On the second and final day of the Gasparilla Music Festival on March 10th, the crowd in Tampa, Florida was treated to another day of solid eclectic music, with a combination of local bands and those who came as far as New Zealand.
Beyond Chaotic kicked off the festivities. Fronted by 13-year-old guitarist Max Karafilis and his 10-year-old sister Alex on bass, the band pulled off an impressive performance, showing confidence and technical skill that transcended their youth. With a strong grunge and post-punk influence, Beyond Chaotic delivered a high-octane set of aggressive bangers. All of the songs performed were written by Max, except the set-closing cover of Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out,” another impressive feat for such a young band.
Another sibling band, Ruen Brothers, coming all the way from England, followed with an uneven set of vintage rockabilly. Opening with “Lonely Weekend,” the band worked its way through a set that combined elements of folk, rockabilly, bluegrass, and rock. With no bass in the band, they used twangy rhythmic strumming to add the bottom end to the songs. Old-school vocal harmonies were a strong suit for the Ruen Brothers, though Henry Stansall’s vocals sometimes became grating. Mostly focusing on original material, they also played three covers from Johnny Cash, J.J. Cale, and Chuck Berry.
Orlando band Hannah Harber and the Lionhearts provided one of the best performances of the weekend, with Harber and company tearing through a set of twangy southern rock. Harber’s voice was a powerful gritty twang that matched her intensity onstage. With “Slow Leak,” the band erupted from a slow blues grind to hard rocking chorus, showcasing the band’s versatility. Harber and company play soft and soulful well, such as “Sorry Darling,” the mid-tempo rock song about alcohol abuse, but never go long without bursting into raw powerful rock.
Jared & the Mill opened its set with a fiery cover of Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes You Happy” before going to the slow roots rock of original song “Hope.” The band’s sound was a rootsy pop-rock of the John Mellencamp variety, with Jared Kolesar laying down smooth, boy-next-door vocals and a dynamic stage presence. “Soul of Mine” was a mid-tempo rocker that thrived off of an infectious bassline. The band mixed soft songs and rockers, with the best slow ballad being the finger-picked “Messengers.” After a few slow songs, Jared and the Mill closed its set with the stomping folk rock of “Keep Me Going.”
New Zealand’s The Beths had the most original sound at the festival, with its unique blend of shimmering pop melodies and punk energy. Singer Elizabeth Stokes sang in her distinctive soft monotone, often accompanied by a four-part harmony from the other members, but the music beneath that crooning ranged from jangle pop to speed punk. The dynamic “Idea/Intent” combined both sounds, with jangling lead guitar licks played over distorted power chords. The band was lacking a bit in stage presence, with Stokes often stoically playing guitar at the mic stand but occasionally bursting into energetic flailing onstage. She introduced the band several times, the last time joking, “We’ve been the Beths this whole time.” It was those contrasts — pop harmonies, jangling lead guitar, and rough rhythm guitar — that made the performance so vibrant.
At a diverse music festival, it’s hard for one artist to adequately wrap up the festivities, but in many ways, Gary Clark, Jr. was the perfect act for the job. Though considered by some to be a bluesman, Clark and his band are wide- ranging in influence, as evidenced by the virtuoso performance Sunday night. Clark is a modern guitar hero and this performance had its share of hair-raising solo histrionics, but it was so much more than that. From the slow chugging “The Guitar Man” to the crunching bluesy “When My Train Pulls In,” Clark showed a penchant for bruising, show-stopping riffs. The punk-influenced “Gotta Get Into Something” showed the band at its heaviest while “Got My Eyes On You,” showed its knack for tight grooves and beautiful clean finger-picked tones. Balancing heavy rock with blues roots, Clark and the band transcended musical boundaries and ended the Gasparilla Music Festival with a performance that was hard to pigeonhole and even harder not to love.
