A Review of the Brunswick Music Fest

On June 19, 2010 the small town of Brunswick, Maryland was the place for music lovers to come together to celebrate Americana music. This was the first, hopefully, annual Brunswick Music Fest. The festival featured three old time music groups, two blue grass bands, and two blues bands. The festival at Railroad Square also featured a Gelato stand, beer and wine, barbeque, vendors selling jewelry and clothing.

The Polka Dots

The gates opened at 11AM, and festival goers were treated with the sounds of The Polka Dots as they entered the gates. The Polka Dots are "a young trio from Loudoun County" Virginia which is just across the Potomac River from Brunswick. The Polka Dots are no stranger to Brunswick playing at the Bells in the Belfry Coffee House quite regularly. There was an unscheduled local band playing on the main stage before the official 12PM start. The band fit nicely playing the old time music similar to the sounds of the Polka Dots and the Martin Family Band.

The Martin Family Band

The Martin Family Band is an old time music band based out of Maryland. Yes, they are semi local however; I would not dismiss them as just another local band. The area around Brunswick, Maryland is culturally rich. They have "been the informal "house band" at Mt. Vernon for 15 years." Regionally "they have performed at events such as the Sheep and Wool Festival and the Washington Folk Festival." They have performed internationally "in Ireland, Scotland and Germany." Members of the Martin Family Band have won various awards at different festivals. One of the highlights of the show was Lydia's banjo solo.

Hardline Drive

Hardline Drive was a great choice to follow the old time music bands. Hardline Drive drove all the way from Lake Orion, Michigan to play the Music Fest. The bluegrass band featured the vocals of Toni Erskine and the great electric mandolin playing of Danielle Smith. Greg Fuson on guitar and dobra and Wes Pettinger on banjo rounded out the bands sound.

Chocolate Thunder

The music and energy level changed when Chocolate Thunder took the stage. Chocolate Thunder traveled all the way from Greenville, South Carolina to play their blues at the music fest. The band warmed up the crowd with a blues song, a couple of old school songs, before Linda Rodney took the stage. Chocolate Thunder played old school funk and soul covers and blues covers. They also played some originals. One of the highlights was to hear them perform their song "Other Side of Memphis." In her music you could hear the influences of Aretha Franklin and Koko Taylor. She presented the songs with the energy of James Brown. To find out more about Chocolate Thunder read my interview with her here.

Blue Moon Rising

The music fest switched gears again as the Knoxville, Tennessee bluegrass band Blue Moon Rising took the stage. The band "is lead by multi-talented guitarist and acclaimed songwriter, Chris West." The band has had quite a bit of success on the Blue Grass charts and is set to release their fifth album this year. Like the Polka Dots and the Martin Family Band, Blue Moon Rising has a youth factor as the bass player Owen Piatt is just 19 years old. Blue Moon Rising had an obvious blue grass following as Hardline Drive waited around to meet them after their set.

Kelly Bell Band

The music fest changed gears for the last time as the festival's headliners the Kelly Bell Band took the stage to perform their "Phat Blues" style of music. They describe their sound as "If you could imagine Muddy Waters wearing a Bob Marley T-shirt, riding in Black Sabbath's tour bus, on his way to a Parliament Funkadelic concert, listening to a James Brown 8-track tape, humming a Run-DMC song that would be close to the variety show that is the Kelly Bell Band." The band has been "named Best Blues Band in the Mid-Atlantic Region for eleven years in a row." The Kelly Bell Band brought their high energy show to the festival, having the crowd on their feet and dancing to the music. The band could be one of the hardest working bands having just played a blues festival in Winchester, Virginia earlier in the day. The highlight of their set was when Chocolate Thunder joined them on stage for a version of Muddy Water's "Mojo Working."

Sources:

On site reporting

Brunswick Music Fest site

Kelly Bell Myspace Page