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| Lachlan Bryan & The Wildes |
It’s Maverick by name & maverick by nature when The Hanging Stars & Lachlan Bryan’s Drunken Piano Bar tear down the Moonshine late on Saturday night. Additionally rocking out to an extraordinary 6-piece Texas cow punk outfit in Vandoliers pulls your emotion in one direction, while the absolutely divine harmonies of Charm of Finches glide you into a polar opposite sphere. Maverick in both senses defies convention. Every act living their dream follows a solo path of destiny. Some for leisure, but all for pleasure. Niche can be the best place to be. Perception keeps most Maverick artists hidden from the masses when exposure to the wealth of talent would lead to an explosion. Then again our little festival would have to start again.
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| The Weeping Willows |
The ultra resourced review will meticulously dissect a stream of simultaneous sets from 4 locations or 5 if you add in the impromptu Travelling Medicine stage Here you get a comprehensive ramble taking in snippets of artists deserving a lot more attention alongside those that locked you in from first song to last.
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| Vandoliers |
Let’s just randomly reflect & dispose the structural notion of linear, location or national cliques. There is no vacancy for king or queen in the egalitarian society of Maverick, but in a twisted scenario Lachlan Bryan would wear the crown of 2022. From opening Friday to closing Sunday morning, assisting his good friend Hannah Aldridge, who was a welcome last minute addition to the line up, and steering the Gram Parsons tribute to a rousing finale, this now etched Maverick Aussie veteran was an omnipresent phenomena. Mind you there is a new Lachlan Bryan emerging in the shape of Sam Chase. Two festivals and countless sets in, the foothold is getting deeper for an artist who epitomises the spirit of the occasion. “Rock Bottom never felt so good” echoed as the closing shot on the Moonshine in the dying embers of the festival and such irony resonates well where pretence is nowhere to be found.
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| The Blue Highways |
I’m going to namecheck all of the artists personally seen. Apologies to those not mentioned. They are just victims of the old Austin strap line - so much music; so little time. One name already mentioned deserves expanding upon. Riley Catherall took a major step out of the shadows as a Lachlan Bryan and the Wildes band member to show his considerable talents as a singer-songwriter. Previously we have seen the odd song at shows, but here we had a full solo set and numerous pop ups including one going head-to-head with the booming sound of the ever powerful Terra Lightfoot. His songs are beautifully constructed and immaculately delivered. The recent album deserves checking out and it is being mooted that a return to these shores is on cards with a lot more focus on his solo material. Mind you the guitar playing is pretty exceptional too.
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| Evangeline Gentle |
If Riley Catherall was the find of the festival then Evangeline Gentle won hands down as the most stylish performer on show. This Canadian had brief exposure in the UK with the pre-lockdown release of her latest album and was an unfortunate casualty of the binned 2020 event. All is well now and her beguiling set in the Barn on Saturday afternoon built on the solid groundwork to establish herself as an overseas recording artist.
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| Miriam Jones |
Maverick usually serves up its fair share of old timers, or at least acts known to me for several years. In Rod Picott’s case it is many more and he showed all the usual fire in the belly of serving a volley of interesting and absorbing observational and story songs. May the juices flow for many more. TreeTop Flyers have delivered a couple of impressive festival sets/shows over the years in my presence and their slot on The Green towards the end of Saturday afternoon confirmed the standing of a top band. They formed a trilogy of home grown full band operations to demand my full attention on a generally sunny yet not too hot Maverick middle day. In contrast to the Flyers, it was the first time catching The Blue Highways and The Hanging Stars. The former packed a powerful punch all decked in rock artistry, while the swagger of the latter matched a forceful attitude with a full throttled dose of West Coast jangle rock.
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| The Hanging Stars |
The Barn on Sunday morning is a good place to catch acts missed on Friday and Saturday. These are often unknown quantities certified as left till last. All three caught were US based and currently on extensive UK/Ireland tours. Luke Callen and Humbird are touring as solo artists together and seamlessly followed each other after a collaboration. They are definitely on the folk-roots side of the Americana spectrum and spin their music in an enchanting way. Similarly, Fellow Pynins showed that the fertile song grounds of the far north west are richly harvested for songs and tunes that travel far.
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| Rod Picott |
It is always good to catch a few Maverick artists out and about during their stay in this country. Karen Jonas brought her stylish brand of Virginian country-Americana mash up to our shores for the first time and her Friday set was a debut performance straight off the plane. While only 20 minutes of her set was seen, a quick post-Maverick dash back home enabled a full Karen Jonas band show to be enjoyed that was an absolute blast. Festivals can sometimes be a sampler for gigs to really showcase a band’s credentials. The Kitchen Garden had a bit of a Maverick theme over the week. Steve Forbert played a sold out show on the eve of his festival appearance and Sam Chase is due to pay a first visit to Birmingham’s premium boutique venue this week.
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| Riley Catherall |
Which brings us nicely onto The Weeping Willows, who play Birmingham on Thursday 7th July. This Aussie duo of Andy and Laura were the third Melbourne act to join the fun after the Wildes and the Finches. They were making a return to the festival after a successful debut in 2018 and embraced the event with three slots covering each of the covered stages across the weekend. Their style of slightly dark folk ’n’ roots blends in a hint of twangy country and embosses the whole spirit of Maverick. It’s a long way from Down Under, but The Weeping Willows are slowly extending their worth to snare many willing listeners, just like they have done Stateside.
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| The Sam Chase Trio |
Josh O’Keefe, Peter Bruntnell and Miriam Jones are a random combination. No relevance other than I’ve seen them before and to a mild extent all three had their sets checked out for fleeting moments. This was part of a desire to have a more floating Maverick than before. O’Keefe was seen in more detail when appearing in one of the first post-lockdown gigs and his unmistakeable influenced style sets him apart. Bruntnell needs no introduction and if you miss him once there is always likely something else round the corner. On the other hand, Miriam Jones has been quite quiet for a couple of years when her shows included opening for Roddy Frame in Birmingham. She is currently on the comeback trail with a new album and beautiful electric guitar to illuminate her stage presence.
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| The Redhill Valleys |
A new name to grace the outside stage this year was Canadian band The Redhill Valleys. This accomplished roots rock outfit held court for their allotted forty minutes and were as distinguished in their sound as much as their look. Substance will always win over style at Maverick and US act Scott Mickelson possesses both. He was referred to by anecdote as a cross between Michael McDermott and Billy Joel. Interesting comparison that gains traction for an artist happy to drop the first name. He won the eventual dual of who to see at 9 o’clock on Saturday night, partly because there wasn’t an urge to track back and see Steve Forbert, who for many was likely to be the highlight of the festival. Each to their own and no opinion in music is strictly right or wrong. Well, not most of the time!
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| TreeTop Flyers |
A quick check through the programme and I think we are nearly there with the shout outs. There were pics and glimpses of Ryan Hamilton as well as Jake AD & the Ragtone Revival, but the brain only has so much capacity. Without going too deep into the acts missed, Baskery, Forty Elephant Gang and The Black Feathers have had their days in the sun with me and will come again. The rest I’ll have to leave.
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| Mickelson |
So Maverick 15 resumed its early July slot and welcomed back the warmer weather after temporarily floating to September last year. There were a few tweaks, mainly in the guise of a live stream from The Barn on Saturday. This had minimal impact on those treading the trusted rural route to Easton Farm Park, other than small twin screens showing the action to folk outside the Peacock. Yes, the famous peacock backdrop is still there. One final thought was a returning memory of 'Wild Horses' beaming from the stage. In 2012 Gretchen Peters and Otis Gibbs duetted on this classic number. Ten years on Lachlan Bryan orchestrated a group singalong from the same spot to close the Parsons tribute. Did Gram really write it? Who knows? Who cares? However the flame of 2012 is still burning brightly in 2022.