Bootsy Collins & Bernie Worrell at Bear Creek

Bootsy Collins

Saturday, November 16, 2013 went down as a huge day in Bear Creek Music & Art Festival‘s history. The main stage lineup at the Big IV Amphitheater was STACKED for nearly 14 hours. Opening at noon with the Bernie Worrell Orchestra (as seen in the videos below) and proceeding with a strong set by Galactic (including a Bernie Worrell sit-in). Elsewhere at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, festival-goers were treated to mid-day sets by George Porter Jr. & His Runnin’ Pardners, Robert Walters’s 20th Congress, and the Mike Dillon Band.

Bernie Worrell Orchestra (Part 1 of 2) 11/16/13 Bear Creek Music Festival:
So Uptight (Move On), BWO Is Landing

Bernie Worrell Orchestra (Part 2 of 2) 11/16/13 Bear Creek Music Festival:
Red Hot Momma (with Freekbass)

Bootsy Collins

As the sun set, Bootsy Collins & The Funk Unity Band took to the Big IV Amphitheater and funked and rocked us till the sun went down, as you can see and enjoy in the video clips below.

Bootsy Collins (Part 1 of 3) 11/16/13 Bear Creek Music Festival:
Ahh…The Name Is Bootsy, Baby (inc. Bootsy? (What’s the Name of this Town), Bop Gun & Give Up The Funk), The Mothership Connection Is Here > Psychoticbumpschool > The Pinocchio Theory

Bootsy Collins (Part 2 of 3) 11/16/13 Bear Creek Music Festival:
Swing Down Sweet Chariot (with Bernie Worrell)

Bootsy Collins (Part 3 of 3) 11/16/13 Bear Creek Music Festival:
Roto-Rooter, I’d Rather Be With You (inc. What’s A Telephone Bill? & Everything Good is Nasty)

Bootsy Collins: bass, vocals
Erik “Elastic” Hargrove: drums
Mike Cobb: bass
Keith “Sun” Cheatham: guitar
Joel “Razor Sharp” Johnson: keys
Rashon “RaMu” Murph: keytar
Randy Villars: saxophone
Scott ??: trumpet
Candice “Candi-Yam” Cheatham: vocals
Dani “Razzberry Hershey” Cox: vocals
Zachary “X-Zac” Adams: vocals
Gary “Mudbone” Cooper: vocals, tambourine
Patricia “Peppermint Patty” Collins: dancer
Frankie “Kash” Waddy: announcer / master of ceremonies

Guests:
Bernie Worrell – keytar, Moog

After Bootsy finished his 90 minute set, the crowd looked both exhausted and invigorated (if that’s possible), and clearly ready to explore and party into the rest of the night. Only a few feet away at Uncle Charlie’s Porch Stage, the always salient and superlative MC Chali 2na hit the stage with his House of Vibe Band (albeit with Nikki Glaspie subbing on the skins). Videos right here.

Then it was right back to the Big IV Amphitheater for a contender for one of the absolute best sets in Bear Creek history, The Legendary Roots Crew. The Roots proceeded to burn it down for 100 minutes without pause, as evidenced in the videos here.

After The Roots, the evening continued for no less than 5 more hours with sets by Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, The Bear Creek All Stars (aka the annual Dumpstajam featuring members of both Dumpstaphunk and Lettuce), and a late night set by The Nth Power.

If you haven’t been to the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park or Bear Creek Music Festival to experience an exhilarating day such as this, all I can do is highly recommend such as an experience.

Fiya Fest 2014 Highlights – New Orleans, LA

Fiya Fest 2014

Fiyawerx Productions did it again for a 2nd year in a row, putting on a lineup of complete fiya, with all the proceeds benefiting The Roots of Music. Combining the best performers in New Orleans with other musical icons and up and coming acts in the contemporary funk scene, Fiyawerx Productions is pushing the storied history of New Orleans music forward while investing heavily in the cultural heritage of the city.

If you are in New Orleans for the Jazz & Heritage Festival, Fiya Fest is an event that is not to be missed. I’ve been very fortunate to be asked to helped document these once in a lifetime musical moments and below I’ve shared video clips from most of the acts that performed this year. I believe the music is for everyone and should be enjoyed and spread far and wide. I think the Fiyawerx krewe would likely agree with me, so I’ve shared quite a lot of footage in hopes that those that could not attend can enjoy these “once only” live collaborations.

Maceo Parker & Friends (Eric Krasno, Nigel Hall, Nikki Glaspie, Calvin Turner & The Shady Horns)
“Go Ahead” (inc. Mothership Connection & Sing A Simple Song), Uptown Up, Shake Everything You Got

The Headhunters Super Jam (Mike Clark, Bill Summers, Donald Harrison, Fred Wesley, Blackbyrd McKnight, Doug Wimbish, Eric McFadden, Ivan Neville & Karl Denson)
Four String Drive
Paging Mr. Wesley (with DJ Logic, and Will Bernard replacing Eric McFadden)
Shekere Intro > Watermelon Man (with Will Bernard replacing Eric McFadden, Donald Harrison replacing Ivan Neville, and ??? on Fender Rhodes)

The Nth Power
Waiting, Thank You (ending jam), Catfish [Four Tops cover]

The Midnite Disturbers Allstar New Orleans Brass Band
Baker’s Dozen [Galactic cover] (with Brandon “Taz” Niederauer)
Snowball [Dirty Dozen Brass Band cover] (with Brandon “Taz” Niederauer & Cyril Neville)
Who Took The Happiness Out? [Dirty Dozen Brass Band cover] > Jam > A Day At The Races (Chali 2na) > Freestyle (Chali 2na) > Who Took The Happiness Out? (reprise) (with Rahzel, Chali 2na, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer & Cyril Neville)

Eddie Roberts West Coast Sounds
unknown song

GRITTSS (George Porter Jr, Roosevelt Collier, Ivan Neville, Tony Hall, Terrence Houston, Big Sam & Sam Kininger)
The Chicken [The J.B.’s cover] (with Bernie Worrell)
Genius of Love [Tom Tom Club cover] (with Bernie Worrell) >
Let’s Get Fired Up [Zigaboo Modeliste cover] (with Bernie Worrell & Corey Glover)
Will It Go Round In Circles [Billy Preston cover] (with Bernie Worrell, Corey Glover, Billy Iuso, Norwood Fisher & Eric McFadden)
Welcome To New Orleans [Zigaboo Modeliste cover] (with Bernie Worrell)

101 Runners
Shoo Fly

The Revivalists
Masquerade (with Jennifer Hartswick, Carly Meyers & Khris Royal)
Stand Up (with Brandon “Taz” Niederauer)
Sunny Days (with Jennifer Hartswick, Carly Meyers & Khris Royal)
Whipping Post [Allman Brothers Band cover] (with Pete Murano on guitar)

Clint Maedgen (of Preservation Hall Jazz Band)
unknown song

The Heard
unknown song

Frequinox (Stanton Moore, Robert Walter, Will Bernard & Robert Mercurio)
Hunk (Robert Walter), Sprung Monkey (Stanton Moore), Penske (Will Bernard), Adelita (Robert Walter), Kickin’ Up Dust (Robert Walter), Chicken Lickin’ (Funk, Inc.)

Fiya Fest Schedule

You can also find my videos from the 2013 Fiya Fest here and the 2012 and 2011 Fiyawerx Family Funktion Crawfish Boils here and here.

Funk It’s Jazz Festival 2014 Highlight Video

Funk It’s Jazz Fest 2014 Highlight Video:
01. Wimbash – Chameleon [Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters cover] @ Blue Nile
02. Johnny Vidacovich, George Porter Jr. & Marco Benevento – Improv @ Maple Leaf
03. Fiya Powa! – Pass The Peas [The J.B.’s cover] @ One Eyed Jack’s
04. Naughty Professor – ??? @ The Den at The Howlin’ Wolf
05. The New Orleans All-Stars – Mississippi Delta [Bobby Gentry cover] @ The Howlin’ Wolf
06. Frequinox – Kickin’ Up Dust @ Fiya Fest at Mardi Gras World
07. The Revivalists with Jennifer Hartswick, Carly Meyers & Khris Royal – Masquerade @ Fiya Fest at Mardi Gras World
08. Clint Maedgen – ??? @ Fiya Fest at Mardi Gras World
09. The Heard – ??? @ Fiya Fest at Mardi Gras World
10. The Headhunters Super Jam – Four String Drive @ Fiya Fest at Mardi Gras World
11. 101 Runners – Shoo Fly @ Fiya Fest at Mardi Gras World
12. GRITTSS with Bernie Worrell – The Chicken [The J.B.’s cover] @ Fiya Fest at Mardi Gras World
13. Eddie Roberts’ West Coast Sounds – ??? @ Fiya Fest at Mardi Gras World
14. The Midnite Disturbers with Brandon “Taz” Niederauer & Cyril Neville – Snowball [Dirty Dozen Brass Band cover] @ Fiya Fest at Mardi Gras World
15. The Nth Power – Waiting For Your Love @ Fiya Fest at Mardi Gras World
16. Maceo Parker & Friends – Uptown Up @ Fiya Fest at Mardi Gras World
17. Fiya Water 2 – Part Time Hustler @ Fiya Fest at Mardi Gras World
18. Wild Fiya – I Wanna Know If It’s Good To You [Funkadelic cover] @ One Eyed Jack’s
19. Soul Rebels with Eric Krasno – Testify [Kanye West cover] @ The Howlin’ Wolf
20. The Fyre Dept with Rahzel – ??? @ The Howlin’ Wolf
21. The Fyre Dept with Talib Kweli – What’s Real @ The Howlin’ Wolf
22. Break Science with Chali 2na – Guns Up @ The Howlin’ Wolf
23. Frequinox with Eric Bloom & ??? – ??? @ d.b.a.
24. Royal Southern Brotherhood – Running Water @ Tipitina’s
25. Dumpstaphunk with The Grooveline Horns – Turn This Thing Around @ Tipitina’s

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New Orleans All-Stars – Mississippi Delta [Bobbie Gentry cover] 5/2/14 at Howlin’ Wolf:

Theresa Andersson, Ivan Neville, Nick Daniels III, Johnny Vidacovich, Sonny Landreth

Johnny Vidacovich, George Porter Jr & Marco Benevento 5/1/14 New Orleans, LA @ The Maple Leaf:

Johnny Vidacovich, George Porter Jr & Marco Benevento 5/1/14 New Orleans, LA @ The Maple Leaf:

Frequinox with Eric Bloom 5/4/14 New Orleans, LA @ d.b.a.

And much more here.

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