There’s a warm front blowing through central Florida, and I mean about as central as geographically possible, in the small town of Lake Wales where Orange Blossom Revue is setting up for its ninth year. While the majority of the United States music scene is starting to fully embrace indoor venue season and the arenas and clubs are filling up on the regular, this anomaly of a state is full-speed ahead into its outdoor event season now that the sun is manageable and the midday temps are a *Florida* mild 80 degrees.
This two-day festival never missed a beat the entire weekend. Although there was only one stage, the artist turnarounds were quick, starting off soulful on Friday with Texas-born Harper O’Neill, whose signature sound was reminiscent of the gritty, booming voice of Susan Tedeschi. It just made sense when she cut into a cover of “It Hurts So Bad” by Tedeschi with a keyboard solo that moved through the crowd like gospel piercing through the thick Spanish moss above the heads of the early Friday crowd.
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, all dressed to the tens and ready to throw down some of the best bluegrass on the scene, took the middle slot and roared into a series of crowd-pleasing covers, as well as many newer songs off her City of Gold album that will make you quit your day job and head straight to Northern California to pan for gold (and maybe pick up the fiddle along the way).
Golden Highway’s Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, fiddler extraordinaire, took the spotlight when she was joined on stage by The Travelin’ McCourys‘ Jason Carter and appropriately covered the old Ervin T. Rouse song, “Orange Blossom Special”, which had all the Floridians dancing. Molly and Co. also brought us down the psychedelic rabbit hole with their mind-bending cover of “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane, with every song and note immaculately played with pure intention and focus from the Grammy-Award-winning guitarist and her band.
One thing is for certain: The Wood Brothers have never let me down, ever since I saw them open for Zac Brown Band in 2009 to now, where I stand here in the photo pit in 2023. Their music transcends so many genres and flows so effortlessly that it seems to be a beautiful stream of consciousness made for the stage, and one would be remiss to try to define it beyond “Roots and Rock”. If I were ever uncertain of who to book for a festival and wanted to make sure fans and unaware listeners were happy alike, I’d book them in a heartbeat, wash my hands, and walk away knowing everyone is going to be satisfied.
Their headlining set for OBR was no different, as they ripped through some of the new, some of the middle, and much of the older songs. Something about their song “Bittersweet” seemed to resonate with the crowd, its reverb-heavy, rootsy sound cut through the audience and struck a nerve, a flash in a pan landing on the perfect note as everyone sang along with the infinitely catchy melody.
Brothers Chris and Oliver Wood along with honorary sibling Jano Rix changed up the tempo and brought Molly Tuttle and the Golden Highway back up to gather around the condenser microphone for the gospel tune of Sister Rosetta Thorpe, “Up Above My Head”, where Molly and Oliver’s voice beautifully complemented one another. The rest of the band had their say in each respective verse of the beloved hymn from the grandmother of rock and roll herself. On that note, I’m always endlessly appalled at the general lack of knowledge about Thorpe herself. If you don’t know her story, go straight from this article down that music history rabbit hole and thank me later.
Day two of Orange Blossom Revue saw a much earlier start but an even bigger crowd flooding through the gates alongside the picturesque Lake Wailes Park. Outside the festival grounds, curious greenwalk-goers stopped to peek over the rails, and herons posted up on the pier right outside the gates, presumably to get a peak at what the aptly named “Super Grouper” food truck was serving up. I do appreciate a good comedy cultural reference (meow back to the music writing).
*Almost local* Orlando-based Cat Ridgeway was back by popular demand for her second year in a row at OBR and what a treat she was. Her boisterous vocals were absolutely perfect for kicking off the festival, combined with guitar and bass riffs reminiscent of the late 2000s arena rock scene coupled with a healthy dose of infectious early ’90s pop-rock that got even the OBR volunteers dancing along in between running operations backstage.
It was no surprise that her cover of Cranberries‘ “Dreams” was the perfect floating, existential dream-pop sound that blanketed the audience paired with the warm Southern breeze that managed to eek its way through the mid-day humidity and provide some respite from the Florida heat. What I didn’t see coming was her spot-on cover of The Avett Brothers‘ “Talk On Indolence”, which was an instant crowd-pleaser and got the stage warmed up for the oncoming acts that were more country and Americana.
What can we say about Kaitlin Butts that everyone doesn’t see for themselves already? Her incredible voice that cuts above the crowd, red hot band, and knack for storytelling that’s relatable to everyday people hit a note that’s projected her to opening for country heavy-hitters, such as Morgan Wade and the legendary Turnpike Troubadours at Ryman Auditorium.
Her past in musical theater was apparent, as her stage presence in her hot pink jumpsuit alongside bandmates in shiny astronaut suits shined through as she billowed her ballads about love, loss, and the modern plight of “sad, triumphant feminism” as she puts it. Some notable covers she and her band graced the listeners with were Ralph Stanley’s “In the Pines”, the greatest to ever do it (in this humble photographer’s opinion), Merle Haggard‘s barroom anthem, “Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink”, as well as the dust-stomper and bane of the little grass left on that Florida field “Any Man of Mine” by Shania Twain.
Even though their bus got stuck in the Florida sand (which makes for great photos) Mike and the Moonpies‘ set was anything but bogged down. This Austin, TX quintet is known for its infectious, barn-burning, honky-tonk bangers that transport the listener into the boozy red dirt dance hall. Telecast guitar licks from Catlin Rutherford make your face do that snarl thing without even realizing it when they bend the notes halfway to heaven alongside Zachary Moulton‘s perfectly executed steel guitar.
I swear, the steel guitar on “Steak Night at the Prairie Rose” stands in a class of its own and burns into my honky-tonk-lovin’ subconscious alongside the greats. Friend and Rolling Stone writer Garret K. Woodward and I agreed that it wasn’t blasphemous to credit them alongside some of the most memorable peak Alan Jackson songs of the mid- and late- ’90s in their flawless execution and pure originality.
If it’s not apparent, this was the set I was the most fired up for all weekend, and the energy they brought during their set was unrivaled from start to finish, from their everyman rocker “Paycheck to Paycheck” which kicked off their set (aptly set up with soundbites from the infamous Johnny Paycheck) to the only country song I know of in existence to mention the service industry favorite liquor Fernet, “You Look Good in Neon”, one of the best songs in recent history about lowered standards brought on by cheap liquor and 2 a.m. beer hall connections. I selfishly wish their bus had stayed stuck so they could have sit in with some other acts, but maybe next time the tow truck won’t get there so quickly.
Georgia’s own Brent Cobb took the stage right as the sun set and the fine folks in light production started showing off with the lighting rigs at Codex Sound. As a photographer, I always have to give a shoutout to good LPs; you can buy all the fancy photo equipment in the world but be at the whim of poor, unintentional lighting, so let’s give it up for all the folks out there who know how to light up a stage.
Brent and crew jumped immediately into his infectious 2020 hit “Keep ‘Em On They Toes”, preaching about the importance of not just spontaneity, but also not adhering to polarizing stereotypes and remembering that we are all individuals containing multitudes of choices and consciousness respective of our own selves. It served as a forceful reminder to learn to listen more to the quiet voice inside us than the loud influence all around us, which is something the country music world needs more than ever.
Brent clearly had close followers in the crowd as he cruised through many of his recent and older hits. Between cuts from his latest album, September’s Southern Star, and his illustrious back catalog, one was also made aware of the many songs Cobb wrote for other country artists and Southern rock bands. I was reminded when he and his band burnt the house down with “Bars, Guitars, and A Honky Tonk Crowd”, released as a single by the Southern rock outfit Whiskey Myers on its 2011 Firewater album.
If you asked me for the most appropriate artist to close out Orange Blossom Revue, I’m fairly certain JJ Grey & Mofro would have topped the list, so this booking by Micah Davidson of Midwood Entertainment was a slam dunk. What more can you ask for from the swampy midsection of Florida than the Jacksonville crooner himself, complete with a ten-piece band full of brass, the lovely backup vocals of Katie Dutton (who blew everyone away during their cover of The Rolling Stones‘ “Gimme Shelter”), or the soulful guitar chops of Andrew Tube?
JJ Grey’s signature blend of rock and soulful Southern hits such as “The Sun is Shining Down” brought a collective moment of togetherness to the crowd—lighters and cell phones swayed and the crowd belted hallelujah as church came a few hours early that Saturday night. I half expected this perfect pitch of soulful swamp rock to cause the gators to crawl right up out of Lake Wailes and join the crowd on the dance floor.
Nothing got the crowd moving quite like their extremely appropriate song “Orange Blossoms”, which also happens to be their biggest song, but the new single “Rooster”, a strutting, heady bass-driving track fit for a ringside walk-up, was the surprise of the night as it will be the first new music JJ Grey & Mofro have released in eight years since their last album, Ol’ Glory. You could feel the excitement from JJ and the band just oozing out of the new music with a completely new sound, fresh, poised, and ready to make a strong impression on the festival circuit next year.
JJ Grey & Mofro – “Orange Blossoms” – 12/2/23
[Video: The Vibin’ Yogi]
JJ Grey & Mofro – “Lochloosa” – 12/2/23
[Video: The Vibin’ Yogi]
JJ Grey & Mofro – “Every Minute” – 12/2/23
[Video: The Vibin’ Yogi]
TL:DR for you people that made it only a paragraph or so into this review: If you also live in one of the many states that have seasons, next year your plans should involve embracing the snowbird nature and getting out of the indoor clubs for a weekend and visiting the town of Lake Wales, FL, where Orange Blossom Revue co-owners Reid Hardman and Rusty Ingley live and raise their families. It’s inspiring to see two people so invested in great music and their community that they’ve put something like this on. Here’s to the folks who care enough to bring everyone together and make this scene special. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about, folks. Next year is ten years of Orange Blossom Revue—I’ll see y’all there.
Check out a gallery of images from Orange Blossom Revue courtesy of photographer Stephan Pruitt.
The post Orange Blossom Revue Finds Its Roots With The Wood Brothers, Molly Tuttle, More [Photos/Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
