There is a motto banded around Austin Texas, probably
originating in the tacky tourist trade, of ‘so much music too little time’.
This will likely also apply to many music events around the country, and in
our own little world of deepest Suffolk on the first weekend of July, it was
certainly a theme when reflecting upon the 10th renewal of the
Maverick Festival. Some events grow, some events fizzle and die, but there is a
level of consistency that singles out this now established festival, ranging
from its gorgeous idyllic setting to the way the organisers feed the thirst for
the type of music so many of its dedicated followers crave. Even the golden
ball in the sky accepts the invite each year. Nevertheless, one interesting
thought in the aftermath is what drives the viewing habits of folks over the
weekend.
The beauty of Maverick, and its compact location, is the
appeal to spontaneous drifters with the urge to just saunter around the stages
taking in full/part sets plus anything that catches the ear. On the other hand
you have the dedicated planner with every hour marked out, maximising the
volume of artists on offer to a multitude of motives. This can include old
favourites, new favourites, hot tips and ones making the transition from record
to stage in the domain of the listener. Inevitably, there are going to be many
fine artists who don’t make a planner’s list; some have been seen elsewhere on
a recent/upcoming tour or on a more frequent basis, while others could be the
unknown stars of tomorrow. Therefore, with the crystal ball for tomorrow’s
stars not fully functioning, the pick of the unseen acts was likely to be between
Dean Owens, Worry Dolls, Erin Rae, Annie Keating, The Black Feathers and Hannah
Aldridge. All have been subject to kind praise here in the past and please stay
tuned for much more on the latter as her UK tour proceeds.
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| Lachlan Bryan |
However, let’s focus more on the many artists who formed a
near wall-to-wall batch of great music from the Friday 5 o’clock launch to when
time was almost upon us just after Sunday lunch. What better place to start
than an artist who was highlighted the week before from a trusted source and transpired
to be the find of Maverick 2017. While seasoned Aussie rockers The Black
Sorrows made the preview headlines with their Saturday night closing slot, it
was their compatriots Lachlan Bryan and the Wildes, which stole the limelight
some twelve hours earlier with a both fascinating and fabulous set on the
outside stage. Lachlan’s songs, stories, music and stage persona was right on
the mark for a festival with a left field streak. The comment of an ‘Aussie
Cale Tyson’ resonated with a few others and an initial final bonus was the
announcement that he hopes to follow up this inaugural English show (following on
from some Scottish dates) with a tour in the New Year. However, the icing on
the cake was catching Lachlan and the guys later playing an impromptu 15-minute
set on the unscheduled Travelling Medicine stage with the enhanced appeal of
expanding their song repertoire.
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| Justin Townes Earle |
Justin Townes Earle still holds my record for the lowest
ever attendance at a ticketed gig when first seen in 2008. Those days are long
behind and he has become a firm favourite over the years. His Maverick Festival
Saturday night slot in the Barn was billed as one of the headline sets. True to
form, this stylish performer who has successfully stripped away the family ties
to make an acclaimed individual stance appeared with a chipper disposition
ready to show how a stellar bunch of songs and an engaging personality can blow
a hole in an event packed with other outstanding music. Justin’s appearance at
the festival was the only feasible chance to see him on this short UK tour.
Playing alongside exceptional guitarist and pedal steel player Paul Niehaus,
Justin didn’t disappoint and rewarded the wise decision to view the whole set, up close and personal.
Prior to Justin taking the stage, Sierra Hull played a
captivating set of virtuoso mandolin playing accompanied only her colleague on
stand-up bass. In contrast to the artist that followed her, Sierra was in the
camp of being seen for the first time and displayed every inch of her class,
even as the temperature soared with the Barn drenched in the last remnants of a
sun that heeded to the order. Sierra is basing this current UK visit around her
Grammy nominated album release from last year WEIGHTED MIND and her highly
technical set weaved a classical input into a trademark bluegrass sound.
Preluding Sierra on the Barn stage, and also falling into the camp of seeing
live for the first time, was country outfit American Young. This core duo, expanded
into a quartet for the tour, represented a strand of music not normally the
staple of Maverick. While there is a debate as to whether they fit the ethos of
the event, they were well received by an appreciative audience.
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| Sierra Hull |
Moving away from the transatlantic acts populating the Barn
on Saturday night, the whole of the Friday evening on the nearby Peacock stage
was commissioned by the AMA UK to showcase emerging British talent. Of the six
artists scheduled, three made my viewing list for the evening on the basis of
checking two out for the first time and breaking all the rules laid out for
omitting artists as expressed earlier in this piece for the other performer.
Sophia Marshall and The Grande were both new names to me and greatly impressed
in their opportunity to expand a fan base. Some really strong songs flowed from
Sophia’s generally singer-songwriter acoustic base, though there was a band in
tow for this show. The Grande impressed immensely with their substantial bout
of alt-country rock, paying homage to the three-part harmony while injecting
energy into a set, which utilised the standard array of instruments including
the expanded use of keyboards to bridge the country-rock divide. Just a quick
word on Danni Nicholls’ performance at the heart of this presentation. There is
no finer artist playing her all round style of music in the UK at this moment
in time. She blossoms as a performer with every appearance, even on this
occasion when playing solo without Max Milligan on accompanying guitar. The combined
history of Danni Nicholls and my Maverick experience go back to 2010 when the
third staging of this event launched both an artist and a festival to stay on
my horizon ever since.
Usually my Maverick Friday evenings tend to be split between
the Barn and the Peacock, but this year’s desire to seek out newer artists saw
a quick two-minute walk to the Moonshine on a couple of occasions. First up was
to see a performance from Alabama-based singer-songwriter Amy McCarley who
interestingly stated in her set that being a full time musician is a recent
move for her after spending time working for NASA. If Amy’s music was excellent standard singer-songwriter fare, a later visit to the Moonshine saw the far more
eclectic duo Royal Jelly Jive. This San Francisco-based pair were literally
straight off the plane and shrugged off any jetlag to stir the Maverick pot
with some entertaining music, best described as ‘jivin’’ in the festival
programme.
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| Hannah Rose Platt in session |
Earlier it was indicated that some artists make a festival
viewing cut by adding the live performance to enjoying their recorded material.
It was a privilege to be among the first folks to shower online praise on Hannah Rose Platt’s debut album PORTRAITS a couple of years back. Up until her
Saturday lunchtime set on the outdoor location (retaining its attached name of
the Sweet Alabama Stage assumedly from some sponsorship a few years ago) the
path of seeing Hannah in a live setting hadn’t been crossed. The omission was
corrected as she played an emerging set of songs from both the aforementioned
album and the impending new one. Emerging also in the sense of opening with
three solo songs before first introducing guitar/keys playing sidekick Thomas
Collison and then a drummer to eventually complete the line-up. The
infrastructure, association and material expansion is in place for the career
of Hannah Rose Platt to continue to flourish and hopefully this will be the
first of many Maverick appearances. Hannah was also one of many artists to play a session in Leader's Live Lounge over the weekend for broadcast to the wider world at a later date.
An additional factor for the Maverick set viewing choice
could be the near guarantee appearance of extensive Saturday afternoon sunshine,
which enhances the appeal of the sole outdoor stage. The general rule for this
setting is that it is predominately the domain of largely up-tempo full band acts
with the Clubhouse stable providing a couple of back-to-back mid-afternoon
slots in the guise of Don Gallardo and Case Hardin. Both have been Maverick
favourites in the past with Don especially growing from the often buried
confines of the Moonshine location to this latest higher profiled billing.
Linking up with a ‘Danberry’ on guitar, borrowing the drummer from Danny and the
Champs and utilising the ubiquitous talents of Thomas Collison, Don and his
usual travelling sidekick Travis Stock set about demonstrating what an
accomplished and established artist he has become from a touring perspective.
Case Hardin were just their usual appealing selves, rocking especially hard in
the set finale with some of the best tracks from the excellent COLOURS SIMPLE
album.
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| Don Gallardo |
A picture is emerging that for a multitude of reasons the
outdoor stage became my prime focus for the sun-drenched hours between 11 and
6. Southern Companion kicked things off and gently felt their way into this
environment with a trio of popular covers from Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton
and Ryan Adams featuring high in their set. While celebrating the works of
others is not unknown at Maverick, especially in choreographed arrangements
such as last year’s Jimmie Rodgers tribute and a similar one for Hank Williams
in the Peacock this year, original material tends to be the de facto position
with covers probably getting a minimal sprinkling. Indeed, it is the
self-penned song that pumps life into the independent Americana music scene
that is core to the ethos and appeal of Maverick. Following the opening act,
Fargo Railroad Company played a high-octane set of southern rock, and as we
headed towards the end of the outdoor presentation Sonia Leigh returned to a
setting where she has previously excelled. Teaming up with the backing band
from American Young helped project her own material that benefits from a feisty
coating of determined grit. This portrays an artist fighting for every inch of
the music she believes in and winning each bout in the eyes of the fans who
increasingly adore her.
Legendary performers tend to be carefully chosen and pretty
sparse at Maverick, no doubt for the obvious fiscal reasons. However, selecting
Albert Lee to close the outdoor stage was a masterstroke and he set about
showing all and sundry why he is classed as one of the guitar greats over a
career that has taken him to many places and worked with many great people.
On this occasion, legendary UK pedal steel guitarist BJ Cole and Albert’s own
son on keyboards were his prime sparring partners. In his own inimitable style,
the works of many iconic artists were celebrated from the Gram Parsons-Emmylou
Harris axis to Buddy Holly, Glen Campbell and Rodney Crowell. What Albert can
do on electric guitar is literally amazing and while opportunities to catch him
live have been numerous in the past, perhaps Maverick 2017 was one of those
occasions to freeze in the memory bank of the mind.
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| Low Lily |
Sunday morning at Maverick is always a good time to catch
new acts. The double scheduling of certain artists also works in the favour of
those who like to maximise the diversity of music listened to over the weekend.
So the motive for the morning after the night before was to catch the sets of
five performers not previously seen. Both The Danberrys and Terra Lightfoot
have flickered on my horizon in the past, but there is nothing like a live
appearance to boost the understanding of an artist. Canadian rocker Terra had
solely flown the flag for her country on their July 1 national day and word had
got around that the full band gave a heated rocking rousing late night
performance in the Peacock. While the location switched to the Barn for the
second Sunday lunchtime set, the effect was similar as she sailed through a
thirty-five minute exhibition of soulful blues rock. Of course, this tossed
around the debate of style fitting the time of day, but from my perspective
when the music was that good you can easily slip into the necessary groove,
plus there were choices across the three stages providing the Sunday
entertainment. The Danberrys followed Terra in the scheduling, but not in
style. This Nashville based trio operate more on the rootsy folk side of
country music and geared their set to those seeking a more sedate offering.
Co-front person Ben DeBerry had been the guest lead guitarist with Don Gallardo’s
makeshift band the day before, although preferring the acoustic model alongside
his tambourine playing vocalist partner Dorothy Daniel for his band’s set.
Before we leave the Sunday entertainment in the Barn, a
quick word about Vermont-based trio Low Lily which played a very accomplished
set of old time folk music with a particular emphasis on some classic fiddle
playing. They offered a fine contrast to the other bands around their schedule
time, proving that Maverick does literally have all the bases covered across
the broad spectrum of Americana music.
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| Roamin' Jasmine |
The Moonshine stage has been mentioned before and this
slightly hidden gem at the festival can throw up some interesting acts really adding
to the diversity. It’s hard to top a small serving of southern gospel music on
a Sunday morning especially when its architects are the real deal authentic old
time duo Ramblin’ Steve Gardner and Bill Steber. Folks needed little
encouragement to join in with the songs as the beautiful weather for the
festival showed no sign of abating especially at a location, which can act as a
suntrap for those listening outside the venue. The second band caught live at
the Moonshine was another festival tip and a splendid half hour was spent in
the musical company of Roamin’ Jasmine: a Louisiana based jazz band proving the
theory that a stage initially designed for a couple of artists can comfortably
house six musicians with a touch of improvisation. These New Orleans natives
play an infectious style of music close to the roots of their city and while
this was not their Maverick debut, catching them live for the first time was a
wise Sunday morning choice.
As we head towards the conclusion of a highly successful
tenth staging of the Maverick Festival, let’s turn the clock back nearly 48 hours
and give a final mention to the duo that kicked off this personal spin around
the event. True to a pre-determined plan to steer the viewing in a new band
direction more this year, Hymn for Her got the nod and provided a style of
music that got to the very core of the Festival – independent, authentic and
extremely maverick.
Without the omnipresent powers to view every single act plus
the thankful odd social breather, this concludes a comprehensive if not exhaustive list
of the fabulous music that once again brought Easton Farm Park to life. No
doubt during the post-festival reflection further recommended artists will be banded
around, alongside the ‘must have seen’ sets that sadly haven’t made this
review. However, Maverick Festival is not about lamenting what you didn’t see; it
is about celebrating what you did catch, enjoy thoroughly and if so desire,
choose to share with a willing world.
Congratulations Maverick on your tenth anniversary with the hope that the next decade will just be as prosperous.