“It all comes down to intention. You put it out there and the festival will happen. People need to gather, we should be sitting around a fire singing three times a week!” – Will Taylor
Sheather Fest, 2017 kicked off at noon in Knights Ferry, CA on September 9th with a forty minute set of songs by co-organizer Willy Tea Taylor (Will had a ton of help from Ericka Lynn and Karen Fields as well as the staff at the venue, the beautiful River’s Edge restaurant). Will’s set was an invocation. People came out of the shade and into the sun to hear his special brand of songs. Will’s words are thoughtful and soft, his four-string accompaniment is understated and underline his words – his intention. It was a gentle way to start the festival and the crowd immediately on hand cheered in agreement.
In fact, the first couple of hours of the festival were singer/songwriter, one guy/one guitar sets until The Randy Mandy Band, Knights Ferry locals, took the stage. Randy and Mandy brought the first rock of the day and more than a few of the crowd jumped up to dance and sing along with the songs they knew. Tight harmonies packed a punch with snarling guitars and a driving rhythm. Casey Campbell was up next and had come out to perform from Cincinnati, Ohio. The unique timbre of Casey’s vocals were somehow familiar but just out of recognition until he played his last song, a Roy Orbison cover, that brought the crowd to its feet.
The Hashknife Outfit followed and delivered some upbeat country out of Arizona that found the crowd now dancing in some much-appreciated shade. It gets hot at Sheather Fest but attendees always have the old Stanislaus River flowing and the venue’s lawn literally runs to the river’s banks where one can just fall in the bracing water, float and then come back to your beer. The river is most definitely a star! The Little Fuller Band and their genre bending, “whatever the hell it is” sound was next and on point. This band has undergone some changes in the last year and so it was good to see them smiling, humorous and sounding strong. Their album, Deal With It, is a really excellent work and worthy of your money and time – buy it.
After an almost surgically efficient stage changeover (and serious kudos to the sound crew that kept an ambitious festival schedule damn near perfectly on time all weekend and sounding phenomenal), McDougall started his set. Initially armed with no more than a banjo, a mean claw hammer and a kick drum, McDougall got the crowd moving with a pounding Appalachian rhythm that was undeniable. This guy brings tradition, present and future together in an instant. His voice is high and penetrating while his instrumentals are relentless in their quest to get you dancing. Sandy Rogers followed McDougall. This was a special day for Sandy as it was her seventieth birthday AND the day that Will Taylor inducted her into the Knights Ferry Music Hall of Fame. Sandy’s work spans decades and, notably, one of her awesome songs, “Fool For Love,” was used in the movie Reservoir Dogs. Though that song was absent from the set list, Sandy, backed by The Little Fuller Band, ran through titles from her catalogue that elicited cheers from an adoring crowd. The set was loose and fun and just so Sandy Rogers. Knights Ferry is so lucky to have her as a musical staple!
At this point, the sun had not quite set but the heat abated, the stage lights showed their work and In/Planes, a recent project of Pueblo, Colorado’s Haunted Windchimes core members, Desirae Garcia and Inaiah Lujan, took the stage. In/Planes is Desi and Inaiah’s take on the pop sound of the 50’s and early 60’s. Think of Lesley Gore’s 1963 hit “It’s My Party,” pare the instruments down to a three piece so as to not overshadow incredible harmonies and you have an idea of the sound. The In/Planes set dovetailed nicely into Mike Clark and the Sugar Sounds for two reasons. First, Desirae and Inaiah are in Mike’s band and, second, Mike’s vocals and song stylings brought to mind early to mid-sixties soul, it not being a stretch to say that one could hear influences of Otis Redding and Muscle Shoals era Wilson Pickett. All the ladies love Mike Clark and it is not hard to see why. The man croons with soul and plays a gentle guitar, his smiles peeled when his eyes met those of someone in the crowd. And, backed by his old bandmates, it made for probably the sweetest and most danceable set of the night. Special acknowledgement to Inaiah, too, for ripping a guitar solo in which, at least for a moment, he channeled Neil Young.
The Harmed Brothers had the tough job of following the previous two projects by The Windchimes collective and that was not easy. The Brothers brought a louder more rocking set and stoked the crowd with driving, anthemic, songs. The full band sound of guitar, bass, drums and electric piano brought a big sound to the small stage. There had been many nods to Dave and Sue Sheather (the festival’s namesakes) throughout the day, and Alex Salcido gave another, “We’d like to dedicate this song to two of our most favorite travelers in the word, Dave and Sue Sheather. They can’t be with us here tonight but they are here in spirit.” And then they launched into “Adopt A Highway” a traveling anthem with soaring piano leads. Dave and Sue Sheather were there in name and in spirit. They were there in the memories of those that love them, those that built a festival around them. So then, every song was for them and so was every smile and hug.
The last band of the night was The Hooten Hallers out of Columbia, Missouri. They play these deep dark blues with a tweaker vibe. Seriously, John Randall sings so low that there is probably some Tuvan throat singing involved and couple that with Kellie Everett on baritone and bass saxophones (oh, hi Morphine! I didn’t think there could be a band that played darker shit than you, but there is and they’re called the Hooten Hallers) and the music was something that could be played as the soundtrack to a zombie apocalypse.
The Naked Bootleggers, an awesome Bluegrass outfit from Boulder Creek, CA, had a late night slot at the Knights Ferry Saloon Saturday night. It must have been something to see, like a scene out of a movie – to be sitting at the bar in the all but empty saloon and listening to George Jones on the jukebox when the doors fly open and 300 well lubricated festival goers charge the bar, money in hand, hell-bent on buying the saloon out of booze. Something like that must be startling and off-putting and that’s the only reason I can fathom that the bar closed early that night. Three sips into a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and patrons were told that it was last call – THREE SIPS! It was 12:05 and the band was two songs in. The Bootleggers maybe got a half hour set. What happened there? It was the only hiccup of the weekend. But let’s not dwell on what was otherwise an amazing day one.
Day 2 began innocently enough, festival goers nursed away a big Saturday night while sitting in the shade of trees, sipping Bloody Marys and listening to the dulcet tones of The Daughters Rea and Tarantula. Gabe Rozell played next and treated the crowd to some Humboldt County cowboy songs. The guy was huge, definitely looked like a Viking but sang old traditional “out on the range” type country.
Miss Lonely Hearts from Santa Cruz hit the stage and exploded with high octane, bass slapping country music. And these boys were pissed off at Trump. Honestly, the juxtaposition of pop country anti-Trump songs was delicious and one of these days it will be so awesome to hear Trace Adkins cuss the president (dreams can come true, right?) Miss Lonely Hearts got the blood pumping just enough to get some dancers out in the sun and some folks to jump in the river.
Then it was time for Modesto’s Cole Thomason. And thank God for Cole. After the double-barreled country assault, it was a perfect opportunity for Cole to step in and calm us down a bit. Cole is a singer/songwriter and has a great voice and set of songs. He fits that troubadour role well with his harmonica and guitar leads. Cole, in the best possible sense, became an auditory palate cleanser and prepared the crowd for arguably the best set of the weekend. It might not have been the best set if Cole had not done his job so well (and if there was forethought given to the scheduling at this particular moment, organizers, you crushed it).
Bob Sumner followed Cole Thomason. Bob came down from Canada for Sheather Fest and has a long time love for Knights Ferry. He spends time there visiting friends, writing music and spending time by the river. His set of songs this day were breathtaking. He was joined by guitarist Etienne Tremblay and their interplay, Bob on acoustic and Etienne on electric, was perfection. The mark of a good singer/songwriter is understanding that sad songs, the real gut wrenchers, can make us happy. Boy, does Bob Sumner get that! He opened with Willy Tea’s “Wrong Way To Run” and then moved through other songs written by both himself and friends. His set closer, “Ticket To Ride” left more than a few in the crowd wiping tears. THAT is an effectively written song, THAT is the mark of a story well told and we need more of that in our lives. Bob and Etienne need to do a tour soon.
And the afternoon of amazing music rolled forward with Tony Martinez. Tony rolled in not knowing where to park his RV. While waiting for an answer, what else should you do but have a shot of tequila? This guy sings country the way Jerry Reed, Waylon Jennings and Chet Atkins sing country. Not to draw comparisons, no. Tony could stand toe to toe with those fellas and hold his own. The man is a powerhouse and his music felt good! He had the crowd laughing right through his set and his humor and talent were tops. It was a lighthearted and excellent way to follow the depths to which Bob Sumner was willing to dive.
Tom VandonAvond and his band came up next and Tom was the afternoon hometown boy. His songs are rooted in that river and in those hills. His songs are about the people there and what makes that community special. It was great to watch and blanketed the venue in a family vibe. There is a reason Tom V. Is considered by so many to be a cornerstone singer/songwriter and he showed everyone why. Built Like Alaska followed Tom V. This band was largely unremarkable. A friend passingly said, “They sound like Built To Spill” and he was right. It’s not that the music is necessarily bad, but it was one of those moments at a festival in which you wish you could hear more from one of the bands you loved earlier in the day. But The Sam Chase and the Untraditional showed up to save the moment.
The Sam Chase and the Untraditional might be one of the most unique bands on the scene right now. Where The Little Fuller Band bends genres, Sam and his band defy all of them. Just when you think it’s punk, there will be some jazz moment. They throw down as a unit, the energy is infectious and the songs are empowering. They speak to the daily confusion we feel as individuals but the victories we can achieve as a collective. They fist pump and you fist pump, they yell and you yell back. If you haven’t seen this band, it’s time to jump on it.
And then it was time for The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit to close out the festival in one of their only appearances as a unit in the past year. It was amazing how relative inactivity and a key personnel change had so little an effect on their performance. They were loose and confident, the set sounded polished and, best of all, it seemed like these guys were genuinely stoked to be playing together again. There was a palpable reunion vibe as they ran through songs like, “1987,” “Big Jim’s Guitar,” “The Burden of Sea Captains,” and so many more. By the end of the set Willy Tea’s voice was shot and he literally squeaked to the finish line having given just about everything up to the success of the weekend. The last song of the night and of the festival was a Knights Ferry anthem and the chorus was a sing-along that brought the crowd and all the musicians together to sing for this special town as the evening breeze danced through the Cottonwood leaves and fanned ripples on the river’s surface.
This festival was great, it reinforced the idea that the little festivals, when thoughtfully planned, can be the true jewels of the scene. Sheather Fest gave us all an opportunity to celebrate the bond between bands and audiences through the commitment and love of two specific fans, Dave and Sue Sheather, who truly embody how powerfully we can be connected to live music. Sheather Fest is the fundamental example that That connection can bridge continents and it can inspire international gatherings simply because they need to happen. Think about that!
