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Watch Oteil Burbridge & Friends Bring Heart & Soul To Suwannee Roots Revival [Video]

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Last Thursday night, Oteil Burbridge, former bassist for the Allman Brothers Band and current low-end master for Dead & Company, brought an all-star collection of friends including Jason Crosby, Scott Metzger, Alfreda Gerald, John Kimock, John Kadlecik, Weedie Braimah to the Suwannee Roots Revival to kick the party off in style. After the Spirit Of The Suwannee Music Park narrowly avoided the full brunt of Hurricane Michael and hastily built the entire festival, from scratch, in under eight hours, everyone—from the bands to the fans to the production staff—was just happy to even have the party at all. That shared energy and relief mixed with love, hope and dissipated tension came together to create the perfect atmosphere for the loose, soulful sounds laid down by Oteil & Friends.

It’s rare to see such balance and across-the-board excellence at a “& Friends” show, but if anyone would be able to put together such a cohesive unit, it’s Oteil. His experience playing in larger-scale bands like the Allman Brothers and Dead & Company has clearly won him the skills to fit the many moving parts together, ensuring that everyone on stage has time to shine. Guitarists Kadlecik and Crosby clearly know their ways around Dead tunes thanks to John K’s history with Dark Star Orchestra & Furthur and Crosby’s ongoing role with Phil Lesh‘s Terrapin Family, among other various Grateful gigs. The percussion section of Weedie and John Kimock had the show’s rhythm well in hand, and their feature turn during “Time Is Free” was astounding. You can check that out below!

As impressive as the previously mentioned folks were, singer Alfreda Gerald was seemingly on another level all night long. Channelling the vocal chops of the late Aretha Franklin and the energy of a runaway train, she hit each mark and note with such precision, power and soul that it was hard to take your eyes off her. In fact, if it was anyone other than a player of Oteil’s skill and stage presence at the helm, she surely would have stolen the show entirely.

There isn’t much to say about Oteil Burbridge that hasn’t been said time and again by hundreds of admirers throughout the years. His playing is intimately emotional. You feel his joy, you feel his sorrow, and you feel it in precisely the manner and the amount in which he intends you to experience it. His passion and joy to simply be playing, to share his love with you, is like an inexorable tide…he simply sweeps you away on a deep resonant frequency.

The last notes sounded and the crowd’s pleas for an encore was among the most heartfelt the park has ever heard. As far as a night one headlining stint goes, you can neither ask nor hope for more than Burbridge gave at Roots Revival. Oteil’s ear-to-ear grin at the end said all it needed to say!

Below, you can check out some clips from the show courtesy of our own Rex-A-Vision. For more information on Oteil Burbridge’s upcoming shows with various different projects, head to his website.

Oteil & Friends – “Time Is Free”

Oteil & Friends – “Tore Up”

Oteil & Friends – “Run For The Roses”

Oteil & Friends – “The Weight”

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