June 2018
Memorial Day weekend, Monterey Fairgrounds played host to the ninth annual, three-day reggae movement known as Cali Roots. In the three days, Grateful Web was at Cali Roots, there was one word we just kept hearing over and over again; “Homecoming.” From fans we met in the crowd to artists we spoke with behind the scenes, it seemed to be the magic word that everyone could relate to. But to say Cali Roots is a homecoming would be if anything, an understatement.
The 35th Annual Chicago Blues Fest proved to be as artistically relevant and musically satisfying as ever. The three-day free festival celebrated the undisputed role Chicago blues legacies had in creating the electric blues, its international recognition, and its influence, including the impact on subsequent musical art forms, starting with rock and roll.
SPAC, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center is one of those venues that has always been a special place to visit. The concert shed is located in the State Park, a couple of miles from downtown Saratoga Springs, NY. Saratoga State Park is known for its healing springs. The waters are rumored to be magical. FDR bathed in these spring waters during the Great Depression as a treatment for his Polio.
After a successful tour together last year, classic rockers and long-time friends Steve Miller and Peter Frampton return on the road together again for some summer shows.
Topics
The temperature was perfect, and there was an early start to the night with the leader in British funk, The New Mastersounds. The Wales Ambassador, Eddie Roberts and his boys took the stage and wasted no time at all. Their flavor of funk is a unique, intricate, classy guitar-heavy instrumental sorcery. On this night, they even added a horn section to join them. As a side note, once at an ARISE Music Festival press conference that I was leading, I unexpectedly asked Roberts why he thinks that the tiny area of Great Britain produces so much brilliance in music, art, literature, etc. It was an idea that always baffled my mind how an area the size of Kansas can make so much beautiful art. His answer was brilliant. He responded after a pause with, “Misery.” Everyone in the room got a laugh, and one of my life long-burning questions was revealed. When their set came to an end after only 45 minutes, Roberts thanked the crowd and said that it seemed short, but that was because they are so used to often playing for 3 hours plus.
