Here’s the first part of our review of the second day of Travelers’ Rest Festival, brought to us by the good folks at Knitting Factory Entertainment and our friends at Big Sky Brewing Company. Day Two followed the same format as Day One, with four artists performing on the Ponderosa Stage and five artists on the main stage, including a second day of The Decemberists headlining.
The first artist of the day was NPR’s latest darling, the adorable Gaelynn Lea. Despite her diminutive size, she is an amazing violin player whose vocals bring her fans to tears. She is also one of the most humble artists I have ever encountered in my 30 years in the music industry. She packed the structure around the Ponderosa Stage like no other artist that played there, and even got Chris Funk (guitar), Jenny Conlee (accordion) and Nate Query (upright bass) from The Decemberists and Joy Pearson (vocals) and Rebecca Marie Miller (vocals) from Lenore to join her for her final song. Her new album comes out in September, and we can’t wait to review it and share it with you. It was one of the best performances I have ever experienced, and set the bar for the rest of the day.
The first artist on the Main Stage came all the way from Morocco, bringing their native sound to share with the Festival attendees. Dressed Bedouin style, Tinariwen shared their drums, guitar, bass and native vocals and the crowd loved it. The rhythms were amazing, and it was near impossible not to break into dance during the show. They have a very unique sound that translates well on the Festival scene, and they kept the audience very entertained and engaged throughout their performance.
Here’s the link to their most recent album on Spotify.
Back to the Ponderosa Stage for LA-based indie rock trio Cardioid, composed of Lizzy Ellison on lead vocals and guitar, Riley Geare on drums and Erica Shafer on bass. Although the band started in Portland, it has transplanted to the City of Angels, where they are working on their next album, Fantasy Metal, which we can’t wait to review. Their sound is pure indie rock, with exquisite guitar and bass performances, a throbbing drum beat and the voice of Ellison like the cherry on top of your favorite sundae. They turned in one of the best rock performances of the Festival, and their 30-minute set was far too short to adequately display their immense talent.
The second artist to take the Main Stage was also the oldest artist performing. Mavis Staples is 79 years old, and joined her family’s band, The Staple Singers, in 1949. The band began as a gospel and folk group until after they signed with Stax Records in 1968. They switched up their sound to a more R&B/soul vibe, and with their third Stax album, they reached #2 on the charts with “Respect Yourself,” and #1 with “I’ll Take You There.” Staples’ music defies genre, as her sound is a combination of gospel, jazz, blues, R&B, soul and folk. She wrote the amazing “Freedom Highway” for Martin Luther King in 1962, and participated in the Selma march alongside Dr. King. She has won multiple Grammy awards, giving her a rich catalog from which to perform. Unfortunately, 45 minutes is not nearly enough time for her to showcase her immense talent, but she did get to wow the crowd with the aforementioned “Freedom Highway” and “I’ll Take You There,” with which she ended her set. Her music brought back so many great memories of growing up in the 70s, and was the true highlight of the weekend for me.
The action returned to the Ponderosa Stage and continued in that same 70s R&B/soul vibe with the performance by Ural Thomas & the Pain. The band is composed of Ural Thomas on vocals, Scott Magee on drums and backing vocals, Arcellus Sykes on bass, Brent Martens on guitar, Steve Aman on keys, Bruce Withycomb on baritone sax, Willie Matheis on tenor sax and Dave Monnie on trumpet. Thomas had some success back in the late 60s and early 70s when he performed more than 40 shows at the acclaimed Apollo Theater, but left what he considered an unfair business to return home to Portland. Thomas never gave up his music, and sponsored a jam session in his home for nearly 20 years. In 2016, Magee convinced him to return to the business, and Ural Thomas & the Pain was born. Their debut album on Tender Loving Empire is scheduled to be released on September 28. With that kind of a pedigree, you know the joint was jumpin’. Thomas was the perfect complement to continue to R&B/soul trip started by Staples, and kept the Ponderosa Stage audience engaged and dancing throughout his set. He even managed to squeeze in an extra song beyond his 30-minute set. His performance was my second most favorite of the Festival.
We’ll be back soon with part 2 of our review.