Summer Solstice Shindig with Airshow and Austin Grimm
06.17.2023 - The fifth annual Summer Solstice Shindig at Bert Driver’s Burlap Room certainly lived up to its name weather-wise…it was one of those hot Tennessee afternoons that feels hotter than the thermometer implies, and indeed made for a steamy setup and soundcheck in preparation for the late afternoon show.
That’s the good thing about working with pros–we’ve all been at this outdoor live concert labor of love long enough to have interfaced our fabulous crew with other individuals who are goal-driven as far as being committed to putting on a top-notch show, but still flexible enough to be able to adapt to whatever mother nature, or “the fickle finger of fate” decides to deal us. (Thank you, Jesus!)
So, at approx. 6:15 p.m., following a full day of sweat and tears (luckily, no blood that I’m aware of) by our entire staff & Howard Bennett’s sound crew, Austin Grimm hit the Redbud Stage to a good assembly of welcoming Burlappers who remembered Austin from his past solo performances at The Harvester back in November.
Austin has chosen the spiritually resonant reggae rhythms and phrasing which he applies to cover standard country songs…i.e., Willie Nelson’s ‘“Crazy”, Randy Travis’s “Forever & Ever, Amen” to create a delightful, infectious new groove on old songs (can’t believe I said “delightful”, but it’s definitely applicable in this case).
The other big portion of Austin’s performance is his original songs – still in the feel-good reggae mode, and his lyrics express both spirituality with an earthy realism so that a close listener will definitely perceive as a “deeper” vibe…Austin’s enthusiasm was evident throughout his “opening show” slot – I especially enjoyed Austin’s mantra during his set at the Summer Solstice Shindig of “Right here, right now”- he repeated that several times, and it was appropriate every time! Dude had a flower stuck onto the head of his guitar during his set…
I suggest you check Austin Grimm out on (Spotify, Apple, etc) and listen a little closer to what he has to say - I’m certainly going to do that very thing myself.
High-flying Airshow returned to the Burlap Room as headliners again following their first appearance last year when they definitely hit the “Jam Band Homerun”, and we just had to have ‘em back again this year for another “round-trip flight”.
These guys are the epitome of being able to transport their audiences seamlessly from a hum-along nice bluegrassy feeling groove, and suddenly, they’ve flown us directly into a “fusion-sounding, free-form, jazzy(?) groove that’s about 10,000 feet above where they took off…hey, that’s it!! AIRSHOW! I GOT IT! And so did all the other lucky Burlappers at the Airshow Show on Saturday evening. Can we make reservations for next year, Guys??!!
From Airshow’s Website: Flash forward to 2023 and Airshow is poised for liftoff. Having released two studio albums, ‘Shimmer’ (2021) and ‘Up in the Clouds’ (2019), as well as two EPs, ‘Anubis’ (2020) and ‘Lightbulb’ (2017), this fleet has enough studio material to keep your ears occupied for a 747 trip from JFK to O’Hare. After extensively touring the Northeast and Southeast, the band has their navigation set for everywhere in 2023. Keep your eyes peeled for the one and only Airshow in your town soon!
Thanks to all our 2023 Series Sponsors: SnapDragon Hemp, Center Hill Realty & Chalets, Hurricane Marina/Suntex Boat Club, Limestone Title & Escrow, and 2023 Series Vendor: Crooked Creek Designs, custom jewelry by Jane Forkum
Summer Solstice Shindig vendors: Tabitha Thierjung, Heavenly Scents Soap Co., Pet CBD, Wolf Lake Foods, Purple Door Antiques & Uniques, Legacy Haus, and The Art’s Garage.
Also, kudos to YaYa’s Food Truck, Hardwoods Smokehouse, and the Staff & Security for your hard work and contributions to the cause!
Up next…we’re celebrating a Jamboree Weekend at the Harvester Thursday-Saturday, June 29-July 1, including a special JamboEVE live concert by the 2023 Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree Blue Blaze Award winners, East Nash Grass, on Thursday evening, and then we’ll head back to the Burlap Room on Saturday, 8/12, for our fifth annual Hemp Fest - more info coming Tuesday! 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!
