The Park City Song Summit, which I attended from Sept. 7 to 9, goals to develop into a brand new type of interactive music expertise for artists and followers, with a particular deal with psychological well being, restoration help and neighborhood relations.
Will Schube did an exquisite job masking these features on this article, however how did issues play out in actual time? Were the labs attention-grabbing? Were the artists and moderators into it? Did the power from the labs translate to the dwell exhibits later that very same night time?
What follows is my expertise at the first annual Park City Song Summit from the extravagant opening kick-off dinner on Wednesday to the Anders Osborne set on Saturday night time, with founder Ben Anderson on vocals and bass, that closed the present.
Day 1: Labs
I created an inventory of the labs I wished to attend, and due to the intelligent method they’re scheduled, it was potential to cram in fairly a couple of by often planning on leaving early. Having stated that, as soon as somebody or one thing an artist is speaking about resonates with you, good luck getting up and leaving. You sit there, mesmerized, till the finish, like I did.
I couldn’t make it to the John Prine lab with Jason Isbell, Warren Haynes and others on time, and the tent was packed, so my choices had been both Celisse or Adia Victoria. I made a decision the finest concept was to seize an excellent seat and be taught a bit extra about Victoria. I noticed folks strolling out of Celisse smiling, however someway additionally trying like that they had been crying, whereas I and others leaving Victoria appeared like we had simply caught a fork right into a socket.
Victoria’s descriptions of rising up in the South as a Seventh-Day Adventist had been highly effective, concise and transferring. One of the distinctive features of her newest album, Southern Gothic, is the sense that, though she is important of the South, she appreciates the positives as a lot as she’s going to criticize the negatives. She quoted James Baldwin, “I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for that reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”
She had comparable views on church, which she cherished for exposing her to music and music however struggled with “the limiting scope the church places around your thoughts and your mind.” And her saying “If I’m going to stay in this congregation, parts of me are going to have to die off” exhibits a powerful stage of self-awareness at a younger age.
The lab with Warren Haynes and Anthony Mason was extra about the journey of Haynes’ life, from his father supporting his early curiosity in music to his preliminary challenge with The Allman Brothers and subsequent collaborations with The Dead and different artists that adopted.
Haynes’ perspective on collaboration is, as a substitute of looking for the place he matches into one other artist’s type or forcing them to suit into his, he goes into the session already accustomed to that artist’s strengths, and writes and performs music to boost them.
The unofficially renamed “ADD Promoter Lab” with Peter Shapiro, Jay Sweet and Mason moderating was the first tent the place I observed a couple of brokers and at least a few promoters hanging round the again, with Dave Margulies of High Sierra in the entrance row and different trade varieties scattered all through the tent. Mason began the lab asking Sweet for a full recounting of the occasions main as much as the Joni Mitchell set to shut out Newport Jazz, and Sweet advised of strolling into “Summertime” at rehearsal in a Newport church that had a few of the greatest dwelling names in music historical past breaking down in tears, and not being certain if she was going to sing onstage the subsequent day till the first notes had been performed.
For Shapiro, of Brooklyn Bowl, Capitol Theater, Relix and Fare Thee Well fame, I believed the focus can be totally on his new ebook, The Music Never Stops: What Putting on 10,00 Shows Has Taught Me About Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Magic, however as a substitute began on Fare Thee Well and the first Brooklyn Bowl, two issues he wished to do this most individuals stated he couldn’t. This is a recurring theme all through his profession. Mason requested Shapiro how lengthy the excessive lasts after pulling off one thing epic, and his surprisingly particular reply was “72 hours,” earlier than he should reset and attempt to do all of it once more.
Day 1: Music
Upon strolling into the Songwriter House, you’re feeling why this place is the coronary heart and soul of the Summit. Located in an attractive historic constructing at the foot of Main Street in Park City, and with an intimate however laid-back vibe set by the musicians, this was, fingers down, everybody’s favourite shock at the Summit. I caught the again half of the Waylon Payne, Pher and Rick Brantley set, and all three made lasting impressions with Payne and Brantley admitting Pher had the finest voice.
I extremely recommend you try Celisse dwell the subsequent time she is taking part in close to you. Somewhere in the center of an epic, 10-minute, jammed-out “Freedom,” the mixture of her voice, lyrics and the distinctive, deep tone she will get out of that guitar pulled me into her world to the level that I fully misplaced observe of time and missed Katie Pruitt over at the Cabin. So on it was to DMC, who threw down like the hip-hop legend he’s, rocking all the basic hits and intertwining some new bars throughout music transitions that replicate his present mindset.
Walking out of DMC with quarter-hour left in his set after “Peter Piper” was not simple, however two minutes later strolling into Haynes busting out “Patchwork Quilt” made it worthwhile. The remainder of his set was implausible, and the first day formally in the books.
Day 2: Labs
Backline, a non-profit whose mission is to attach music professionals and their households with a community of psychological well being and wellness suppliers, threw an artist breakfast on Friday, and I used to be psyched to see what number of confirmed as much as be taught extra about them. Their providers are free for everybody, from the band to the crew to the merch desk and even their households and vital others. Backline case managers work with both a complete manufacturing workforce or particular person members of a band or crew to arrange psychological well being plans for the entire tour catered to that particular person or group’s particular wants. I can’t assist however assume that if this service was obtainable in the early ’90s, not to mention earlier, what number of sensible artists, crew and members of the family we’d nonetheless have with us.
Keith Garde, Aerosmith’s ex-manager, clearly felt the identical method when he virtually broke down in tears describing what Backline does, at the starting of “The Great Collaboration” lab he moderated with panelists DMC, Tammy Michelle and Michelle Esrick.
The first of a number of Grateful Dead-themed labs was “If My Words Did Glow” with Bonny Light Horsemen dissecting the artwork, lyrics and poetry of Robert Hunter. Any fan of the Dead would have felt proper at dwelling there, and one in all my favourite elements was the organizers going round the tent, having everybody who quoted Grateful Dead lyrics of their highschool yearbook increase their hand (about 3/4 of the tent), then go round the room to have every particular person recite the line.
Fred Armisen’s “Comedy for Musicians, but Everyone is Welcome,” was equal elements music nerd humor, stand-up comedy and Armisen displaying off his guitar and drum abilities. A few jokes about polyrhythmic drumming went method over my head.
Celisse with Adia Victoria moderating was intense and enlightening. I discovered that Celisse has a tattoo of Sister Rosetta Tharpe on her forearm in order that if anybody asks about it, she will be able to say “Funny you asked…”, and then go on to elucidate that we now have her to thank for the existence of not solely the blues, however rock and roll as effectively. She continued that lastly giving credit score to Little Richard and Chuck Berry was solely half-way there by way of correct recognition, which proves there may be nonetheless reluctance to acknowledge trailblazing ladies, whilst we declare to be extra progressive.
They additionally mentioned how the blues was one in all the uncommon locations the place males had been allowed to sound weak and open with their emotions, however at the identical time each dangerous relationship in each blues music is someway the lady’s fault.
I checked on the “What’s Going On” lab with Devon Gilfillian and Joe Pug. Turns out Gilfillian’s a laid-back dude with a terrific smile and infectious chortle who discovered that, if he was actually going to do that music factor full time, he needed to maintain his nostril, shut his eyes and leap into the deep finish of the music pool that’s Nashville.
Day 2: Music
Charlie Musselwhite and Elvin Bishop are blues legends, and I used to be glad to catch their distinctive storytelling and music.
I’m unsure the place to start out with John Craigie, apart from he has a novel type that’s exhausting to explain. Maybe its stream of consciousness comedy folks with often summary, however at all times poignant underpinnings of social commentary? Or possibly he’s only a humorous dude who likes to jot down absurd songs with names like “I Almost Stole Weed From Todd Snider” and “Dissect the Bird.” Either method, by the time he obtained to the hook of his encore, “when the apocalypse is over, I hope you like your job”, my thoughts was blown.
Devon Gilfillian’s headlining set at the Cabin Friday night time was absolute hearth. Seamlessly transitioning in and out of songs starting from straight blues to exhausting rock to soul, he even threw down a pair sick covers of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and Led Zeppelin’s “Lemon Song.” Not to say his acapella “Lean on Me,” the place he walked offstage along with his entire band and sang in the center of the crowd with competition founder Ben Anderson becoming a member of in. A fittingly epic finish to day two.
Day 3: Labs
“Spirituality and the Spotlight” with Dave of Dopey Podcast with Anders Osborne and Wyatt Pike — who, enjoyable reality, was the native Park City contestant on American Idol — was fascinating. Wyatt had a whole psychological breakdown midway by way of Idol and needed to give up the collection fully. Apparently he hadn’t shared that story with anybody till this lab. After Osborne described a couple of breakdown moments of his personal (one significantly loopy story in Paris), they moved on to the significance of getting a connection to one thing religious in your life to maintain you grounded, even when that factor is so simple as being attentive to your respiration thrice per week for quarter-hour.
I used to be enthusiastic about Jay Blakesberg’s lab, a 60-minute slideshow of his life, from teenage Deadhead who preferred taking footage to being one in all the preeminent music photographers of a technology. He talked about discovering his first press cross on the floor at a political protest organized by Jane Fonda, and having his photograph of Tom Petty be the cowl of Rolling Stone after he handed. This lab was full of private tales that I’m not comfy sharing, however if you’d like a more in-depth look at Blakesberg’s work, the Morris Museum in New Jersey is displaying a retrospective of his pictures from Oct 14th to Feb 5th.
Day 3: Music
At the Songwriter House, Matt Warren performed with Bill Luther, Dave Pahanish and Hallie Steele, all completed songwriters themselves. The final music Warren performed was “Every Storm Runs out of Rain,” which he launched as Maya Angelou’s favourite nation music.
Angelou as soon as stated: “There’s a country song out now, which I wish I’d written, that says ‘every storm runs out of rain.’ I’d make a sign of that if I were you. Put that on your writing pad. No matter how dull and seemingly unpromising life is right now, it’s going to change. It’s going to be better. But you have to keep working.”
Warren co-wrote the music with Gary Allen, and listening to the former sing an emotionally charged, acoustic model in a room of possibly 30 folks was spellbinding.
For the final night time of the competition, the most attention-grabbing music was at the identical venue, O.P Rockwell. First up, Daniel Donato Cosmic Country — belief me, “cosmic country” describes his music completely as his set opened with a jammed-out Johnny Cash/ Grateful Dead cowl “Big River,” and later, “Back on the Train” from Phish.
His supervisor advised me a narrative about when Donato was taking part in in a canopy band in highschool and, unbeknownst to him, his historical past trainer was in the again of the room. The subsequent day the trainer known as him in after class, stated he noticed him taking part in, dropped an enormous binder of dwell Grateful Dead CDs on the desk and stated, “You need to listen to all of these.” Daniel responded, “Where do I start?” Teacher stated, “Doesn’t matter,” and Cosmic Country was born.
Keller Williams’ Grateful Gospel continued the nation Dead theme properly. Their association on “Midnight Moonlight” was fascinating.
To shut out, Ben Anderson put collectively a lineup for Anders Osborne and Friends, together with Ivan Neville on keys and Anderson himself on bass and occasional vocals. Anderson took full management of “Fire on the Mountain” with a driving, bouncy bassline and comfortable, bittersweet vocals. The finest bits from the remainder of the set included the Meters cowl “Fire on the Bayou,” a charged-up “Stoned, Drunk and Naked” with Osborne shredding and a really acceptable “Aiko” encore with Donato on lead and Ivan Neville on vocals.
The Summit was a hit. Lab day passes offered out, and the labs had been successful. The Songwriter House made a particular impression on everybody, and the dwell music on Main St. offered a possibility for the entire city to have enjoyable.
The dates are already set for subsequent yr.
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