For it’s first ever go around, North Beach Music Festival did pretty darn well—two days of high energy, great vibes, and just about as much amazing music packed into two-day weekend party as possible. The festival, taking place at North Beach Bandshell in Miami, FL, kicked off last weekend on Friday, December 10—check out our brief recap of day one here.
North Beach’s second day was a tremendous follow-up to its kick off on Friday—and now that we’ve had a moment to process, here are just a few of our favorite moments from the closing out of North Beach Saturday.
1. Holly Bowling — “Althea”
In a quick but extraordinary set of music, classical-pianist-turned-jam-scene-queen Holly Bowling raised the musical bar high early on into day two of North Beach Music Festival. In addition to burning through like “It’s Ice” and “Divided Sky,” a memorable moment transpired when Holly dropped into a somber but lilting version of the dead’s “Althea,” and the entire North Beach fest crowd in attendance began to sing along, unprompted.
2. Marco Benevento — “If I Get To See You At All”
It’s hard (impossible?) not to feel even jst a little bit fuzzy feeling during a Marco Benevento show—whether its his supremely catchy songwriting, his delightfully off-the-cuff personality, or the tremendous musical chemistry he has with his band. At North Beach Music Festival it was definitely much of the latter helping the crowd go as crazy as they were during thisjam pianist’s set. In a radiant set of feel-good indie-dance funk, the band, which consists of Benevento beside drummer Dave Butler and bassist Karina Rykman (the latter whom raged a great set the previous night with her own band) performed a standout version of their original tune “If I Get To See You At All.” The trio had a lot of fun in rocking the song well past its usual parameters into outright jubilation.
3. “Heartliss,” or “Bayhart” (Depending On The Mood)
Ask attendees about the sublime little Jennifer Hartswick and Brendan Bayliss duo set that alighted North Beach with the perfect vibe Saturday afternoon, and the best moment—or moments—came from their dynamite stage banter. But the music was pretty suave, too. Midday afternoon on the grass was a gorgeous setting for “Heartliss,'” as the Umphrey’s guitarist and TAB backup singer and trumpeter were so dubbed, and their cozy versions of covers like Dylan’s “Gotta Serve Somebody,” Clapton’s “Can’t Find My Way Home,” and “Time After Time” (with additional help there from the stylings of TAUK’s Isaac Teel) had the audience in a spell.
4. Spafford — Improv Set
Their festival closing “Friends” set, which featured some extraordinary music made with guests Marco Benevento, Taz Niederaeur, Eric Krasno, and more, probably got all the attention. But Spafford’s first set at North Beach Music Festival shouldn’t be overlooked—a forty-five minute performance of pure instrumental improvisation. Right now in the jam scene, these guys are some of the most ambitious when it comes to improvising in the long form. Without a word ever being set, Spafford’s opening headliner set took North Beach across a galaxy of musical magnificence, transforming a single groove from space funk into glam rock into delicate ambience and more.
5. Spafford — Ain’t That Wrong, Friends
Everyone had their own favorite few minutes of Spafford‘s follow-up set, their incredible collaboration with Eric Krasno, Brandon Taz Nidereraeur, Marco Benevento, TAUK’s AC Carter, and Ghost Note’s Nate Werth. For many it was probably the “Whipping Post” cover that let Spafford lead guitarist Brian Moss go head to head with Krasno and Taz in a searing guitar showdown. But for us, the “Ain’t That Wrong” that encored the whole thing was the peak. Just a relentless, all-hands-on-deck, surging version of this rocking, original Spafford tune that was a perfect way to cap off a terrific weekend.
To check out lots more photos, videos links, and more information in general about this past weekend’s first ever North Beach Music Festival, head to their Facebook page here.
