I'm not sure you could hope for better weather at an outdoor event than Columbia experienced on Saturday. We got to the festival before the gates opened so we could catch some of the first bands and I'm glad we did.
The first highlight of the day was the Ben Miller Band from Joplin, Mo. They have previously been described as Ozark Stomp which is actually pretty accurate. We only caught the first half of their set to get over and see The Kay Brothers, but we really enjoyed what we heard.
I can't get enough of Ha Ha Tonka. They're criminally underrated for what a great live band they are. They also put out album after album of really great music. It's my 6th time seeing them and once again, they put on one of the best shows of the festival. KC claims them as their own so there are lots of opportunities to see them closer to home.
If we're declaring teams in the Uncle Tupelo split, I've always been with Jeff. Son Volt just hasn't ever clicked with me since 'Trace' but I still wanted to see them play live. 'Drown', 'Windfall' and a cover of Uncle Tupelo's 'Chickamauga' were the set's highlights.
Our absolute must-see performer on Saturday was Margo Price. She's a huge family favorite in my house with myself, my wife and both of my kids. Plus, after seeing her in Kansas City earlier this year we knew we were in for a treat. Somehow her stage show has gotten even better in the past 9 months which is really hard to believe. She played a few new songs and threw in covers of Tom Petty, Neil Young, & Dolly Parton for good measure. I'll also never get tired of watching her slay on the drums.
In the current state of "Outlaw Country" there is Sturgill Simpson on one level and then everybody else. That wasn't ever more evident than as Saturday's closer. Sturgill's four piece band was on fire all night and they were lead by Simpson himself on lead guitar. I've watched a lot of these new country guys play live and none of them appear to have the lead guitar skills Sturgill has.
Other random highlights of the weekend:
- Kelly Willis had an unfortunately set in between a couple of more upbeat bands but the few songs I caught of hers were really beautiful.
- We caught a Dale Watson doing a great version of Merle's 'Mama Tried' in between Ha Ha Tonka & Son Volt
- On the suggestion of my dad, we ran over to watch a bit of The Mavericks in between Margo Price & Sturgill Simpson. We saw their cover of Neil Young's 'Harvest Moon' & it was perfect.
- Early bands Blue Jay & The Mighty Pines sets both show cased young bands with a lot of promise. I hope to catch them both in the future.
-Matt
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