Monday, Apr. 19, 2021

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Sponsors
    • View Sponsors
    • Weekly Deals
  • Contact
Daily COVID-19 reports

Fayetteville Flyer

  • Home
  • Local News
    • All News
    • Restaurant News
    • Trail News
    • Beer News
    • City Council Recaps
  • Arts & Events
  • Columns & Features
    • Trail Tours
    • Giveaways
    • Movie Reviews
    • Music Reviews
    • Theatre Reviews
    • Recipes
  • Sports
  • Sections
    • Local News
    • Restaurant News
    • Beer News
    • Arts & Events
    • Columns & Features
    • Sports
  • Calendar
  • Public Meetings
  • Movie Listings
    • Fiesta Square
    • Razorback Cinema
  • Weekly Deals
  • Homes for Sale
    • Fayetteville Homes
    • All NWA Homes
    • Find an Agent

REVIEW: Roots Fest Day 2: More of the same, with different results

  • By Kevin Kinder ·  
    August 26, 2017 

John Paul White / Photo: Kevin Kinder

Friday night at the Fayetteville Roots Festival was a familiar affair. We’ve now grown familiar with the Fayetteville Town Center as the main venue. And many of Friday’s acts were familiar to regular attendees, too: Joe Purdy performed there last year, Smokey & The Mirror performed last year, and headliners The Wood Brothers performed there in 2014. They even performed at the 2017 edition of the Roots Festival during Thursday night’s preview/VIP party.

But please don’t let that lull you in thinking the festival has grown stale. Grown, yes. But not stale.

The Wood Brothers played more than a dozen songs each of their two nights. I counted four repeats between the two sets. That’s an impressive catalog, and an impressive mastery of their expansive genre, switching between their own songs and covers of artists such as The Allman Brothers Band and Mississippi John Hurt. They can and do play just about anything they want, and their musicianship is top notch. If you can find a better upright bassist than Chris Wood, please notify me immediately. I want to see them.

Smokey & the Mirror, the musical project of festival cofounders Bryan and Bernice Hembree, were up to new tricks as well. They are in a constant stage of reconfiguration, and they’ve performed as a two piece or, like they did on Friday, an occasional five piece (occasional because when Bernice abandoned her upright bass to play piano, a fifth member came on to fill in for her). They performed on Friday with local guitarist Matt Smith, best known for his work in blues and funk, but not necessarily roots. With all due respect to the other guitarists I have watched Smokey & the Mirror play with over the years, Smith is the most technically proficient among them, and by a considerable margin, too. You could feel the energy he brought to the stage, as Smokey & the Mirror was about as animated as I’ve seen them. I approve of this configuration.

The Wood Brothers / Photo: Clayton Taylor Photography

Excitement and jubilation are welcome visitors to the Roots stage. If there is a consistent problematic thread in the world of this festival, it’s the tempo and mood of the songs. Asking someone to sit in a sleepy room for eight plus hours after filling them with food (sustainable, chef-made food is a big part of the festival ideology) and local beer with a soundtrack of downtempo folk rock is a sometimes-difficult proposition.

Festival artist John Paul White, who had the mainstage just prior to the Wood Brothers’ closing set, addressed that issue somewhat.

“You weren’t expecting to be cheered up, were you?” he asked the crowd. He talked about the unseen marital problems between his grandparents. The River Whyless shared a song about a friend who died of cancer. Joe Purdy offered a song or two about the current political climate. It was often heavy in the venue, and might be again today. Buckle up.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t moments of levity. You just never know how a night of music will affect you, which is why we chase it from night to night. And thankfully, we have two more nights to chase.

The festival continues through Sunday night. Here are some selected highlights taking place today (Aug. 26):
11 a.m. – Chef competition, Fayetteville Square, free
11:30 a.m. – Recording session of KUAF, Fayetteville Public Library, free
9 p.m. – Headlining set by Iron & Wine (sold out)
10:30 p.m. – Arkansasauce and National Park Radio, George’s Majestic Lounge, $12
12:45 a.m. – Open jam session, Stage 18, free

TOPICS: Fayetteville Roots Festival

    RECENT POSTS IN THIS TOPIC

  • Fayetteville Roots Festival postpones 2020 event until August 2021
  • Fayetteville Roots Festival 2020 lineup includes Shovels & Rope, Mandolin Orange, The Lone Bellow and more
  • Roots Fest Finale – A calm(ish) ending to a weekend of stories old and new
  • Roots Fest Day 3 – Juggling the hard choices on a day filled with food and music

 

Discussion

Fayetteville Flyer has specific guidelines for commenting. To avoid having your comment deleted -- or your commenting privileges revoked -- read our Comment Policy before you comment. Violators will be banned from commenting. Report a comment that violates the guidelines to contact@fayettevilleflyer.com. Commenters on the Flyer are responsible for all legal consequences arising from their comments, including libel, infringement of copyright or actions that threaten a third party. By submitting a comment, you agree to indemnify Wonderstate Media LLC, its partners and employees from any legal action arising from your comments.

  • @fayflyer
  •     » See all sponsor deals & specials
  • Advertisements

  • Get Email News Updates

    Welcome to the Flyer!

    Whether looking for a recap of a City Council meeting or to see who is playing in town for happy hour, residents turn to the Fayetteville Flyer to find out what’s going on in and around Fayetteville.

    Never miss a story. Our newsletter has headlines for all the Flyer’s stories.

  • Advertisements


     

  • Local Info

    Deals & More
    Fire/Police Dispatch Logs
    Detention Intake Report
  • Sponsors

    » See all

  • ADVERTISEMENTS

  • Flyer Sponsors

    sponsor-logos
    » See all sponsors
  • Sponsor Tweets

    A Twitter List by fayflyer
  • Become a sponsor

    The Flyer focuses on free news that's specific to Fayetteville. Because of that, our readers are local, and they're loyal to the businesses that support their daily source of information.

    Let us help your company deliver its message to our ever-growing audience.

    To talk about becoming a sponsor, call 479-387-1002 or email us.

  • About
  • Legal
  • Advertise
  • Sponsors
  • Contact
Facebook Twitter Instagram Flickr Pinterest RSS

© 2007-2020 Wonderstate Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use & Privacy Policy