I’m going to close out this year’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass coverage on a wicked-high note.
Festivals are naturally an excellent opportunity to see artists you’ve never heard of, and sometimes you get a hot tip. I got a hot tip on Saturday from I can’t even remember … Buddy Miller, I think? Some performer said to be sure to see Mike Farris on Sunday. I checked the schedule and he was on right before Mavis Staples, so that was an easy fit.
When the time came on Sunday, the MC for the Rooster Stage said we should be sure to sit for the next few moments because once Mike Farris & The Roseland Rhythm Revue got started we wouldn’t be able to sit down. I took that for the usual stage hyperbole, but after about half a minute I realized that MC was telling the stone-cold truth.
Mike Farris used to be the singer for the Screamin Cheetah Wheelies and lived the rockin-hard lifestyle to the point of almost killing himself. But the brother got sober and saved, and when he tells you about the Good News he’s not f*cking around. He’s dedicated his life to the music that’s in his heart, and he’s assembled a crack band to help him deliver it.
This guy’s as excited about music as I am, and he knows you’re excited about it too, so next time he comes around, show up, stand up, and SING!
INO Records made the very smart move of making his second album a live album, because his music is a communal experience, and you can’t craft that in the studio.
Mike Farris & The Roseland Rhythm Revue – Oh Mary Don’t You Weep from Shout! Live
If you dig, there’s a torrent of their performance at this year’s High Sierra Music Festival, including a cover of Lee Dorsey’s “Yes We Can” (the Vegetable that elected a President!).
