Briefs

People not only from our lovely city but also from all over the United States will converge on the streets of Downtown Mobile to enjoy the music and revelry of BayFest 2006. Those in attendance will spend the entire day wandering from stage to stage and getting a musical fix at every corner. At the end of the day, many of you will trudge in exhaustion back to your home or hotel room and gather up enough strength for the next day of aural pleasures. However, there will be many of you who will still be jonesing for live music, and there will be venues up and down LoDa catering to your needs.

HUKA Productions, along with 92ZEW, has made plans to take over Soul Kitchen for BayFest weekend with a line-up of admirable entertainment that many of you won’t be able to refuse.

Things will get kicked off Thursday, Oct. 5 with a pre-party courtesy of Nashville’s Will Hoge with Moses Mayfield opening. Hoge has the ability to electrify the audience with his exemplary musical talent and a non-stop set list. His music permeates the spirit of true rock-and-roll by taking it back to its roots. It is this philosophy that has earned him a dedicated cavalcade of fans. This will definitely be a good way to warm up for the weekend.

The party continues Friday, Oct. 6 with a night of NOLA jazz by none other than the Rebirth Brass Band. Some of you might recognize them as the brass band from the 2005 thriller “The Skeleton Key.” This legion of brass just wrapped up an extremely successful West Coast tour on which they sold out shows left and right. If you decide to attend this show, make sure you take a good pair of dancing shoes. I guarantee you’ll be on your feet all night.

On Saturday, Oct. 7, Mobile welcomes Keller Williams to the Port City for a night chocked-full of funky, eclectic acoustic jams. Williams will be flying solo this time around, leaving behind his band The Keels.

Keller has been touring with the Keels in support of their latest release “Grass.” “Grass” continues a legacy of versatile sound that playfully hops across the genres. Williams may bring out the funk in one song and then pick through bluegrass on the next.

My personal favorite is “Goofballs,” which is a talented, popping romp across the strings. Get your tickets for all of these shows on Soul Kitchen’s Web site (www.soulkitchenmobile.com) or at the door.

Further down…

Another great place to continue the BayFest party is Monsoons. On Oct. 7, Noell will welcome back Sons of William. After their performance a few months ago, they made quite a few fans in the Port City who will certainly be in attendance for their return.

Front man/guitarist Joe Stark was no stranger to the road when Sons of William was formed. He had toured extensively and opened for acts such as Bad Company and Billy Squier. After playing with such musical figures as Marc Broussard, Butch Walker and Owen Beverly, Stark joined forces with his brother David (drums) and the beautiful Annie Clements (bass) to form Sons of William.

Their sound is a talented combination of pure rock intermingled with various jazz elements. Songs such as “Give into to Give Up” intertwine a traditional rock-and-roll guitar sound with a classic jazz organ in the background.

Plugged in

The Electronica Stage is always a big hit at BayFest with featured DJs spinning their hearts out with the best in house, jungle and hip-hop beats. However, the Port City has given birth to a new breed of DJ. Many figures in the Mobtown Underground music scene have started breaking out their vinyl and turntables to bring the scenesters nights filled with the sounds of offbeat yet ear-pleasing music.

On Oct. 6, everyone will have the chance to have a similar experience at The Krewe for their after-Bayfest blow-out featuring Glitter Glam Gold/Stone Pebbles Soul kicking out the finest garage, glam rock, punk, beat and psychedelic. Also making an appearance will be DJ Hot Lobster and “his mysterious and lovely sidekick DJ Tater Tot.” This should be quite a unique experience, and hats off to The Krewe for bringing the Port City this show.

Johnson fit unnecessary

Many of you were very disappointed and mystified that Wes Jeans wasn’t able to appear at the recent Robert Cray/Eric Johnson concert. I recently spoke with Scott Moore (a Wes Jean insider), and he explained the situation.

It seems as if Eric Johnson was holding a grudge against one of Jeans band members and refused to play if the Wes Jeans Band was on the bill. The only problem was that Johnson didn’t realize this band member was no longer with the band. Shame on you, Eric Johnson!

Jeans will be making it up to his fans when he opens for Indigenous Sept. 28 at The Temple. I spoke with Indigenous front man Mato Nanji about how he found the blues on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

“I think for me, pretty much, my dad (Greg Zephier) had all the records,” Nanji explains. “He had all the B.B. Kings and all the Jimmy Reeds. He also had a lot of the rock-and-roll stuff like Cream, Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, all that stuff. I kinda went back to the blues and back to the rock-and-roll. That was pretty much all I was listening to growing up.” You don’t want to miss this show. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or at www.templemobile.com.

Stephen Centanni is Lagniappe music editor. Contact him at scentanni@lagniappemobile.com.

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