The Peach at the Beach Festival brought some great tunes and fun in the sun to the Island Waterpark at Showboat in Atlantic City, NJ last Saturday with jam-centric acts like Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Dogs In A Pile, Trouble No More, and Karina Rykman. The heat on the stage matched the temperature outside, but the functioning water park gave attendees some super fun ways to beat the heat.
Photo: Steve Garfinkel – Karina Rykman, 7/13/24
Karina Rykman:
Mykal Rose of Black Uhuru got things rolling before passing the torch to bassist Karina Rykman and her trio featuring Adam November (guitar, loopers, effects) and Chris Corsico (drums). The trio produced a sound far exceeding most acts their size thanks to the use of sequencers and a wide screen palette of effects. Over the course of their dynamic 45-minute set, they proved why they keep getting invited back to The Peach, this being their fourth time playing at an iteration of the festival.
Photo: Steve Garfinkel – Trouble No More, 7/13/24
Trouble No More:
Though the Allman Brothers Band is, sadly, no more, it simply wouldn’t be Peach without some sort of tribute to the festival’s legendary founders. Luckily ABB legacy act Trouble No More had all the instrumental firepower to pull it off, and plenty of soul to boot. Vocalist Lamar Williams Jr., guitarists Taz Niederauer and Quinn Sullivan, and organist Peter Levin have more than enough melodic range to handle the scorchingest of guitar-heavy southern rock jams. Drummer Nikki Glaspie has demonstrated mastery of a wide range of styles, from playing pop with Beyonce to exploring the far fringes of the avant garde. Taz’s brother Dylan, a true beast on the bass, completes the solid bedrock of a rhythm section.
Recreating the landmark Eat A Peach album was the framework of the set, but it gave everyone plenty of room to add their own special stamp on the performance. As always, Taz was a flurry of fretboard fireworks, and Sullivan had the more bluesy lines on lock. Williams’ soulful, power-packed delivery was a revelation. Equally at home with Gregg Allman‘s emotional depth and Dickie Betts‘ trademark nasally feel-good range, he is the perfect centerpiece to anchor the band’s sound.
Dogs In A Pile:
New Jersey natives Dogs In A Pile were more than happy to have a choice spot on the Peach Fest lineup, serving as the last act before headliners Joe Russo’s Almost Dead took the stage. The Asbury Park-bred five-piece might be young, but their star is rapidly rising, and for good reason.
Although the band officially formed in 2018, Dogs have been around as a collective entity for a deceptively solid length of time. The group’s origins trace back to 2010, when Guitarist/vocalist Jimmy Law and drummer Joe Babick met at ages ten and five, respectively. A couple years into the band’s existence, the entire music industry shut down due to COVID, just as they were starting to hit the road and hone their sound in front of live audiences.
The sudden loss of touring opportunities didn’t stop Dogs from progressing musically though. Bassist Sam Lucid, along with Law, Babick, multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Kaplan, and guitarist Brian Murray, shared a band house and studio throughout the COVID years. The band spent time refining their sound, recording material, and connecting with fans through streaming and limited access performances.
Now that the veil of COVID has been lifted, the last couple of years have seen Dogs in A Pile’s determination and efforts to improve pay off in big ways. The essentially hometown crowd was more than happy to pack in as tightly as possible to watch the Dogs do their thing. For their part, the band seemed equally eager to reward their fans with a set of explorative, improvisation-laden jams.
Dogs In A Pile – The Peach At The Beach – Atlantic City, NJ – 7/13/24
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead:
Though Joe Russo’s Almost Dead had to squeeze all their jams into a single set, it was more than enough time for them to show off what they do better than any other Dead projects on the scene: Take chances and make the music their own. Rather than seeing these beloved classics as perfect songs to be recreated, JRAD is well known for their tendency to zig when the Dead zagged.
Drummer Joe Russo forged his JRAD band more than a decade ago with the sole purpose of taking the musical legacy and catalog of the Grateful Dead and examining it with a modern view. With his longtime musical partner in crime Marco Benevento on all things keys, Ween bassist Dave Dreiwitz to help him drive it forward, and double-headed guitarist/vocalist duo Tom Hamilton and Scott Metzger, he has built one of the most successful of the post-Jerry Dead projects not involving actual members of the original band.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead ran through their nine-song set with an urgency that elevated the performance if only due to the ticking clock. Some of their more regular touchstones, like “Scarlet Begonias”, “Feels Like A Stranger”, and “Playing In The Band”, got their regular bluesier, jazzier takes, and there was time enough for a twisting, turning examination of “Estimated Prophet”. JRAD even managed to sneak in a debut cover of K.C.Douglas’ “Mercury Blues” for good measure. By the time they got to the jubilant, closing “Uncle John’s Band”, there was a full-on dance party in the crowd, a sky filled with stars, and a sense of delight in the air.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – The Peach At The Beach – Atlantic City, NJ – 7/13/24
Though much of the talk about this year’s Peach Festival centered on the change in venue and scaling back of the size, scope, and duration of the event, the real measure of a music festival is simple: Were the people entertained? If the cheers and smiling faces on the happy fans headed on out into the night were any indication, then the answer was a resounding yes.
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