Over the past decade, a multitude of live music fanatics have ventured to the beautiful Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in mid-April to attend the Wanee Music Festival. Promising a vibrant mix of musical acts, The Pier couldn’t be more ready to head down to the 10th annual gathering.
With only a week till the wonderful event they call Wanee, it’s almost that time again. A time to roam through trails lined by moss draped oaks, to watch a talented group of bands perform on several stages spread throughout the wooded landscape. Kicking off on Thursday, April 10th in Live Oak, Florida, 30 bands are set to play 3 days through Saturday, April 12th. Though the bill may seem brief, the weekend’s scheduled is sure to be pack with some of the best Rock, Jam and Worldly bands around.
Started in 2005, hosted with headlining sets from the legendary Allman Brothers Band, this year again features their headlining sets. While it’s the 10th year of the festival, 2014 also marks the 45th anniversary for The Allman Brothers Band.
This year is even more momentous with an announcement made by Gregg Allman that that The Allman Brothers Band will stop touring at the end of the year. So this year of shows will be the last time to see the whole group together with their current lineup. One which includes guitarists Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes, both of whom will go on to spend more time playing with their own bands. Leading up to these highly anticipated sets on Friday and Saturday will be sets by many more beloved acts, all legends in their respective scene.
First and foremost we must mention our excitement to see recently awarded, now six time Grammy winner Ziggy Marley perform on Friday April 11th. Over the past several years, the Wanee bill has had a Reggae presence. This year, festival organizers have delivered with one of the hottest Reggae acts touring this summer. With his fifth solo studio album, Fly Rasta set to drop just days after Wanee, Ziggy is sure to bring new tunes and classic hits to his set before flying over seas on his international tour. As a follow up to our Ziggy Marley Interview, be sure to check back for The Pier’s Ziggy Marley concert review article.
Also performing at this year’s Wanee Festival will be one of our favorite Silverback bands, funk outfit Dumpstaphunk. A band that has been constantly performing on tour and appearing at many major music festivals all over the US for years. More recently the group has been supporting their new record, Dity Word. However, Dumpstaphunk previewed a few of those new tracks at last year’s Wanee and many fans have seen Dumpstaphunk play their originals many times, so at Wanee, the group has been known to change it up. In 2012, the group played a “D-Phunk Does P-Funk” a set of all Parliament Funkadelic covers. This year, Dumpstaphunk will play a set covering the music of Led Zeppelin!
Also on the line-up, is the Trey Anastasio Band, composed of the Phish front man and backed by an all-star band. Other bands supporting the Jam scene at Wanee this year will be two of the genre’s heavy hitters, Umphrey’s McGee, and moe., two acts that are sure to melt many of faces with their modern mix of sounds.
Bringing up the more classic end of Jam music at Wanee will be the slidey bluesy sounds of three beloved acts. Tedeschi Trucks Band featuring Susan Tedeschi and her husband Derek Trucks of ABB, always seem to blow the crowd away. The Chris Robinson Brotherhood, the side project of Black Crowes front man, will deliver that iconic American Rock sound. Finally Gov’t Mule and its leader Warren Haynes of ABB will tirelessly play riff after riff of Southern Jam Rock for what is sure to be a packed field of loyal fans.
Other highlights will surly be Royal Southern Brotherhood, led by Gregg Allman’s son Devon Allman and Cyril Neville, as well as the renowned Blues Traveler. Also listed are many other acts, too numerous to discuss individually, including Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, Hot Tuna Electric, Rusted Root, Soulive, Walter Trout, Rob Garza (of Thievery Corporation), Blind Boys of Alabama, Bobby Lee Rodgers, Melvin Seals & JGB, Futurebirds, Berry Oakley’s Skylab, Matt Schofield, Break Science, Pink Talking Fish, Sean Chambers, and the The Yeti Trio.
Festival organizers have once again done an amazing job of infusing, fun camping and live music with a festival line up that includes excellent acts down end of the line-up, with Florida’s own up-and-coming Reggae, World fusion band The Hip Abduction closing out the bottom of the bill. Happening April 10th-12th, be sure not to miss a Wanee weekend that will be one for the books!
Tickets for Wanee can be found on sale now here. For more information on the event check out the details below:
Wanee Music Festival Links:
Wanee Website
Wanee Facebook
Article By: Aaron Solomon
WATCH: This video playlist Livenation has put together for Wanee 2014.
