We are so excited about our musical lineup! We have lots of returning performers and local favorites, but are also welcoming several out of town performers as well. Here they are, in order of appearance.
Matt Brown is a soul musician out of West Palm Beach, FL. He is primarily a bassist but he also plays keyboard, drums, percussion, and guitar along with singing. He has been playing bass in his family church since age 12. He started pursuing his solo career since January 2018. His first single, “Mona Lisa”, was released on January 22, 2018 and can be found on all music platforms. Since then, he has performed his music for BalconyTV (Miami), Sofar Sounds (Ft, Lauderdale, Gainesville and Tampa), A Song Catcher (Jonny Himsel), Elizabeth Ave Station (West Palm Beach), Voltaire (West Palm Beach), Field Notes (Gainesville) and many other venues and channels. He is often backed up by Dakota Dawkins on guitar, bass and vocals, and Evan Whitney on drums. Together, the three musicians form Mood Swing, a groovy, soulful trio. They have played shows in support of Savants of Soul, Surfer Blood, Public Sounds Collective, Electric Kif, Spred the Dub, JM & The Sweets, Mona Lisa Tribe, Lumerians, Scott Yoder, and more. In April 2018, Matt Brown and Dakota Dawkins formed SoulFam, a collective of creatives with a passion for the arts and the community. Since April, SoulFam has grown tremendously by frequenting and hosting open mics and jam sessions, and putting on large scale events that simply bring people together. They host The Arts Melting Pot Open Mic (The AMP) at E.R. Bradley’s every Tuesday, alternating between open mics and showcases. Also, they host the 4th Wednesday every month as SoulFam at Voltaire.
Trail Diver (from Jacksonville Beach, Florida) blends a refreshingly unique sonic palette of electro psych funk touching on pockets of their favorite influences from lounge, house and trip-hop to jam, soul and rock. Trail Diver breathes new energy into its musical ambiance filled with raw/powerful vocals, heavy percussion, soaring leads, thick electric tones and epiphanous spaces.
“Hailing from Miami, Electric Kif and their undeniable spunk has caught the attention of music lovers through their execution of cosmic funk, rock, soul, and jazz. Their taste and talent bring an unparalleled energy and sound to the stage that inevitably creates a uniquely raw experience through every performance.” – Live for Live Music
Electric Kif are a band who came together to perform music as an outlet in between sideman and session gigs with other artists ranging from Matt Schofield to Flo Rida…and many more in between. After a couple of years of hosting these well known jams in Miami, with numerous talented guest musicians joining them, the members realized their original music was taking its own form and getting a great response from those who heard it. They decided to write more, record again, and perform more of the KIF material.
The band come together creatively from very different backgrounds. Eric Escanes on guitar is from Bordeaux, France, Rodrigo Zambrano on bass is from Mexico City, Jason Matthewson keys proudly hails from Philadelphia, and Armando Lopez on drums from Miami. Their training and experience combined was bound to generate something special…but their energy and dedication has taken Electric Kif to another level. Following a performance at one of the festivals, they looked at each other and knew Electric Kif was their calling. Today the band has new recordings under way, started playing outside of Miami, and shifted their focus to launch Electric Kif nationally.
Wax Wings is an original compositional folk-rock quintet from Gainesville, featuring Brian Turk on upright bass, Andrew Cook on fiddle, John David Eriksen on cello, Mike Dorsey on drums, and multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Chelsea Carnes. Wax Wings weaves various threads of influence ranging from folk-punk to classical into a unique tapestry of inimitable harmony. With distinctively forceful vocals, Carnes captivates with relatable lyrics about friendship and loss. The results are strikingly textured and sincere compositions that both inspire and haunt. Their wide appeal has seen them playing venues ranging from Gasparilla Music Fest to the The Florida Folk Festival. They released their album Swarm earlier this year.
“…enthusiastic and inspiring music that can make even the most jaded concertgoer blush with excitement.” -The Gainesville Sun
Locochino is an energy-packed, crowd-engaging “Progadelic Jamfunk” band from Gainesville, FL. Their show has been described as an adventure, at times guiding you on a trip across the galaxy and at others inciting a celebratory rage that satisfies and inspires. The band has successfully embraced the diversity of each member’s musical background, pulling off a blend of rock, funk, jam, and psychedelic sounds that keep their audience attentive.
“[Locochino] takes you on a psychedelic whirlwind of sound that makes you feel like you’ve unearthed something new.” — The Alligator “an awesome blend of seemingly unblend-able genres, which showcases the group’s creativity and funky fearlessness.” — Gainesville Scene
Formed in September of 2014 and climbing steeply from the band’s initial goal of “playing at least one show,” energetic fans pushed the band to new heights in 2016 when Locochino performed at Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival, Suwannee Hulaween, Hometeam New Years Rally, Farm to Family Music Festival, and other multi-day music festivals in the southeastern United States. With new festival bookings continuing to reach more distant regions, Locochino shows no signs of slowing and continues to bring new flavor to each performance.
The Savants of Soul are a 9-piece retro-soul group from performing original soul music inspired by the sounds of the 1960s, contemporary retro-soul groups and the group’s diverse collection of influences ranging from punk to hip-hop to Chicago blues to 1950s cool jazz.
Since the group’s inception in Gainesville, FL, in 2011, they’ve made a name for themselves in the music scene by being an unparalleled live show experience, moving audiences of all ages with danceable, good-time music and an approach to performance as influenced by theater troupes as it is by musical performance.
The band has made its presence felt around the southeast, notably playing Red Gorilla at SXSW in 2017, Suwannee Hulaween in 2016 and Changeville in its hometown in 2018 and 2016. Along the way, The Savants of Soul show has been featured alongside Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Benjamin Booker, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Original Wailers and Thomas Wynn & The Believers.
Whitey Markle and the Swamprooters began in 1975 in Melrose. Since that time the music has evolved from Old Time, Country, and Florida Folk originals to what is now known as “Swampgrass”, a collection of Whitey’s original songs, Bluegrass, Florida Folk, Country, and Contemporary Folk.
They debuted at the Florida Folk Festival in 1978 and have played that venue every year. Whitey and Cathy DeWitt presented the first Will McLean celebration at the Thomas Center in 1990, and the Swamprooters have performed at the Will McLean Music Festival every year since.
They opened for the Gainesville Street dance, played for the Ocklawaha Celebration for Margie Carr in 1991, were the “Featured Musicians of the year” in 2000 at the Florida Folk Festival, “warmed up” for the Florida Springs Celebration on the entrance to the old Capitol Building in Tallahassee in 2015. Many of Whitey’s original songs are about environmental issues.
Noah MacGinnis is a 21 year old singer-songwriter from the Swamp. He is making the most out of this year by performing when he isn’t studying or working. Currently, he has played fifty shows around Florida. He has been writing songs since a very early age and picked up the guitar when he was 16. This is when he started blending his passion for songwriting and acoustic guitar. This has led him to attract a following in central Florida and an anticipated electronic release of originals he plays during shows like “Old Florida”, “Rainy Days”, and “Warm Your Soul.”
You can expect a full array of emotions when listening to his country sound. The stories he tells when he sings brings out the struggles of growing up in a small town in Florida. With musical influence from Tyler Childers, Luke Combs, and Johnny Cash you can expect a refreshing mix of old and new sounding country music.
After school, Noah plans to pack his bags and head to Tennessee to pursue songwriting full time while playing shows around the state. His passion will speak through his music and he plans to release a full album after graduating from the University of Florida.
Mourning Glories is an old-time/Irish-trad/ghostly-gospel/folk-grass string band formed out of Irish sessions and community contradances in Gainesville, Florida. They are 4 old-hearted young people with a passion for preserving and performing traditional music and dance.
Mourning Glories began as Fiona Bas, as an Irish session band in 2012. For nearly 3 years, they hosted an open Irish session the second Wednesday of every month at The Midnight Bar on South Main Street in Gainesville. Eventually Tony & Katrina’s infectious love for old-time led them to include a set of old-time tunes in their repertoire. One thing led to another and they soon found themselves hosting contradances and performing at special events such as The Alachua Conservation Trust’s Octoberfest, the Swallowtail Farm Festival, the Kanapaha Crafty Beer Festival, and the Florida Folk Festival.
Robbie began his music career in Canada at the age of 12 as a bass player for local bands in northern Ontario. At 18, Robbie formed Brothers The Band with his two brothers where he played guitar and sang lead vocals. Robbie developed his performance and song writing skills as Brothers The Band toured Ontario for 13 years. After Brothers The Band, Robbie became a soloist and played guitar and harmonica for Canadian country music singer and songwriter, Beverly Mahood. In 2013, Robbie decided to take the opportunity to gain an American fan base by joining Carnival Cruise lines with ports in Jacksonville, Florida and Galveston, Texas. With Carnival, he was able to travel and perform in countries like Spain, Bahamas, Turkey, and Italy. Robbie’s music is inspired by classic rock and country artists such as Lynrd Sknyrd, Kris Kristofferson, Pink Floyd, and Johnny Cash. His life experiences and personal trials have helped him to create moving songs like Play it Soft, Brother, and Take Me for a Ride which are favorites among his fans.
Cliff Dorsey is twenty-three years old High Springs native. He currently still lives in High Springs but plans to hit the road with His Duramax diesel truck and camper to tour the US and chase his dream of becoming a performing singer-songwriter. Cliff first started playing at fifteen after buying his first guitar at Music Junction in High Springs at the time and started taking lesson there. Once hearing Josh Turner a few weeks after on the radio the release of “Long Black Train” Cliff was amazed at Josh’s deep voice saying “ Lord if I had a Voice like that I’d do something about it.” Sure enough, a few weeks later Cliff got his baritone voice and felt a conviction to do something about it and immediately learned “Long Black Train” later performing it at his church. Cliff started performing shows at seventeen, his first show was booked at Newberry Backyard BBQ, he went on to become a full-time musician at twenty one and is still going strong perform almost everyday and coming out with his first album this past April 7th. You may have heard him at SRJ 2016, Cliff sang the National Anthem for 2018 NHRA Gator Nationals and now is the 1st place Winner of The Santa Fe River Songwriter Competion. He plans on spending his life making music and writing songs that he believes might make a difference to leave the world better than he found it.
Sometimes you’ll find her leading a raucous Americana band of Lionhearts, and others you’ll hear the roar from only her and an acoustic guitar. With accolades from American Songwriter Magazine and Nashville Songwriters Association International, Hannah Harber Wynn has her heart set on both writing honest songs, and sharing them from the stage with reckless vulnerability. “Harber’s presence and point of view have notably matured over the past few years. Instead of
anything mellow or golden, “mature” in Harber’s instance is actually a case of more incision, bite and taste. And like good salt on sugar, time has given her intrinsic grace some edge and steel…somewhere along the way, this voice has ripened into one of the sharpest, most cogent roots presences in the city.” – Bao Le-Hu, Orlando Weekly, 2018
Hannah Harber and The Lionhearts make their home in central Florida. After years of hopeful dedication to these songs and each other, they are currently in the studio recording their first album.
From literally sleeping in a guitar case back stage to headlining shows, Jamie Davis, singer, song writer and guitar player grew up with music. It was destined to be for this north central Florida boy with fond memories of sleeping back stage in his dad’s guitar case. Coming from a large network of musicians, surrounded by music from both sides of his mom & dad’s family, Jamie came to learn at an early age that he too was blessed with the gift of music. By age 14, Jamie was holding his own in the circle of guitar pickers. At the young age of 15 he hit the ground running playing any and every Honky Tonk around Branford Florida. Those are days Jamie will never forget. Days spent realizing that he truly did have a gift, but a gift that needed nurturing. Finally his first real opportunity came his way. Jamie was invited to play bass with the power house vocal group “BuckWild” from South Florida. It was there that he gained his experience with touring, playing different venues each night, learning how to be a great supporting act and honoring the moments when you’re the headliner. Shortly after signing a record deal, the band relocated to Nashville playing supporting shows with such greats as Charlie Daniels, Josh Turner, Andy Griggs and others. One of his most memorable was performing for former president George W. Bush. That was a great time in Jamie’s life but also time in which he was missing his family, so in 2005 Jamie returned home to north central Florida. During that time off Jamie fell in to Bluegrass and discovered an all new love that changed his life. He joined in with The “Lake City Slickers” where he quickly realized he had yet another blessed talent as a lead vocalist. Working shows and sharing the same ticket with some of Bluegrass’ favorites like, Mountain Heart, LRB and many more. In 2007 Jamie returned to country music with a whole new perspective & sound and with a new band “RoadHouse Live”. Having the country, bluegrass, rock, & blues influence Jamie now felt he was a more rounded and polished performer thus giving him the confidence to pursue a carrier as a solo artist. Today, with the help of some very dedicated & loyal supporters, a great band of superb musicians and a very loving & supportive family Jamie’s first album “High Weeds & Rust” is on the racks and doing well. He’s now touring and promoting like a runaway tornado. Selling out venues and building a fan base that’s growing everyday.
