Earth Day X with Bee Taylor and Zion Stovall & the Mojo Kingz
04.22.2023 - It was a day for new beginnings during Earth Day X at Bert Driver’s Burlap Room in Smithville TN, on Saturday, April 22, 2023…
The TENTH annual Earth Day Celebration was the official opening of the 2023 Summer/Fall live music concert series at the Burlap Room. TEN YEARS - WOW. We were first and foremost a nursery, and several folks were there to buy trees and shrubs all morning, and decided to stay for the festivities. It was a banner day for Bert Driver Nursery, and the Burlap Room, and we were blessed with a double rainbow during Zion Stovall and the Mojo Kingz set.
Earth Day X delivered some definite deja-vu moments for me of some of the really neat outdoor festivals that happened in the 60s and 70s. We had more sponsors/vendors aboard for Earth Day this year, and when they were all set-up and ready for the gates to open, with the sun shining down, music playing, banners flying, etc., I was watching our biz friends/family checking out each other’s displays, milling around, enjoying DJ Rob’s playlists, already having a peaceful, positive day, before the actual celebration had even started. Dare I say, “Far out”?!
The regular Burlapper Corps and a fresh bumper crop of “newcomers from all over” turned out for the earlier-in-the-day-than-normal event, with the gates opening at noon and the ever-amazing Boil Brothers starting to serve up their New Orleans-based delicacies at 1:00 P.M.-- Creole Shrimp Pasta, Jambalaya, and Alligator on a Stick….authentic and delicious from the Boil Bros - thank you for bringing real NOLA food to Smithville!
Tio’s Taco Truck provided their authentic Mexican cuisine as an alternative dining choice.
BTW, Tio and his family are also responsible for the majority of the preparation of the Nursery grounds required to field an event– Couldn’t do it without Tio and his Family as well as Adrian, Juan, Armando and the rest of the Amigo Team!
Another “first” was the debut of Howard Bennett’s Production Company providing the equipment and sound mixing expertise for Earth Day X. We are extremely fortunate to contract Howard’s excellent sound equipment and his years of sound reinforcement expertise for the entire 2023 Outdoor Concert Series. One word, Howard: WOW!
Playing great music is easy when you have great sound people, and vice-versa…Zion Stovall and the Mojo Kingz were a very pleasant surprise, and most certainly completed the two-way connection between musician and sound technology. I’ll be honest here- I’m not a big fan of trios –guitar/bass/ drums. I’m always hearing a keyboard or rhythm guitar part in the “empty spots”. Not so in this case - these three guys sound like five. I AM a fan of Zion Stovall and the Mojo Kingz (trio)...and Howard Bennett’s ability to ensure that both the audience and the performer could not only “hear” but actually “feel” the music. Yes, yes, yes - that’s what I’m talkin’ about!
Delightful…that’s a word my Granny used to say when she came across something or someone who’s special. I’m bettin’ Granny woulda whispered “Delightful” sideways to me after about maybe a three-minute conversation with Bee Taylor…and Granny was not all that easily impressed.
This young Bee Taylor lady is a “look you dead in the eye” person who has a wonderfully original, fresh demeanor about her that communicates extremely well one-on-one, and similarly to a larger audience...a “definite beauty, knocked-out musician” for us guys and a heartfelt “Tell it Girl” vibe to/from the ladies! AND, this lady can play and sing folks! Because Bee and the band arrived at the Burlap Room about 30 minutes before showtime (direct driving from Austin, TX), they had to do a quick sound check immediately following Zion Stovall’s set. BEE TAYLOR GOT A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR SINGING VOCAL TONES/SCALES (NO WORDS) DURING SOUND CHECK!
Bee then proceeded to romp through a thoroughly satisfying set of songs with “that New Orleans, Texas, jazzy, bluesy thang”, including obscure gem songs like Tom Wait’s “Cool Water” and some straight-ahead, excellent “barroom blues” with Bee banging it out on that Fender Rhodes piano and electric guitar, backed up by drums, bass, and the excellent woodwind players in her band.
She’s an East Texas girl, playing authentic blues music straight from her heart, and from that musically-funky region of the country, traveling the world “to bring joy to people and create music that might somehow still be around after I’m gone” in her own words. In my (and Granny’s) words, Bee Taylor is...Delightful!
In between the music sets, Edgar Evins State park gave away some two-night cabin stays at the park - special thanks to Brad Halfacre, and congrats to Shannon and one other patron (whose name we could not confirm at the time of posting), and enjoy your stay at Edgar Evins - we hope you swing by the Burlap Room when you do!
Thanks to all our 2023 Series Sponsors: SnapDragon Hemp, Center Hill Realty & Chalets, Hurricane Marina/Suntex Boat Club, Limestone Title & Escrow
2023 Series Vendor: Crooked Creek Designs, custom jewelry by Jane Forkum
Earth Day X Vendors: Dismal Creations, Metal Works, Tabitha Thierjung, American Farmhouse, Amy Potter, Cedar City RV, Edgar Evins State Park, and DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department.
As always, thank you to the many artists, creators, security, staff, vendors, musicians, engineers, technicians, and everyone who contributed in any way to Saturday’s event. Be assured your many hours of hard work resulted in all of us having a most memorable Earth Day X - you know Earth IS our fave planet!
Up next is Finally Fridays at the Harvester, 4/28, with Tom Tippin, Bert’s on Thursdays at the Harvester, 5/4, with Cam Pierce and Craig Anderson, Benefit for Bobby on Thursday, 5/11, with Dramatic Endings and Kelly and Sarah, and our first theatrical performance with the Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s Education Experience Tour at the Harvester on Thursday, 5/18! Details for our Summer Solstice Shindig on 6/17 with Airshow and Austin Grimm are coming soon! All the details for upcoming events at burlaproom.eventbrite.com. Stay up-to-date with all the events in the Bert Driver Network (Nursery, Burlap Room, and the Harvester) by signing up for our Burlapper Newsletter - released every other Tuesday morning straight to your inbox!
