Friday May 20
The Earthtones - (7:00 to 8:00 p.m.)
Mark Wilson & The Way It Is - (8:15 to 9:30 p.m.)
Not to be missed ... Mark Wilson is the man behind the Come Together Music Festival. He and his band will have people dancing and smiling with music from the soul.
Superstack - (9:45 to 11:30 p.m.)
Fat Cats - (12:a.m. to ?)
Chris Gatchene � guitar & vocals
Todd Gillies � guitar & vocals
David E. Hill � bass
Adam King � drums
Josh Williams � keyboard, harmonica & vocalsThe Fat Cats are a veteran hard-working five-piece roots/rock act from Hamilton Ontario. Formed in 1993, the band spent its formative years touring much of Canada playing bills with the likes of Merl Saunders, moe., JGB and most recently Little Feat. With a new release on the horizon the Fats Cats continue to shape the musical landscape they helped create.
Saturday May 21
Lazlo Hollyfeld - (1:00 to 2:00 p.m.)
Hailing from Buffalo, NY, Lazlo Hollyfeld is an original instrumental quartet rooted in the ideals of jazz, groove, and free improvisation. Since the begining of 2003, Lazlo Hollyfeld has performed hundreds of shows, expanding its repoitoire of original music and constantly creating new sounds in the live atmosphere. This year Lazlo has shared the stage with DJ Logic, Arrested Development, The Slip, Mogwai, Project Object, John Brown's Body, Schleigho, the Twinemen, Mecca Bodega, Ulu and The Rapture, to name a few.The goal continues to be creating new sounds and ideas on stage as well as in the studio. With the first studio release 'Our Universe is Feeding' the band expanded it's creative outlets offering music to a wider audience. Lazlo Hollyfeld continues to push the musical boundaries of their creations while continuously generating new ideas, sounds, and experiences for anyone who takes the time to listen. Their newest CD "The Pacer" EP will be released this spring.
Harvard Mouse - (2:45 to 3:45 p.m.)
Music for the genetically altered - is the brainchild of Benji and Frankie Mouse, two hyper-intelligent, pan-dimensional beings charged with securing the answer to life, the universe and everything. Their human subjects - Arkmouse, daveymouse, Dr. Evil Mouse, geomouse, and timouse - have been configured in their present arrangement and performing subtle experiments on their fellow humans for a nearly a year and a half, warping brains, inducing trances, and providing handy background music to intoxicated and unwitting audiences.They do not yet channel Jerry, but were once reputed to have annoyed the spirit of Buddy Holly while he was trying to have a nap.
Diesel Dog - (4:30 to 6:15 p.m.)
Doug Bernside � guitar & vocals
Summer Martin � percussion & vocals
Ryan Morrison � keys & vocals
Ricky Neu � drums
Ian Richardson � bass
Contact - (7:00 to 8:45 p.m.)
Michael Budd - Guitar & Keys
Neil DeGasperis - Drums
Phil Harker - Basss & Moog
Ryan Haslett - Guitar
Brian Higgins - PercussionFusing the energy of rock, dub, break-beat, and house music into improvised live and recorded performances, CONTACT is a band on the advance of an emerging genre of music, assailing bored dance floors with irresistible beats and unforgettable hooks. Since their beginning CONTACT has cultivated a broad following of fans and supporters. With connections to both the underground dance scene and the exploding jam band phenomenon, CONTACT can rely on a mixed and vibrant crowd, giving partygoers a chance to directly witness and participate in the creation of the evening's music.
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey - (9:30 to 11:15 p.m.)
Brian Haas - piano
Reed Mathis - bass
Jason Smart - drums
Together since 1994 and performing over 200 live appearances per year, JFJO is constantly expanding their horizons by collaborating with the likes of LesClaypool, Charlie Hunter, Karl Denson, Mike Clark, DJ Logic, John Scofield, Critters Buggin', Skerik, Fareed Haque, Jessica Lurie, and the list goes on and on. JFJO have integrated their improvisational music deeply into the jazz and festival scenes, breaking new ground each year by performing at festivals like New Orleans Jazz Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, South by Southwest (SxSW), The Gathering of the Vibes & Berkshire Mountain Music Festival.
"Hipper than MMW, louder than The Bad Plus, wider-ranging than just about any other jazz piano trio, these guys have taken some giant steps to the forefront of modern jazz trio music. Check 'em out." www.Practical.org -11/04
Smokestack - (12:00 a.m. to ??)
James Sibley-Keyboards, Vocals
Chuck Newsome-Guitar, Vocals
Jacob Chmara-Bass, Vocals
Dan Eichinger-Drums, Vocals
Michigan�s own Smokestack has seen plenty of smoke filled bars and clubs asthey�ve grown into a touring rock band. But where they differ from many up-and-coming Jambands is that these four guys are equally comfortable playing funked-out jazz standards or intricate neo-classical instrumentals. For Smokestack, music is a way of life, and each style breathes unique energy into its original sound. Members of the band have studied under such legends as Roy Haynes, Rufus Reid, Terry Lynne Carrington, John Clayton, Dennis Wilson, and Matt Michaels as well as played in Latin, bluegrass, funk, and jazz bands. Despite Smokestack�s dedication to the art of improvisation, they place equal attention on song writing and lyrical content.
Sunday May 22
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey - (1:00 to 2:00 p.m.)
High Plains Drifter - (2:45 to 3:45 p.m.)
High Plains Drifter is an original groove/funk and world-beat music collective fronted by guitarist Jay Cleary. High Plains Drifter's live performances have been captivating audiences across Atlantic Canada at the Halifax International Jazz Festival, The Spring Shaker and Evolve Music Festivals. Showcasing funk, jazz fusion, and Afro-Cuban rhythms, High Plains Drifter's original material displays an innovative blend, creating a highly infectious and danceable sound that is their own.
Friends of Hefner - (4:30 to 6:15 p.m.)
Mr. Something Something - (7:00 to 8:45 p.m.)
Johan Ivar - Voice/ Gourd Maracas
John MacLean - Saxophone/voice
Larry Graves - Drums/Percussion
Liam Smith - Electric Bass/percussion
Paul MacDougall - electric guitar
Todd Porter - Bari/soprano saxes
Mr. Something Something represents two years of composing, performing, risk-taking, improving and ultimately mobilizing the original vision of founding members Larry Graves [drums/percussion] and John MacLean [saxophone/voice]. 20 years of playing, studying and traveling passed before these two childhood friends settled on the unbeatable dance rhythms of Nigeria, Senegal, Mali and Ghana as the most natural gathering place for the elements that would ultimately make up the Mr. Something Something sound.
Jamie Oakes - (9:30 to 11:15 p.m.)
The music of Jamie Oakes is soul music for the mind. Spawned from the blues,
raised by folk and honed by rock, country and R & B, Oakes' sound is as much
about earthbound existence as it is about spiritual enrichment.
VORCZA - (12:00 a.m. to ?)
If Tom Waits played organ, you would be close to the Vorcza experience. This explosive trio that blends jazz, funk and world music features Ray Paczkowski (Trey Anastasio Band, Dave Matthews & Friends), Gabe Jarrett (Jazz Mandolin Project), & Robinson Morse (Viperhouse).
This trio of musicians and composers has a singular style of playing together.This is a music which takes audiences to dizzying heights of rhythmic and harmonic exploration and still manages to satisfy listeners who crave melody and nuance. They howl with intensity and whisper intimately with grooves of funk, latin and jazz.
Burt Neilson Band
Formed in 1996 in frosty Thunder Bay, Ontario, Burt Neilson Band is a four-piece group simply in love with music. Mike Filipowitsch (guitar/vocals), Jeff Heisholt (keyboards/vocals), Jeremy Little (bass/vocals) and Gavin Maguire (drums/vocals) do their best to create music from the heart, drawing heavily from their backgrounds of rock n� roll, funk, country and life. BNB thrives on live performances filled with creativity and spontaneity.The band, in their nine year career, have toured Canada coast to coast eighteen times, played over eight hundred shows, had four successful independent releases, and secured an army of loyal and devoted fans. SECOND (ACOUSTIC) STAGE
Mark Crissinger and Jay Cleary are organizing a second stage at this year's May Come Together Music Festival. This stage will provide an opportunity for musicians to perform in an acoustic format, and it will be run in a similar fashion to the way an "open stage" is run at a bar. There will be a pa system set up for musicians to use, with mics and stage monitors. The thought is that solo musicians, duos, and acoustic acts will be able to perform on this stage. The stage will also provide an opportunity for some spontaneous jamming to occur.
The current plan is to have this stage operating on Saturday and Sunday, from mid-afternoon until early evening. If you are planning on attending the festival, and you know for sure that you want some time on this stage to perform, you should email Mark Crissinger at [email protected] to sign up for a time slot. Mark will be creating a schedule for the stage - the schedule will include the names of those who have signed up, but it will also include some blank time slots to accomodate other musicians that want to play, and to allow for spontaneous jamming to occur.
Many talented musicians always attend the Come Together Music Festivals. A number of them don't perform on stage, but rather at campsites and around campfires. Our hope with this second stage is to give campfire musicians an opportunity to perform on stage.
