Champlain Valley Exposition kicked off it’s summer ‘Midway Lawn’ concert series on July 28th with a trio of delightfully different, but fitting musical selections. Singer-songwriter Tre Burt, Carolina blues rockers Marcus King Band and Americana meets soul revivalists Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats treated their Vermont audience to a diverse cross section of tunes.
Sacramento based Burt began the evening, with a brief acoustic set, providing the perfect backdrop for the just-out-of-work audience to get settled, and paving the way for South Carolina’s Marcus King Band to take the stage just prior to sundown. King cranked up the energy, with a roaring and bluesy set. King, whose ‘How Y’all Feelin” summer tour has joined up with Rateliff’s northeastern leg of the current tour, is no doubt feelin’ good, by the sounds of it.
The one-time protege of jam-scene torchbearer Warren Haynes has come into his own as a band leader and guitarist in recent years. Backed by long-time bandmates Jack Ryan, Stephen Campbell and Justin Johnson; King and his band roared through a set of searing blues, including “Have You Ever Been Mistreated,” featuring both tasteful lead playing and soulful vocals from King; the combination of which brought cheers from the die-hard fans on the rail. King wasn’t the only one to shine, however. The newest member of the ensemble, former Gregg Allman band member, Peter Levin added magnificent organ work on the King Band staple, Virginia (And later on the Michael Bolton classic ‘When A Man Loves A Woman).
Not to be outdone, the band segued into an extended jam on the Santana classic ‘Soul Sacrifice’. Led primarily by King and Campbell, the masterful improvisational interlude gave drummer Jack Ryan room to take his turn in the spotlight, delivering a bombastic drum solo, and allowing his fellow bandmates a few moments of respite from the action. The final highlight was undoubtedly a touching King-led sing-along on Carolina Confessions’ ‘Homesick’, with nearly all in attendance joining the guitarist for the chorus, ‘You’re the only one who makes me homesick, you’re the only one who keeps me honest.’ The middle set of the evening rocked to a close with the infectious riff of “The Well,” King’s first single from 2020’s solo LP El Dorado, before playing King off stage into the setting sun.
As the sun began slipping below the horizon, the real party began. Fresh off the release of their new live album, ‘Red Rocks 2020’, and having spent 400-plus days on hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats took the stage, visibly happy to be back performing for full audiences again. And having proved themselves capable of softer performances with the new live album, it was also clear they were ready to break loose and return to their more upbeat on-stage adventures. After a quartet of ‘warm-up’ songs, Rateliff & Co. found the sold-out crowd’s dance button, ‘Howlin’ At Nothing’, and hit a groove, taking their foot off the gas just in time for a front row marriage proposal, during 2018’s Tearing At The Seams’ ‘A Little Honey’. Rateliff, having spotted the occasion, adeptly dedicated the following selection, ‘Love Me ‘Till I’m Gone’ to the newly engaged couple. With the festivities complete, Rateliff mused about the combination of introspection and unexpected opportunities the last year had afforded the band, alluding to the Night Sweats appearances on Saturday Night Live, Kimmel, A Late Show and the famed NPR Tiny Desk Series.
The remainder of the night’s energetic set was dominated by songs from Tearing At The Seams, with a brief appearance from hometown star, Grace Potter, who was met by energetic cheers on either end of her soulful sit-in on “What If I” – a song prefaced by Rateliff as ‘A song most of you might not know’. The night’s party picked up steam again amid fading cheers for Potter, culminating in the Night Sweats’ standby, “I Need Never Get Old”. As expected, the packed house enthusiastically cheered for, and were treated to, a trio of encore songs, including an energetic rendition of ‘S.O.B’, which saw Rateliff step down from the stage onto the top of the monitors and conduct the excitement.
Photos by Ross Mickel at Bootleggers Beware
