First Look at Gypsy Sally's with Yarn & Blair Crimmins and the Hookers

A couple months back Gypsy Sally's opened in Georgetown with an incredible first month lineup. November has been no slouch either and I finally had no excuse to visit when our new friends Blair Crimmins and The Hookers  opened for old favs Yarn. We joined the hooker bandwagon in September after viewing their performance at Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion and a serious listen to their latest CD Sing-a-Longs. Yarn has been a staple musical diet since Floydfest, The Festy, Firefly Vodka, and Almost Home.  Seems like many folks had the same impression as me since the venue was nicely populated - more Yarnies then Hookers, but all saw a great night of music from both. The Hookers were tight, entertaining horns, some serious banjo and guitar work by Crimmins, and lyrics that won over the crowd. I heard one onlooker exclaim that "they've been transported to the French Quarter".   Yarn seamlessly opened bringing a stampede of diners to the dance floor where they remained the night dancing and singing to Yarn's now classic alt-country. A typical great set, this time, I believe, inspired by Andrew Hendryx's mandolin.   Looking forward to listening more to Shine The Light On with songs such as Angel Place That Halo, Bobby Weeks, and Take Me First. Cheers and pair with Breuckelen Distilling or New York Distilling Company Gin and Whisky.  Oh yea, I'll be a frequent visitor to Gypsy Sally's - great food; decent beer list; and solid lineups.

Yarn

Blair Crimmins and the Hookers

The 17th Year of Gathering of the Vibes - 2012

Looking for a reason to visit New England this summer? Then check out the Gathering of the Vibes, the famed music festival running July 19-22nd in Bridgeport, CT. Tickets range from $40-$65 for single day or $205 for an advanced weekend pass.

"Gathering of the Vibes is an annual music, arts and camping festival now in its 17th year. Vibes has grown into a four-day festival that has featured such world-class talent as Crosby, Stills and Nash, all living members of the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers Band, James Brown, the Black Crowes, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Cliff, Primus, George Clinton and P-Funk, Bruce Hornsby, Les Claypool and many, many more big names, while continuing to showcase extraordinarily talented, young, up-and-coming bands to the 15-25 thousand people who attend each year. "

PRIMUS • PHIL LESH & FRIENDS • BOB WEIR & BRUCE HORNSBY
WITH SPECIAL GUEST BRANFORD MARSALIS
STS9 • 7 WALKERS FEATURING BILL KREUTZMANN • MICKEY HART BAND • STRANGEFOLK REUNION
YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND • STEEL PULSE • ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA • THE AVETT BROTHERS
THE GREYBOY ALLSTARS • GEORGE PORTER JR. & RUNNIN’ PARDNERS • KELLER WILLIAMS • DARK STAR ORCHESTRA
MATES OF STATE • DEEP BANANA BLACKOUT • ALO • RYAN MONTBLEAU BAND • MAX CREEK • ASSEMBLY OF DUST
ZACH DEPUTY • KUNG FU • JOE PUG • TOUBAB KREWE • OUTERNATIONAL • DAVID GANS • THE MCLOVINS • PAPADOSIO
DANGERMUFFIN & YARN • DOPAPOD • COSMIC JIBAROS • TWIDDLE • BAND TOGETHER • ANDY THE MUSIC MAN • LUCID

Start Planning for Floydfest

Our favorite music festival, Floydfest, has announced its official lineup and along with the inherent beauty of the Blue Ridge parkway, pulls us in again. This year the festival runs July 26-29th and features some incredible headliners: Drive-By Truckers, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Galactic, Leftover Salmon, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Jackson Browne, Toubab Krewe. Add in some of our favorites such as Yarn, Sam Bush, Big Daddy Love, Darrell Scott, Steep Canyon Rangers, Anders Osborne, SOJA, Hoots & Hellmouth, Punch Brothers, Brandi Carlile, American Aquarium, Gary Clark Jr., David Wax Museum, Ha Ha Tonka, Dawes, Sara Watkins, and many, many more. You get the idea. And then there's the Under the Radar lineup with Justin Jones, Farm Vegas, Amber Rubarth, Bryan Elijah Smith & The Wild Hearts, Megan Jean & the KFB, Spirit Family Reunion among many other.

Tickets are extremely reasonable $60 for Sunday, $125 for Sat\Sun, $150 for Fri->Sun, and $175 for the entire four days. There's also two Beer Gardens, which includes Sierra Nevada Brewing Company this year, along with local wineries: Chateau Morrisette & Villa Appalaccia Winery. Floydfest is a party - even for families. My son still talks about his participation a few years ago.

Yarn, Firefly Vodka, and Almost Home

 Over the past few years that I've stumbled into, one of the common bands also seems to be the Brooklyn Americana band, Yarn. Whether its FloydFest, Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, or even The Festy - I can count on the boys being there. And I'm usually in the front row - particularly one memorial night when they played at the tiny Machiavelli's in Bristol. That was a fun evening. And more are sure to come as Yarn is releasing a new CD, Almost Home, and starting a rather rigorous tour schedule. For those in Washington DC, check out the band at the Hill Country on Thursday, March 22. 


Almost Home was officially released today,  March 20th 2012, and was funded through Kickstarter where almost 200 fans donated $5,000 more than the requested $20,000 needed to record and produce the CD.  The most poplar pledge was $25 in exchange for an autographed CD and poster. Almost Home was produced by the multi-Grammy winning, Bil VornDick, who has worked with Alison Krauss, Ralph Stanley, and Bob Dylan among others. I received an advance copy and while I enjoy every song - a recorded version of the band just doesn't showcase their sound well enough in my opinion. This is a band you need to see live, beer in hand, singing and dancing along.

Well, maybe a vodka in hand is now more appropriate. For 2012, Yarn is being sponsored by Firefly Distillery, Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina distiller specializing in hand-crafted sweet tea flavored vodka. I'm generally not a fan of flavored vodkas - prefer them straight and neat - and Firefly obliges with a Straight Vodka. But what is more significant is that their vodka is distilled from grapes, actually muscadine grapes cultivated in the distillery's vineyard. Now that's something WineCompass should note.And some of the tea is sourced by the only tea farm in America - a farm we just learned from Dangermuffin during our recent MyJoogTV episode.

We are hoping to schedule a MyJoogTV episode sometime this spring, but CNN’s Outfront with Erin Burnett beat us to the story during a feature on Firefly Distillery.

Yarn - The Mercy Lounge/Cannery Ballroom Nashville, TN: Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Yarn - The Evening Muse Charlotte, NC: Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Yarn - Hill Country Washington, DC: Thursday, March 22, 2012

Yarn - Hiro Ballroom New York, NY: Friday, March 23, 2012

Yarn - Tin Angel Acoustic Cafe Philadelphia, PA: Saturday, March 24, 2012

Yarn - The Hungry Tiger Manchester, CT: Thursday, March 29, 2012

Yarn - Historic Blairstown Theater Blairstown, NJ: Friday, March 30, 2012

Yarn - The Camel Richmond, VA: Thursday, April 05, 2012

Yarn w/ Sanctum Sully - The Blind Tiger Greensboro, NC: Friday, April 06, 2012

Yarn - Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall Asheville, NC: Saturday, April 07, 2012

Yarn - Sportsmen's Tavern Buffalo, NY: Thursday, April 12, 2012

Yarn - Westcott Theatre Syracuse, NY: Friday, April 13, 2012

Yarn - Oswego Music Hall Oswego, NY: Saturday, April 14, 2012

Yarn - Purple Fiddle Thomas, WV: Friday, April 20, 2012

Yarn - Clementine Cafe Harrisonburg, VA: Saturday, April 21, 2012

Rocktown Beer & Music Festival - Downtown Harrisonburg Harrisonburg, VA: Saturday, April 21, 2012

Yarn - Zoo Bar Lincoln, NE: Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Yarn - Quixotes True Blue Cafe Denver, CO: Saturday, May 05, 2012

Yarn - Old St. Francis School Bend, OR: Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Yarn - Kennedy School Portland, OR: Thursday, May 10, 2012

Yarn - Hotel Oregon McMinnville, OR: Saturday, May 12, 2012

Yarn - Cozmic Pizza Eugene, WA: Sunday, May 13, 2012

Yarn - Olympic Club Hotel & Theater Centralia, WA: Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Yarn - McMenamins Edgefield Troutdale, OR: Thursday, May 17, 2012

Yarn - Hotel Oregon McMinnville, OR: Friday, May 18, 2012

Yarn - McMenamins Crystal Ballroom Portland, OR: Sunday, May 20, 2012

Yarn - Route 63 Roadhouse Millers Falls, MA: Saturday, June 09, 2012