The Carbondale Rocks Revival is finished for a third year, but the bands in attendance have left a lasting impression on the community.

Bands ranging from nationally known to community favorites, large and small, arrived and performed their music with vigor. From gypsy jazz and blues to country, rock and roll, bluegrass, punk and soul, the bands took not only to traditional venues like Shryock Auditorium but also bars on the strip as well as the town square.

One of these artists was Cedric Burnside, the grandson of the late R.L. Burnside, who performed alongside the secondary guitar styling of Trenton Ayers at Tres Hombres. Burnside played the blues with such definitive character and luminescence, like a madman of expertise, alternating between a pounding away and a dramatic drop in rhythm that causes a sensation of the beat deep within the bones.

Advertisement

Over at Hangar 9, the self-produced band Kentucky Knife Fight, featuring Jason Holler on vocals, James Baker on drums, Curt Brewer on guitar and banjo, Nate Jones on guitar and Jason Koenig playing bass, brought rock-and-roll power to their audience. The group has been together for the last eight years.

“We spent the first three and half to four years in college doing this as a hobby… to release the tension of our academic lives, and then eventually we graduated and decided we wanted to focus on this,” Holler said.

Brewer said he’s thankful live crowds often respond positively to his group’s music, but in general it’s nice to receive instant feedback on the performance.

“We get to take a look at our art immediately and think about what we can do to improve it and what we can do to keep making music that we enjoy, and that also has the ability to reach people,” he said.

The group comes to Carbondale regularly and has recordings on the Internet and three albums on vinyl. The third, “Hush, Hush” was released in March.

While some of the bands produce their own music, other specialize in cover performances. White Gold Centerfold, an ’80s cover band and the only act to be showcased outside during the festival, is comprised of community members including: Brian Plate, on keyboard and piano; Brett Batteau, on vocals; Billy Langley, on guitar; Dan Schingel, on guitar; Aaron Chapman, on bass and Chad Shaffer, owner of the Practice Bad, on drums. The band formed two years ago and was excited to perform at the reunion.

“It was nice for the community … and nice to be a part of the Rock Revival, which is a big deal for Carbondale,” Batteau said.

Advertisement*

The travelling band known as Mountain Sprout performed their music at Hangar 9 and presented a country-sounding bluegrass-styled rock, while showcasing upbeat and catchy melodies with high-spirited lyrics about drinking beer and smoking weed. Mountain Sprout played their set with soul — the members, a quartet, all utilize their individual vocals to create their sound. Members include Blayne Thiebaud on fiddle, Adam Waggs on guitar, Daniel Redmond on bass and Grayson Van Sickle on banjo.

Mountain Sprout is no stranger to the area; the band has played both Makanda Fest and Vulture Fest. However, the group did an extensive amount traveling before arriving. Working with musicians outside the group provides inspiration, Theibaud said.

“There were a lot of people that we knew who played that were older… more than anything, just playing with a bunch of other people.” Theibaud said. “Playing on the street, playing for fun, playing for money.”

Waggs said playing music is all about relaxing and becoming cohesive with your bandmates.

“You try to feel the same way on stage as you do playing off stage, just kind of laid back and relaxed … get into the zone to where you don’t really think about it,” he said. “It’s one of those things where if you’re playing really well with each other, you don’t really notice it, and if you’re playing bad or something’s off, you notice it a lot more … It’s a good energy – to see people laughing and having a good time, it’s encouraging.”

The band has released several records and will tentatively begin recording in October for their newest.

But these were not the only bands populating the festival. Among the other groups were The Big Idea, Emme and the Moon, The Copyrights, Bob Strait, Joe Swank, Stacy Collins, Flowers of Evil and numerous others.