It’s early Sunday afternoon and already steamy and sticky in Manchester, Tennessee. We head purposefully to Which Stage to get close to see Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue. We got a late start, which sucked, because there was no way to get as close as we wanted. I was a bit shocked. After all, it was Sunday, half past noon. Most of Bonnaroo hadn’t stopped the Saturday party but four or five hours ago (thank you MGMT and moe.) In between me and the front row were several thousand fellow Bonnaroonians, excited to celebrate Sunday morning services with Mike Farris.
Farris and his band ran through a high energy, emotional run of songs that had the audience shouting hallelujahs and amens while shading their eyes from the still rising Tennessee sun. Mike Farris, beneath a smart hat and shades, sang and played with the passion of a believer. Sure, it was religious, which, as a twelve year veteran of the internal struggle between good and evil that is Catholic School I have come to regard with great suspicion. But this music moved me. This music took hold, got inside my head. No, I didn’t drop to the ground, speak in tongues or develop stigmata. I didn’t find God, get reborn or suddenly find religion. I was simply moved by the soul and passion in the performance. Dynamically, the band pushed the limits from blues to rock, soul and gospel and back again. And all the while, there’s Farris, all sweat and swagger, belting out both old and new with fire and power, holding the early Sunday crowd in the palm of his hand.
Seeing the energy and movement expended onstage, it was hard to believe that, just forty minutes ago, I had been engaged in a quiet conversation at a picnic table near Radio Bonnaroo with this same person. He, his wife and dog, and I traded stories about our respective Bonnaroo experiences so far. Reserved, holding the bearing of simple Southern grace, Mike was articulate, open and charming as we chatted. There was no hint of the bundle of energy and passion that I saw on stage.
AJ Crandall: So you are from here in Tennessee?
Mike Farris: I’m actually really close. My home town is about ten or fifteen minutes from here. My mom lives less than a mile, as the crow flies, from where we are sitting. I might be the only true local that’s ever played here.
AJ : So, who have you seen so far this weekend that you’ve been impressed by?
Mike Farris: David Byrne. Oh, and the Steel Drivers, I saw them yesterday and they were just amazing. They’ve got one of the best singers, in the world, in that guy, Chris Stapleton. We’ve got our little boy with us, so we took him to see, you know, a lot of the classics. Like Mr. David Byrne, Mr. Elvis Costello. We took him over to see Bruce (Springsteen) last night. I thought Bruce did a really great job, connecting with the people.
READ ON for more of AJ’s chat with Mike Farris…
