Bourbon & Beyond: Day Two

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So now we reside in Day Two of Bourbon & Beyond. Day one nearly killed me as I realized that 10 hours standing in the sun after driving three hours to get here was too long of a day for this 50-year-old. There is nowhere to hide at this festival.  There are tents around the Expo Center, but the tents seem hotter as they are jammed with people and there is no catching a breeze.  I applaud the staff as they have done a great job of handing out free cold waters to people in the pit areas in front of the stage.  These are certainly the danger areas of the festival.  I’ve seen a few people get carried out due to the heat and the medical tents keep a heavy rotation of people getting IV’s.  So, Day Two, I decided I was going to dial it back a bit so that I could go a little heavier the following days.  It’s all about pace, right?! 

So my Friday must haves were Grace Bowers, Melissa Etheridge, The Head And The Heart, and Black Pumas.  Four band over 6 hours with a few sneak attacks that I really enjoyed in Molly Tuttle and Bruce Hornsby. Honorable mentions to partial sets that I caught in Abby Anderson and The Castellows.  So much music popping off at all the times. 

Grace Bowers has been someone I have been following on the social media platforms for years and she isn’t even out of high school yet.  Some consider her the greatest guitar playing phenom ever.  He ceiling isn’t even in sight yet and may never be.  This 17-year-old guitarist has played studio jam sessions and on-stage with every guitar great you can think of.   You can miss her with her Gibson and a gold-blonde moppy curls. However, I have learned that she is not only an axe-wielding-superfreak but she’s a bandleader and songwriter. Her debut album, Wine On Venus – produced by ace guitarist and songwriter John Osborne (of hitmaking country group Brothers Osborne) hits turntables and streaming services later this year. 

She was ridiculously good.  I mean, I don’t play guitar, but I recognized that what she was showcasing on this afternoon was not something that just anyone can do.  You’ve heard this before, I am sure, but it was like the guitar was an extension of her.  It’s just another appendage that she controls with such precision, and it was an honor to see upfront and personal.  She smiled and leaned back as she stretched her chords and let everyone know that she is fierce and a force to be reckoned with.  If you aren’t watching Grace Bowers yet, do yourself a favor and tune in.  She is stunning. 

I went from youthful promise to an elder statesman of folk-indie-rock when I caught Melissa Etheridge at the Barrel Stage.  She was certainly my top billing artist for the day.  Way back in high school I was made aware of a film called Where the Day Takes You, starring Nancy McKeon, David Arquette, Stephen Tobolowsky, Balthazar Getty, Adam Baldwin, Kyle MacLachlan, Peter Dobson, Leo Rossi, Robert Knepper, Lara Flynn Boyle, Laura San Giacomo, Marc Rocco, Sean Astin, Will Smith, Christian Slater, Alyssa Milano, Dermot Mulroney, James Le Gros, and Ricki Lake to name most.  It’s one of my all-time favorite films and it has an excellent soundtrack.  Most of the scenes are guided by Melissa Etheridge and that is where my love and appreciation of this music goddess begins. 

This was my first time seeing her live and what she brought to Bourbon & Beyond can never be repaid.  She had such jubilation as she frolicked onto her mark.  A big gasping smile on her face showed on the big screens and we all got on that train with her. Before the first note was strummed or the first melody departed her lips we were satisfied.  The sun went away for 45 minutes (metaphorically).  Etheridge spoke to the crowd after a few songs and remarked, “I’m gonna bring ya’ll back to the 90’s.  That time that was full of bad choices.” Music is so wonderful in that way that it can change our setting both mentally and metaphysically.  She made us lose ourselves in the most positive of ways. 

The next scribble on my notebook page was “The Head and The Heart”.  From my old stomping grounds of Seattle, Washington this was my third engagement with the ensemble.   

The Head and the Heart can be described an American indie folk band. They were formed in the summer of 2009 by Josiah Johnson and Jonathan Russell. The band currently includes Jon Russell, Charity Rose Thielen, Chris Zasche, Kenny Hensley, Tyler Williams, and Matt Gervais.  They had a great time slot to be sure.  That glowing orb of heat doesn’t really seem to fade away until like 7:15pm or so, but at 5:30pm there is an understanding that it is almost time and wave of cool gusts begin to surf through the masses. 

I was able to stay at the same stage setting as well for both Etheridge and HATH so that was a plus.  The push for HATH was probably the hardest that I had seen for a daytime gig at B&B.  It’s easy to get lost in where you are too.  I thought that it was a normal sized audience count to what I had been witnessing. Then, I turned around and another 20,000 or so people behind me.  This band had grown up exponentially over the past decade. They sounded so beautiful.  

Finally, with a shift to my left at the Oak stage, after wrapping up my time with The Head and The Heart, I was ready for the Black Pumas. I had already decided at this point that I was not going to stick around for Chris Isaak or Dave Matthews.  The day was too long and the interest level was not high enough.  For those of you who know me, you know that I am not a Dave Matthews Band fan.  I wanted to stick around and hope a live show will change my mind, and maybe it will, but not today. I was torched. 

Okay Black Pumas.  I was stoked to see this group as the sun was setting and to be honest, knowing this was the last band I was seeing today gave me the desire to push through and really enjoy. 

Adrian Quesada, the mastermind producer and founding member of the psychedelic soul duo Black Pumas, has described their sets as “Electric Church” and it lived up to that descriptor tenfold. Along with singer/songwriter Eric Burton this powerful twosome has been turn heads across the globe.  Their set was packed full of big, punchy and pulsing guitars as well as sensual and calming lyrics driven by booming bass and drums.  An eclectic mix of loud and soft at the same time.  They have a vibe about them that is so approachable despite playing these massive venues.  Eric started busking on the streets of Austin, TX and the duo has brought that earthy and simplistic approach to a bigger audience. You can tell that the two artists were destined to meet.  They performed to us tonight with so much exuberance and I hope they knew how much we appreciated them. 

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SETLISTS: Grace Bowers, Melissa Etheridge, The Head and the Heart, Black Pumas