Reg’s Musical Musings: City Stages & Bonnaroo 2008

How was Bonarroo? You went didn’t you? Oh, if I had a dime for every time I have been asked that question I would be adding on to my house next week. But alas, I did not go this year. As a matter of fact, I didn’t go last year. Don’t get me wrong, I love The Roo and I miss it dearly but since they moved their dates to the same weekend as my beloved hometown festival City Stages (www.citystages.org).

City Stages is no Bonarroo, it doesn’t pretend to be. At the same time, City Stages is something Bonarroo isn’t, it is a celebration of civic pride and a way for a town plagued by it’s ghosts and the sins of our fathers, to show the world that this isn’t the city some in our country think it is. While I missed seeing the incredible music at The Roo (Except for The Police. I have talked to a few dozen folks who attended and inevitably the first thing out of their mouth’s is “The Police sucked!” That’s a shame. I will just keep my memories of the Ghost In The Machine tour and avoid their latest incarnation.). I did get to see a city rally to show how much it cares about a festival that in its 19 year history has had its ups and downs but continues to prove its relevance to Birmingham.

Highlights of my weekend included; The Steve Miller Band (This guy should play Bonarroo. I guarantee you it would be a hit), Willy Mason (Amazing!), Whiskey Falls (watch out for this little country/rock outfit), Bruce Cockburn (Genius!), Will Kimbrough And Tommy Womack (If you can’t enjoy these guys live, you are dead.), Matthew Perryman Jones (A hit artist waiting to happen.), Earth Wind and Fire (Gotta love a band where there are 20 people on stage and they are all working constantly. These guys are entertainers and then some.), Adam Hood, Victoria Williams (So much charm it is scary), Stoll Vaughan (Never seen a crowd he couldn’t immediately win over), Sam Bush (Bluegrass and then some. He covered Marley, Wonder, Zeppelin and wasted the crowd), Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Dead Confederate, Ratt (forgot how metal these guys were. Yes they had hair but they were much more metal) and Poison (Like my friend said, it’s like watching professional wrestling. You don’t know why you do it but
it sure can be entertaining).

With that said, I have a wish for my hometown. Something I want the city to take to heart. Birmingham has always had a way of shooting itself in the foot by becoming jealous of what others have when they have a good thing going on already. As I stated earlier, City Stages is not Bonarroo. It isn’t JazzFest. It was never Atlanta’s now defunct Music Midtown. It is, however, ours. It is something to be proud of. It is something to relish in. It is something to enjoy and to look forward to every Father’s Day weekend. Don’t worry about how it stacks up to other festivals. So it doesn’t have all the big headliners. What is does have is community. Celebrate it. Go ahead and mark your calendars for June 13-15, 2008. At the end of the day, I will personally guarantee that you will have a wonderful experience in the center of your city.

Thanks to Dead Confederate for stopping by the studio this past Sunday. The band is even more proof that Southern Rock and Roll is alive and I am looking forward to seeing this band grow and rise. www.deadconfederate.com . If you like Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Radiohead with a Southern Accent, check ‘em out.