Blair Crimmins & The Hookers https://blaircrimminsandthehookers.com

Blair Crimmins began his current music career in Atlanta, Georgia, with a determination to bring Ragtime and 1920’s style Dixieland Jazz to new audiences. While playing small rock clubs around the Southeast he developed a sound that is at once modern while being deeply rooted in the past.

He has toured the country playing large venues and has opened for acts such as Mumford & Sons and Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

A multi-instrumentalist and music academic, Crimmins writes songs and arrangements for a classic New Orleans style horn section consisting of trumpet, clarinet and trombone. His debut 2010 release “The Musical Stylings Of” became a college radio sensation on WRAS Atlanta making him the most requested band on the air. 

In 2012, Crimmins showed his musical diversity by writing and recording the full score for the independent short film “Old Man Cabbage”. The following year, Crimmins was the critics pick for Best Song Writer of 2013 in Creative Loafing’s Best of ATL issue. His last album entitled Sing-a-longs! went to #21 on the EuroAmerican radio chart and earned him a nomination at The Georgia Music Awards for Best Jazz Artist. Blair Crimmins has now released his anticipated 4th studio album “You Gotta Sell Something”. 

Donna the Buffalo  https://www.donnathebuffalo.com

Donna the Buffalo offers everything you want in a roots band --  songs that matter, a groove that makes you dance, an audience that spans generations and a musical voice that evokes a sense of community. Dance in the Street, their first new album in five years, captures the dynamic energy that has earned the band the love and respect of their fans, “the Herd”, for thirty years.

Donna The Buffalo is well known for their lyrics about human potential and community. Throughout Dance in the Street, Jeb Puryear and Tara Nevins, the band’s co-founders, share songs of social commentary and self empowerment. “We feel the album provides an enjoyable ride between the general and the personal, from both male and female perspectives,” says Puryear.    

Puryear took it upon himself to write a topical song after a friend slyly commented, “We could use some songs like you used to write.” That off-handed remark led directly to “Dance in the Street,” which falls somewhere between Bob Dylan and Bob Marley, with lyrics:

                            For change of rule, we had better stand,

                                        Before there's nowhere left to land,

                                        Doomed to histories repeat,

                                        It's time to dance in the street.

Nevins adapted the imagery in the lyrics from “Dance in the Street” to create the globally-inspired album cover. 

“My songs on this record are about letting go,” says Nevins. “Whether it be the attachment of love lost, the past or the particular blue funk you’re coming out of.”   Nevins in particular adds an interesting twist of "creating future" in Motor, the inspired second cut of the album with the chorus:

                 You'll be dancing under the moon before too long,

                 You'll be flying high as a kite when the wind gets blowing,

                 You'll be right back where you started,

                 You’ll be holding tight to the motor that gets you going.

Donna the Buffalo joined forces with legendary Producer/ Engineer Rob Fraboni to record Dance in the Street at Sonic Ranch Studio in El Paso, Texas.  Best known as producer of The Last Waltz soundtrack, Fraboni is also acclaimed for his work with Bob Dylan, The Band, Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones.  Fraboni set out to capture the essence of Donna The Buffalo’s live performances on a studio record. He had the band record in a circle directly to tape. Dance In The Street is a fully analog recording all the way to vinyl. The track list alternates in his-and-hers fashion; even so, Nevins believes the album makes a cohesive statement. “We think of it as painting a picture and I like the picture that we’ve painted with this record,” she says.

Nevins and Puryear have nurtured a close friendship after meeting at an old-time fiddle convention years ago.  In 1989 they landed their first gig in a Trumansburg, NY restaurant setting Puryear and Nevins on their musical path.  During that time, Puryear took note of Nevins’ songwriting ability – "the first person I met that wrote songs that sounded like you could hear them on the radio".  While they mostly write separately, their music is often on the same wavelength.“  Our history is so long and very successful musically,” he says. “She’s my best friend – we’ve done this forever. It’s a big part of what makes it still interesting to do. We definitely have a good, rough-and-tumble, super-longstanding respect and love.”

Donna The Buffalo is not just a band, rather one might say that Donna The Buffalo has become a lifestyle for its members and audiences. The band has played thousands of shows and countless festivals including Bonnaroo, Newport Folk Festival, Telluride, Austin City Limits Festival, Merle Fest, and Philadelphia Folk Festival.  At several festivals Donna The Buffalo has become the house band for closing the events by backing up artists including The Avett Brothers, Keller Williams, Zac Brown, Bela Fleck, John Paul Jones, and Chris Thile.  They’ve opened for The Dead and have toured with Peter Rowan, Del McCoury, Los Lobos, Little Feat, Jim Lauderdale, Rusted Root, and Railroad Earth to name a few. They also toured with Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen to help raise awareness about increased corporate spending in politics.  In 1991, the band started the Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival in Trumansburg, NY.  The four day festival has become an annual destination for over 15,000 music lovers every year and was started as an AIDS benefit.  It continues as a benefit for arts and education.  To date, the event has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and is now one of three Grassroots Festivals; the Bi-annual Shakori Hills fest in North Carolina and Virginia Key festival in Florida.  In 2016 GrassRoots Culture Camp was introduced in Trumansburg, New York as four days of music, art, dance and movement workshops, including nightly dinners and dances.  

“Successes? We have certainly tried to make a difference in the world, trying to inspire ourselves and others to treat their lives as a work of art, and our collective destiny as something that we are creating, not just something we are subject to.  And at the same time we’re having a blast, who wouldn’t want to ride around on a bus playing music with their friends?” Puryear added.

The most loyal fans in the Herd are always eager to accept a call to action. Last year Donna the Buffalo started a crowdfunding campaign to buy a new tour bus; within three weeks, they had raised $90,000.  “You can imagine how validating that felt for us,” Nevins says, still overwhelmed at the generosity. 

By creating a bridge between generations, Donna the Buffalo attracts one of the broadest demographics on the festival circuit.  When Nevins encounters young women in the autograph line, she likes to write “Girl Power!” She’s proud to see them looking up at the stage and watching a female musician really getting down, comprehending that they could do the same thing one day.   In addition, Puryear has noted that Vietnam veterans have gravitated to the band.  During a songwriting workshop, Puryear sang “Killing A Man,” which examines the complicated psychological ramifications of ending another person’s life.  He felt uncertain about recording it, he says, until a veteran came up and asked him how he got those emotions exactly right.

Dance In The Street closes with “I Believe,” a song with a message of support. From the stage, Nevins often hears men and women singing it with her.  “I think our message is encouraging. It’s something for people to latch onto,” she says. “And what an awesome sound and feeling to hear an audience en masse singing your song with you.”       

Donna the Buffalo draws on a lot of musical influences, from country and rock ‘n’ roll, to bluegrass and old-time fiddle, as well as Cajun and Zydeco.  In many ways, they were Americana before the term was ever coined. The common thread?  Songs of the human spirit, and an incredibly tight relationship with their fans.

“The fans, they show up to be a part of it. We show up to be a part of it,” Puryear says. “And we don’t have an intimidating vibe where we’re different than them.  If a scene is really on, it doesn’t matter whether you’re watching, listening, dancing, or playing – it’s on, everybody knows it’s on and it feels great! I think that’s the nature of the connection.”

Joe Craven & Painted Mandolin  https://joecraven.com

Joe Craven is not just an entertaining musician with a penchant for the mischievous, he is a teacher and student all at once. He will draw you into his performance by including you as though you’re part of the show itself. His gift of gab is unprecedented and his musical knowledge impressive. Always looking for the next expression and object to make music with, Joe is a musical madman with anything that has strings attached. Joe’s openness and expression of gratitude for the gifts he’s acquired make it all the more fun for him to share them with his audience.

Creativity educator, former museum curator, visual artist, actor/storyteller, event emcee and recipient of the 2009 Folk Alliance Far-West Performer of the Year, Joe has made music with many folks – notably,  17 years with mandolinist David Grisman, violinist Stephane Grappelli and Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia – to multi-whirled string guy David Lindley, harmonica wizard Howard Levy and seven years recording and touring with banjo fusionist Alison Brown.

Jamming instrumentals, grooving energy and vocals shared by all, Painted Mandolin explores the acoustic side of Jerry Garcia, from his early jug band days; to the Bluegrass of Old and In the Way; through the Grateful Dead’s "Reckoning" period; Jerry's acoustic band; and the Garcia/Grisman project in the early 90s.

Keller & the Keels https://kellerwilliams.net

Since he first appeared on the scene in the early ’90s, Keller Williams has defined the term independent artist. For most of his career he has performed solo, accompanying his vocals on acoustic guitar. With the use of today’s technology, Keller creates samples on the fly in front of the audience. The end result leans toward a hybrid of alternative folk and groovy electronica, a genre Keller jokingly calls “acoustic dance music.” 

As years have gone by and Keller has continued to evolve he has created more and more unique projects and collaborations with fellow musicians.  Keller says of this  collaboration, “Award winning flat picker Larry Keel and his rock solid, in the pocket bass playing wife, Jenny Keel, make up two thirds of this super fun trio I started in 2004. We vowed from the beginning that we wouldn’t do it often so that when we did, it would be special and it is.” We’re so glad they decided to do it here with us at Suwannee Roots Revival.

Leftover Salmon  http://www.leftoversalmon.com

Few bands stick around for 30 years. Even fewer bands leave a legacy that marks them as a truly special, once-in-lifetime type band. And no band has done all that and had as much fun as Leftover Salmon. Since their earliest days as a forward thinking, progressive bluegrass band who had the guts to add drums to the mix and who were unafraid to stir in any number of highly combustible styles into their ever-evolving sound, to their role as pioneers of the modern jamband scene, to their current status as influential elder-statesmen of that scene, Leftover Salmon has been a crucial link in keeping the traditional music of the past alive, simultaneously pushing that sound forward with their own weirdly unique style.   

Salmon is a band that has never stood still; they are constantly changing, evolving, and inspiring. If someone wanted to understand what Americana music is, they could do no better than to go to a Leftover Salmon show for a musical tour, with the band taking them to Appalachia for an old-time bluegrass song, stopping at Bourbon Street in New Orleans for a swampy Cajun-influenced number, to the hallowed halls of the Ryman in Nashville, before returning to the mountains of Colorado to fire one up.

Nikki Talley & Jason Sharp  http://www.nikkitalley.com

After many years of serious touring, 150-200 shows annually, Nikki and Jason are still traveling down that road. Hailing from the mountains of Transylvania County in western North Carolina, it’s only fitting that Nikki’s songs are as eclectic as the state that boasts the mountains and the sea. Nikki accompanies her beautiful, soaring voice with her guitar and clawhammer style banjo. Musical partner and husband, Jason Sharp, adds resonant, lush guitar tones and vocal harmonies to the duo’s sound.

You can find Nikki & Jason chasing their dreams down in their van, Blue Bell, all across the country playing festivals, venues & house concerts.You’ll find Nikki and Jason sharing their music at the late night campfires, too.

Ralph Roddenbery  https://www.facebook.com/RalphRoddenbery/

Ralph Roddenbery’s music is a dynamic blend of Americana, roots rock, and a twist of the blues. The Charleston City Paper stated that Roddenbery has an “undeniable knack for tapping into the emotional undercurrent of his songs, many of which are just as likely to make you laugh as they are to cause moistening of the lids, all within the same four minutes.” Roddenbery is a unique and impressionable singer/songwriter who has been part of the Athens and Atlanta music scene for many years.

Sam Bush Band  https://www.sambush.com

There was only one prize-winning teenager carrying stones big enough to say thanks, but no thanks to Roy Acuff. Only one son of Kentucky finding a light of inspiration from Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys and catching a fire from Bob Marley and The Wailers. Only one progressive hippie allying with like-minded conspirators, rolling out the New Grass revolution, and then leaving the genre's torch-bearing band behind as it reached its commercial peak. There is only one consensus pick of peers and predecessors, of the traditionalists, the rebels, and the next gen devotees. Music's ultimate inside outsider. Or is it outside insider? There is only one Sam Bush.

Sam has released seven albums and a live DVD over the past two decades. In 2009, the Americana Music Association awarded Bush the Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist. Punch Brothers, Steep Canyon Rangers, and Greensky Bluegrass are just a few present-day bluegrass vanguards among so many musicians he’s influenced. His performances are annual highlights of the festival circuit, with Bush’s joyous perennial appearances at the town’s famed bluegrass fest earning him the title, “King of Telluride.”

Steep Canyon Rangers  https://www.steepcanyon.com

Steep Canyon Rangers are Asheville, North Carolina’s GRAMMY winners, perennial Billboard chart-toppers, and frequent collaborators of the renowned banjoist (and occasional comedian) Steve Martin.

Steep Canyon Rangers have been on a journey that is uniquely their own. The band started in college at UNC-Chapel Hill, then dove head first into bluegrass in its most traditional form, and over the years have risen to the top of the bluegrass genre headlining top festivals such as Merlefest and Grey Fox Bluegrass. Only to then be discovered by Steve Martin, famous actor and banjo player. Martin has taken the Rangers on a nearly decade long tour introducing them to hundreds of thousands of new fans and giving them prime time TV exposure. This has helped SCR become the most recognizable modern name in bluegrass music.

The band has continued to tour extensively on their own, without Martin, and have expanded their genre into country and Americana with the addition of a drummer, alongside an incredibly versatile bassist - to accompany the original core band. The Rangers are big players in the bluegrass/country and Americana scene today. They are often compared to predecessors The Band, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and the modern Zac Brown Band.

The Infamous Stringdusters  http://www.thestringdusters.com

The Infamous Stringdusters stand out as the rare group who can team up with contemporary artists on late night television one night and headline the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre or perform alongside The Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh the next, and have recently emerged as proprietors behind their newly found independent record label, Americana Vibes.

Manifesting an actual flock of impassioned fandom, much like those who paved the road before them, the band have attracted a faithful international audience that continues to grow. Moreover, their powerful music and performances paved the way for a GRAMMY® Award win in the category of “Best Bluegrass Album” for 2017’s Laws of Gravity, and a number of International Bluegrass Music Awards in a variety of categories.

The Dusters are a brotherhood, but that family extends beyond the band even. And with most of the past year apart (and off), the guys can’t wait to hear what the future has in store for them musically speaking, and the hope is to bring that very musical joy back into people’s lives.