By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Angela Perley, the opening Main Stage act at this year’s Black Swamp Arts Festival, set the tone for the night.
She and her band laid down rocking country sounds.
And then there were those boots — knee-high, bright orange cowboy boots that coordinated with her dress and guitar.
Those boots are meant for rockin’ and that just what Perley and the artists who followed her on the Main Stage did.
Three of the four acts featured a country flair the exception being Strictly Fine, the high spirted horn powered funk sextet that followed Perley. Strictly Fine set a party tone that set a bunch of youngsters dancing in front of the stage.
The festival drew a crowd that ranged in age from these tiny dancers to elders. Old friends reunited with pals from out of town. It seems like even folks who only lived here for a few years, a long time ago, are drawn back to BG at festival time.
The festival opened as the storm system that passed through earlier in the day was breaking up leaving fall-like temperatures in its wake. That weather should persist throughout the weekend so those coming out to tonight’s show should bundle up.
Headliners tonight (9-7-24) are Yam Yam at 6:15, Amy Helm at 8, and the Sensational Barnes Brothers wrapping things up at 10 p.m.
The art shows run until 6 p.m. today. Click for festival schedule.
Todd Herrington, bass.
On Friday night country rock guitar ruled prime time.
Cris Jacobs, fronting a trio, delivers his songs with a smooth charismatic baritone. He accented those with driving guitar lines, favoring his cigar box guitar, a downtown instrument perfect for his musical explorations with roots in traditional blues and bluegrass.
Jacobs and Daniel Donato, whose Cosmic Country closed out the night, share a lot of musical influences, including early exposure to the Grateful Dead.
As Jacobs was wrapping up his set when he summoned Donato from the wings to join him for the last two tunes.
They burned up the stage with their exchanges.
That jam band sensibility hit full stride when Donato’s Cosmic Country came on at 10, riffing through the final sound check, like a thoroughbred anxious for the race to start.
Yes, the songs had lyrics, and Donato is a fine singer, but the emphasis was on the instrumentals with everyone in the band contributing to the free-flowing sound.
Drummer Willie “Bronco” Clark nail down the grooves while bassist Willie “Mustang” McGee offer loping countermelodies to the leader’s guitar. Nathan “Sugar Legg” Aronowitz on keyboards spun out psychedelic clouds of sound fitting the band’s name. Late in the set, he whipped out his guitar to spar with Donato.
Donato for his part s was happy to loosen the reins on his posse and let the music go where it wanted, and that was far.
While playing mostly originals, the band offered an instrumental version of the classic “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky.” After conjuring the song’s inherent spookiness, they doubled up the tempo, for a devilish climax.
By this time, the crowd was eight deep in front of the stage.
The musical bar was set high for the rest of the weekend. The acts scheduled on all the stages — Main, Community, and Youth Arts — are poised to take up the challenge. They promise to offer performances worth bundling up to experience.
