Its name belied the northern location of the host city, but
undeniably the air was full of sounds, smells and sentiments that meant for one
weekend Perth in Scotland could make a valid claim as the UK’s capital of
American roots music. The Southern Fried Festival resumed its role as a
pre-eminent force in fulfilling a desire for folks to indulge in a romantic
love affair with cultural and culinary offerings from that collective group of
states affectionately known as the ‘Deep South’. Alongside the daily serving of
inventive soul food (far from your usual feast of festival transient cuisine),
the organisers once again invited an exceptional band of guests to ensure the
whole pot of bubbling roots music was represented with artists excelling in
styles such as gospel, soul, blues, bluegrass, country, folk and Cajun. Throw
in some good ole rock n’ roll and that indefinable genre of Americana into the
mix before being served expertly by home grown artists from either side of the border, all perfectly at home in
the company of the highly respected stateside visitors and the stage was set
for three days to linger long in the memory.
This pure city centre located festival had three musical
epicentres weaving its magical sounds from a mild mannered midday start to an
early hour conclusion that showed little sign of refrain once the 2 am formal
curfew had played its hand. Whether you wanted to relax in the grandeur of the
three formal shows in the city’s concert hall, catch some very good local
talent on the nearby outside stage or check out a plethora of outstanding semi
intimate sets at a nearby hotel, the menu was comprehensive and full of class
acts.
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| Rhiannon Giddens |
The term class is just one of a landslide of superlatives to
label Rhiannon Giddens who opened the main proceedings with a twin billed show
in the hall alongside those icons of modern classical bluegrass, the Chris
Thile-led Punch Brothers. Rhiannon elevated her status tenfold with the debut
solo album TOMORROW IS MY TURN released earlier this year and this aspect of
her career is set to spiral in a vertical direction. The hour long set, which
was backed by an excellent band including fellow Carolina Chocolate Drop Hubby
Jenkins, was splendidly populated with songs from the album such as ‘Waterboy’, ‘Up Above My Head’ and ‘Black is the Colour’. Additionally the
home audience enthusiastically greeted the song sung in Gaelic as Rhiannon
celebrated the Scottish heritage thriving in North Carolina.
Following the ecstatic reception Rhiannon received from the
audience was going to be a tough task for the Punch Brothers and one made
tougher when technical problems beset the early stages of their set. However
the solution was probably the one folks came to see anyway as leads were
ditched and all five players shared the single mic. With their take on
bluegrass bordering on classical virtuosity, it is a joy to just sit back and
marvel at the exceptional playing and intricate timing. Early difficulties were
soon discarded as the mash of mandolin, fiddle, banjo, guitar and bass took
control. Perhaps a little fine ear tuning is required to grasp the breadth of
their talents and an a Cappella delivery of ‘The
Auld Triangle’ showcased sublime harmony to marry neatly with the exalted
musicianship of the Punch Brothers in full flow.
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| Celia Woodsmith |
With the sound of first class American roots music ringing
in your ears at the conclusion of the Friday night headline concert, it was a
quick five minute hop across town to the Salutation Hotel and another three
hours of live music to herald in the new day. The choice on offer to festival
attendees is either a couple of up tempo shows downstairs with a full band or a
singer-songwriter showcase upstairs. For the first hour a decision was made to
carry on with the bluegrass theme with the alternative take on the genre from
Grammy nominated act Della Mae. Fronted on stage by the vivacious and sassy
Celia Woodsmith, this five piece combo assembled from several locations across
the North American continent have fast become the find of summer ’15 with their
entertaining songs, engaging personalities and effortless connection between
artist and audience. In a slight deviation from the earlier dates on the UK
tour, the band was heavily focussed on preparing for the following night’s
extravaganza which was to further seal their outstanding introduction to UK
audiences. The lasting memory from Della Mae’s set was that ‘Boston Town’ is now fully endorsed as
one of the songs of summer ’15.
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| Samantha Crain |
The remainder of this first evening of Southern Fried was
spent in the company of two singer-songwriters at different ends of my musical
awareness and split by an ocean in their nationalities. Bristol based, Yola Carter is a new name to me and this introduction to her style of song
presentation made a positive impression and ignited a flame to check more of
her work in the future. Like so many artists this weekend, appearances weren’t
confined to their solo slot and on two further occasions we were granted the
pleasure of listening to Yola sing. In contrast, Samantha Crain, who
directly followed Yola onto the stage, is well known in these quarters
having enjoyed her Edinburgh gig last year and adding a couple of her albums to
the collection. This incredibly dedicated songwriter from Oklahoma keeps the UK
very much on her horizon evidenced by multiple visits to balance her homeland
adventures which has included support slots for First Aid Kit and Buffy Sainte-Marie.
Armed with a considerable number of CD and vinyl versions of her new album,
UNDER BRANCH & THORN & TREE, to sell, Samantha did her utmost best to
tempt punters late into the night to part with their cash by extolling all the
favourable merits of an accomplished singer-songwriter. The new record is also
now safely in my collection.
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| Dean Owens and the Whisky Hearts |
Saturday at Southern Fried saw music spring up in three
locations with the launching of the outside stage to supplement the concert
hall and the hotel. The latter’s offering was now extended to a full afternoon
gig which saw old pals Ags Connolly and Dean Owens team up for a twin set of
border crossing country, roots and Americana music. Ags opened this show in the
Salutation Hotel with a sterling performance of traditional country music
flanked by a couple of extra musicians to enhance his usual solo status. Ags
was returning to the format he used at the same festival twelve months previous
and it also engineered a meet up with Dean Owens who produced his acclaimed
debut album. If Ags represented the south of these isles, then Dean is firmly
planted north of the border and used this homeland gig to re-assemble his
Whisky Hearts backing band to add extra zest to his growing back catalogue in a
live setting. This was the first opportunity to spend more than a fleeting
acquaintance with the music of Dean Owens and the resultant purchase of his new
record INTO THE SEA cemented a growing appreciation for how he perfectly blends
the Americana spirit into songs inspired by feelings, events and observations
closer to home.
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| The Chaplins |
The decision to attend the inside gig, which took up most of
the afternoon, meant time was very limited to catch the mainly Scottish acts
who frequented the outside stage. However two bands caught the eye as events
wound down before the evening’s entertainment. Boogalusa from Dundee used their
five o’clock slot to prove that Cajun and Zydeco music Louisiana style was the
new rock n’ roll, well at least for an energetic forty five minutes. The
Chaplins secured the ‘headline slot’ on the outside stage as the audience was swelled
by those early arrivals for the nearby concert hall show. This heavily
influenced Americana band from Glasgow led by Jill Jackson played a rousing set
to an impressive degree leaving a lingering memory that there is much more on
offer from them.
Having perused the festival line up from the previous year,
it was hard not to feel a little short changed from the Saturday evening
headline show in the Perth Concert Hall as in lieu of another original artist
being added to the bill, the organisers elected to present a tribute show to
the songs of Dolly Parton albeit commissioning the outstanding talent already
present to appear. This is not saying it wasn’t a thoroughly entertaining show
as each performer shared their own take on the iconic singer and the evening
was not confined to a string of sing along hits. Despite her legendary status
and undeniable global appeal, the songs of Dolly Parton don’t really move me to
the limits of their widespread adulation and while each artist put their
exemplary heart into the show there was still a slither of a hastily arranged production.
Della Mae pulled out all the stops to choreograph the evening and provide
backing band duties while an array of vocalists took turns to select a Dolly
song to share. While it has to be admitted that far more pleasure was derived
from seeing each artist deliver their own material over the weekend, there was
an emotional highlight of Jenni Lyn from Della Mae pouring out her heart with a
stunning tearful version of ‘The Grass is
Blue’. Of course the enduring appeal of Dolly meant that this was the best
attended event of the weekend and maybe it played a commercial role to help
support the underlying ethos of the festival.
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| Doug Seegers |
No sooner had the ubiquitous ‘9 to 5’ closed the ‘main event’, the eagerly awaited set by Doug
Seegers commenced at the other nearby venue. There was definitely no short
change from a performer who epitomises the notion that true talent will
eventually find an outlet. From the streets of Nashville to superstardom in Sweden
has been a barnstorming journey for sixty two year old Doug whose talent has
finally been recognised to the extent that he has just been bestowed an
Emerging Artist nomination at the upcoming AMA awards. Doug’s outstanding new
album GOING DOWN TO THE RIVER with its stellar title track formed the
centrepiece of his set which was supported by a three piece backing band led by
the magical fiddle playing of Barbara Lamb. If anything Doug’s model country
voice was even more fetching when bridged by just a microphone and there was a
common consent that a top notch country performer was in our midst.
As per the previous evening an identical decision was made
to spend the first part of the late night slot downstairs before venturing
upwards to calmer surroundings. Not that the upstairs room was any less packed
as Willie Watson took to the stage to adulated acclaim from his many fans
frequenting the audience. Willie’s cult appeal has grown significantly since he
departed the Old Crow Medicine Show with his debut solo release being produced
by roots impresario Dave Rawlings. With a slightly quirky and surreal stage presence,
Willie cuts right into the heart of traditional American folk music. It may
have been well past the midnight hour but Willie’s famed version of ‘Midnight Special’ had everybody singing
and in full appreciation of an artist on top of his game.
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| Lisa Mills |
There was only a slight movement in the audience between the
sets of Willie and the artist who brought the curtain down on the festival’s ‘Late
and Southern Fried’ programme. Any American roots festival needs a healthy
portion of the blues and straight from Mississippi via a number of other places
Lisa Mills was in full voice to meet the requirement. Lisa has been a regular
visitor to the UK for a number of years and was first seen a while back
supporting Seasick Steve at Dudley’s iconic, but now defunct venue, JB’s. Fast
forward to this evening and this powerhouse vocalist was in full throttle to
ensure those not too familiar with the wee small hours of the morning didn’t
doze off. Whether interpreting covers or presenting original material in
classic blues style, Lisa took the curfew to its limit in fine style. A slight
detour through the hotel bar on the way out revealed the informal replacing the
formal with the sound and vision of Kimberly from Della Mae jamming with Doug
Seegers, leaving it to the imagination as to when ‘Late and Southern Fried’
unofficially ended.
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| Daniel Meade |
With the late night option off the menu for the festival’s
final day, the only choice was to either spend an afternoon watching the
outside artists or venture one more time to the hotel for the double bill of
Chris Smither and Alvin Youngblood Hart. It was decided to invest some time in
watching the up and coming acts, which was slightly made easier with the
scheduling of Daniel Meade and the Flying Mules at three o’clock. Aided by ace
guitarist Lloyd Reid and the rest of the band, Daniel reeled off a deluge of
timeless toe tapping tracks depicting an age where country music was simpler
and reaching out to an audience moved by a core rhythm unsinkable in its
appeal. Twelve months after discovering Daniel from his Sturgill Simpson
connection, the passion is still flowing, the guitar is still strumming and the
songs continue to effortlessly spill out. The acts in the hotel may have had
more esteem, but it would have been tough to leave Daniel’s homeland without
witnessing a storming forty five minute set from him.
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| Daniel Meade and the Flying Mules |
So to the festival finale and it’s a return to the Perth
Concert Hall for one final time with the missing pieces of soul and gospel to
be finally found in the form of two highly acclaimed US artists. In a double
billed show titled ‘Rock My Soul’, The Fairfield Four and The McCrary Sisters sandwiched
a pair of individual sets within two collaborative pieces to ultimately get
right deep into the heart of what the South is all about. This latest line up
of The Fairfield Four, an active group since the 20’s, possessed its fair share
of experience and they sold their vision inspirationally through a distinguished
set of a Cappella numbers proclaiming their faith and uniting contrasting strands
of the secular spectrum with full blooded believers. The McCrary Sisters were
also not to shy away from the faith angle and used the full breadth of their
sisterly harmony to fill the hall with a heavenly atmosphere of spiritually
influenced southern soul. This excellent pairing closed the loop of the
American roots tradition and if you’re going to put the word ‘Southern’ in your
festival’s title then ensure that no musical stone is left unturned.
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| Ags Connolly |
As a side line to the truly authentic food and the brilliant
blend of high class genuine American artists with those from our shores doing it
the right way, the organisers also presented a number of American roots music
themed films in conjunction with the local picture house. So a couple of ‘down
time hours’ was spent watching ‘Another Day, Another Time…’ and ‘Down From The
Mountain’. Both presentations were perfectly in sync with the mood of the
festival with the former featuring the music inspiring the film ‘Inside Llewyn
Davis’ and the other from that roots revival centrepiece ‘O Brother, Where Art
Thou’. A cinema setting with surround sound made a great environment for
watching both films as they each were based on a concert featuring some of
America’s finest contemporary roots artists.
There was no better way to start a twelve day Scotland trip than
three days on the banks of the River Tay soaking up sounds more akin to the
Mississippi, Cumberland, Ohio etc. Southern Fried deserves full praise for booking
so many superb artists and organising a festival which rarely strayed from its ethos
and mission statement. Overall the organisation and presentation was first
class with an acute eye on maximising local interest which eventually will be
the lifeblood of an urban festival away from heavily populated centres.
Southern Fried continues to find the winning formula and it is without doubt that
this festival will keep Perth on the UK’s Americana landscape whilst continuing
to flourish in the future.