Capitol Recess – First Year – Bushnell Park – Hartford
Joe Perus
first session Congressional Groove Held June 29-30 on the Bushnell Park lawn, it was a huge success in my mind. The music was great, there were plenty of food and drink options, and there were free water stations and porta-potties. There were never long lines of people waiting for these options. VIP areas, chair and blanket areas and standing areas are all clearly marked and email updates will be received throughout the weekend.
Kicking off the show is The Cap Groove All Stars, a collection of Hartford’s finest musicians playing funk, blues, jazz, R&B and hip-hop. Vocalists Erica Tracy, Brandon Serafino and Briana Maia each performed two songs, while bassist Doug Wimbish from Living Color delivered a hip-hop A mix ended the show. Joining them on stage are Andy Sorensen (guitar), Pauly Philipporn (keys), Tom Sullivan (bass) and Dwayne Keith (drums).
Next up is the soulful trio Say She She, consisting of singers Piya Malik, Sabrina Mileo Cunningham and Nya Gazelle Brown. They sang some catchy songs that got the early risers dancing.
Ozomatli from Los Angeles are a good party band with urban Latino influences. They threw shirts at the crowd, joked that it was hotter than Satan’s pollution, and enjoyed walking around Hartford and meeting junkies. The final song ended with the instrumental marching through the crowd, keeping the party theme intact. Band members include Wil-Dog Abers (bass), Raul Pacheco (guitar), Justin “El Nino” Poree (rap, percussion), Asdrubal Sierra (vocals, trumpet), Ulises Bella (saxophone) and Jiro Yamaguchi (drums )).
PhotosIsaac Nines Photography
Trampled By Turtles are a bluegrass band from Minnesota, not exactly a bluegrass mecca, but more people head to Roadblock to see it up close. Dave Simonett (vocals, guitar) founded the band and made the great decision to hire Ryan Young (violin) because it’s hard to take your eyes off his impressive playing. Tim Saxhaug (bass), Eric Berry (mandolin), Dave Carroll (banjo) and Eamonn McLean (cello) complete the line-up.
Shakey Graves from Austin, Texas played some blues, folk, country and rock and shared a funny story about moving out of his parents’ house as a young man to make music with his daughter. He strongly does not recommend this path to success.
Next is the reason why I attend the Saturday revival. I’ve seen them before and it’s always a fun show. This time was no exception, David Shaw (vocals, guitar) was as energetic as ever, running around the stage and sometimes through the crowd. Rob Ingraham (saxophone) impressed with many solo improvisations. Zack Feinberg (guitar), Andrew Campanelli (drums), George Gekas (bass), Ed Williams (pedal steel guitar), Michael Giradot (keys, trumpet) and PJ Howard (drums, percussion) didn’t let up in their playing. A steady rain set to slow them down a bit. After the show, a lot of people left. Rain may have been a factor as it was still very early.
The first release of the closing night was “My Morning Jacket,” a rock, country, psychedelic tune from Louisville, Kentucky. More people headed to the standing area as it was the most crowded area of the day. They really put on the best light show we’ve seen so far. Long jams throughout the show showcased members Jim James (vocals, guitar), Tom Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums), Carl Bromell (guitar) and Bo ·Musician talents of Coster (keyboard).
It was a hot and humid Sunday as Vincent Lima, a solo artist from Los Angeles, took the stage. He joked about how bad his career was and weaved Greek mythology themes throughout his play.
The hot and humid weather is coming to an end, and festival organizers have announced that a severe storm is approaching and everyone should head to their car or elsewhere to take shelter until it’s safe to return. This was a wise decision as a massive thunderstorm swept through the area. Organizers kept everyone updated through multiple emails. When we were finally let back into the standing room, the area to one side of the stage was now closed off as a small pond had formed in Bushnell Park. Performances at The Suffers, Tank and Bangas were also affected due to the weather and had to be cut.
Trevor Hall, a hybrid of rock and folk musicians, kicked off the second part of the day. Worried about time since things were already behind schedule, he mentioned that he wouldn’t say much and would just listen to as many songs as possible. He did mention that he was impressed with the security team as they were knocking multiple beach balls back into the crowd.
Guster is an alternative rock band from Massachusetts that originally formed at Tufts University in a fun atmosphere. Ryan Miller (guitar, vocals) is immediately concerned that you’ll see a coffee stain on his shirt on the big screen. He said he didn’t want to disrespect Connecticut with a stained shirt, but when he got to take the stage, he did the right thing. Then he wrote a song about spilled coffee on a flight.
Later, as he walked through the crowd with a wired microphone, he grabbed an umbrella from a fan and walked out to dance around the newly formed Bushnell Pond. Back on the main stage, he questioned his own wisdom as to how an umbrella could help him use electronics in the middle of the largest puddle in the place. Brian Rosenworcel (drums) received a loud cheer from the crowd as he headed to Hall High in West Hartford. Also joined by Adam Gardner (guitar) and Luke Reynolds (guitar).
Charity Rose Thielen (vocals, violin, guitar) of the indie-folk band The Head and The Heart from Seattle was, for me, the best voice at the festival. When she sang, it really resonated with my ears. Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar) says this is his favorite festival, with lots of space for kids to attend. He shouted out to the parents who came with their children, thanking them for encouraging the music. Matt Gervais (vocals, guitar), Chris Zasche (bass), Kenny Hensley (keys) and Tyler Williams (drums) complete the lineup.
The second closing night was Dispatch, which is why I did the show. Not because I’m a huge fan of “Dispatch” – to be honest, the song I’m most familiar with is Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” – but because my sister Claudine Claudine asked me if I wanted to go because my brother-in-law, Billy, and she were big fans of Dispatch. They let me get close to the stage and feel the intensity of the crowd. Another impressive light show and long performance highlighted the closing performance for the second night in a row.
Chad Urmston (vocalist) mentioned how impressed he was by how everyone held on despite the heavy rain. This was the most singing I heard from the crowd all weekend. The band gives a shout-out to the indigenous people who live on the lands where the festival is held. In a really cool moment, Dispatch invited Kam Franklin from The Suffers to join them for the aforementioned “Crazy Train,” where his set was cut.
Thankfully, the organizers allowed Dispatch to play past their scheduled end time of 10pm, and they played until 10:45, even returning just for an encore at the festival. Brad Corrigan (vocals, drums) is another member of Dispatch. Touring members include Matthew Embree (bass), Jon “JR” Reilly (percussion) and the versatile Mike Sawitzke (guitar, banjo, trumpet, mandolin and keys).
In my opinion it was a well organized and well run weekend. Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam stood up between The Head, The Heart and Dispatch to announce the holdover dates, as the festival will return on June 28-29, 2025. He also said it will be bigger, with two stages and more orchestras. I have mixed feelings about this. I like the setting of the first stage. There is time between performances to eat, drink, use the lounge or just be able to have a quiet conversation. Sometimes bigger isn’t always better. Sometimes that’s just how you grow.
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