Beautiful weather greeted music fans again for the second day Sweetwater Brewing’s 420 music festival. The lineup included Greensky Bluegrass, Drive-By Truckers, The Dip, Andy Frasco and the U.N., Protoje, Funk You and Casandra Lewis, as well as a VIP stage showing from DBT’s Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley.
Scroll and scroll for photos from the sets and scenes from the day!
Greensky Bluegrass concluded the day with their expected joyful communal jam session where bluegrass roots meet psychedelic improvisation. Spread across the stage, the member displayed their talents including furious picking on mandolin, banjo, and dobro with occasional trippy, expansive jams.
Lights are a huge part of it, beautiful and colorful, wrapping the stage in dreamy purples, golds, and deep blues, matching the music’s emotional swings. The highlight of the evening was a 17-minute version of “Leap Year” joined by Allie Kral on fiddle, who appeared earlier in the day with Andy Frasco and the U.N. The band is known to cover Pink Floyd songs, and “Time” was a highlight near the end of the set.
Setlist:
Encore:
Appearing completely refreshed after a couple months off from touring, Drive-by Truckers played a fantastic set with the joy of performing showing on their faces. Bassist Matt Patton couldn’t make the show, but long-time DBT producer and UGA professor David Barbe filled in admirably, looking very, very pleased to be on stage. Cooley seemed to take a greater share of the solos, but Jay Gonzales had his opportunities as well, with some wicked slide contributions.
“Hell No, I Ain’t Happy” was played on the main stage as well as during an acoustic duo performance earlier in the day from Hood and Cooley. Hood, in lyrics and at a mic, brings societal friction to the fore keeping songs like “Puttin’ People on the Moon” relevant.
Setlist:
Seattle’s funk and R&B/soul band played an energetic set, a 3 piece brass section adding highlights, but in general more soulful than other funk/jam bands playing during the weekend.
Setlist:
Andy Frasco and the U.N. A Sweetwater 420 Fest staple, and a worthy one. Blues, rock, funk… whatever the genre, they’re fun. It’s a great experience because you don’t want to watch one member too long because you know you’ll miss someone else doing something crazy if you do. Kudos to Allie Kral guesting on violin, who joined the insanity all-in. And covers from Zeppelin and Rage against the Machine, you gotta be kiddin’ me!
Setlist:
The energy wasn’t lacking after Funk You, but something about reggae gets a crowd moving, especially when fronted by Protoje, regarded as at the forefront a new wave of Jamaican reggae artists. He puts in the work, crossing the stage left to right and back again, supported by a stellar band and a knack for tuneful songs.
Funk You, an Augusta, GA, band got an early crowd moving and pumped for the day ahead. It’s not just funk. It’s contemporary funk. The band has been around over a decade and their experience and joy playing live was palpable. Natalie Brooke, artist-at-large, sat in for enjoyable jam as well.
