TDawg Presents brings you the finest in music that heals the soul and brings life to your life. You KNOW that a TDawg show will always be a solid show!
TDawg Presents is excited to bring back the songwriter showcase that created such a great vibe at the Keel Family Function back in 2010 (See picture below) with a fresh roster of musicians to work with. For those of you who attended that event and witnessed the two-set songwriter marathon featuring Jeff Sipe on drums throughout, expect the same sort of energy with the musicians involved this time around.
This time around, Richie Jones will be on drums plus a stellar cast of band mates to complete the puzzle and provide the unique landscape for each song, everyone plucked from within the Hootenanny and representative of just how amazing our musicians really are! The list includes:
Mikhael Peterson (Copious Jones)
Ralph Roddenbery
Donna Hopkins
Clay Maselle & BJ Hightower (Strung Like A Horse)
Brian Fowler (Bibb City Ramblers)
Let’s promote the songwriters! Please spread the word about this unique set – a perfect way to enjoy the afternoon!
The first TDawg’s Back Porch Hootenanny happened in May of 2006, about eight months after Blue Ridge HarvestFest was laid to rest following an incredible run from1998-2005, battling so many weather forces over the years. Through all of the weather-inflicted turmoil, a dedicated audience was born, and many of those in that audience still remind me how much they wish we could have HarvestFest back. Hopefully one day there will be a similar event – that festival certainly had an energy all its own 😉
A TDawg’s Back Porch Hootenanny weekend represents the simple things in life that can make an outdoor music & camping experience so wonderful – one or two food vendors, a few arts/crafts vendors, BYOB, and focus on the music. The Hootenannies are a great chance to bring groups of families and friends together in an intimate musical environment, where the musicians truly become one with the audience. I realized that bringing the shows back to the basics really made a lot of sense for both reviving my love of producing unique outdoor events and affordability for the patron.
The ensuing Back Porch Hootenannies certainly embodied those qualities, and through the years they have maintained quite an incredible energy and evolved into a small festival that leaves you so satisfied at the end. After a long winter, the spring Hoot always offers you a chance to stretch your legs in the great outdoors, breathe in that fresh mountain air, feel the musical vibes, and kick off your spring in grand fashion . Hootenannies are about the music and community – each and every time there is a lineup that has the patrons expecting the unexpected musically, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who attended a Hoot and had a miserable time because of the event itself.
Here is one of my favorite musical moments from last September’s Hoot featuring David Via & Curtis Burch with Larry Keel and wife Jenny sitting in. A true crowd pleaser 😉
Make your plans now for the weekend of April 4-5 and help the event by purchasing your tickets now! Please share with your friends, family, and colleagues and encourage them to come on board for a great time!
This spring’s 16th Edition of TDawg’s Back Porch Hootenanny has a blueprint for absolute magical music mayhem, and the two bands in this posting – Copious Jones & Big Daddy Love – embody that quality equally as much as Seven Handle Circus and Moontower!
Friday night Hootenanny headliner Big Daddy Love is a Winston Salem, NC-based quintet that really will “rock your world”. Their brand of music, aptly titled “Appalachian Rock”, ties together the elements that make their sound unique – rock, roots and bluegrass – and the end result is a sound that has you stompin’ up a storm to some mighty fine pickin’ & grinnin’, BDL style! Their set up is like a southern rock band, with interplay between slide and acoustic guitar and a banjo sound that lends itself toward Earl Scruggs & Bela Fleck, and the rhythm section keeps you jumpin’! BDL has had the good fortune to open for music icons Willie Nelson and Bob Seger, and they had those audiences shouting for more. As organic as it gets, playing off their varied musical influences to produce a sound all their own, Big Daddy Love is going to tear it apart at the Hootenanny!!
The video below is from their set opening for Bob Seger at PNC Arena in Raleigh. Enjoy!
TDawg Presents is excited as can be to welcome back Copious Jones to the Hootenanny mix! This diverse six-piece based out of Atlanta brings quite an array of musical styles into the mix, including jazz, latin, rock, funk, African, folk and blues. Combining these elements into one sound creates an energy that is Copious Jones, led by the talented song-writer Mikhael Peterson. A fine mixture of youth and well-seasoned veterans of the music scene, Copious Jones has evolved from a bar band playing around Atlanta into a highly regarded regional act. They have earned the praise of both fans and industry folk, including notables like the legendary keyboardist Chuck Leavell and Rob Barraco of Phil Lesh & Friends fame. These fellas have the medicine to satisfy your musical needs, so be ready to be taken away at the Hootenanny! The video below is from the recent performance at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta opening for The Grapes. What a night!
Support the Hootenanny and get your tickets early!
I am very excited to welcome to the Hootenanny family the band Seven Handle Circus(performing 9:30pm on Shed Stage, April 5) from Atlanta! This sextet brings it every time and has been paving nice roads around the Southeast since they formed in 2010, and their music has been described as “bad-ass bluegrass” with the “drive and energy of a rock band.” Chandler May from Atlanta Music Guide sums it up nicely following a performance where they performed as a trio (Seven Handle Sideshow), opening for Justin Townes Earle in December of 2012 ~
“Their songs have the pop sensibility of Mumford and Sons and the joie de vivre of Yonder Mountain String Band. Folky three part harmonies filled the air as the Sideshow plucked their way through many original numbers, my favorite being “I’ve Been Around The World“. The opening guitar riff immediately grabs you, and the hook most definitely ‘brings you back’.”
Here’s a clip from their most recent performance at Terminal West last year. Needless to say, they have that “it” factor going on!
=====
Moontower returns for a second appearance (performing 11:30pm on Shed Stage, April 5) at TDawg’s Back Porch Hootenanny, and folks are pumped! These fellas have built quite the loyal following and for good reason. Mixing a strong dose of original material with the perfect covers, their music propels your groove as well as any fine jam ever has. The video below is from their previous Hootenanny appearance in September of 2012 performing an epic 27 minute jam with the help of Benji Shanks on slide guitar that is one of the more unlikely medleys you’ve heard in a while. Enjoy!
Here is the initial schedule for the 16th Edition of TDawg’s Back Porch Hootenanny on April 4-5 at Cherokee Farms in LaFayette, GA! Please note that the schedule is subject to change – HOOOOOOOOOOOOTENANNY y’all!
Well folks, we have officially moved past the realm of Happy New Year and into the juggernaut that is the dead of winter and sub-freezing temperatures! One month ago, I was gearing up for the 3rd Annual Atlanta’s Holiday Hootenanny at Terminal West. On Sunday, December 22, what transpired over 5 1/2 hours was pure magic. Both as a fan of the music and as a producer, a simply amazing feeling overtakes me – gives me goose bumps actually – listening to and watching these well-seasoned musicians get up and do their thing without any rehearsal! Let’s just say that the sound check is one of the best 😉 The family vibe is alive and strong, and without that family at the core, the Holiday Hoot would be hard to bring to the stage. In Atlanta, we are so fortunate to have such a wonderful, loving, amazing group of musicians in the form of bands and individuals that blow your mind on any given night. One night a year, everyone looks forward to Atlanta’s Holiday Hootenanny!
For me personally, I feel like the Holiday Hootenanny has helped me to purge some lingering effects of years’ past and create some special, new opportunities for 2014 and beyond. Atlanta’s Holiday Hootenanny (4th Annual on Sun Dec 21 at Terminal West) is here to stay, and the upcoming 16th edition of TDawg’s Back Porch Hootenanny (April 4-5) is going to be off the chain musically and energy-wise. All that needs to happen now is for YOU to be there!
Words of advice, EMBRACE live music that has any sort of a hook on you. You’ll be glad you pursued further. The Hootenannies, and before that HarvestFest, without fail have provided many opportunities to see some of the finest live music out there in it’s initial stages. I hope you’ll take some time to check out the bands at the Hootenanny this year, as I guarantee there will be something fresh that hits you.
I recently listened to the Eye of the Dawg Songwriter Showcase from the Keel Family Function in 2009, and let’s just say I was as blown away now as I was then. Two sets, featuring the incomparable Larry Keel, Col. Bruce Hampton, Rev. Jeff Mosier, Grayson Capps, Caroline Pond, Ralph Roddenbery, Donna Hopkins, Lefty Williams, Michael Tolcher, Scott Mecredy, Apt Q258 Jeff Sipe on drums accompanied by Duane Trucks for the finale, and fiddlin’ by Zebulon Bowles, Caroline Pond & Erin Zindle (The Ragbirds). WOW! Y’all this was spontaneity at its finest, presenting the best in each of the musicians in a relaxed and “damn I’m glad I’m here and not there” feeling that pervaded the audience as well 😉
We live in a wacked out world – politically, economically, and socially – however, one thing is true here. Through all the sometimes harsh divides we have to put up with, a common thread is good music to heal the soul regardless of beliefs. We are all music farmers, constantly looking for the perfect crop that provides that ultimate satisfaction and yearning more.
Enjoy the video below from the Eye of the Dawg Showcase featuring Larry Keel performing Dreams. It will soothe your mind, body & soul.
TDawg is excited to present the legendary Col. Bruce Hampton in the intimate confines of the Red Light Cafe! I caught him there last month right before the Holiday Hootenanny, and it was truly just what the DR ordered!
Col. Bruce will be joined on stage by another incredible ensemble of musicians, including the absolutely mesmerizing Johnny Knapp on keys, whose career spans performing with Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, and countless others. Johnny tore it up at the Holiday Hootenanny, leaving folks in their tracks with a dazed look on their face. His performance with Bruce wasn’t jazz, wasn’t Bruce, WAS pure Zambi!
We are just a few days out from a freakin’ incredible musical experience! For those of you who attended Warren Haynes’ 25th Annual Christmas Jam last weekend in Asheville, well, this should be a solid capper for you! Musicians are communicating amongst themselves, the auction is falling into place, and I hope that we can have a packed house at Terminal West in our first year working with Atlanta Habitat for Humanity!
Here is a general flow to the concert, music starting at 7pm.
Silent Auction 5pm, Doors to venue 6pm, SHOWTIME 7PM.
SET I ~ 7:00pm-8:00pm
Featured Musians: Jeff Sipe Trio, Lefty Williams, Donna Hopkins, Ralph Roddenbery & Diane Durrett.
——
SET II ~ 8:30pm-9:45pm
Featured Musicians: John Cowan, Tommy Talton, Rev. Jeff Mosier, Jason Kenney & Leah Calvert
—–
SET III ~ 10:15pm-MIDNIGHT
Featured Musicians: Randall Bramblett, Grant Green Jr., Col. Bruce Hampton, Women of Rock feat. Caroline Aiken, Diane Durrett & Donna Hopkins
Core Musicians: Jeff Sipe, Joe Craven, John Cowan, Ted Pecchio, Kevin Scott, Count M’Butu, Gaurav Malhotra, Yonrico Scott, Leah Calvert, Bobby Miller, Tony Giordano, Donna Hopkins, Lefty Williams, Diane Durrett, Jeff Autry.
==========
Get your advance tickets now and know you’re doing your part for a great cause!
Come at 5pm and enjoy an incredible silent auction with live music from Sans Abri. Below are samples of some of the items up for auction!
Sandy Beaches Cruise (Delbert McClinton, Marcia Ball and much more!)
Sixthman
Artwork – ARU 2001 Variety Playhouse (4 prints)
Scramble Campbell
Artwork – 3D String Cheese Incident – Conscious Alliance 2010
Scramble Campbell
Artwork – Yonder Mountain String Band – Bonnaroo 2003
Scramble Campbell
Artwork – Woodstock 30th Anniversary
Scramble Campbell
Artwork – Drumhead Artwork
Yonrico Scott
Artwork – Guitart
Tommy Talton
Autographed WSP Tour Poster
John Griffin
Bhojanic for 10 ($150 value)
Bhojanic
Calloway Garden getaway package
Callaway Gardens
Stadium Gibson SG Guitar Replica signed by Los Lobos
The first two editions of Atlanta’s Holiday Hootenanny have featured southern music luminaries, and this year’s is no different. I am very excited to be able to present three music visionaries that date back to the 70’s with their respective music repertoires.
Randall Bramblett, Tommy Talton & John Cowanhelped to define an era of music discovery that ranged from the classic Capricorn Records in Macon and acts like The Allman Brothers Band, Cowboy, Marshall Tucker Band, and Sea Level to the progressive “new grass” sound created by the likes of the late John Hartford and New Grass Revival in the early 70’s, which originally featured Sam Bush, Cowan, Dr. Dobro Curtis Burch, and the late Courtney Johnson in the 70’s and Bela Fleck and Pat Flynn in the 80’s (replaced Burch & Johnson). These two styles have merged many times over the years for what turns out to be a match made in musical heaven, and the 3rd Annual Atlanta’s Holiday Hootenanny is going to certainly showcase those two styles.
Randall with his current band from Music City Roots earlier this year.
And you here you have some vintage John Cowan with a great prelude by Sam Bush talking about John.
Here’s a clip of Tommy Talton Band performing last March in NYC at the Hittin’ the Note party.
Get your advance tickets now, and know that you’ll be supporting a wonderful cause and witnessing a piece of music history!
Johnny Knapp is music history. He has assumed every role you possibly can as a musician – a pianist, conductor, composer, performer, educator, arranger – Knapp has worked with the likes of Aretha Franklin, Billie Holliday, Miles Davis, Barbara Streisand, Mary Martin, Frank Sinatra, Paul Chambers, and countless others.
We are extremely honored to have him grace the stage at the 3rd Annual Atlanta’s Holiday Hootenanny during the sequence led by Col. Bruce Hampton, Ret. on Sunday, December 22, at Terminal West in King Plow Arts Center. The video above is from earlier this year at Music On Main Street. Y’all, this show is truly going to be off the charts. You are going to want to be there to witness the journey! Get yourself a ticket NOW to ensure your presence THEN! You’ll be donating to a great cause and receiving the gift of one of the finest performances of the year.
TDawg Presents 