Performers Archives - Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance

Del McCoury Headlines 18th Annual Spring Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival

February 10, 2020 by Emilee Phillips 2 Comments

Getting antsy about the lineup for the 18th Annual Spring Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance?

Well, wait no longer! We are pleased to announce the full lineup of spring 2020 performers!

As usual, we have a variety of artists coming to perform. However, we are very excited to welcome back the Grammy award-winning Del McCoury Band, their first since 2014. 2020 will mark Del and the Boys fifth performance at Shakori Hills GrassRoots, making them some of Shakori Hills’ elder statesmen.

We strive to offer a unique experience, sure to please all music lovers and will have a mix of new and returning bands.

Rising Appalachia returns for two sets and Keller Williams will bring back his funky good times to the hills of Shakori.

View the full lineup for the Spring 2020 Shakori GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance below or on the Performers page.

Donna The Buffalo, Del McCoury Band, Rising Appalachia, Keller Williams, Lucas Ashby’s Braintrust Feat. Cyro Baptista, Consider the Source, Driftwood, Travers Brothership, Greg Humphreys Electric Trio, Bella’s Bartok, Preston Frank, Dr. Bacon, Empire Strikes Brass, Ellis Dyson and the Shambles, Swamp Kids, Miss Tess and the Talkbacks, Root Shock, Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba, Loamlands, Downtown Abby & The Echos, Ashley Heath & Her Heathens, Bubba George String Band, brahm, Aaron Lipp, Momma Molasses, Tenzin Chopak, Emily Musolino, Africa Unplugged, Richie Stearns, Onyx Club Boys, T. Gold, Blue Footed Boobies, KidBess and the Magic Ring, Trio 305, Julia., Golden Shoals, West King String Band, Bakalao Stars, The Shoaldiggers, PA Line, Sonny Miles, Cosmic Horizon, Easy Tiger, Bulltown Strutters, Broccoli Brothers Circus, Big Wonderful Variety Show, Wall of Sound, Dr. Fruit, Shakori JAM, Compost Theatre, Ecstatic Dance

Be on the lookout for featured bands in upcoming blogs. In the meantime, check out the Spring ‘20 Shakori Hills Spotify playlist for a pre-festival warmup.

We can’t wait to see everyone. Until then, keep jamming.

#ShakoriHills

Roosevelt Collier: Good Times with Some Swampy Grime

September 11, 2019 by David Dean Leave a Comment

Over the years, Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival has presented many headliners who have brought the thunder, along with a never-ending supply of good times. Yet, never before has Shakori Hills GrassRoots brought a headliner who knew how to bring the party quite like Roosevelt Collier.

Roosevelt has become known as “The Dr.” and an artist at large who brings the sweet sounds of funk with him wherever he goes. His music warrants its own genre of “dirty funk swampy grime,” which is guaranteed to be the cure for whatever ails you.

You can come and groove with Roosevelt Friday, October 4 at 8:30 p.m. on the Meadow Stage. In the meantime, make sure to listen to his album Exit 16, which is available on all major streaming sites.

I chatted with Roosevelt for a couple of minutes on his drive through Florida to his next music destination about his beginnings, his records, and what he is bringing this year to Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival. What followed was a delightful conversation with a genuinely warm and bright individual.

How did you get started playing music?

I guess I was born with it. I was born into a family of music, y’know? Like everybody in my family played music, or went to see shows. I was born into the sound of music. I started playing through family and church.

Were you in the church choir or church band?

Yeah, all of that. Anything that dealt with church was me and my family. I was born and raised out of the church, so y’know all of my family played gospel music and sang in the choir and did all of that good stuff.

From there you also played with the Lee Boys for a while. What was that like?

That’s my family, y’know. That’s what I’m saying, we took what we were doing in church, and just moved it to the music scene. That was fun, it wasn’t nothing different except for us playing at the clubs and the festivals and the arts centers and all of that stuff. Man, that was a good time in my life just playing with my family.

I can’t even imagine how exciting it must’ve been to have that experience with the people you love.

It’s definitely like no other, y’know? You can’t find that bond nowhere else, just because it’s family.

Do you ever play together now?

Very rarely, they are busy and I’m busy so our timing is just not coming together right now.

So last year you came out with Exit 16, what was it like to record and produce that album?

Exit 16 came out under the great label, the GroundUP Label, which is spearheaded by Michael League from Snarky Puppy. Michael also helped to produce and write some of the tunes off of the record. And that was my first solo record, and the process was fully about learning how to make a record, and making some music.

I really want to thank that label and Michael League for just giving me a pair of wings, and just letting me explore my full potential as an artist, y’know? And that record did good! It was my first record and everybody loved it, and I’m so thankful and joyful.

It was a great task, and we all just went in and turned it out. I actually slept in the studio, I was knee deep in the process. We cut that record in about three days, going at about three tracks a day. We were in it. Bobby Sparks on the organ, JT Thomas on the drums, Michael League on bass, and me. And that’s it, man, that’s a wrap.

That sounds exhilarating to spend time in the studio and really turn this album out.

It was so fun! And I mean I guess, for me, I just wanted to be there. I didn’t want to get off track, so I stayed there late at night, woke up in the morning and got right back to it. It was a lot of fun, of course it’s tiresome too, there’s a lot going on with it, but the overall process is amazing and fun.

After finishing the album, you also went on tour with Michael League and the rest of Snarky Puppy. What was that like?

Oh, man! So I’m thankful for that. Michael League is huge on artists, he cares about artists more than anything in the world, which is very rare with a label, y’know? So they have this platform that allowed their artists to come in and open up for him and be a part of the tour.

Snarky Puppy, they are actually still on tour now, and all of the artists on the label, they give them face on the tour. They give us about 6-8 dates, and it was totally amazing. Every night big shows, big crowds, going on tour on a bus, and to be a part of that whole experience was amazing.

How did touring with Snarky Puppy compare to the Free Energy tour?

Those are two different tours. Me playing with Snarky was a great opportunity for me as their artist on the label to get exposure and just giving us a platform of letting our music be heard.

The Free Energy Tour, it’s a big co-billed tour. I went with another Florida band called the Heavy Pets, we’re friends. And we always talked about doing a tour together, so we decided ‘Let’s just do a co-billed tour together, and let’s name it this, and look to really go out and spread love.’ That’s why you have the Free Energy Tour. That tour there is a great thing, and those guys are a great Florida-based band, the Heavy Pets. We just gotta make sure there’s good music from the great state of Florida.

So you describe your music as ‘dirty funk swampy grime’, how would you describe that?

Y’know my music has been labeled just about everything. And I’m from the south, I’m from Florida, we are from the swamp. We get down and dirty. It’s more like my roots mixed with a lot of southern rock and blues and funk. So to an extent, you’ve got a swampy, dirty blues comin’ to you.

Your music has also been nominated for a couple of honors, starting with you being featured as an artist at this year’s WOMEX (The World Music Expo) in Finland.

Yes! I’m honored to be able to play WOMEX in October, y’know that’s a very big showcase, that’s one of the world’s biggest showcases. So I’m thankful and glad for that, and I mean I wasn’t expecting it at all, but this opportunity came so I’ve gotta take it, y’know? I am definitely ready for it.

You also were nominated by the 2019 UK Jazz FM Award for Blues Artist of the Year, what was that like?

Man, that was a pretty wild experience too. Just to be nominated for it is great, I wasn’t expecting it at all, not at all. And that helped me out a little bit there too, so man I’m forever thankful for London.

So going forward, what can we expect from your future music?

We are definitely working on another album, that’s definitely in the mix, and we’re gonna look for the next year to tour real heavy.

I’m already up in the studio working on it, it’s almost halfway done now. This one is definitely different. Where Exit 16 was the story of my life, [it] told the story of who I am, where I’m from, and where I’m going. So this record is gonna be one chapter of my life, which is more of the bluesy swampy stuff. Just because I’m a part of so many genres.

So, at Shakori Hills this year, what can fans expect from you?

Alright, Shakori Hills listen. Y’all better come ready to get down. They know that Rosie don’t play no radio baby. It is going down as soon as we hit the stage, so please come expecting to dance and party.

Ryan Montbleau: Bringing the Heart from Woodstock to Shakori Hills

September 4, 2019 by David Dean Leave a Comment

The recipe for a good singer/songwriter is as follows: some strong finger-picking skills, a voice that could either melt butter or crumble a mountain (whatever the mood calls for), and a ton of heart. Ryan Montbleau brings all of this to the table along with a sharp wit and a great attitude. Even after nearly 20 years in the music business, he’s still just as easy to talk to as an old friend that you haven’t seen in a while.

Montbleau’s first introduction to playing music came when he was given a guitar for Christmas at eight-years old. He came from a some-what musical family, with a brother who played bass. Yet, singing and songwriting was a passion that developed following his graduation from college. After four long years of studying, he eventually realized that music was what he wanted to dedicate his life to.

“[Music] was totally a passion… I couldn’t put that genie back in the bottle.”

“I went in as a chemical engineering major, and left as an English major. But I was studying poetry and writing, so it was a lot about the writing. And then I was as passionate about music as anyone…I just kept playing, I became really obsessed with playing guitar. Then I didn’t start singing in front of myself even, until I was 21.”

However, like most musicians at the beginning of their path, Montbleau wasn’t immediately playing stadiums packed with adoring fans. Instead, he began his music career paying his dues on staff at the original House of Blues (HOB) in Boston. Working for the HOB is where he began to understand and appreciate the industry side of the business.

“I would answer the phones and sell the tickets in the box office, I kinda did everything. It was my restaurant experience, I barbacked, scrubbed the bars, I sold t-shirts, I was a host, but mostly I worked in the box office. So it taught me about tickets and about guest lists and about bands and all of this stuff. It was pretty sweet.”

He continued, “It was a house in Harbor Square that they had converted into a venue upstairs, a restaurant on the middle floor, and I worked in kind of a little dungeon of a box office under the stairs. But the venue only held 230 people standing, so it was small. There was live music 7 nights a week, so it was bands from all over the world coming in every single night and just playing this small club. So just to see the reality of that…of seeing bands loading in and loading out, their setlists, the reality of a band on the road playing small clubs.”

After a little while being behind the scenes, Montbleau eventually gained the courage to step in front of an audience, bringing his signature sound and passion for live music along with him. This is when his music career really began to take off.

“Eventually I got the guts to go up to this guy, Tayo who did the booking and give him my demo tape, which was a tape at the time. I started getting these Saturday matinee gigs, and then once in a while, I would get a night towards the end. I basically just played any gig I could possibly get for a few years. I just wanted to get out there and play.”

Watch his full band perform at the House of Blues in Boston on 12/5/14 below:

From there, Montbleau entered into a relentless touring schedule, one that he still keeps up to this day. Eventually, he had made enough money to quit his job at the House of Blues, and make music his full-time career, one which has evolved significantly over the years. With thousands of tours under his belt, his career has been as much about growth, as it has been about his love for crafting music, much of which feels like a real conversation with the man behind the music.

When it comes to Montbleau’s personal sound, there is no better display of his craft than on his records, many of which are stripped-down, raw and emotionally-driven. One of the most impressive was his last album, Woodstock Sessions. The album was performed and recorded in front of an audience, giving it a special kind of love and energy that is hard to find anywhere else. Though Montbleau does perform the album with Boston natives Tall Heights, it really feels like a musician baring his soul with just a guitar, some friends and a whole lot to say.

Here is “All or Nothing” (featuring Tall Trees) off the ‘Woodstock Sessions’ album:

“Each record is so different. I’ve spent my 10,000 hours just touring, building and creating this career around playing live shows forever now. The amount of time I’ve actually spent making records – since a lot of those are live records – but the amount of time I spend doing that compared to the amount of time I spend performing is really small essentially, so now I really want to get better at making records. My last couple of records were very raw and stripped down and kind of sad, but I stand by it. My heart is on there.”

Montbleau is currently back home in Vermont writing and recording what will become his lucky 13th full release. He expects the album to be much more upbeat and happy, just in time for the long winter.

“This one is getting a little more fleshed out, there’s a lot more of full band kind of stuff and we’re building these tracks and really getting in there…I’m pretty proud of it so far, it’s forcing me to really get my hands dirty with the recording progress.

Some of the songs are really well done, I think they’re some of the best songs I’ve ever written. Then others I’m kind of building as I go…. This one has a little more hope, more fun, I just felt the need for things to flesh out.

“For me, exploring how to make tracks sound and feel good, how to be viscerally moved by music… I haven’t explored that as much as baring my feelings into a raw songs, raw words, so the goal for me is to do both.”

In addition to Montbleu’s full band set on Saturday on the Meadow Stage, he will also perform with Hayley Jane as one half of the beloved duo, Yes Darling. The duo create songs about the massive ups and downs of being in a relationship in a (nearly?) satirical way. The songs are entertaining, and often way too relatable.

“It sort of very quickly had this thing, we just quickly figured out. We became this duo, these quintessential male-female archetype kinda characters and then we wrote off of that, and we were able to draw from real experiences and make stuff up. I don’t know why, but we have the chemistry to do that. We sort of blur the lines between reality and fantasy, there’s something special about that.”

The duo’s Shakori Hills performance, taking place Sunday, October 6 at 5:00 p.m. on the Meadow Stage, will be one of their only performances for the rest of the year. They are currently in the middle of writing songs, producing videos, and most importantly, putting together a stage production of their act. Though the full stage production will not be put on at Shakori, much of the humor and performance of the production will be on full display on Sunday night of the festival.

“It’s gonna be very stripped down, we’re trying to turn the whole thing into a play. We have people building sets, we have light designers, we’re trying to flesh it out into this big thing. But we can also do it just totally stripped down, just the two of us. So that’s what we’re doing on tour.”

As for the full band set, Ryan and his band are hoping to bring a good time and good energy to the festival.

“This time we’re coming back with the whole band thing and coming in hot. So what I’m going for is trying to move your body viscerally with the music and the band, but also tug at your heartstrings and your mind. I just want to rope you in with the lyrics and kind of get us feeling like we’re all together and not alone.”

You can find all of Ryan Montbleau’s music on all major streaming services. Also make sure to be on the lookout for his new album this winter. More information can be found on his website www.ryanmontbleau.com.

Ryan Montbleau Band, Meadow Stage, Saturday, Oct. 5, 8:00 p.m.

Yes, Darling, Meadow Stage, Sunday, Oct. 6, 5:00 p.m.

Sierra Ferrell: The Songstress of the South

August 29, 2019 by David Dean 1 Comment

With a voice as haunting as the wind through the trees, Sierra Ferrell brings an unexpected power and prowess with every word that she lovingly crafts. Though often identified as a country artist, Ferrell brings in influences from a variety of genres, to create the kind of music that feels as wild and free as the woman who wrote them. Like many artists, the sound that she creates is drawn from the experiences and people who have helped shape her into who she is today.

“I draw inspiration from my friends. I’ve met lots of different musicians, and lots of different people who play all different sorts of styles, and I pick and choose a little bit from each of them to create my own.”

As far as her lyrics go, Sierra Ferrell is also a master at invoking a kind of familiar feeling. The words are easy to identify with for anyone who’s loved, lost, or anything in between. She crafts playful and heartbreaking characters who speak to all of the different experiences that make up a life. She is a master of worldbuilding, filling her universe with life by using a quick strum of the guitar, a longing flick of a fiddle’s bow, and words that cut to the core.

“[The inspiration for my lyrics comes] From not just my life, but other people’s life experiences. Sometimes when I write a song, it might not be 100% about my experience, but it might be about someone that I met that day or someone I’ve known for a long time, and I’ve watched them go through their experiences and emotions.”

Though Ferrell had long been a staple in the Nashville music scene for her hauntingly beautiful melodies, she reached a high level of viral popularity with her performances on the Youtube channel, Gems on VHS. This channel creates a platform for unplugged, acoustic performances by musicians from a variety of genres. The account was recently featured in Rolling Stone, with Sierra getting a large feature in the article.

“Working with Gems on VHS has just been phenomenal. And I love Anthony, he’s such a lighthearted, sweet man. I think he’s definitely helped me progress on my career more than anyone, really.”

Ferrell recently released a video for her ballad ‘Why’d Ya Do It’, a tango that dances through the register of both her guitar and her voice. It was was filmed at Carter Vintage Guitars, the landmark Nashville guitar store which holds everything from the first electric guitar to the Strat which lovingly helped to write ‘Sweet Home Alabama.’

As for the experience of recording the video, it was all about the community around it.

“It was great! I got to go in, then they gave me a guitar, They let me pick out whatever guitar I wanted to play, and of course I picked that one. It was a lot of fun! I’ve actually had Thanksgiving dinner with the owners once. We went and had Thanksgiving dinner with them last year, and it was a lot of fun. They’re very good people, and I got to meet their kids, and it was a lot of fun.”

In 2020, Sierra will be releasing her latest album, the first of which she will be debuting under her new label, Rounder Records. Rounder produces records for artists such as Steve Martin, Alison Krauss, Robert Plant, Bèla Fleck, and so many more. The album will have a lot of those hauntingly beautiful lyrics, and a lot of well-placed twang.

“There’s going to be a lot more country taste on it I feel like. I’ve been listening to a lot of country tunes, and it’s gonna be a lot of different harmonies, there’s also gonna be a mix of other things, because “Why’d You Do It” isn’t recorded anywhere else. There’s also a couple of other songs that are not in the charts of country, but it’s gonna actually skate down country at times. I can hide in the music a little bit.”

Before her big album release next year, Farrell is gearing up for an Australian tour shortly following her Shakori Hills performance in October. She will be opening for Pokey LaFarge as they make their way through Adelaide, Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney and Brisbane. The two are planning to put on one hell of a show, something they’ve actually done before.

“We’ve played one gig before in Nashville at Franklin’s, and we had a good time. I thought it was a blast, then all of a sudden I didn’t even know, someone was like ‘Oh, do you want to go on tour in Australia with Pokey LaFarge’ and I said absolutely, that sounds like a blast… I’m going to get some vinyls made before I go over there. It’s probably going to be something unique for the tour, because I’ve already been over there once with my other two albums.”

Sierra Ferrell will be making her return to Shakori Hills this fall with a whole new setlist, and an incredible show that will tap into your emotions, and make you want to get up and dance.

“I’ll probably have different bandmates in the band, I’m gonna have a lot more new songs. I’m gonna be singing my butt off, and I also will have some good merch with me. I’ll have T-shirts, hats, buttons, I even have a shirt with my face on it which is weird for me, but my manager insisted having a shirt with my face on it, so voila!”

While you wait for her album in 2020 you can stream several of her albums on bandcamp.

Sierra Ferrell will be at Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival Friday, October 4 at 6:30 PM on the Meadow Stage. Single Day Passes are on sale now.

Talking Moxy Rock with Maddy Walsh and the Blind Spots

August 22, 2019 by David Dean Leave a Comment

When it comes to rock music, there is always space for more female-fronted bands to break through the glitz, glam, and steel-string madness that comes with show business. This is especially true when the lead-singer is a powerhouse like Maddy Walsh and her band creates a sound that bridges the rock legends of our past with the sweet harmonies of today, like the Blind Spots do with every performance.

Hailing from Ithaca, New York, Maddy Walsh and the Blind Spots are a five-piece force to be reckoned with and should not be overlooked on this fall’s schedule. They are pioneers of “Moxy Rock,” a self-identified term that they define as being “female-fronted indie pop rock with a punch.” Now entering their tenth year of performing, creating and inspiring, Maddy Walsh and the Blind Spots have become a festival staple here on the East Coast. However, their beginnings were a bit more humble, with a slightly unconventional path to a music career.

“I moved back to New York after I finished grad school in California with the intention of pursuing music full-time. College was a very elaborate back-up plan for music, and I was headed down a PhD track when I had a freak-out: time was slipping by and I hadn’t tried to do the thing I knew I was meant to do, so I finished my MA and moved to Ithaca, NY and started the band right away.”

Though Walsh studied English in college with a concentration in creative writing, music was a tie to her roots through all of the classes and deadlines. It became a connection with her family, and a much-needed departure from the daily grind.

“Until that point I always sang, but never professionally. My dad and I had (still have, technically) an acoustic duet together called Madd Daddy – we would play three shows a week when I was home from college on summer breaks, and he’d let me keep all the money. (It wasn’t much!) That was how a got my stage legs, and then I met my now-husband, co-writer, and guitar player when I moved back to NY in 2008.”

Since 2008, Maddy Walsh and the Blind Spots have been putting out earth-shaking ballads, beautiful harmonies, and the kind of music that you crank up on the radio as you’re taking a long drive on a beautiful day.

Recently, Maddy Walsh & the Blind Spots have released their third studio album, ‘Talk’. The album knows how to pack that classic pop-punch sound into every lyric, while still feeling like something fresh and new. Each song will carry listeners along to a new adventure, propelled by Walsh’s voice which is as powerful and refreshing as a rolling river. As for what inspired this latest installment in the rocking saga of the Blind Spots;

“Oh, life. Songwriters write songs, and then we record them. The album features five songs that were written on the floor of an AirBnB condo in Bermuda Dunes, just outside Coachella, where the band van broke down for sixteen days. The song “Where are the Monsters?” was actually written about being stranded in the desert. The title track, “Talk,” was written on our second-to-last night of recording in Nashville, and it’s a sort of plea for people on opposite sides of this current cavernous political divide to listen to each other. The catastrophe that is our nation’s current administration pops up in what I’ve been writing, but never overtly.”

The group has also recently celebrated their 10-year “Bandiversary.” The event was a celebration of how far the band has come, and all of the places they still want to go. It was a way to commemorate all of the memories they’ve made, and all of the love that has grown and flourished because of a little band from Ithaca, New York.

“We booked the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca (our hometown), sold out the room, invited all of our former band members to play some songs, had a giant cake, and debuted a documentary short about our time in this band. We also released our new album that night. There was a lot of happy crying and hugging.”

Maddy Walsh and the Blind Spots have become something of a festival favorite here at Shakori Hills GrassRoots over the past few years. This will be the band’s fifth performance at Shakori, and they performed their ninth show at our sister-festival, the annual Finger Lakes Festival in Trumansburg, New York, in July.

Maddy says what keeps them coming back is being, “away from the stresses of home life for a few days and showing up for the sake of joy and togetherness and to appreciate art. It’s beautiful.”

“Reuniting with our musician friends and the GrassRoots crew and staff is a highlight. We get to have different friends sit in on our sets and perform with us. The musical community just continues to expand. Shakori specifically is such a great setting, tucked in the woods. I love the family-style meals for performers, the gardens, the pedal operated hand washing stations… So much love has gone into making this festival what it is, and we’re so happy to be returning.”

Make sure to check out Maddy Walsh and the Blind Spots online and on social media and you can stream their latest album, ‘Talk’ on all major streaming services.

You can catch them at the Meadow Stage on Thursday, October 3 at 7:45 p.m., or in Carson’s Grove on Friday, October 4 at 10:00 p.m.

SunQueen Kelcey and the Soular Flares: Bringing the Light to Shakori Hills

August 14, 2019 by David Dean Leave a Comment

Of all the voices to fill the hills of Shakori this fall, there is one that will shine as bright as the sun: SunQueen Kelcey and the Soular Flares.

SunQueen Kelcey has been gifted with a sensual voice that is drenched with vintage soul. Her phrasing dances on top of the Soular Flares’ jazz rhythms and the result makes you want to dance, just as much as it makes you want to hold onto someone that you love.

A staple of the Greensboro music scene, she won a 2017 Bloc Award as the Best R&B Artist of the Year. She explores issues of self love, social justice, and sexual freedom in her music that at once, will make you laugh, blush, and shake your head in affirmation.

We sat down and talked for a bit about her music, her life, and what we can expect from the band’s Shakori Hills debut. With new music in the works, SunQueen Kelcey is the kind of light that we need right now.

Get a taste of her soul with this 2019 submission to the NPR Tiny Desk Contest, or check out her website, and read below for some highlights from our conversation.

Krysten Heberly: How long have you been playing and creating music and what drew you to it?

SunQueen Kelcey: I’ve been playing guitar for maybe eight years now. I’ve been creating my own music for 8 years too. What drew me to it was my personal experiences. I’ve always loved music, I think music is the connection to everyone that we have.

Ever since I was young, it started off as me shouting, thinking that it sounded good when I was a little girl, but when I turned ten, it actually started to sound good. I started writing poems, and I was doing poetry, I wasn’t really performing or anything but I had journals full of it. Then I joined the choirs when I joined middle school and high school, and I fell in love with choral ensemble and just creating music on my own.

KH: Did you go to college, or did you start pursuing music after that?

SQK: Oh good question! So I went to college for 3 years, I was pursuing something so unrelated to music. I was majoring in BIology, I was on a track to do pre-med, and I started flunking out. I just couldn’t concentrate, I was going through a lot of things, I was in a very terrible relationship, and I was just not focused. Plus I think I was just in the wrong lane. So I went for three years, I got kicked out for six months, and then they told me I could come back and I was like nah, fuck it. I have been thrown into the real world and I’d just like to start working and doing music.

KH: It sounds like you’re in a lot better place because of it.

SQK: I am! Y’know, I struggled a lot, but I know that it was all for a great reason, because I never would have imagined that I would be right here. I’ve always loved and wanted to perform music, but I didn’t think it was possible until I started doing it. It’s been a long time coming and I have a ways to go, but shit I am loving it, and you are right.

KH: It’s inspiring, honestly.

SQK: Thank you! I think everyone has their stories about it too. Mine is a little tricky, but y’know.

KH: Where did you come up with the name SunQueen Kelcey and the Soular Flares?

SQK: So I wrote this song called Queen of the Sun which is on my first album. It talks about the power and the impact that Black women have on humanity. When I started to perform it, it was just me and my guitar, and it was a very intimate setting everywhere I would go. Then one time I performed it in front of this open mic, and one of my friends, he called me SunQueen after that. And when he started calling me SunQueen, everyone started calling me SunQueen. And I had been looking for a stage name for a long time. It just fit ya’know? When people caught on like that, I thought ‘maybe it should just be like that.’ I’m the epitome of that song, I am a Black woman, I do have an impact on some of the people in my life, and I know the struggle of being Black and being in the world today. So why not keep that name. The Soular Flares came from me just being so interested in how the sun works. The solar flare is like an eruption of energy, just a burst of energy. I think of it as the sun’s mood swing and the way that the sun expresses itself. When I formed the band for my music, I said ‘everyone has their own personality, we’re all full of fire, we’re all full of a dynamic energy that we bring to the stage.’ SunQueen and the Soular Flares seemed to fit so well.

KH: Who are the Soular Flares?

SQK: I have my homegirl Tai, she is the keyboardist, my friend Malcolm who is one of the guitarists, Darrien who is one of the bassists, Colin, he’s been with me since I started performing in Greensboro and we’ve known each other for about eight years. He’s one of the guitarists as well.

KH: Have you been performing with everyone for a couple of years now?

SQK: Yeah, collectively I think I’ve been performing with everyone for two years now. Other people I’ve known, we’ve done other bands together and performed in other shows, but yeah collectively as the Soular Flares, it’s been about two years.

KH: It sounds like you’ve become kind of a little family.
SQK: Yes! They are my brothers and my sister, and we definitely look out for each other. Like I said, it’s so many different personalities in this band, but when we’re together for shows and for practice, we’re inseparable. I definitely feed off of their energy and vice versa, and we just have fun together.

KH: That’s really what it’s all about. So you talk a lot about social justice being a big part of your music. Why is that?

SQK: I really like to write about my experience, the way I walk through life. When I was growing up, I would hear stories that my mom would tell about living in some of the very rural parts of NC like Candor, Bisko, those parts of Montgomery County. And her being a Black woman from a Black family, she used to experience a lot of racism out there. Even today, being Black in this world, we experience a lot of racism. And I just love to talk about it, and to give those voices of the people who have been highly marginalized out here. Just the chance to say what they want to say. Whether it’s my experience or someone else’s experience, I just want to make sure I give a voice to that. So that’s part of the whole social justice thing.

KH: You also talk a lot about body positivity. Why is that important to you?

SQK: The self love that comes from me…I think I’m talking about self love coming more from my experience of body positivity, and just learning to accept my body, learning to accept other bodies, and making this idea of body neutrality. I think that everyone deserves to feel comfortable in their own skin and to be comfortable in who they are. I think weight is one of those stigmas that we struggle with. People are afraid to eat, people are afraid to wear certain things. People are afraid to even walk into a place because they think they are unworthy of taking up space. So I’ve tried to incorporate the self- love into every show that I do, and with everyone that I meet.

I want people to understand that they deserve and are worthy of love. You should be able to take care of yourself for free. We all need that equity, that equality. We should be able to wake up every day and have everything that we need to be successful and to live a happy and healthy life.

So that’s where the self-love comes from. I’ve struggled with my weight for most of my life, I’ve always been a thick girl, and y’know, when I was at my smallest, those would be the times when I was the most unhappy, the most depressed. Now I’m at one of my heavier weights, and I feel fucking great! I feel amazing, and i have this glow about me that people notice, and that really speaks a lot to how my journey was. It was rough, it took a lot out of me, but through the years when I just learned to accept the way things were and to just work on my mental health first, that’s when I really started to shine.

KH: Acceptance is such a thing to build towards.

SQK: It is. And I think that people get the whole body positivity thing mixed up with people just loving every bit about their body, and just being happy all the time, but it’s not like that. It’s about respect, and learning to be grateful for your body and to take care of your body. You can be a thick girl and work out, eat your greens, eat your vegetables, drink water, you can do all of that and still be thick, but everyone’s body is different. We all store and use nutrients differently. So we’re all gonna look different, and I think that the media pushes us to want to look like something that we just can’t look like without restriction and self-hate. I try to make sure that people understand that those things aren’t realistic…

KH: You mentioned body neutrality, what does that mean to you?

SQK: That means to accept the way that the body is, and that you should accept the way that other bodies look too, especially when you know what your body can do and what it’s capable of. We wake up every day, our heart never stops beating, we make it through the hardest parts of our life, and there is no point in judging someone for the way that they look. So body neutrality is more like accept and normalize that people’s bodies look different. There are fat people, there are tall people, there are small people, everyone looks different. There are skinny people, there are people with disabilities, and people with different skin tones and things that they may not love about themselves.

KH: So why is your music important to you?

SQK: It’s important to me because it’s the way that I connect to everyone around me. I feel like you could make a connection without music, but there’s just something about it that is like a metaphysical connection that you could have with somebody.

Music just has this kind of energy about it. It creates these kinds of bonds that when you see somebody in a bar and y’all start singing, you know all the words, you’re just like ‘Oh this is my soul sister, soul brother.’ Music just does that for people. You could be complete strangers, and because you know the same song you can relate to it, you can cry to it, it just brings people together. I think that I can make an even stronger connection when I perform. I think that’s why it’s important. I love making people feel good, I love seeing people enjoy themselves. You’re not harming anybody, so let’s make magic!

KH: As far as Shakori Hills, what can fans expect from you there?

SQK: They can expect a little bit of twerking, they can expect me to teach them some mantras about self love, and they can expect some new music, because we have some time to get that setlist tight and ready before we come out. I just can’t wait! God, I’m so excited!

MK Rodenbough: Songwriting From the Heart

August 8, 2019 by David Dean Leave a Comment

When it comes to singer-songwriter acts at Shakori Hills, one act not to miss will be MK Rodenbough, a recent graduate from UNC Chapel Hill. Rodenbough is a self-described Americana artist, who passionately tells her story through the strumming of a six-string, and a voice that feels completely honest, in a way that cuts to the soul.

Listening to MK Rodenbough’ soft, yet powerful, songs is like meeting a new friend and the feeling known them your whole life. Perhaps this is because all of her lyrics come from real events that have happened in her life, mostly during her time at UNC Chapel Hill. From the pits of heartbreak, to finally finding the self-confidence you’ve been looking for, Rodenbough really knows how to capture the more sensitive sides of life in a way that feels relatable and down to Earth.

Rodenbough told me, “I don’t write songs that are about a character, about someone else, I don’t really ever do a lot of storytelling in my music, which I would love to do more of. But when I sit down with a guitar, it is kind of therapeutic. It’s like, how am I feeling? How can I express that with the instrument that I have in front of me?”

Expressing herself through her guitar is what Rodenbough has become known for throughout the local music scene. With performances tightly scheduled between her two jobs, Rodenbough is like many musicians fresh out of college – trying to build a music career with a little bit of time, and a whole lot of heart. This also means working on her debut album, which she is hoping to release either this year, or next year, depending on what time allows.

She continued, “I’m in the process of recording some new material with some new musician pals and a new producer, and trying to find the direction I want to go in after college. Not necessarily a full 180. It’s kind of a cool experience because it feels a lot more intimate, and feels like you’re just with friends instead of a high pressure scenario.”

For the album itself, you can expect some Southern inspired Americana music, and some “sad-girl folk” music. Many of the songs will likely be focused on her experiences as a recent graduate, and all of the emotions that life brings during such a chaotic time. However, Rodenbough also had an opportunity to record her debut album somewhere that was as inspiring as it was beautiful.

“We went to a lake house in February, and recorded a couple of songs. It was just for a couple of days, but it was so serene and a great atmosphere for being creative and putting something together. It literally had a private view onto the lake. So while we were tracking, we were able to look at the lake and it was just really beautiful and inspiring. It was awesome,” she said.

Many of Rodenbough’s debut songs will be played this year at Shakori Hills. You can expect a smaller, more intimate performance from Rodenbough and two of her friends, including Justin Ellis from Happy Abandon on bass, and Daniel Faust on drums.

From the trio, she said we can expect, “A mix of high energy, as well as very mellow songs. This year [I’ve] stripped down the live performance to just me, a bass player, and drums. That’s been really great to make that feel bigger and feel full, even though we don’t have that second guitarist or a keys player or whatever it is. So yeah, people can expect to see me playing some really sad songs with some of my friends.”

Make sure to come check out MK Rodenbough at Shakori Hills this fall; the daily schedule will be coming out soon!

In the meantime, you can follow her page on Facebook, and listen to several of her songs on Soundcloud.

TerraBANG: A Band that Lives Up to the Name

August 1, 2019 by David Dean Leave a Comment

When it comes to groovy-funky-soul jams, it’s pretty hard to go wrong. With the smooth rhythms that keep the beat of your heart, to sultry lyrics that break us out of the prisons of our own design, a good R&B band is part of the recipe for a happy life (imho).

One of these rare bands happen to be right in our backyard, residing in the tall pines and cool breezes of Boone, North Carolina. Their name is TerraBANG, and they’re here to bring the vibe.

I met with Sergio Grossi who plays keys and contributes vocals to the band and he explained the band’s ethos, “What we’re trying to do is bring people together, to make people happy. We want to express ourselves to the fullest capability, and express the emotions we feel. People say that they like the album, like the songs, and different songs resonate with different people. We just want to create an experience for people when they hear our music. I want to make them happy, but I also want to make them cry.”

As far as their mission of bringing the feelings to your everyday R&B playlist, they are a massive success. TerraBANG dropped their first album, Seed, in 2018, which was an explosive first move onto the scene. With eleven songs that travel through the trials and tribulations of love and life, the songs are uncategorized by any big-named genres. One of the biggest reasons for the genre-defying sound is because of the varying musical interests of everyone in the band.

Grossi continued, “I would say that we have a bunch of different inspirations, and we take a little bit from everything. I feel like my solo music doesn’t really fall into just one category. I just released this album called Love Chronicles, which is like a hip hop album. I’m rapping on every song, but it’s not a great album to release on a hip hop or rap blog, because it’s unlike anything out there. TerraBANG is just like that, it’s unlike anything else out there.”

TerraBANG is comprised of a metal drummer, a couple of jazz musicians, an indie rocker, and a pop-driven vocalist who all know their way pretty well around just about any instrument you can put in front of them. Most of the members of the band were music majors at Appalachian State, and are putting those years of studying to good use.

Grossi said, “Everyone [has] high musical intelligence. So Hinton is pitch perfect, and Brady has relative pitch, and they all play about a thousand different instruments. They all play bass, trumpet, violin, mandolin, guitar, if you go on their Instagrams you’ll see them playing a bunch of different instruments. I would probably say that Aaron has relative pitch too, because he can transpose into any key at any time. If I wanted to sing a tune, he could just play it on his saxophone. Anything that he thinks of.”

As far as the upcoming fall Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival, this is the group’s first venture down to Pittsboro for the event. After about two years performing together, TerraBANG has the kind of stage-presence that makes them impossible to miss. They plan to bring a couple of covers to get the crowd singing along, throw in a few of their own tunes from the 2018 album, and might even play a few from their upcoming release, due in September.

“They can expect us to blow their minds. For me it’s like every gig is a new chance to work as being a performer, and actually giving someone not just plenty of music, but getting them involved and to clap their hands and sing along, ” explained Grossi.

Make sure to come pay TerraBANG a visit this fall at Shakori Hills October 3 – 6, and watch out on their Facebook page for details on their upcoming new release.

You can stream Seed on their bandcamp page.

Check out their tune “Ambition & Affection” on YouTube:

The Tan & Sober Gentlemen: They Are None of the Three

July 26, 2019 by David Dean Leave a Comment

When it comes to Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival staples, perhaps there is no act that quite embodies the zest for life and enjoyment of their craft quite like the Tan & Sober Gentlemen. Now on their fourth performance with us, the band consistently promises a set that is designed for the audience to really get involved. Yet, they also never take themselves too seriously, as evident by the story of their namesake.

Ben Noblit, bass player for the band, explained, “One of the very first shows that we played was up at this Irish pub in Raleigh, it was called Tir na Nog. We weren’t really a band yet, it was just a bunch of people playing music, and she (pub owner Annie Britton-Nice) introduced us as that because we weren’t any of the three. It went over really well so they invited us back, and before we knew it we were stuck with the name.”

The name ‘Tan & Sober Gentlemen’ has become nearly as iconic of a name as the sound that the band creates. Plus, as Noblit said, “it comes up first on Google.”

The Tan & Sober Gentlemen are a 7-piece coalition that fuse together the folk influences of North Carolina and the old familiar sounds of the Scottish Highlands, with the energy and fire of a punk-rock band. This combination is lovingly deemed “Celtic-punk-grass,” a name which feels as unique and spunky as the band members themselves. Yet, all three elements come earnestly from a lifelong love of each form of music, and a dedication to the genres that formed who they are today.

Noblit continued, “We all grew up playing North Carolina traditional music. We’re all Scottish and Irish to one degree or another. And all of that music, bluegrass, old-time music, country music, that all comes from Scotland and Ireland originally, and some from Africa also. And we wanted to kind of explore the Celtic roots of our kind of music, bring it back home a bit. We also like to play fast and drink liquor and have a good time.”

Having a “good time” has become what the band is truly known for. With their fast-paced tunes and a general enthusiasm for the music that they create, The Tan & Sober Gentlemen have gained a reputation as a kind of party band. Their focus is on creating an atmosphere where a crowd feels comfortable letting loose, and can experience this kind of music as it was meant to be experienced – through dancing.

“This kind of music, like old time fiddle music, it used to be dance music. Those boys were cutting loose as hard as they knew how. It’s party music…I would rather play to a place where people are up-close-and-personal with you, and are willing to interact with you and give you back your energy, and not put you on a pedestal. I want everyone being involved,” said Noblit.

Currently, the Tan & Sober Gentlemen are bringing their unique sound to the homeland of Celtic music. They will be touring through Scotland and Ireland, with stops in Cork, Dublin, Wexford, and Waterford. In Waterford, they will be playing at the Summer in the City Festival, which is a fairly big deal for the North Carolina-based band.

As for Shakori Hills, Noblit said, “Expect absolutely nothing different. It’s gonna be exactly the same as everything else we do. It’s gonna be the drum playing the same beat, and lot’s of fiddles and banjos…I’m very happy and blessed to be where we’re at, and I hope people come out.”

Look out for the Tan & Sober Gentlemen this fall, and make sure to check out their website at tanandsober.com.

Caique Vidal and Batuque: Bringing the Beats of Brazil to Shakori Hills

July 5, 2019 by David Dean Leave a Comment

The hot sun has just set, and a full moon has taken to the sky, as Caique Vidal and Batuque take the stage. Under the electric yellow lights of the dance tent, your heartbeat is quickening to match the beat of the drum. Whether you’ve just taken your first samba lesson, or you’ve been dancing for years, you feel at home busting a move out on the dance floor. It’s moments like these that are what Caique Vidal and Batuque specialize in.

Caique Vidal, the Brazilian-born frontman, leads a ten piece band based in Durham, NC named Batuque (pronounced Ba-too-KEE). Caique brings the sounds of samba to life with the kind of passion that only comes with a life-long love of learning to play music. Vidal is the chief songwriter and, as such, the band’s songs focus heavily on the traditional Afro-Brazilian influences that drew him to music in the first place.

Caique brings the sounds of samba to life with the kind of passion that only comes with a life-long love of learning to play music. Yet, his beginnings were humble, having discovered percussion when he was brought along to his mother’s dance class.

“I kept annoying the drummer, asking him to play his drums. And he was like, you know what? Just take this cowbell, go to the corner, just stay there in the corner. He thought that I had rhythm, and he was like ‘yo, your kid is actually good!”

Vidal’s love of Afro-Brazilian music only blossomed from there. After seeing several children playing the Djembe, he began to branch out into learning more and more instruments. This passion led him to join Olodum Mirin, which was a traveling band focusing on the social, racial, economical. During his time as a percussionist in the group, Olodum Mirin was featured in Michael Jackson’s They Don’t Care About Us.

“I was one of the 300 people to play behind Michael Jackson. Of course, you cannot spot me even in slow motion, but it was a blessing to be a part of that group, to get that training… I was there with the process of making the beat for percussion, to the original track that Michael Jackson has, I was there and it was such a great experience.”

From there, Vidal became a dancer with a premiere Brazilian Afro-Brazilian group called Balé Folclórico da Bahia. As part of their ensemble, he ended up traveling the world, which became an invaluable opportunity to share his culture with a world that was eager to learn. Yet, with long hours of rehearsal and many weeks spent on tour, it was also a crash course in being a professional artist, which Vidal took to kindly.

After his time with Balé Folclórico da Bahia, Caique Vidal came to North Carolina, and immediately became interested in the local music scene. He attended many local performances to learn more about how the music scene worked in the region. It wasn’t long before he began teaching his own classes in Durham about Afro-Brazilian music and culture, which he still does today. It was through his teaching that he met the members of Batuque.

“Through those lessons, I started learning about all of the positions for music and performing, and when I say that it’s a big family, it is true… Members of the band will say, ‘Hey I have this friend who likes the band and he plays this, he plays that, he would like to come to one of the rehearsals.’ Most of the time, these people do not stay. I started the band with five people, and now we have doubled and that is how I met the folks that I have today… The people who stay just really appreciate the music and have a respect and I have mutual respect for them as well.”

Caique Vidal and Batuque have really made a name for themselves in Durham and however inadvertently, gotten involved in civic issues. The group began hosting open-air rehearsals in Durham Central Park, a move which became controversial after several noise complaints were filed by residents in neighboring apartments. After several months of complaints, the Durham City Council decided to move the city’s noise ordinance to 9 PM to allow Vidal, and any other artist, to use the space for practice and performance.

As far as Caique Vidal’s music, he draws significantly from his life and his culture for inspiration. For their song T.Y.S.M. (Thank You So Much), the song combined the energy of the group’s shows with a thank you to Vidal’s ancestors, who paved the way for artists like him to create traditional music.

“A lot of people were killed and pursued to make sure we can practice today, so that we could know Samba, so we could speak a little bit of the Agumba and play the African rhythms that we play today. Without these people in the past, we would not be able to exist today.”

Songs like T.Y.S.M. and the rest of Caique Vidal and Batuque’s first album will be played at the fall festival, as well as three new songs from the group’s next album. Vidal is also hoping to make this year’s performance bigger and better than ever, to create a night that the audience will not forget. One of those surprises may include a 20-30 piece percussion ensemble called Oxembe, but the logistics of that are still being worked out.

Caique Vidal and Batuque will visit Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival for the second time this fall. The band’s spring 2018 performance in the Dance Tent was very well received and festival organizers know Shakori fans appreciate local and World Music so it only made sense to bring them back.

Vidal said the experience of Shakori Hills is, “not just a music festival, it’s a place we go to share music with people, and people really get into it. It’s a carefree [place] where the main mission is to have fun. It’s really fun to me, I love it, I’m actually really happy to come back.”

Caique Vidal and Batuque’s music is available on all major streaming sites, and you can practice your samba at their live rehearsals every Monday night from 6:30-8:30 PM in Durham Central Park. Learn more about the band at www.caiquevidal.com.

Del McCoury Headlines 18th Annual Spring Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival

Roosevelt Collier: Good Times with Some Swampy Grime

Ryan Montbleau: Bringing the Heart from Woodstock to Shakori Hills

“[Music] was totally a passion… I couldn’t put that genie back in the bottle.”

“For me, exploring how to make tracks sound and feel good, how to be viscerally moved by music… I haven’t explored that as much as baring my feelings into a raw songs, raw words, so the goal for me is to do both.”

Ryan Montbleau Band, Meadow Stage, Saturday, Oct. 5, 8:00 p.m.

Yes, Darling, Meadow Stage, Sunday, Oct. 6, 5:00 p.m.

Sierra Ferrell: The Songstress of the South

Talking Moxy Rock with Maddy Walsh and the Blind Spots

SunQueen Kelcey and the Soular Flares: Bringing the Light to Shakori Hills

MK Rodenbough: Songwriting From the Heart

TerraBANG: A Band that Lives Up to the Name

The Tan & Sober Gentlemen: They Are None of the Three

Caique Vidal and Batuque: Bringing the Beats of Brazil to Shakori Hills

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“[Music] was totally a passion… I couldn’t put that genie back in the bottle.”

“For me, exploring how to make tracks sound and feel good, how to be viscerally moved by music… I haven’t explored that as much as baring my feelings into a raw songs, raw words, so the goal for me is to do both.”

Ryan Montbleau Band, Meadow Stage, Saturday, Oct. 5, 8:00 p.m.

Yes, Darling, Meadow Stage, Sunday, Oct. 6, 5:00 p.m.

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