Summerfest Day 2 with special guest, Blackberry Smoke, REO Speedwagon, and Jackyl
If you’ve never been to Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI, you’re missing one of the best & biggest music festivals the States has to offer - with 11 days of music, from every genre of music you can think of. As you walk along the 1+ mile stretch, you have 10 stages playing music. As you pass them, you are able to hear a glimpse of each band on stage. You’re also able to walk along the shores of Lake Michigan to catch a lake breeze to cool off.
Within the next 10 days, I will be bringing you updates on 6 of those days of what Summerfest has to offer. I have been to Summerfest the last 3 years as a fan of the bands playing, so this, being my first year covering it, I was able to see it in a different way but still with the fan-at-heart inside me.
As I drove up to Milwaukee, I got a call saying I could shoot Kayne West tonight. With 3 bands already being set to cover, I knew I just could not pass this up and I was not disappointed. First up to see was a new band called Blackberry Smoke. They bring their take on Southern rock music with a twist.
One great thing about Summerfest is that they have 2 hour slots for bands to play, at least 1 ½ hours of that time. This allowed Blackberry Smoke a chance to play a 15 song setlist. They opened up with “Like I Am,” off their debut album, A Little Piece of Dixie, along with songs “Restless,” “Up in Smoke” and finishing the night with their big hit, “Freedom Song.” If you’re a fan of bands like Black Stone Cherry, Taddy Porter or country rock, this will be a band you don’t want to miss in concert.
I made my way to the next stage to see REO Speedwagon. What a contrast in music, but in saying great music has no boundaries. Kevin Cronin still has the vocals to pull off some the best soft rock/rock music this genre has ever produced. The stage they were on that night had the biggest crowd, other then Kayne West’s crowd, showing the staying power they have after 30 years since their biggest album, Hi Infidelity was released. These guys show no signs of slowing down and guitarist Dave Amato, providing the flying solo’s for the classic, “Keep on Loving You.”
The whole place was dancing and singing along to all the hits and the guys seem to be enjoying playing for everyone. At one point, Drummer Bryan Hitt saw me shooting away at him playing and stopped to give a smile - for me a true, class act band.
REO Speedwagon will be touring this summer at a few fairs, so go check them out for a night of oldies but true goodies tunes.
Now for the last band of the night, another older rock band - Jackyl. While they have been around since the 90’s, you would never guess it by the show they put on. Just pure Rock & Roll, no BS allowed, Singer Jesse James Dupree is a mad man on stage. With a mic in hand that has a whip attached to it, he prowls the stage with a confidence of years on the road. Guitar player, Jeff Worley plays the guitar with ease and working the crowd up each time he gets close to the stage edge. Rounding out the solid thick sound is bass player, Roman Glick and double bass drumming of Chris Worley. Playing songs like “My Moonshine Kicks Your Cocaine’s Ass” of the new album, When Moonshine and Dynamite Collide, you can’t help but enjoy rocking out.
Midway through the set, Jackyl played “Down on Me,” a huge hit for them in the 90’s. This got the crowd worked up and a fight breaking out, which caused Dupree to tell the crowd to respect each other and this is a Jackyl family. If you go to a Jackyl show, it’s all about having fun and good ole rock & roll and the guys give you 110% energy. As they closed the night out, they ended with the well known Chainsaw solo to the song, “The Lumberjack.”
If you’ve never seen this live, you owe it to yourself to see Dupree playing a real chainsaw as an instrument and chopping up a chair to end the night. You have to see it to believe how killer this is.
As I walked out of the Summerfest gates, I have to say it was a great night of music of all styles and look forward to my next night back.
All photos provided by Peter Lizano
