the rock category, but it's so heavy on jamming out, that those who prefer the jams will like it more.
Sort of a classic funk rock jam, heavy on the keyboards, vocals about half the time. This should probably go under the rock category, but it's so heavy on jamming out, that those who prefer the jams will like it more.
Forgotten Space*
Grateful Dead cover band, not much online to check out
The Mantras*
An eclectic style of jams with a singer with a whimsical voice.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead*
Greatful dead cover band.
Play Dead*
Grateful dead cover band, only one song online.
Electronic
Techno, dubstep, house, trance, trap, electro jams, there's a lot of electronic at Wakarusa. I supposed I could have split up the electronic genres more, but this list sorta goes in order of that. I tend to have the more artsy and wompy electronic starts at the top, some ambient and jammy electronic in the middle, followed by trance, and last and definitely least, trap.
Quixotic *****
Ambient, artsy techno with a mindblowing live show. This is a dance studio of sorts, that uses their members to create crazy acrobatic shows featuring fire dances, jugglers and more.
Big Gigantic *****
Saxy wompy electronic. This guy plays his sax and layers it, then throws some heavy beats over it. Recently he's been playing with a drummer. His last Wakarusa set got stormed out, so lets hope it's clear skies this time.
Particle *****
Electronic jams that are just great.
Conspirator ****
Jam electro, heavy on the guitar .
The Human Experience****
A relaxing psychedelic mixture of styles with a lot of collaborations. Most tracks have vocals of some sort. Sometimes it will be a worldly sound, sometimes folky and even with banjos, but always a mellow ambiance that your brain will enjoy.
STS9 ****
A staple of any festival, especially Wakarusa. I've seen them so many times that it's almost hard to get excited for them, but then when they start playing I remember exactly why I've seen them so many times. They play electronic jams and have put on some mind blowing shows.
Late Night Radio ****
Calling him a DJ just doesn't seem right. He’s more like a producer, who takes old songs and remasters them with a lot of added modern flair. In some ways, he takes after Gramatik with this method of using old fashioned songs, but where Gramatik modernizes with volume and speed (to put it simply), LNR enhances with so much more style and keeps the original emotion of the song.
Thomas Jack ****
Remixes songs with tropical house music. Surprisingly good tunes.
Goldfish ****
Songs don’t seem like remixes, but there are different singers and styles on all the songs, so it must be mostly remixes. They throw down lots of funk and swing style electronic.
Sorta stylish house, a little psychedelic, lots of cool different techniques.
Krooked Drivers***
Melodic vintage mixes, usually mellow, sometimes getting a little dubby.
The White Panda***
Trancy house remixes. The 311 ‘amber’ mashup was really good and their songs got better as I listened more.
Greenhouse Lounge***
Grateful Dead cover band, not much online to check out
The Mantras*
An eclectic style of jams with a singer with a whimsical voice.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead*
Greatful dead cover band.
Play Dead*
Grateful dead cover band, only one song online.
Photo Credit Wakasura
Electronic
Techno, dubstep, house, trance, trap, electro jams, there's a lot of electronic at Wakarusa. I supposed I could have split up the electronic genres more, but this list sorta goes in order of that. I tend to have the more artsy and wompy electronic starts at the top, some ambient and jammy electronic in the middle, followed by trance, and last and definitely least, trap.
Quixotic *****
Ambient, artsy techno with a mindblowing live show. This is a dance studio of sorts, that uses their members to create crazy acrobatic shows featuring fire dances, jugglers and more.
Big Gigantic *****
Saxy wompy electronic. This guy plays his sax and layers it, then throws some heavy beats over it. Recently he's been playing with a drummer. His last Wakarusa set got stormed out, so lets hope it's clear skies this time.
Particle *****
Electronic jams that are just great.
Conspirator ****
Jam electro, heavy on the guitar .
The Human Experience****
A relaxing psychedelic mixture of styles with a lot of collaborations. Most tracks have vocals of some sort. Sometimes it will be a worldly sound, sometimes folky and even with banjos, but always a mellow ambiance that your brain will enjoy.
STS9 ****
A staple of any festival, especially Wakarusa. I've seen them so many times that it's almost hard to get excited for them, but then when they start playing I remember exactly why I've seen them so many times. They play electronic jams and have put on some mind blowing shows.
Late Night Radio ****
Calling him a DJ just doesn't seem right. He’s more like a producer, who takes old songs and remasters them with a lot of added modern flair. In some ways, he takes after Gramatik with this method of using old fashioned songs, but where Gramatik modernizes with volume and speed (to put it simply), LNR enhances with so much more style and keeps the original emotion of the song.
Thomas Jack ****
Remixes songs with tropical house music. Surprisingly good tunes.
Goldfish ****
Songs don’t seem like remixes, but there are different singers and styles on all the songs, so it must be mostly remixes. They throw down lots of funk and swing style electronic.
Archnemesis ****
A little bit of wub, a bunch of soul, some prominent horns mixed in.
Gigantic Underground Conspiracy ****A little bit of wub, a bunch of soul, some prominent horns mixed in.
A party featuring Big Gigantic, Underground Orchestra, and Conspirator. There is no music online for this collaboration, so I'm just guessing it'll be awesome because of the talent involved.
Minnesota*** Sorta stylish house, a little psychedelic, lots of cool different techniques.
Krooked Drivers***
Melodic vintage mixes, usually mellow, sometimes getting a little dubby.
The White Panda***
Trancy house remixes. The 311 ‘amber’ mashup was really good and their songs got better as I listened more.
Greenhouse Lounge***
Psychedelic electronic music that is mostly mellow and pretty but hits hard once in awhile, with a driving electric guitar backbone.
Govinda***
A worldly ambient psychedelic sound, similar to thievery corp, but mellow and more electro, lots of violin.
A worldly ambient psychedelic sound, similar to thievery corp, but mellow and more electro, lots of violin.
Goldroom***
Ambient easy listening electro.
Ambient easy listening electro.
Gravity A***
A really stylish electro jam, a lot of similar styles to Big Gigantic, but occasionally with vocals and with a little more funk.
A really stylish electro jam, a lot of similar styles to Big Gigantic, but occasionally with vocals and with a little more funk.
Black Tiger Sex Machine***
Rather grindy, a bit more industrial with a lot of other styles mixed in.
The Floozies***
A guitar driven electro jam funk.
Rob Garza**
House electro, decent beats, a touch trancy but in a good way.
Gladkill **
Slower electro, usually melodic and pretty, but sometimes gets a little wompy. Might make for a good show.
Rather grindy, a bit more industrial with a lot of other styles mixed in.
The Floozies***
A guitar driven electro jam funk.
Rob Garza**
House electro, decent beats, a touch trancy but in a good way.
Gladkill **
Slower electro, usually melodic and pretty, but sometimes gets a little wompy. Might make for a good show.
Janover & reSUNator**
Ambient electro, downtempo, lots of different styles mixed in, sometimes wompy, sometimes intrumental.
Ambient electro, downtempo, lots of different styles mixed in, sometimes wompy, sometimes intrumental.
Savoy*
Last time we saw him at Wakarusa, he put on a great visual show with lots of lasers, but the music was laughable. However, his stuff on Spotify is a little better.
Russ Liquid*
Down tempo electro, uses piano and other instruments, kinda boring, but might make a good show.
JackLNDN*
Trancy house dj.
Rustie*
Pretty boring, trancy with a heavy but simplistic baseline.
EOTO*
A side project for a couple guys from String Cheese Incident, they are a downtempo, experimental but boring. A lot of people would rate them higher, but as much as I've tried, it just doesn't do it for me.
Vocals on most tracks, a couple really good songs, but mostly terrible.
Wick-it the Instigator
Wompy, but kinda slow and not all that interesting.
Last time we saw him at Wakarusa, he put on a great visual show with lots of lasers, but the music was laughable. However, his stuff on Spotify is a little better.
Russ Liquid*
Down tempo electro, uses piano and other instruments, kinda boring, but might make a good show.
JackLNDN*
Trancy house dj.
Rustie*
Pretty boring, trancy with a heavy but simplistic baseline.
EOTO*
A side project for a couple guys from String Cheese Incident, they are a downtempo, experimental but boring. A lot of people would rate them higher, but as much as I've tried, it just doesn't do it for me.
Nadus
It’s like trap music that is pretty
Moody GoodIt’s like trap music that is pretty
Vocals on most tracks, a couple really good songs, but mostly terrible.
Wick-it the Instigator
Wompy, but kinda slow and not all that interesting.
Trippy Turtle
Electronic with possibly a bit R and B, only one song available online.
Electronic with possibly a bit R and B, only one song available online.
Antiserum
Drum and bass with a lot of hip hop mixed in.
Kap Slap
Generic trancy house remixes.
Paper Diamond
Mostly trap, a little bit of housy stuff.
Destructo
Dj that mixes hip hop…neither the electro nor hip hop side is very good.
Lindsey Lowend
MIDI trap mix that is just not worth it.
Major Lazer
Terrible hip hoppy trap music. Negative stars.
Bro Safari
Terrible trap nonsense. Negative stars.
Hermitude
Chipmunk trap. Negative stars.
Indie
A few interesting Indie groups this year, some more indie pop with an electronic influence, some are just sort of a weird rock sound, some just too weird to be in any other category.
Drum and bass with a lot of hip hop mixed in.
Kap Slap
Generic trancy house remixes.
Paper Diamond
Mostly trap, a little bit of housy stuff.
Destructo
Dj that mixes hip hop…neither the electro nor hip hop side is very good.
Lindsey Lowend
MIDI trap mix that is just not worth it.
Major Lazer
Terrible hip hoppy trap music. Negative stars.
Bro Safari
Terrible trap nonsense. Negative stars.
Hermitude
Chipmunk trap. Negative stars.
Photo Credit: Phil Clarkin
Indie
A few interesting Indie groups this year, some more indie pop with an electronic influence, some are just sort of a weird rock sound, some just too weird to be in any other category.
Glass Animals *****
Ambient indie rock, like Alt-J but much better.
Young The Giant ****
Mellow folky indie pop.
Ambient indie rock, like Alt-J but much better.
Young The Giant ****
Mellow folky indie pop.
Kawehi****
One woman band, electronic poppy sound that I think would be good live.
One woman band, electronic poppy sound that I think would be good live.
Reptar****
Indie electropop that is energetic, will surely be a good show.
Portugal. The Man****
Sslightly more electronic upbeat weird indie.
Hembree***
Mellow indie rock that is a little bit prog rock, unique vocals.
GIVER***
A bit sweet and folky, upbeat music, guy/girl singers.
Indie electropop that is energetic, will surely be a good show.
Portugal. The Man****
Sslightly more electronic upbeat weird indie.
Hembree***
Mellow indie rock that is a little bit prog rock, unique vocals.
GIVER***
A bit sweet and folky, upbeat music, guy/girl singers.
Stokeswood**
A bit of an upbeat 80’s synth sound, but a lot more than that too, other styles that are hard to pin down.
Johnny Stimson
Boring love songs, piano based.
A bit of an upbeat 80’s synth sound, but a lot more than that too, other styles that are hard to pin down.
Johnny Stimson
Boring love songs, piano based.
Country/Bluegrass/Folk
For the music that is a little too rustic for rock and roll. If it's close between rock and roll and one of these categories, I'm more likely to put them in the rock category. But even most of these touch on multiple genres.
For the music that is a little too rustic for rock and roll. If it's close between rock and roll and one of these categories, I'm more likely to put them in the rock category. But even most of these touch on multiple genres.
Mountain Sprout *****
Deep south redneck bluegrass, absolutely poetic in their hillbilliness…self described as a redneck that smoked so much weed it done turned him into a hippy; which is perfectly reflected in their music- from the hillbilly anthem ‘screw the government’, to the hippy jam ‘it don’t matter’ (“butterflies don’t care about money, mountains don’t care about time…it don’t matter if you don’t mind”). “We’re the jam band hippy crowd and we’re…peacefully PLOWED.”
Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy**** Deep south redneck bluegrass, absolutely poetic in their hillbilliness…self described as a redneck that smoked so much weed it done turned him into a hippy; which is perfectly reflected in their music- from the hillbilly anthem ‘screw the government’, to the hippy jam ‘it don’t matter’ (“butterflies don’t care about money, mountains don’t care about time…it don’t matter if you don’t mind”). “We’re the jam band hippy crowd and we’re…peacefully PLOWED.”
Really fast energetic bluegrass, rough singer with a party attitude, horn complement.
Rising Appalachia****
Two sisters make a unique folky soul sound, great harmonies.
Two sisters make a unique folky soul sound, great harmonies.
HoneyHoney***
Country outlaw chick, all the traditional elements, sometimes mellow, sometimes upbeat.
Country outlaw chick, all the traditional elements, sometimes mellow, sometimes upbeat.
Fruition***
Mellow country music and upbeat banjo picking, guy and girl singers.
Rose’s Pawn Shop***
Folky with some violin and banjos.
Split Lip Rayfield **
Decent but kinda generic bluegrass.
Mellow country music and upbeat banjo picking, guy and girl singers.
Rose’s Pawn Shop***
Folky with some violin and banjos.
Split Lip Rayfield **
Decent but kinda generic bluegrass.
Jamestown Revival **
Sort of a country, mellow rock, bluegrass combo, pretty laid back and easy listening.
Sort of a country, mellow rock, bluegrass combo, pretty laid back and easy listening.
Kopecky*
Guy and girl mellow pop folk, very sing songy.
Judah and the Lion*
Very religiony and folky. Almost like Mumford and Sons' style, but nowhere as good.
Guy and girl mellow pop folk, very sing songy.
Judah and the Lion*
Very religiony and folky. Almost like Mumford and Sons' style, but nowhere as good.
Photo Credit Wakasura
Instrumental/Orchestral
They can't really be called jam bands, but they jam on on a whole variety of instruments.
Marchfourth Marching Band!***
Orchestra band, a little bit of swing, a little bit of pepband, fun and upbeat.
Orchestra band, a little bit of swing, a little bit of pepband, fun and upbeat.
Tauk ***
A spacey, but sometimes hard hitting electric guitar driven instrumental band.
A spacey, but sometimes hard hitting electric guitar driven instrumental band.
Quantic***
Sort of a lo-fi electronic, instrumental mix, decent but can get boring.
A weird laid back but sorta psychedelic sound, lots of different styles but kinda boring.
Sort of a lo-fi electronic, instrumental mix, decent but can get boring.
Yojimbo ***
Trombone heavy, mellow instrumental group…a girl joins in for a couple songs, not sure if she’s a regular member, but she adds some angsty punkish lyrics.
The Gaslamp Killer * Trombone heavy, mellow instrumental group…a girl joins in for a couple songs, not sure if she’s a regular member, but she adds some angsty punkish lyrics.
A weird laid back but sorta psychedelic sound, lots of different styles but kinda boring.
