Willie Watson, Twain, Jordan Smart, The Whole Other, Shotskis Rule The Lost Sierra Hoedown (FESTIVAL REVIEW/PHOTOS)

Basically, now it comes down to the simple fact that if you’re lucky enough to get a ticket for The Lost Sierra Hoedown, you’re guaranteed one of the best musical experiences in the market. As co-organizer Azariah “Z” Reynold’s loves to put it, “This is not a festival because festivals have fences. This is a hoedown.” The whole ethos of the Hoedown is built around inclusion. When it comes time to buy tickets, you won’t find a VIP option or some multi-tiered experience. If you’re lucky enough to get one of the tickets (and the Hoedown did sell out this year), you’re going to have the same experience as the person you’re standing next to or the musician you’re listening to. That’s what makes these smaller, well-run events so damn special and that’s why they’re becoming more and more attractive. The Hoedown, and a few other festivals like it, are returning to a time-honored musical tradition, a genuine experience rooted in simplicity that brings out the best in musicians and fans alike.

Over four days (Sept 21-24, 2017) up in those musical mountains that surround the historic Johnsville Ski Bowl music lovers were treated to warming sounds amidst bracingly low temperatures.  Music by Willie Watson, Marty O’Reilly and the Old Soul Orchestra, Holly Bowling, Jordan Smart, The Riverside, Willy Tea Taylor, The Whole Other (Nathan Moore and Lex Park) and The Sam Chase and the Untraditional kept the Hoedown audience constantly moving. But the destination is as much a headliner as any band.

Z, Amy Reynolds and Drew Fisher

Johnsville Historic Ski Bowl sits above the little resort town of Graeagle, California under the shade of towering Eureka Peak in Plumas County. The elevation and September in the Sierra means that any kind of weather can descend on hoedowners and this year witnessed the full range from downright cold daytime temps and freezing nights to a sunny 70 degree Sunday! However, the attendees are largely mountain folk ready to embrace the first cold snaps of fall and bundle up their kids in jammies and down jackets regardless of whether it’s bed or playtime. And there were a lot of kids. This might be the coolest environment for kids in music. There are pinecones to huck, bubbles to blow, music to play, faces to be painted and hammocks to be swung. The kids run in gangs, giggling gangs, that move throughout the hoedown grounds without apology and there’s never an issue. Somehow they always show back up for meals or when they’re called by their parents. The forest of Sugar Pines and Hemlock become the home of an annual village that has established itself as intensely respectful of its surroundings and ever mindful of all the fun that is to be had.

And then there is the Intorf Lodge, a hundred-year-old ski lodge, that sits as the heart of the scene. Inside is a fire pit that predates the lodge itself, the site at which miners probably once burned the mercury from their amalgam to recover the elusive gold for which they labored. The history is thick in this building with old longboard skis bolted to the walls. It was here in the 1860’s that Snowshoe Thompson (a Sierra skiing legend) raced the Johnsville boys (and surprisingly lost) in the first American downhill ski races that birthed the sport we know today. During the Hoedown though, a new history is made each year in the lodge through the music that is played within and without the walls as some truly, truly epic sets are performed.

Thursday Highlights: It never got out of the low forties on Thursday (snow fell in the wee hours of the morning) and a cold rain drove attendees into the lodge for Tim McCaffrey’s set which was the opening of the festival. McCaffrey, a fixture in the Sierra Foothills music scene has established himself as a leading songwriter and frontman of The Little Fuller Band. His set was comprised of his self-penned songs that find home in Little Fuller Band set lists, some that he plays only in a solo setting and Randy Newman’s “Guilty” stood as the lone cover. The roaring fire mingled with McCaffrey’s voice to warm listeners and get them ready for the weekend ahead. The vibe was initiating and smiles abounded as new arrivals walked quietly through the door and were welcomed with hugs. Day one of the Hoedown is awesome, it carries so much promise.

By the time Cailtlin Jemma and the Goodness took the Lodge for their set all the music had been moved inside as the temps and intermittent rain made the conditions pretty tough. That’s not to say that people were disappointed, because, at this stage in the weekend, this was largely a Tahoe/Truckee crowd and if it began to spit snow outside, the random flakes were greeted with cheers. Afterall, snow means skiing. Caitlin and her band kept it warm and mellow  in the lodge and in keeping with the folk vibe that had clearly been curated for the afternoon.

Z and Nathan Moore

It was Nathan Moore and Lex Park’s new project The Whole Other that completely changed the scope of the evening. Virginians, Park and Moore had built a northern California/southern Oregon tour around The Lost Sierra Hoedown. Nathan had played last year and immediately recognized the weekend as entirely special. It was natural that he would return, but what he brought with him was NOT natural in the coolest sense. To call The Whole Other “Jamtronica” might get you slapped it’s not that. Yes, there’s a drum machine, yes, there are effects pedals galore, there’s a laptop and there’s an iPad but the launchpad is Nathan’s songs. Everything else – all of the effects become textures that add to the meaning of the songs. It can be a tad intimidating, but the Hoedown crowd ate that shit up! Young and old started into swaying and then swaying turned to flailing and then flailing turned to a good old fashioned get down. It was just what Nathan and Lex had hoped to see happen and their smiles said it all. The Whole Other had accomplished its goal, it had won the Hoedown.

And in true Hoedown fashion, something special happened next. As though you could not possibly think of a more disparate performance to follow The Whole Other – Jordan Smart ambled into the room. Jordan Smart is an up and comer in the folk world. He used to live in Monterey but last fall moved back out to his native Ohio with his partner had a Hoedown baby (seriously) and is now living and working in the old buckeye state. But Jordan, from his humble beginnings at Hoedown, playing outside of his tent to anyone that might listen, to a spot in the songwriter’s circle to his first real set last year has become a staple of this event. So much so that the organizers flew he and his partner, their baby and Jordan’s mom out this year. And Jordan Smart crushed it. There was something different about his performance, his guitar work sounded tighter and stronger, his voice held more intention and his attitude was unstoppable. Maybe it was simply the fact that, at least for the next four days he was in a place in which everyone dug what he does? For those four days he was a rockstar. And for those four days he could truly shine. Whatever it was, he took his set time and played songs from his new record released mid-September called, Heart Of It All. And the way Jordan played was perfection and everyone knew it as they watched his mom cry.

Jordan Smart

Holly Bowling followed Jordan and Bowling filled the dimly lit lodge with her reimagined versions of Grateful Dead and Phish tunes she played on piano. Its beautiful music and Holly’s set began with a “China Cat Sunflower” and ended with an “I Know You Rider” with all the twists and turns that needed to be there. Who could argue with a set that envelopes “Althea > Free > Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > St. Stephen > The Other One > Cryptical > St. Stephen > Free”? It was a set that would make any fan of improvisational music smile and weave, eyes closed and mind open to the possibilities that Holly revealed. And the sounds of that piano in those wooden walls made it even sweeter.

The late-night show that night was The Riverside a group of really talented kids from southern California. It was a brave move to gather closely around the condenser microphone and attempt to get your sound across to a late night crowd but this was Lost Sierra and the audience listened intently as the SoCal kids played in the old way, unplugged save the upright bass. The Riverside has a grip of sweet songs and their harmonies are clearly a focus and sound beautiful. If they lack anything it is only some grit to spice up their set.

Low Flying Birds

Friday Highlights: One thing that’s cool about the Hoedown is that while music is most definitely a focus, it is not THE focus. Music generally does not start until well after noon giving hoedowners plenty of time to hike, talk, practice yoga, find food, bloody marys and mimosas.  By the time music starts back up, the crowd is stoked. Friday broke with sunshine and intermittent clouds which caused everybody to take jackets off, put jackets on and take them off throughout the day.

Friday’s first band was a scraggly looking stringband named Low Flying Birds and these guys out of Chico were a hit. They played straight-ahead originals that were unapologetically unpolished but served to get the audience off its feet and dancing. These guys would show up a lot of places over the weekend hungry to play for anyone who would listen. They are on the bill for the Hangtown Halloween Ball in Placerville over Halloween so be sure to check them out. 

Twain

Twain had a set in the lodge around 5pm on Saturday. Twain might be the most artistic, imaginative and evocative performer to have had attended the Hoedown this year. I’m sorry, but I have to write in first person and speak for myself here as there just isn’t any other way to truly convey the effect this guy had on the audience that was there to listen to him. Both Jordan Smart and Hoedown Co-organizer Drew Fisher had told me that this set was not to be missed. He was understated and humble in the extreme as he scrawled out a setlist on a scrap piece of paper. I think he had a handful of Lavender stems in the pocket of his flannel shirt. When he finally got up to the mic and began to play and sing it was like nothing I’ve ever heard before. The only thing I can liken that moment to was the first time I heard Jim James and My Morning Jacket (that is NOT a comparison of musical styles)

Twain has a soaring voice that moves up and down into falsettos and then down to almost a whisper in the span of a breath! I wanted to concentrate on the lyrical message of the songs but the singular quality of his voice was beautifully distracting. His opening song, “Me and Death Were First Time Lovers” was artfully off-putting. You just couldn’t wrap your head around it. “The Angler’ was written from Twain’s inspiration of Winslow Homer’s painting and trying to write a song that sounded like the swipes of Homer’s brush strokes on the canvas! I was left breathless in the honesty of what I heard and caught myself shaking my head throughout most of the set. The bottom line here is that I can’t explain how he sounded, I can’t even begin to try and explain it. Suffice it to say that I listen to a lot of music and I’ve seen a lot of music over the past year. This guy was, by far and away, the most interesting and compelling performer I’ve seen in that amount of time and beyond. Apparently, he’s out on the road for a few dates supporting Langhorne Slim before he releases his next album. When the set was over there were only gentle, respectful applause and, for a moment, nobody moved. Then, when people rose, they just huddled in groups and tried to make sense of what they had just seen. It was a moment for sure.

Willy Tea Taylor’s lodge set later that evening was packed. There was almost no room to move in the old building and Will kept it simple but interesting by it just being him and his guitar but introducing songs that longtime Willy Tea fans either did not know or had not heard in a long time. Will is one part writer and one part musician. The man could, and should, probably write a novel someday but for now it’s all about songs and those songs invoke the golden hills and rolling river near his Knight’s Ferry home. The characters are cowboys, drunks, miners, whores and even horses that he has known or learned of throughout his life. Underneath the surface of the songs, there is a cry to hold on to the old California that is daily disappearing and the ache one feels when there is nothing he or she can do to save it. Those golden hills he loves so much, even at this very minute, are being plowed under to make way for more almond orchards – ever altered and never to be the same. That there were many listeners braving the dropping Friday night temps,  huddled around the outside speakers to hear Will’s words is the testament to the strength of his music and that he has been a Hoedown fixture since year one speaks to the fact that his truth is valued and that it has found a fitting home.

Lost Sierra Hoedown Singers

The Brothers Comatose began their set on the outside stage as soon as the last note from Willy’s four string had finished its sustain. “Braving the cold” was an understatement for these fellas. It was cold, it was really, really cold. Whiskey on these nights became a necessity and a bottle made its way around the band in between their high octane bluegrass tunes. This band is so good at getting people to smile, throw up their hands and surrender to the moment. They called Willy Tea up to the stage for a great cover of The Rolling Stones “Dead Flowers.”

The late night tent hosted Royal Jelly Jive from San Francisco. This band rolls gypsy sounds into funk, funk into rock and rock into jazz. Lead singer Lauren Bjelde has a voice that would sound just as at home on an old wax victrola record as it does coming through your bluetooth speakers. And the band is on fire. Jesse Adams on guitar, accordion, and keys is a force and paired with horns and upright bass, the band got the crowd bumping from the downbeat and the temperature in the tent rose until shortsleeves were seen.

The deep late night in the lodge that night was a singer-songwriter circle that included Jordan Smart, Kelly Jane, Bobcat, Nathan Moore, Willy Tea, Sam Chase, Paige Anderson, Caitlin Jemma and Twain. It was almost too much to have so many incredible singer-songwriters in the same space, each taking two songs and then passing to the next. The vibe was quiet and respectful save for when the odd Royal Jelly leftover stumbled into the building and was lovingly redirected back into the wildness of the chilly night.

Saturday Highlights: The music did not start until 4pm on Saturday to give time for the live theatre production that takes place every year in the lodge. A labor of love, a play is presented by Hoedown folks and their kids that finds a happy audience in the many children that run around the grounds over the course of the weekend. The Riverside opened the sunny Saturday stage with a set very similar to their late night set on Thursday. Bobcat Rob Armenti played a solo set inside the lodge after the Riverside had finished. Bobcat has a bluesman’s voice, raspy in its vibrato and confidant. His set this afternoon was understated but gave a hint for what was to come in his closing Sunday set.

The Sam Chase and the Untraditional followed Bobcat on the outside stage and it was immediately apparent that whiskey would be needed because when that sun dropped behind the timbered ridge the temps dropped precipitously. And this is when the first shotskis of the weekend showed themselves beside the bottle that worked its way around the band. The Sam Chase and the Untraditional does what few bands can do in the way that they can drive a crowd. The music picks the audience up and drags it, ready or not into a party and that party is not all fun. That party is life; it is disappointment, anger, celebration and exhortation. 

And then it was time for Willie Watson. Probably the unofficial headliner of the Hoedown, Willie strolled into the absolutely jam-packed lodge armed with a recently released album’s worth of new material and a crowd that had been anticipating this moment since their arrival on Thursday. Willie was palpably excited, he clenched his teeth in an anticipatory smile and started the night off with an old railroad spike driving song titled, “Take This Hammer.” Willie is, at this point, a repository of American folk music like a living breathing Library of Congress. The man mines tradition and pulls nuggets from the canon of American music that he can then bring to the rest of us. He does this with no more than his voice, a guitar, a banjo and a harmonica. 

Willie Watson

But it was “Gallows Pole,” a song that was played by Lead Belly but probably predates him, that really gut-punched the absolutely silent audience. Willie held us spellbound in his hands, his songs – our songs – were stories that held us in a state of rapture. The moment was not lost on Willie. Toward the end of his set, he spoke of how lucky he was to make a living doing what he loved but that his career was not free of its pitfalls, that he often played to audiences that did not understand his purpose. This, he said, was not one of those nights and with lips aquiver with emotion he thanked the audience for one of the best nights of his tour. The crowd was turned loose to re-up drinks, and get ready for The Dead Winter Carpenters on the outside stage. The Dead Winter Carpenters did a great job bringing their Tahoe brand of jamgrass to their enthusiastic audience. Jamgrass falls a tad short after watching the deep roots of Willie’s previous set so it was hard for some to settle in and truly appreciate what was coming off the stage.

But the main event that night might have been a band that many had no idea they were going to dig. Marty O’Reilly and the Old Soul Orchestra had a 1:30 – 3:00am slot in the lodge and those in the know arrived early to get seats up front and the band rewarded their proactivity. Opening with the one/two punch of “Letters > Preach ‘Em Now,” the band audibly slapped the crowd in the face with a 1:30 wake up. Drunks couldn’t help but get up and dance only to be pushed out of the way by folks who could not abide not being able to see what was happening on the stage. Marty O’Reilly and the Old Soul Orchestra is simply like nothing you will ever hear. To try and tell someone what or who they sound like is a fool’s errand, it just can’t be done and there aren’t many bands out there today for which that can be said (except maybe Twain). This is the band you’ll hear about headlining Red Rocks in a few years. They’re imaginative, they’re smart, and they’re insatiably hungry. Their new album Stereoscope is unlike any of their previous records, it is progressive and the momentum of this band is undeniable. 

Randy Russell, Willy Tea Taylor and Amanda Russel

Sunday Highlights: Sunday is a hard day at any multi-day musical event. Some of the friends you’ve been with for a few days have to leave and goodbyes have to happen. The real world begins to loom large as that sense of responsibility starts to creep its way back into your brain. For those who took Monday off, though, we had a little longer hang and The Lost Sierra Hoedown had a few more surprises to reveal. After sets by Tom Letson and a great second set from Chico’s Low Flying Birds, Calaveras County’s Risky Biscuits took the outside stage. This band is reminiscent of San Francisco’s Tea Leaf Green with extended jams and an upfront keyboard lead. The evening would see them join forces with Willy Tea Taylor a little later.

Caitlin Jemma and the Goodness followed the Risky Biscuits. Caitlin began her set as the sun made its way closer to the ridgeline and the light began to soften. It was an appropriate time for Caitlin to sing a few of her songs solo and it was a good choice. When the Goodness came up, things got a little louder and looser and there was time for a shotski too. Jordan Smart came back for his second full set of the weekend to a thinning but attentive crowd. His song, “Everywhere I Go” took on a special meaning as thoughts turned to the closing of the weekend and the vibe attendees would have to carry with them for a year until it can all happen again. One of the set standouts, “Young Man,” is about as timeless a folk song as it gets with Smart calling on his character to go out and persevere through pain with hard work and humility, to feel the essence of life in all its forms without pharmaceutical filters or iPhone screens and to embrace all that really makes us human.  The lyrics were timeless – Pete Seeger would dig it.

Willy Tea’s final set of the weekend followed and, unbeknownst to those ready to listen, Will was joined by the Risky Biscuits and formed a group they called Tea and Biscuits. The “California” set opener was preceded by Will’s now signature Tom Joad rap from the end of Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” and crashed into the dust bowl anthem. The material for the set largely came from Will’s 2015 release Knuckeball Prime with the exception of an extended rendition of probably the gnarliest murder ballad of all time entitled, “Molly Rose” from his record, Four Strings.

Tea and Biscuits was joined about mid-way through the set by Randy and Amanda Russell, as well as Nathan Moore, Rick Maisel and other members of the Knights Ferry Bait and Tackle choir to join in on Will’s new tune, “Knight’s Ferry Anthem.” And then Will passed the microphone over to Randy and took his place as a backup singer for Randy’s powerful original song called “Trouble.” This portion of the set became a Sierra Foothills rager! As the set steamed along, the whiskey flowed, shotski after shotski, until only the bottle was passed around and then, at the end of a jazzy “One Yard At A Time,” Will stepped up to the microphone and began speaking in Sioux, yes, Sioux. Amidst a raucous crescendo, he raised his arm and shouted and pointed at the crowd swapping Sioux for English, “Do you see that I am your friend? Can’t you see that I am your friend?” That could be the first time that lines from Kevin Costner’s Dances With Wolves was ever quoted in a rock show, but with Will it is par for the course. The man draws from every inspiration from every point in his life and these whiskey infused exhortations left the crowd cheering as Will was embraced by co-organizer “Z”.

Bobcat Rob Armenti

But the night was still not done. Bobcat Rob Armenti and the Kitchen Sink came on after Will. Bobcat was plugged in now and he railed with his electric guitar. The trio was bluesy and gritty with swirling guitar lines and Rob’s gravely vocals. It’s always good to end a day of music with a power trio but it so rarely happens. There were hints of Hendrix in the guitar, a little Howlin’ Wolf here and there in the vocals and a lot of just good rock n’ roll.  Intermittently someone onstage would tell a joke between songs, “Z” would judge with a, “that’s funny” or a low and brooding “shooooootskiiiiii” for punishment. Sunday Funday was now in full effect, Organizers Drew and “Z” could be spotted with beers (a sight that stopped for the most part Thursday) and there were hugs and smiles as the finish line came in sight. The last song of the night was the “Lost Sierra Hoedown” an anthem Bobcat put together years ago and the right way to end the weekend. 

And then that was it, the music was done. Somebody threw some funk on the PA and folks hung around or went inside to find acoustic instruments and jam. The weekend was huge, it was long and it was fun in the greatest sense. Annual friendships were emboldened, new friendships were made and so much wonderful music was heard. Matt Goff the drummer for Marty O’Reilly and the Old Soul Orchestra said, “I call it the Lost Sierra Lottery. Everybody wins and all you have to do is buy a ticket.” That’s where we’ll leave this.

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