Undoubtedly presenting one of the deepest and exciting lineups in the scene this year, the fifth annual Peach Music Festival in Scranton, Pennsylvania takes place August 11-14, 2016 at Montage Mountain/ With over 50 sets of music over four days, the festival includes genres from jam to bluegrass to electronica to soul to reggae.
Aside from moe.dropping two sets, the lineup is truly diverse as Trey Anastasio Band, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, JRAD, Dark Star Orchestra, Gregg Allman, Dopapod, Electron, Consider the Source, Umphrey’s McGee and Twiddle will all be there. Sunday morning starts in proper fashion with the annual “Wake up with Warren (Haynes)” set. Funk is represented by The Motet, Turkuaz and The Pimps of Joytime. Bluegrass is supported in stellar fashion with Cabinet, Railroad Earth and Floodwood. There is ample camping on the mountain and a shuttle offered for those staying in local hotels. Tickets are reasonably priced with a separate camping fee. Check out http://thepeachmusicfestival.com/tickets/ for more info.
9 Artists Guaranteed to Throwdown
Trey Anastasio Band
Trey Anastasio, leads the way with his masterful skills and offers a different tempo and jamming style than we hear with Phish with his seven piece band. Expect to hear brassed up TAB originals “Night Speaks to a Woman,” “Simple Twist Up Dave” and “Burlap Sacks and Pumps” and maybe some newer songs that might appear during Phish’s recently announced fall tour.
Dark Star Orchestra
The longtime Grateful Dead cover band is buoyed by the impressive guitar chops of Jeff Mattson. They are known for very high energy shows and have recently been recreating the single drummer (Kreutzmann years of the early 70’s. Masterful Dead emulators, it is exciting to be at a show and figure out if they are recreating a specific show in history or playing an original set.
Cabinet
The bluegrass juggernaut are a local act for this event and presented their own Susquhenna Breakdown festival at the same site earlier this summer. The band continues to grow exponentially while possessing a fervent fan base. Don’t miss Pappy show off his banjo chops.
The Werks
The quartet from Ohio has been busy all year playing at festivals and on an extensive tour. Rob Chafin is a heavy hitter behind the kit but it is the play of guitar maestro, Chris Houser, that sets this band apart.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
The Baltimore based quartet are fixtures on the festival scene and have seen a significant explosion to their fan base of late. With a recent album release, “Pleasure” and a previous effort, “Psychology” the band has a strong catalog of quality songs as well as the frequent successful cover from a bevy of other’s hits.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead
The impeccable Grateful Dead cover band is comprised of an all-star group of musicians. Tommy Hamilton is impressive on guitar but keep eyes on keyboard wiz, Marco Benevento, as he knows exactly when to fill most effectively. Many fans consider this experience to offer one of the most vibrant recreations of the Grateful Dead going today.
Twiddle
The next generation’s jam band extraordinaires, Vermont’s Twiddle continues to blow up on the scene due to contagious rhythms including many reggae-infused songs. Mihali Savoulidis is considered by many, including the legion of dedicated fans, to be a “genius” with his insightful lyrics and incendiary guitar play. The band headlined to a packed house at the historic Capitol Theatre and are a quickly-ascending act that garners new fans at every show with their inspired performances.
Turkuaz
This Brooklyn-based band always delivers a quality high energy performance. It’s difficult not to dance when this band is delivering their patented funky beats. It only takes a few notes of the bombastic bass line on “Bubba Slide” to officially invite you to the fray and versatile brass player and vocalist, Josh Schwartz, always keeps it fresh and exciting.
Pimps of Joytime
Out of Brooklyn, front man Brian J delivers a Prince-influenced style show that inspires heavy toe tapping and head bouncing. Pimps don’t play many shows so to catch them on the festival circuit is quite a treat. The late-night anthem, “Booty Text” was their catchy single from two years ago and just as addictive live…
