Rhythm N’ Blooms day one recap

Day one of Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms simply blew Knoxville away. With the first sellout crowd excitedly swarming into the Old City progressively throughout the day with the promise of true spring weather and an amazingly diverse and prolific lineup including major stars on the rise like Tyler Childers and Tank and the Bangas (tomorrow’s headliners, who played a special secret show to a packed house at Barley’s that had folks going crazy) to beloved local success stories returning in a big way: Cereus Bright reuniting, Andy Wood bringing Kelsey’s Woods’ Dave Kennedy onstage after his successful stint on USA Network’s “Real Country” and The Black Lillies’ triumphant return to the Cripple Creek main stage in a primetime slot a decade into the festival and their career of chart-topping Americana-rock albums. The late-night offerings were an amazing mix of big acts like Sarah Shook and Dave Eggar, as well as Chuck Palmer’s Holler Jake and Benji. rocking venues alongside longtime local favorites like Handsome and the Humbles and Gamenight. It was a night to remember, and festivalgoers can only hope they rested up because the festival has an unrelenting onslaught of programming for them today and tomorrow. – Luke Brogden

Don’t forget to check out our conversation with Brian Paddock here (playing Saturday and Rhythm N’ Blooms)!

Check out all of the great bands we saw yesterday below!

This year’s festival is powered by strong, rising female artists who bring fresh perspectives and enthusiasm to their respective genres. Katie Pruitt kicked off this weekend on the free Kid Curry Stage with a set of powerful songs, combining her intelligent songwriting with amazing vocals to create a unique storytelling experience. Her lyrics about struggle and acceptance are gripping. Her similarities to Brandi Carlile are obvious, and Pruitt brings elements of youth, modernity and skill that can create an excitement to make her just as popular. Backed by some of Nashville’s most talented musicians, Pruitt brought powerful vocals, impressive guitar skills and great songwriting together to create a memorable performance that reflects the blueprint of Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms. – Matt Miller

Local indie/Americana favorites Cereus Bright reunited to heat things up on the Kid Curry Stage as more locals started getting off work, out-of-towners began arriving and festivalgoers commenced to streaming into the Jackson Avenue Street Fair (through the amazing cast-iron, dual-guitar sculpture entryway, courtesy of Bird on the Wire Studios). Frontman Tyler Anthony gyrated in a colorful, fitted floral-pattern suit with confidence and panache, leading longtime bandmates guitarist Jake Smith and drummer Luke Bowers, as well as a few guests.  Near the end, he set down the guitar and confidently strutted around the stage, wowing the crowd with a sexy and soulful crooning rendition of Credence Clearwater’s “Midnight Special” as his band rocked the crowd under the setting sun. – LB

Native sons The Black Lillies returned triumphantly in a primetime slot on the Cripple Creek main stage with a powerful Americana/rock set spanning their now decade-long career as a band. From “Whiskey Angel,” the single and title track from their 2009 debut, to “Midnight Stranger,” “Weighting” and “Earthquake” (from the new album “Stranger to Me”) currently climbing the Americana charts, the band was in top form, and the years of touring and recording find them returning to Knoxville as polished pros comfortable entertaining crowds of thousands with an appropriately big sound. They ended with a solo Sam Quinn fan favorite, “Retiree,” building it into an epic jam to cap off an excellent homecoming set. Members of the band were found around the Old City, continuing to enjoys festival sets into the wee morning hours. – LB

Rainbow Girls

The first time playing in Knoxville for these three sweethearts was surely a memorable one. The AC was having some problems firing up inside one of the best dive bars around, with the temperature climbing to a sticky 86 degrees by the end of their set. If you’re a regular of Home Sweet Pilot Light, though, you know how to push aside such minor inconveniences, as what happens on that stage is usually well worth a little discomfort. The beautiful, clear voices of Vanessa May, Erin Chapin and Caitlin Gowdy soothed the crowd, as they opened with Gillian Welch’s “Elvis Presley Blues.” The trio, taking turns at the lone microphone in the middle of the stage, strummed guitar and stand-up bass (secured thanks to a local group effort due to last-minute problems), accompanied throughout the set only by harmonica and handheld percussion, which allowed their simple but impressive harmonies to be the star for most of the show.

Their songwriting was honest – and at times painfully relatable, with lyrics like that of describing an imagined home “We’ll fill it up with kids so I’ll never die alone,” aka a retirement plan. Though heavy at times, there was still plenty of funny and lighthearted moments, both in between songs and in the lyrics themselves. Their description of what they jokingly called a “pop monster” project was especially amusing, as they lamented how busking and making more-challenging music isn’t usually lucrative, but they would be quite successful if they switched over to a style more along the lines of Katy Perry. Their song describing that path was, of course, so stinking catchy that  it got the crowd singing along. Towards the end of their set, they took the opportunity to prove that they’re not just pretty voices, showing off some nasty guitar playing in what was a super sexy and bluesy number. They returned, though, to timeless class and simplicity, ending the set with the most pretty version of “Tennessee Waltz” that I’ve ever heard. If you missed this performance, there’s one more opportunity before these California girls take their show back on the road. – Jennifer Duncan-Rankin

Andy Wood

Exiting Kefi after a very nice fine-dining experience, I immediately was met with Wood’s guitar virtuosity, as he and his supporting players were in the midst of conducting an enticing down-home jam. (The Kid Curry Stage is set up right across from the restaurant.) The group went on to perform everything from honky-tonk stomps to classic-rock fare, with the musician’s highly proficient, technical work always at the forefront. Ultimately, though, the material was melodic and listener-friendly. For a stage that attracted mostly a transient audience biding its time before Tyler Childers took to the Cripple Creek Stage, Wood was a great get. And despite the carnival atmosphere surrounding it, the band, clearly in a zone, relished the opportunity and churned out some truly entrancing stuff. – MR

There’s no doubt that the first sellout of Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms was due to Americana/roots-rock favorite Tyler Childers, who has quickly gained a wide-ranging following of fans across that musical spectrum. The excitement for this performance continued to build early in the week when it was announced that Childers would sign with RCA and release his new album, “Country Squire,” in August. Childers continues to develop his set to be full of songs that sway easily from country singalongs to rock ‘n’ roll. He’s a terrific storyteller, the foundation upon which this festival is built, and he delivers his lyrics in a raw yet polished form. Dressed in plaid and camo, Childers ran through all of his most-popular songs, but he debuted some new material and even covered Charlie Daniels. This performance brought all of Knoxville together, both young and old. No matter what your musical tastes, this show and the music had the ability to draw you in and get you dancing. – MM

The Barley’s secret shows have made a name for themselves over the years, and excitement in advance of this one built throughout the day across the festival grounds. Saturday’s headliners Tank and the Bangas packed (literally) the entire stage at Barley’s, bringing a memorable energy to the packed room. The best word to describe the New Orleans funk/soul/hip-hop collective, led by Tarriona “Tank” Ball, is fun. But it goes much deeper than that. The musicianship of the group is incredible, shifting tempos and beats with ease, including opportunities to showcase their individual talents. Tank is an enthralling performer, interacting with her bandmates and the audience constantly. It’s her voice and performance that makes this band truly unique, but it’s the well-rounded quality of the group that allows them to shine. Don’t miss them tonight on the big stage for the biggest party to ever happen under the bridge. – MM

&More

Those that stuck around the sweltering Pilot Light instead of heading over to the at-capacity, “secret” Tank and the Bangas show were treated to a performance I humorously scribbled in my notes as “classy af.” Philly native Donn T started the show dancing her way from the front door to the stage, energizing the small crowd before letting her beautiful, Anita Baker-like voice reach out to the crowd. Chiming in with rhymes was the other half of this impressive duo, rapper Chill Moody. The two created a fun but relaxing and sincere atmosphere, even throwing in a soulful and seductive version of Hall & Oates’ “You’re Kiss Is on My List.” Their own lyrics were honest, as Chill Moody told the crowd how he was “born in a jungle, raised by concrete.” However, their overall message was incredibly inspiring and encouraging, the likes of which can be heard in the NPR “Tiny Desk” success “Woah.” In it, Donn T sings, “The hate you give don’t stop and let you think/The love you save keeps you on the brink.” Their music reminds us we have a lot of work to do while still providing hope that we get it done, and it does so artfully and beautifully. – JDR

Benji.

Just as I tweeted after taking in a set I almost decided to miss, you should catch this act while they’re in town, as they are probably about to get so big you won’t be able to afford tickets anymore. Thankfully, I decided to stick around, and they raised enough money via GoFundMe to bring to Knoxville what was maybe the most fun – and, honestly, the most professional-sounding – performance I’ve heard in quite a while.

On the way down here, Benji., Slim Tha DJ, Julz Powell and Redd decided on a name for their band, announcing to the crowd they are calling themselves the Ghetto Gospel Symphony. This full band started the set playing and mixing over versions of the Post Malone/Swae hit “Sunflower” and everyone’s current earworm, Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.” Even those folks I know who loathe such commercial music were bouncing around and mouthing “wow” to each other.

Benji. and the Ghetto Gospel Symphony then went into playing a set full of soon-to-be hits from the 2018 album “Smile, You’re Alive!,” which had the crowd dancing and calling back throughout the entire set. It’s hard not to move, though, with songs such as “Tamale, “Right On” and “Wave.”

There were quieter, more vulnerable moments, too, as Benji. told stories of some of his more downright awful life events, such as finding out his child isn’t actually his, which he writes about in “Zola Rose.” He was always quick to bring back the party, though, as this guy is as resilient as they come.  He was joking with the crowd, saying “I forgot how short I am … but I have big dreams!” If he keeps creating works like the booty-shaking finale “Mimosa,” those dreams are no doubt going to become reality. You can see these guys for free this afternoon on the Kid Curry Stage or after Tank and the Bangas over at Barley’s. Take my advice and go see them while you can because you may not get another opportunity like this. – JDR

Gamenight did the Knoxville indie-rock scene justice in the Pilot Light just around midnight with a moody mixture of progressive riffs and time-signature changes, high-pitched “emotional rock” vocals (what would you call that?), thunderous walls of punctuating drum fills, cascading guitars and sweet effects. “Buddro” made the list of BLANK’s top albums in 2018, and Gamenight has been a Knoxville vanguard of the indie scene for over a decade; Josh Manis and company’s commitment to excellence in the genre is unparalleled. – LB

Handsome and the Humbles were the perfect fit for late-night whiskey-drinkin’ folks in the Scottish-themed Jig & Reel around midnight on Friday night, opening Knoxville’s premier Americana/roots-rock festival. They’ve become the premier local purveyors of earnest, hard-rocking odes to love and loss in alt-country rock. The band performed tunes from throughout their tenure together, including numbers from the new album “We’re All Just the Same,” which finds them more contemplative yet also confident and clear-eyed as they look to the future. Also, Josh Smith, Tyler Huff, Chris Bratta, Josh Hutson and Jason Chambers can really rock a tight jam. – LB

Holler Jake is one of two acts with which cellist-extraordinaire Dave Eggar is tearing up the scene at Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms this year. The collection of both local and international, bohemian and down-home, genre-bending and blending party-people musicians Eggar and his collaborative partner, percussionist Chuck Palmer, brought together under the Holler Jake moniker to rock Barley’s at 1:30 in the morning with full, bombastic, life-affirming energy was awe-inspiring. Whether he was trading manic solos with local fiddler Evie Andrus or stepping back to let vocalist/hype-woman Nikki Guerra whip her day-glo hair around and lead the crowd in a mixture of improv and classic hit songs blended into Holler Jake originals, it was clear Eggar and company were there for a good time. Mixing rock, funk, classical, blues, samba, jazz and throwing it all into a blender of fun, Holler Jake kept the last stragglers up just a little longer past their bedtime for a satisfying end to the first day of action. – LB

Saturday     –     Sunday

Saturday     –     Sunday