Howdy friends! If you're keeping up with our daily Mile 0 Fest shenanigans, we're doing things a little different today. There was a lot of jam packed, once in a lifetime opportunities over the course of days 3 & 4 that we wanted to be present for, so we're combining them!
Our Mile 0 Fest Day 3 adventures began with some cajun country, Lucas Jagneaux at Sunset Pier. His happy-go-lucky smile & wired stage presence is contagious. Day 3 was exponentially better weathered than the previous, making the Sunset Pier stage picturesque. The turquoise water lightly rippling behind the stage easily makes this venue the prettiest one & even better with the sun shining warmth upon the packed pier.
Micky & the Motorcars took the stage next, bringing their best bangers & pulling a crowd body to body down the entire pier. It was a struggle for me to walk from the back to behind the stage between head nodding listeners & the air fisting fans. The Motorcars brought the energy with their staple Red Dirt sound & movement across the stage.
Something interesting this year was the Louisiana Grandstand Showcase stage at Margaritaville hosted by Django Walker. We caught the tail end of the 4 hour set, seeing Django, modern country singer Braydon Watts, absolute powerhouse songwriter Mus Gillam, surprise guest Kerri Lick, & Jagneaux again. Django played a tune he wrote that will be released by Angel White, definitely an artist you should check out. Watts had a clean sound with radio ready melodies. Lick provided a fresh female voice with beach inspired tunes. Most surprising was Gillam. This was our first time experiencing his musicianship. The artist had the pipes behind the words & truly floored me in his descriptive song writing. He succeeded in keeping the crowd hanging on every word. Perhaps the most important participants of this event were the Buffets, family members of Jimmy who sat centerstage & watched the artists play with excited ears. It was a beautiful feeling to share a pina colada in the same room as people who have a deep appreciation for music & Key West.
Cycling across the island to the Southernmost Point beach (highly recommend doing when the sun is out!), we caught Reckless Kelly on the Shiner Bock stage. Due to the day 2 Steve Earle debaucle, the Reckless Kelly super fans came to show out. This beach show was hands down the best of the week weather-wise. The golden sun illuminated the gemstone waves while festival folk sunk their bare feet in the tide. Every beachside bar was packed, daquiris and Shiner Bocks in hand. RK brought their signature Flogging Molly meets Randy Rogers energy, playing their biggest hits & satiating the fiddle hungry crowd. Girls crowded the front of the beach stage, jumping & singing while fellow musicians stood back & side stage enjoying the sunny show. Reckless burned down the beach to a crisp; so much so that as they finished, they took the sun with them & the gray skies returned as we made the great migration to the amphitheater.
Unfortunately we only caught the tail end of Ty Myers, but I still have a lot to say on the kid. He's a force to reckon with. Myers is only 18, but has the soul of a 72 year old gospel singer in Alabama. There's grit, there's blues, there's southern sounds woven into an Americana cowboy. Something to take note of was the flock of young teenage girls who made their way to the pit to see Myers & immediately dispersed after his set was over. It was so apparent that I actually wrote in my notes "Elvis crowd," as in there's going to be a wave of supporters following this artist everywhere he goes. Great importance must be considered when thinking about the next generation of festival goers & music supporters-- & this is a ship you wanna be on before it takes over the entire sea.
Brent Cobb performed his next Mile 0 set on the amphitheater stage, really getting to let loose compared to The Backyard stage set. His grammy nominated songwriting is apparent in the care he takes in describing Southern American living & experiences. With a light rhythm & heavy lyrics, the festivalers bopped around, toe tapping to the trials of today & triumphs of tomorrow.
Most anticipated show of the festival so far has been Stephen Wilson Jr. He's new, he's fresh, he's intentional; & man, do other artists really take an interest in what he's got going on. His overall appearance gives Man in Black but more off putting & a little scary. Why? No idea, but it makes sense seeing him with his "patches got patches" type guitar. His music has a power behind it, a sheet of hypnotism that had the crowd totally engaged. Wilson did a solo acoustic cover of "Stand By Me" but with a pedal effect occasionally dropping a muffled bass tone, absolutely reverberating through a mesmerized crowd. He forced the festival to be still, to be present. Something I noticed is how he tweaks his body to be used as an instrument in ways more than just releasing from the gut. He has a jawline that doesn't ever truly open all the way while singing, giving that low grumble tone. A member of the audience literally called it his "unfulfilled rage muscle," & I'm inclined to agree. It's also worth noting he chews gum for almost every show I've seen him do. A tone tactic? Unconfirmed, but if so, that's a really cool trick & tool to accomplish an unnatural sound goal.
Shane Smith followed Wilson with yet another ethereal Mile 0 Fest performance. There's something about the 4 part harmonies, the sway of the wind while Shane wiggles across the stage like an excited Aussie, & the overall feeling of joy while the Saints shred in every way. The set in Key West wouldn't be the same without "Coast," one of the career launching songs for the Saints. It's seaside declarations feel a part of this festival as much as the band itself does. However, I craved "A Pirates Life at Forty" from the Saints; last year their Buffet tribute was so beautiful that I feel it should be a part of their Key West sets permanently.
But something spectacular happened next. Something huge, something moving.
Shannon Canada braved the amphitheater stage to welcome on her husband, her friends, her family for the first ever live Cross Canadian Ragweed reunion performance. There was a buzz in the air as the quick witted festival goers started seeing members of Ragweed floating around the island. The tribute show went as follows:
Jamie Lin Wilson - 17
Mike McClure- Fighting For
Randy Rogers- This Time Around
Waves in April- Carney Man (really cool metal version, might I add; Canada kids)
Smokin' Oaks - Suicide Blues (Slaid Cross)
Courtney Patton - Alabama
Adam Hood - Anywhere but Here
Lucas Jagneaux - Train to Birmingham
James Ford of Them Dirty Roses - Constantly
Jason Eady - Jenny
JD Graham - Dimebag
Willy & Micky Braun - Crazy Eddies
Tanner Usrey - Wanna Rock 'N Roll
Red Dirt Rangers - Time to Move On
Following the tribute, the audience was absolutely ecstatic. The energy in the air was physically elating as Cross Canadian Ragweed (Cody Canada, Grady Cross, Randy Ragsdale, Jeremy Plato) took the stage. Canada declared to the crowd before beginning "this is our first time playing in front of actual humans," for us listeners to give them grace if it was too much or too little for their first time back. As Ragweed brought back their well known, absolutely rockstar of a show, members of the band began to actually physically cry tears. The kids Slaid, Dierks, & Willy guitar teched & stage crewed for their dads. The side stage was lined with wives, brothers, sons & daughters, family of all sorts. Beers were raised & swaying throughout the crowd. Feet were moving. And the overpowering singalong of the crowd reflected back on the visibly grateful band & its members.
Something to be said about this Ragweed performance is this was not what the record breaking Stillwater, Oklahoma show will be. Ticket holders for the sold out show took to the internet in anger once news of the reunion broke online; what's the point of paying for tickets for a show that will not be the official first? However, it truly shouldn't be thought of in the same vein. Mile 0 Fest is a real family. The staff is family with the artists. The artists are family with the fans. The festival is homecoming for many people, musician & music lover alike. Canada took to Instagram to clear up the spiraling conspiracies, saying "this is a lovefest. I love my friends." This Cross Canadian Ragweed performance was like a trial run to get the nerves out, to let the tears freely flow without the judgement of the 183,000+ ticket holders in Stillwater, a safe space for the band to experience that rush of euphoria together just for themselves. The Stillwater show will be electric & absolutely smashing in performance & environment-- but this show was to be vulnerable at a place that fosters such vulnerability. It was a tribute & dedication to their families & the members they've lost. It was a declaration of love. Just another reason Mile 0 Fest is my all time favorite festival.
The Cross Canadian Ragweed setlist was as followed:
Number
Lonely Girl
Don't Need You
Lighthouse Keeper
Boys from Oklahoma (Django Walker & Willy Braun additional verses)
Late Last Night
Once this show concluded, there was nothing anyone could do but take to Duval street & absolutely spazz out with energy release. Everyone was so hyped up that it made for an extremely late night of excitement & happiness across the entire island.
DAY FOUR
Deeply upset to miss Walt & Tina Wilkins no doubt beautiful set (such beautiful songwriters), I joined Aaron Bentley for his Beers Over Breakfast podcast with Adam Drake (Maverick 100.9 & 95.9. The Ranch), Brad Beheler (Galleywinter), & Jerrod Lane (Red Dirt TShirt Company). We absolutely needed to talk about the Ragweed reunion with a group of music history nerds, hair of the dog beer in hands for our insane previous evening. You'll get to hear more about that on Bentley's podcast Off Mic, Off the Record which you can find on Instagram & Facebook.
Next, I ran over to watch Ken Pomeroy at Hank's. She brought an Okie crowd to the small stage, filling the standing space. Her honest & crisp vocal control sits people down in their emotions, like her brand new 2 day old song "Bound to Rain" that she perfectly practiced on the Key West crowd. She made the audience laugh with "sorry you came on vacation to be depressed & hear sad songs," which are our favorite around here anyway. Be sure to check out her album which MAY or MAY not be released in a month we're apparently not allowed to talk about. (;
Maggie Antone followed Pomeroy with sass & surprisingly beautiful vocals. Her tone sounds sort of like a girlish angel who needed a breakfast cigarette in the most ethereal way. She theatrically opened the set by giving a little intro about herself while applying glitter pink lipgloss & talking about how boys suck. She gives boy crazy, precious princess energy but will hit you over the head with a beer bottle in the pool hall if provoked. The only tear I've shed so far has been for her song "I Don't Want To Hear About It." If you went to Mile 0 Fest last year, I think you'd know why.
Following the most magical moment in my music career (seeing Ragweed's unexpected return), the actual awesomest, coolest, most amazing thing took up the remainder of my day time; & I'm not ashamed for being totally stoked about it. Making my way to the Sunset Pier, I caught the James McMurtry full band show. Although the pier was damp & blistering with frigid wind, the McMurtry crew powered through with the "makin' it look easy" strength of true professionals. You'll find out more about that next week when I post my INTERVIEW WITH JAMES MCMURTRY!?!?!?!?!? Look, I'm as humble as the next person with a microphone, but McMurtry is one of my writing idols, as well as many notable musicians we love. What we sat & talked about one on one (with the darling Betty Soo) will be engraved in my brain probably forever, so check that out next week. Pinky promise it will be more enlightened & intellectual than this snippet here.
Finally making our way back to the amphitheater, 49 Winchester came with a claim to that stage. This wasn't my first time seeing the Virginian band, but it was the most impactful. The lead singer & guitarist Isaac Gibson threw his beard around so majestically that I'm convinced he needs a beard oil sponsorship as soon as possible. That thing stayed in perfect shape the entire time he head banged to the beat of the band's bluegrass meets alternative country, dare I say rockabilly style? Their musicianship was impressive while the die hard Winchester fans flew their Virginian flags & stomped about the festival grounds. If you haven't caught a 49 Winchester show, I highly recommend it.
Mile 0 Fest veterans who have skyrocketed to recognition, Red Clay Strays took the stage to finalize the full band shows of the evening. Their presence alone made an obvious boost in ticket sales, having the most packed crowd presence in attendance of any show yet. Lead Brandon Coleman came out in a tailored white suit, his signature pompadour, & an attitude to bring that stage DOWN. Drew Nix (electric guitar) writes most of the bands songs, singing some himself with his band brothers. There's something so satisfying about this band. I've written about them several times before, but every show forward has improved on absolutely top tier stage personality & crowd interaction. During the set, the crowd took out their phone flashlights & waved in unison, providing a cool light on the stage for a slower, more introspective song. When the band finished, they took a picture with the entire crowd-- I physically witnessed people sprint to the edges to be a part of this momentous event for the band. They went from splitting McDonald's meals at their first Mile 0 Fest to headlining one of the biggest days, & the festival family really REALLY wanted to be a part of that.
At this point, there was so much to unpack, so much to feel. We were riding the waves of the Mile 0 high tides. I took a little time off to enjoy the united front of fan & performer; but we'll be back tomorrow with another wild & eventful article about the last show day on the island! SEE YOU TOMORROW!
Catch video recaps on our Instagram highlight reels [HERE!]
Check us out NEXT WEEK for interviews from James McMurtry, Ellis Bullard, Blaine Bailey & more.