Notes from the other desk…

This festival is going to be special, I can feel it. Of course, it always is. Spring, to me, is a season of discovery and newness which is why it suits this festival so well. We seek to be a place where people discover new things both in the outside world and within themselves. Art is so often the first step to discovery, it makes us step out of ourselves and find inspiration in what we see and hear and in the creators who make it. There are some familiar bands in this spring’s lineup, I’m sure, but I’d also like to think that a lot of it isn’t familiar, and that most of it inspires you. I’d like to share with you some of our artists that have inspired me, and I hope you get a chance to experience them as well.

Of course, all of our bands are great! The Wood Brothers are going to start it off right, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars will take us to far off places, Feufollet and Preston will help us dance the night away. I’ve compiled a short list, however, of some that I don’t think should be missed that you might not have heard before. I do realize I’ve asked you to watch two bands at once, but you’ll figure it out…

The London Souls

I’ve heard them described as a mix between Gary Clark, Jr. and Cream. So, that should really be enough for you to catch their set on Saturday night at 9:30 pm. These guys have been holed up in New York City for a few years. They started in 2008, and apparently stuck around, playing local shows and blowing local minds, and now they are finally hitting the rest of the country, and we are lucky for it. Put some flowers in your hair, and be ready to live out some of those music festivals of yore with the soul, psychadelia, funk, and of course, rock and roll of The London Souls!

“Old Country Road” – The London Souls

Laura Cortese

There’s a neat little Americana scene that’s been coming out of Boston for a while now. It includes Lake Street Dive, Crooked Still, Aoife O’Donovan, and many others. Beantown’s most recent delectable, musical child is Laura Cortese & The Dance Cards. Laura, however, has been to many festivals with various bands. I met her when she was in the John Paul Jones produced Uncle Earl with Abigail Washburn. She’s also just cool, she has special online shows in which she and her bandmates bake goodies and play music! When you buy your tickets to watch online, you can also purchase the goodies they make! Innovative, fun, super talented, that’s Laura Cortese! She’ll be playing the Cabaret Tent on Friday at 8:15 pm. There’s some other great stuff of hers on youtube, including this one, but I just love this song! Let’s go dance!

“Heel to Toe” – Laura Cortese & The Dance Cards

New Reveille

My new favorite band out of Raleigh! You may have caught Jack the Radio at last fall’s fest, their brand of swamp rock is both catchy and alluring. New Revielle has George Hage in common, and while he brings some of the swamp with him, they’ve washed off some of the mud and added some amazing harmony, three strong female voices, and a banjo. Put your cowboy boots on for this one, and be ready to watch these guys climb to fame. Catch them in the Cabaret Tent on Saturday at 9:30 pm.

“Heavy Hands” – New Reveille

Laila Nur

Her bio calls her the “best kind of trouble the South needs.” Claiming to be from both New York and North Carolina, Laila strums her guitar, searches her soul, and shares with us her “Revolutionary Love Music.” Active in the art world, the LGBT community, and anywhere there needs to be a voice for justice and love. Her songs express both her passion for life and the world around her and a sense of a commitment to make both of those better. Have a listen for yourself on Sunday at 6:45 pm in the Dance Tent. You may need it more than you know.

“The Untitled Song” – Laila Nur

Love & peace,
Sara

One of my favorite things to do at the festival is, while watching a band on stage, taking a moment to watch all of you watching and listening. Joy is contagious. Music can fascinate, soothe, make us reflect, learn, and make us bust a move. I LOVE watching people experience all of these feelings while standing in front of our stages. Here are some bands I can’t wait for you to hear…

The Soul Rebels

Everyone needs some New Orleans spirit in their lives! In that city, they know how to dance, they know how to eat, they know how to party, they even know how to have funerals better than anyone else! Last spring we had the Dirty Dozen Brass Band who were so much fun and definitely brought us to New Orleans. The Soul Rebels continue in the DDBB’s traditions while adding a newer, younger approach. The Village Voice claims they are “the missing link between Public Enemy and Louis Armstrong.” A bridge between present day New Orleans and always New Orleans. Try not to move your feet in front of the Meadow for this one on Saturday night at 10:30pm!

The Soul Rebels Play “Let It Roll” a the New Orleans hotspot, The Blue Nile

Swear & Shake

These guys are an up-and-coming band out of Brooklyn, NY. They are sweet and mellow and man, she has great hair! She (Kari Spieler) also has a powerful and captivating voice. They’re young, but they’ve got a mature and reflection-filled weight to them. These guys met in college and have been touring all over since then. They have that indie-folk vibe that everyone’s looking for these days (think Lumineers), but there’s something new and pure about them too. Their harmonies are infectious, and their live show is sure to be a treat! See ’em on Saturday in the Meadow at 2:45.

Swear & Shake “Hum Our Tune”

Lowland Hum

This folk duo from Greensboro calls themselves a “multisensory artistic collaboration,” using visual art, print, and even smells in their performances, allowing the audience to be a part of their show; “reducing the space between artist and listener.” With just percussion (toe tapping included) and a guitar, they bring their sweet harmonic songs to life and tell us tales of travel and turmoil. They bring a message of peace through music and art, and their love for the craft and for each other is visceral. You’ll get two chances to experience them, Friday in the Meadow at 4:30 and Saturday in the Cabaret Tent at 3:45, so don’t miss out!

Lowland Hum, “Twine” from their living room

Las Cafeteras

Based in LA, 7-member Las Cafeteras uses Afro-Mexican rhythms, zapateado flair, and a good amount of fun to convey thier community-focused political message. They have a unique and engaging mix of punk, hip-hop, and rock, but you can still hear their traditional immigrant folk roots. As their bio expresses, they “tell stories of a community who is looking for love & fights for justice in the concrete jungle of Los Angeles.” This is the type of band Shakori Hills is known for, you haven’t heard of them, but you will leave glad you found them! See them on Saturday in the Cabaret Tent at 11:45pm.

I can’t help but share their version of one of my favorite songs!

Las Cafeteras, “This Land Is Your Land”

In addition, our local Triangle bands are always a treat. Don’t miss Loamlands, new to the festival, Jack the Radio, and Laura Reed!

We’ve got some great bands from the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Family including Milkweed, Bobby Henrie & The Goners, The Falconers, and Jennie Lowe Stearnes & The Fire Choir.

Say hello, too, to some of our friends from Miami who have playing the Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival, Suénalo, Telekinetic Walrus, and Elastic Bond!

Don’t just stick with the ones you know…we promise you’ll find a new favorite!

Love & Peace,
Sara

Notes from the other desk…

When we knew we were close to getting the Indigo Girls, I had to pinch myself a little and keep a very positive outlook until I knew it was in the bag. I can’t tell you how many sunny, road tripping, friend filled days of mine have consisted of “Get Out the Map,” “Closer to Fine,” and “Least Complicated.” Expect to see me front and center listening to Amy and Emily sing my heart home. And, there’s no high and lonesome voice that I’d rather hear than Del McCoury’s supported by “the boys” and their bluegrass. But I’m here to tell you about the bands you may not know about. The surprises that, hopefully, you have come to love and expect at each Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival – they are the ones I’m most excited to watch you discover and take home with you to add to your collection of sunny roadtrip (and other occasions) music.

Ben Sollee

I imagine that many of our attendees will know about Ben Sollee, but just in case you don’t, I’ll include him in the list of folks you may not know, but should. Ben embodies “singing with your heart” and his heart is often talking about tough issues like mountain top removal coal mining, the dangers of consumerism, and religious freedom. He has strong beliefs and is not afraid to share them with you! But, if you listen, you’ll know why he feels that way too, and you’ll likely agree.

Ben often rides his bike (yes, while towing his cello) to gigs all over the country to speak out about energy consumption, and also, to experience the world a little differently. He’s a story collector, and as is true of the great storytellers, he’s able to see the world for everything that it is: one filled with both great sadness and trial but also with great beauty and love. He’s a serious man, but he’s got a smile that lets you in enough to ensure you that if we work together, we’re gonna be ok.

Morning Brigade

I love to watch great music come out of UNC. Or really college students in general. They’re just getting started and have some great emotions to fuel their song. Morning Brigade has been my favorite example of that in a long while. Their creativity and music professionalism is quite impressive for such a young age, and they build their music with thick imagery and textures that are tactile and effective. They’re in the indy rock category, for sure, but like the Decemberists, they are obviously fans of folk and acoustic instrumentation, they are North Carolinians, of course. These guys are having fun and you can feel it and hear it. They’re going places, and I hope they will send us postcards along the way.

Kamara Thomas

When I saw Kamara’s photo in the Indy I knew I had to know more about her. Her image just exudes beauty and art. She and her family recently moved to the Triangle from Brooklyn for a slower pace and a place to write songs with a more Southern drawl than her previous punk roots. We had her at last fall’s festival, and at last summer’s NC Stars in the Round, so you may have caught her then, but if not, treat yourself this time around. She’s grasped Southern folk and storytelling quite nicely, and her slide guitar accompaniment (usually Nathan Golub who always seems to make a Shakori Hills appearance) slips her right into a slow country afternoon. She’s got a deep and soothing voice, with which she takes us from deep hearts in hollers to busy city street-scapes with her lyrics.

Kamara is part of the family now, and we couldn’t be happier to welcome her to North Carolina. We’ll hope that our Pittsboro local, Saranpreet, makes another appearance next to her on stage. Such beautiful, bold women should really be seen and heard often.

Baloji & L’Orchestra de la Katuba

It was suggested that I should look into Baloji & L’Orchestra De La Katuba for an upcoming festival. I went to his website, saw this video, and was hooked. I wanted to go right to the Congo, disappear into the sweat and spice of a little club where this music was playing, to experience the other side of the world in such a participatory way, dancing, singing, rapping, the poetry of a country so filled with strife but one that hasn’t forgotten that music is life, music is story, music crosses borders in ways the we can’t in other ways.

Baloji is from the Belgian Congo city of Lubumbashi. His music consists of hip-hop, soul, and soukous. Soukous, is a dance music born from the influences of Cuban’s rumba and Congolese music that gained popularity in the 1940s. His band, Orchestra de la Katuba – named after a commune in his home town – includes horns, guitars, drums, and the dance moves to back them up.

Baloji’s tour this spring is supported in part by the globalFEST Touring Fund. Find out more at globalFEST.org. At one point in his NY City GlobalFEST appearance, he said, “This isn’t world music, this is our music.” I love that! And you will love this band!

I’m also really excited to bring you guys Phil Cook & The Guitarheels, with some new tunes played by old friends, Toon & The Real Laww to show you some of the best new hip hop in the area, as well as Leyla McCalla, J.P. Harris & The Tough Choices…too many to talk about each one! Just…enjoy!

Love & Peace,
Sara

Notes from the other desk…

There is something I love in every band on the lineup this spring. I can’t wait to see what Keller and those McCoury boys dream up for us on Thursday, I love the memories of Miami from Locos Pour Juana, I’m excited to disappear into Hindugrass, but here are the ones I’m most excited about watching you guys discover and love, if you haven’t already…

Ben Miller Band

One of the agents I love working with called a few weeks before the festival last October to say that the Ben Miller Band was really close by and they’d love to play the festival. I said that I’d love to have them, but we were full. He pushed a little more, I watched some videos, and couldn’t help but make the effort to make some room for these guys on Sunday afternoon. It was raining and cold, and a little quiet at the Cabaret Tent, many folks had gone home because of the weather and the rest were spread out waiting on the closing show. I showed up to at least show a little support for a band I knew nobody knew about. What happened was exactly what you want to happen when you take a chance on a band you believe in.

They started playing – pulled out the washtub bass, some swampy guitar, and…a trombone – and they ROCKED it! People started flocking. By twos, fours, then tens, the crowds came. They came because they could hear it. And they could feel it. Their feet drew them, maybe even more than their ears. And there we all were, four or five songs in, in a packed and dancing Cabaret Tent that felt a more like Saturday night than Sunday afternoon. At once we felt like we were at church – albeit a strange, Southern, snake-handling type one – and in a juke joint on a sweaty bayou. There was a washboard, some spoons, I think they even played Billy Idol. So, this spring…we brought ‘em back, for the folks that heard it then, and those that will hear it now. Move your feet, hoop ‘n holler! Enjoy!

Yomira John with The Beast

When someone like Pierce Freelon messages you from Panama to say that he’s met someone that he thinks should play the festival, you have to pay attention. So, over an Indian dinner cooked by a mutual friend, we watched a video of Yomira John of which Pierce and members of The Beast had been a part.  In a studio that had lost power because a local festival had tapped the city of its electricity, the musicians and engineers did their best to capture what was obviously a once in a lifetime musical experience.

By candlelight – accompanied by the band  – she sang from her heart in a language I did not understand, but I knew that Pierce was right, that the folks at Shakori Hills needed to know this woman, hear her voice and catch some of her laughter and spirit. She’s old enough to be the mother of any of the musicians around her, but she flirts like a teenager in French and in Spanish, quite the charmer. If we were in Panama, we’d be lucky to see her, as she’s quite the celebrity. Which means we are doubly lucky that she will be joining us at Shakori Hills – aren’t we always!?

Yomira will be a guest with The Beast on in the Meadow on both Friday night at 12:30am and Sunday at 2:45pm.

Check out Pierce’s project Beat Making Lab at www.youtube.com/beatmakinglab

David Wax Museum

Somehow these two, from the cold north of Boston, are able to capture a warm afternoon in a dusty but very comfortable village in Mexico. Their songs  – catchy, dancey, and fun  – and will draw you in at first listen as something both familiar and something you’ve never heard. They play a jaw bone, for goodness sake! These guys are the epitome of folk, from our country and from our neighbors to the south, but they also bring to the genre something modern and fresh. It’s beautiful and engaging, it’s a journey while standing in one place, it’s exploring a foreign land with some exciting tour guides, it’s a museum! Catch them on Friday at 5 in the Meadow and Sunday at 6 in the Grove.

I am also very exited about seeing Kym and Will of Loamlands, their newest musical invention. These guys are local treasures, even at such a young age, and they capture so much of what is local here in our lil’ music haven, they are also longtime festival veterans at this point, so I’m sure it will feel just like home. Check out the full band set on Friday at 5:30 in the Grove, but make sure to wake up on Saturday morning and come see just the duo in the Meadow at 10:15am!

And I don’t even know what to say about Oliver, except that you have to see him! If you’ve ever questioned “World Music” or wondered why we should be listening to songs from somewhere across the world, all of your questions will be answered at his set. Open your hearts and be ready to fall in love! In the Meadow on Saturday at 8:30 pm and Sunday at 6:30pm.

Can’t wait to see you at the festival!

Love & Peace,
Sara