WMNF’s Fall Frolic Features Seven Great Bands Saturday at Skipper’s

WMNF 88.5 Community Conscious Radio has done it again, planning your Saturday for you (November 19th)! This time it is the Fall Frolic, nine glorious hours of music under beautiful autumn skies — and the Skipperdome — with seven excellent groups and artists performing! It’s family-friendly; children under 12 are free. The music begins at 3 PM and goes right up until the midnight hour.

Have Gun, Will Travel have played memorable sets at many WMNF festivals including Tropical Heatwave, WMNF Birthday Bash and Little Manatee Jam. They are set to headline this new WMNF fall event. HGWT has five excellent albums of Americana, folk-rock, and indie-rock, with songwriter/lead vocalist Matt Burke writing lyrics drawing on themes of history to give the songs unique color.

Every time we hear Hymn For Her, our smiles are ear to ear. They are just so much fun. This amazing duo spends the summer touring Europe and the fall out west in their Airstream named Bambi. We caught up with them at Orange Blossom Jamboree, when we wrote:

“We had seen this duo from Maine via Airstream trailer a year ago, and they were just as quirkily delightful this time. Lucy Tight was playing banjo (I think), and Wayne Waxing was playing the three-string cigar box guitar AND playing bass drum. They finished a tune, then slid into ‘Devil’s Train.’ You just cannot believe they are getting such power from such a simple set-up. Then Lucy and Wayne switched axes, and they called up their daughter (perhaps 11 years old?) to sing, and she did a fine job on ‘Sioux City Sue.’ I was hearing bongos, but no… it was Wayne with banjo flat on his lap, using it as bongos. Nice touch!”

Hymn for Her

Christie Lenée has defected to Nashville, but we know she belongs to us. She recently had an album release party for her newest effort, Stay, at the Straz Center backed by the stellar ensemble which will be at The Fall Frolic. Her soaring voice and incredible guitar talents (not to mention her stomp box) have garnered national attention, deservedly so. She toured all the way to Alaska and back this summer. Her tapping and slapping techniques are wondrous, and her use of the Engle, a small steel hammer she uses to strike the guitar strings on some songs, is mind-blowing.

At WMNF’s Little Manatee Jam Fest, we wrote:

Christie Lenée was next on stage. She had just played live on WMNF earlier in the day. She was joined by bass, keyboards, and Jonathan Thomas on drums. Her set began with the delightful “Here I Go,” and she never let up. “Daylight Comes,” “Stay” and her cover of Peter Gabriel’s “Salisbury Hill” followed. Then Lenée asked: “So do you want to get funky or continue (with the mellower music)? This is a jam fest!” So out poured “Learning Tree.” Next, she told us about her soprano guitar and The Engle, the small metal hammer she uses to play it. Think harpsichord. It was wonderful. Slide guitar followed on “Take a Little Vacation,” and she closed with her anthem — and the perfect song for this festival — “We Are One.”

Gainesville’s Big Shoals ought to be recognized as one of the best roots rock bands in the country. Lance Howell is an outstanding songwriter, guitarist and vocalist and leads a strong band. They are touring on their fourth album, Hard Lessons. Their live shows feature everything from a whisper to a roar, Americana, punk, alt-country, you name it.

Justin Osborne is the talented singer-songwriter for SUSTO, from Charleston SC. In 2014 they released their debut album independently and toured relentlessly to get the word out. They were an immediate hit in their hometown and were invited to showcase at SXSW and the 2016 Americana Fest. They have just released a terrific second album, taking the spacey country rock of their debut into the stratosphere, piling on layers of sighing keyboards, galloping rhythms and frayed, noisy guitar solos atop wistful melodies and lyrics.

Appleseed Collective comes to Tampa via Ann Arbor, and they are Tropical Heatwave alumni, playing swing, folk and gypsy jazz with original songs, lighthearted lyrics and infectious musicianship. With violin, guitar, bass and washboard, they are riding the wave of the bluegrass revival beyond newgrass and into a strange new genre-bending territory. They explore the full range of dark and light, old and new, composition and improvisation in a deeply theatrical stage show that transports audiences through time.

Sarasota is sending a Kettle of Fish to Fall Frolic. Their original music is an amalgam of rock, blues, reggae and New Orleans soul. They also play a fine selection of covers by artists such as Little Feat, the Rolling Stones, the Neville Brothers, the Allmans, the Dead, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Freddie King, Howlin’ Wolf, and Muddy Waters, and you’ve got yourself a fine Kettle of Fish.

Thanks to WMNF for use of some of these descriptions!

Change your calendar now! Saturday, 3 PM, Skipper’s Smokehouse.

Be there. Aloha!